CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTS FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF LIQUID SUBSTANCES, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWERS, DRAINS, AND CESSPOOLS, AND IN THE CLEANSING OF THE SAME
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROGER
GEORGE SALTER, of Birkenhead, in the County of Chester, Surveyor, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of April, (One thousand eight hundred
and forty-eight,) in the eleventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Roger George Salter, my
exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority that I, the said Roger George Salter, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Roger George Salter, my exors, adiñors, or.
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTS FOR
THE DISTRIBUTION OF LIQUID SUBSTANCES, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWERS,
DRAINS, AND CESSPOOLS, AND IN THE CLEANSING OF THE SAME;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Roger George Salter
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under

page_text: my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Roger George Salter, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
Firstly, my Invention, in so far as it relates to carts for the distribution of
liquid substances, consists in attaching to such carts certain machinery or
apparatus, whereby the outflow of. the substances is made dependent on, the
progression of the cart, and the width of space over which they are distributed
may be varied at pleasure within certain limits, say, from one yard, or less, to
fourteen yards and upwards.
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a plan of this distributing machinery
or apparatus; Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same and of the cart
to which it is attached; Figure 3, a longitudinal section and Figure 4, an
external side view, of the parts shewn in Fig: 2. A is the tank or cistern for
holding the liquid substance to be distributed; a is a cylinder, which is fixed
horizontally beneath the tank; b, b, a piston and rod, which work within the
cylinder; s is a cog wheel, which is fixed on the axle of the cart, and gives
motion to the piston and rod 6 through the medium of the pinion t, connecting
rod, way shaft p, (supported by the pedestals. v, v,) and cranks z;. c, c, are
valves through which the liquid substance is admitted from the tank into the
cylinder; and d, d, valves by which it is discharged from the cylinder into a
delivery pipe e, by which it is transmitted to the side or end distributing
pipes 9, 9; f is an air pipe or chamber; h, h, are two three-way cocks, which
command the passages between the feed pipe e and the side distributing pipes
9,9; i is a pipe which leads from one way of each cock back to the tank
(for a purpose to be afterwards explained); k, k, are union. joints, which
connect the side distributing pipes 9,9, with the back distributing pipe 7 (which
pipes, however, have no communication internally at the union joints); 6 is
a back distributing pipe, which is supplied from: the bottom of the cistern
through a pipe m and valve n; 0, 0, are crank rods by which the three-way
cocks h,.h, are connected to and worked by the levers or handles w, w, in
front of the cart.
The action or mode of operation of the machinery is as follows:-As the
wheels of the cart revolve, the cog wheel. (s) on the axle gives motion through

page_text: the pinion' (t), connecting rod (r), and way shaft (p), to the rod and piston
(6, 6). The piston in its motion closes one of the supply valves (c, c,) and
opens one of the discharge valves d, d, and vice versa, at every stroke; and
by this alternating action the liquid substance is forced through the feed
pipe e into the side distributing pipes 9, 9. The air chamber (f) preserves
an equable pressure in the pipes, while the three-way cocks (h, h,) serve to
regulate not only the quantity of liquid allowed to pass through to the side
distributing pipes (9,9), but the width of the space irrigated. Any portion
of the liquid which passes through the cylinder, and may not be wanted for
irrigation, is returned into the cart through the pipes i, i. The tops of the
working levers w, w, are so arranged as to form but one handle; but by having
a bow handle formed beneath, each handle or lever can be worked separately.
The connecting rod r is put in or out of gear as required by means of a
lever (see Figure 4), one end of which is attached by a chain a¹ to the rod
(r), while the other end has suspended from it a weight 6', and is also attached
to a treadle c. When the treadle c¹ is pressed down, it raises the lever & and
lowers the chain a', and thereby allows the connecting rod r to drop on to the
crank, and set the piston and other machinery in motion, while by releasing
the treadle from the pressure, the weight at the end of the lever is sufficiently
heavy to raise the connecting rod off the crank, and throw it out of gear.
Secondly, my Invention, in so far as it respects the construction of sewers,
drains, and cesspools, and the cleansing of the same, consists in attaching
thereto a self-acting flushing apparatus, whereby water or any other liquid
substance passing along or through such sewers, drains, cesspools, and other
similar conduits and receptacles is pent up or retained therein at certain points
or places until it attains to such a height as to flow over into and fill one or
moro basins or vessels suspended in chambers or recesses made or constructed
outside, inside, or at the top, or other suitable part of the said sewers, drains,
cesspools, or other conduits or. receptacles, on the filling of which basins or
vessels they drop down, and thereby open a valve or flap, by which the pent
up water or other liquid substance is released, and rushes out with a velocity
equal to the height and quantity of the fluid. Figure 5 is a side view of this
self-acting flushing apparatus. A represents the front wall of a reservoir, in
which the water or other liquid substance is supposed to be pent up; B is a
recess or chamber formied on the outside of A, for the purpose of containing
the flushing apparatus. a is a passage at the bottom of the reservoir, through
which the contents of it are discharged; b, a valve or flap which covers this
aperture, and may be made water-tight, either by an exact adjustment of the
surfaces brought in contact or by the use of washers of vulcanized india-

page_text: rubber or gutta percha, or other suitable material; c is a stopper which is
centred on a shaft c¹, and rests on a boss 6 projecting from the outside of the
flap, and thereby keeps it closed; d is a rod which connects the stopper c with
a lever e, which is centred on a shaft f, to one end of which lever there is
attached a basin, box, or vessel h, of the scuttle-like form shown, and to the
other a weight g, which is a little less than equivalent to the weight of the
basin h and its contents when full; and i is a pipe which leads from the top of
the reservoir, and terminates immediately over the surplus receiving vessel h.
When the water or other liquid matter in the reservoir rises to the height of
the pipe i, it overflows through that pipe into the basin h; and when that
basin is full it drops down, which causes the opposite or weighted end of the
lever e to ascend and carry up with it the connecting rod d and stopper c, on
which, the valve or flap 6 being suddenly released, the liquid rushes out with
great velocity and force. And while this discharge is taking place, the basin h
being tilted up by the action of the lever e, keeps gradually emptying itself
until the ball or weight 9 becomes so much heavier than the basin with its
diminished contents as to descend and raise the basin, whereupon the flap or
valve 6 falls back into its original place, and the stopper c drops upon it and
keeps it closed.
Figure 6 is a plan, and Figure 7 an end view, of the arrangement shewn at
Figure 5; m, m, in both these Figures represent the walls of the reservoir A
and outer chamber B.
A modification of the preceding arrangement is indicated by the letters
ke and b², Figures 5, 6, and 7, and exhibited there in detail in Figures 8, 9,
and 10. In this modification a moveable ball is substituted for the fixed
counterpoise 9 (or may be continued with it), and made to travel in a pipe or
frame connected with and partaking of all the movements of the surplus
receiving basin h. Figure 8 is an end view; Figure 9, side view; and Figure
10, a plan of a sewer fitted with a flushing apparatus constructed according to
this modification; o, o, is the sewer; f.f, the outside chamber containing the
principal parts of the apparatus; a is the flap or valve which is attached to a
shafts, which is supported on pedestals d, d; b, the basin into which the water
flows after the water has risen to one given height, say to k, and which is
also attached to the shaft s, but at a point below the centre of the basin (see
Figure 10); c is the pipe in which the ball i travels; e is a hole in the top
end of the basin for the escape of the liquid from it (wben tilted over, as
afterwards explained,) into a drain g communicating with the bottom of the
chamber and sewer.
The manner in which this apparatus acts is as follows:-When the liquid

page_text: rises in the sewer as high as the aperture in the wall, it overflows into the
basin till the weight of water in the basin exceeds that of the flap or valve,
when the basin tilts over. and raises the gate or flap, on which the pent-up
liquid rushes out along or through the sewer; and simultaneously with the
tilting over of the basin, the ball i, which was at the bottom c of the tube, runs
to the other end, and serves to keep the basin down until the liquid in it
runs out through the hole e, when the valve or flap being somewhat heavier
than the basin or vessel and ball together, the flap descends and the basin
ascends, in doing which, the ball after passing the centre, runs back to its
original position, and acts as a lever or weight to keep the flap or valve shut.
Or, in place of the moveable ball in the preceeding arrangement, there may
be substituted a ball h', suspended from a rod, after the manner of a pendulum,
as shewn in Figure 10%. As the basin 6 fills, the suspended ball will gradually
lose its leverage power as it passes over the centre of the fulcrum of the lever
to which the basin is attached, and conversely as the basin riscs so the ball
gradually regains power in proportion to the length of the rod to which the ball
is hung, and the distance of the ball from the centre or fulcrum.
In the preceding exemplifications of this second part of my Invention¸ a
chamber or recess projecting from the outside of the drain is employed to con-
tain the principal parts of the flushing apparatus; but it will be obvious that
the apparatus will act equally well if placed wholly inside of the drain or any
other conduit or receptacle required to be emptied, as if placed wholly or par-
tially outside of it; and there may be cases in which the placing of all or most
of the parts of the flushing apparatus inside will be preferable to any other
arrangement. In the application, for example, of this system of flushing to
cesspools and water-closets, the best mode of disposing of the different parts of
the apparatus would probably be that represented in Figure 11 of the Drawings
annexed. The cesspool and water basin are here supposed to be fed from some
public water-works or other remote source of supply, and by giving suitable*
dimensions to the apertures of supply and discharge (which are easily calculated),
the supply can be so adjusted as that the cesspool shall discharge itself once or
twice a week, or oftener; as may be deemed expedient. As the fluid matters
rise in the cesspool the ball a also rises till it reaches a point, when it opens
the water cock g, and admits water into the basin b. Now, as the basin 6 is
fixed to the end of the lever c, which has its fulcrum at c, and that lever is
connected by a chain or rod to the plug at the bottom of the cistern, it follows,.
that on the descent of the basin the plug e must be instantly and suddenly
opened, when the contents of the cesspool will rush out with great velocity.
But in order that the water in the basin may not be .also wholly discharged, on

page_text: the instant (which would be injurious), the basin 6 is closed at top, and an
aperture made in the top of it, of such size that the water may take any given
time desired to flow out of the basin. The weight d at the end of the con-
necting rod c is merely used as a counterpoise to the basin 6 when empty. An
apparatus of the same kind as that last before described may be adapted to the
ordinary water cistern of a house, and that connected by a pipe with the cess-
pool, so as to effect the like periodical discharge of the contents of the latter.
In Figures 11° and 12, I have shewn in section and elevation a flushing
gate, which is so constructed as to be self-acting. The parallel lines p, p,
indicate the top and bottom of the sewer. a is the axial line, which is a little
below the centre of the flap, and 6 is a chamber attached to the upper end of
the flap. Supposing the water to be pent back on the side C, as soon as it
rises above the axial line a, it will counterbalance the weight to a certain
extent of the water below that line, while the extra leverage requisite to raise
the flap entirely is obtained by the water flowing into the basins b, b, and the
pent-up waters of the drain are thereby released. The basins then gradually
empty themselves through the holes t, t, and as the lower portion of the flap is
the 'heavier, as soon as the basins become empty, the flap assumes again its
original perpendicular position. To make the upper part of the flap quite
water-tight, I propose to use gusset or packing pieces of gutta percha, or some
other like waterproof material, attaching one piece to the edge of the flap, and
the other to the frame, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 12. The
dotted lines in Figure 11ª show the line outside of the basins when two are
used; and t, t, in both Figures represent the holes through which the water is
admitted into the basins.
In Figure 13 I have given an elevation, and in Figure 14 a plan of a self-
acting flushing gate. a is the gate for damming back the water; b, a rod,
having a joint at the centre, to which is attached or suspended a weight e.
One end of this rod may be fixed in the wall, and the other to some portion of
the gate. When the water rises to the height of the pipe c, it flows through
that pipe into the basin d. The basin descending with the weight of water in
it, raises the weight e, which breaks or releases the joint in the rod which keeps
the gate closed. The weight of water behind then forces the gate open instan-
taneously, and raises the rod up into a triangular position. f is a latch, which
is connected by a lever to the end of the lever of the basin, the end of the which
lever works in a slot in the connecting rod, so that as the basin descends the
other end of the connecting rod rises in the slot, and allows the latch to drop
and fasten the gate back, that is to say, to keep it open. When tho water
flows out of the basin the weight 9 at the opposite end causes it to rise into its

page_text: original position, while the descent of the end of the lever which has the weight g
attached to it raises the latch and releases the gate. The principal parts of the
flushing apparatus is in this case supposed to be enclosed in the chamber used
as the man-hole of the drain; but this, though preferable, is not absolutely
necessary, as the apparatus will also work well if placed entirely within the
drain.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the improvements which I
claim as constituting my said Invention are as follows:-
First, I claim the attaching to carts for the distribution of liquid substances
of apparatus or machinery whereby the outflow is made dependent on the
progression of the cart, and the width of space irrigated can be varied at
pleasure, as before described.
And, second, I claim the attaching to drains, sewers, cesspools, and other
like conduits and receptacles, of apparatus or machinery whereby the same are
rendered self-flushing, as before exemplified and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Roger George Salter, havo hereunto set
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of October, One thousand
my