CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWERAGE GULLIES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Carl Pieper, Civil Engineer, of 109/110 Gneisenau-
strasse Berlin S.W., Prussia for an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWERAGE GULLIES"
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Carl Pieper at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 27th January 1882.
CARL PIEPER, Civil-Engineer, of 109-110 Gneisenaustrasse, Berlin S.W., Prussia,
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWERAGE-GULLIES
The object of this Invention consists in the more effective separation of solid
matter from the rain-or surface-water, &c., to be carried off by sewers.
When the so-called "separate system" of sewerage is employed, i.e. the system
according to which separate conduits are used for removing fecal matter on one
hand, and rain water, refuse-water of domestic operations, &c., on the other hand,
it is of importance with regard to cost, that the sewers or drains, serving for the
latter purpose, be not made larger than is necessary for the conveyance of the
greatest quantity of water which they may have to take up during a heavy
rain-fall.
When, however, sewers are made of such limited dimensions, they will ordinarily
be too small to give access to men for being cleaned of deposits formed by the
substances which the water drained off from the surface of streets, &c., always
carries with it. It is necessary therefore with sewers of this kind, to provide
means for preventing as far as possible solid matter from entering into them. For
this purpose gullies are employed through which the water passes before it runs
into the sewer, and in which the solid substances are retained. But as some of
these substances, such as sand and earth, are heavier than water, while others, as
for instance, straw, excrements of animals, leaves, &c., are lighter, such gullies have
heretofore been so constructed, that the water is drained off at a point between its
surface within the gully and the bottom of the latter, so that the lighter sub-
stances remain floating above the outlet-orifice, while the heavier ones are deposited
below the same; but this arrangement does not answer its purpose fully.

page_text: For attaining a more perfect separation of the solid parts from the water,
I construct the gullies in the manner represented on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, and as is to be described in the following.
In Fig. 1, A represents a pot or vessel of iron or other suitable material, and
which will ordinarily be made round or square in horizontal section. On the top
edge of this vessel a funnel B rests, above which there is a grate, as in common
gullies. D is a sieve or strainer arranged in such a manner inside of A that the
water flowing in by the funnel B must pass through the holes of D before it can
run out of A by the orifice E. As shown in the Drawing, this strainer stands with
its bottom flange on an offset of the vessel A, while its top edge is in closo
contiguity to the funnel B, but it may as well be suspended in its place by being
attached to B. F, finally is a siphon, the top bend of which is with its lower side
somewhat above the top of the orifice E. The whole apparatus is placed in a small
shaft or sink constructed of brick-work, and communicating with the drain leading
to the sewer.
The water flowing in through B accumulates in A up to the outlet orifice E,
while sand and other heavy impurities are deposited at the bottom of A. The
lighter substances which float on the water, are retained by the strainer D, so that
the water discharged through E into the sewer is efficiently purified from all coarse
Euspended matter. When after a certain time the gully has to be cleaned, the
funnel and the grate are lifted off and the strainer D is removed, whereupon the
substances collected in the vessel A may be scooped out by any suitable tool; or,
if preferred, the vessel is lifted out of the sink in order to be emptied.
When during a heavy rainfall a great quantity of floating substances collects
within a short time in the described apparatus, they may obstruct the passage of
the water through the holes_of_the_strainer. For preventing the gully from
becoming inoperative in such case, the siphon F has been provided for. Through
this siphon the water will begin to flow off whenever its passage through the
strainer is retarded to such a degree that its level rises up to the line xx; and,
when it attains the level, the siphon enters fully into operation and quickly
draws off a considerable body of water from the inside of the strainer. This
causes the mass of floating materials to descend, and a backward rush of water
from the lower part of the space outside of the strainer to take place towards its
inside, whereby a cleansing of the strainer is effected. By the flow of water
through the siphon impurities will certainly to some extent be conveyed into the
sewer; but as the siphon only nets in case of an emergency, and then only for a
short time, the whole quantity of solid materials thus carried along, will be but
small.
Fig. 2 shows a gully which is different from the foregoing only in so far as the
receptacle A, which in Fig. 1 has been supposed to be made of cast-iron, &c., is
built of brick-work, so that a special vessel for the reception of the solid materials
is dispensed with. The siphon F is arranged to discharge into the drain H.
Fig. 3 represents another form of gully with special vessel A made of two parts
jointed at a a. The water in this case runs from the funnel B into a pipe C
attached to the outside of the vessel and communicating with its interior near the
middle of its height. The siphon is shown passing with its bend through the
strainer and the wall of A
According to the design of Fig. 4, a bell G or cylinder G provided with a
removable cover R is placed within the upper part of the vessel A, which is of
larger diameter than the lower part, the annular spaco thus formed between the
said cylinder G and the wall of the upper part of A serving as passage for the
water to the inside of A. The siphon ay project through the walls of A and G
and through the strainer, as shown in the Drawing, or it may be fitted in a similar
manner as in Fig. 1.
In Fig. 5 the water entering by the pipe C, passes from the outside of the
strainer to the interior of the same, whence it flows off by the pipe E.
In case the siphon F is but small in sectional area, it may simply be made of

page_text: a round pipe. But if it is of greater width, the air contained in the upper bend
of the same will tend to impede its operation. This disadvantage may be
obviated by using several small pipes instead of one large one, or by providing
the large pipe with longitudinal partitions, or by placing one or a number of small
pipes in the larger one, or finally by employing a flat pipe; but these experients
are inconvenient, and it is preferable to provide the siphon with a valve as
represented by Figs. 6, 7 and 8.
The ball-valve shown in Fig. 6 is of such a weight, that it will keep the mouth J
of the siphon closed until the water in the vessel A has risen to a certain
level y y which must not be lower than the top of the siphon. As soon as the
pressure of the water opens the valve, a current ensues, which drives the ball
sideward on the inclined surface b. The whole area of the pipe being thus made
free, there is from the first moment a rapid stream of water filling out the whole
pipe and which expells all the air from the same, so that the siphon enters into
operation at once. In order to cause the full pressure corresponding to the height
of water h to take effect, a connection is made between the two legs of the siphon
by a small pipe c, through which the water can flow off from the shorter leg of the
syphon after the closing the valve, so that there be no pressure on the valve from
above. The pipe c may be so arranged that it will be closed by the ball when the
syphon is operating.
Fig. 7 shows a flap-valve which acts in a similar manner as the ball-valve, it
being maintained in the dotted position by the current of water until the
water-level in A has descended to the aperture J, and the siphon ceases to work.
As represented in Fig. 8, the siphon may be made shorter, when a valve of the
described kind is employed. With this arrangement the pipe c is not required, as
the water runs off to the level of the edge d, when the valve has closed.
With all the arrangements of siphons shown, a quick partial evacuation of the
vessel A takes place. In all cases, however, in which a speedy discharge may be
dispensed with, it suffices to close the aperture J by a valve, such as represented in
Figs. 6 and 7, instead of by a siphon in combination with the valve.
In order to keep the water-level in the gully as low as possible when no water
is running into the same, and thus to prevent damage from being done to the gully
by the freezing of the water in winter, a small outlet-orifice may be arranged at a
suitable height in the wall of the vessel or receptacle A. In the arrangement of
Fig. 3, the joint a a, which is not to be made tight, will serve for the same
purpose.
The described gully may be employed for straining the water used for house-
hold- and manufacturing-purposes as well as the surface drainage-water from yards
and streets.
Having thus described the nature and object of this Invention and the manner
in which it is to be carried out in practice, I hereby claim as the new and important
feature of the same:
A gully serving for the separation of solid substances from water and fluids to
be conducted into a sewer, and consisting of a vessel or receptacle A provided with
strainer D, the strained water running off from A through an aperture E, whereas,
when the strainer is obstructed, a portion of water passes off automatically through
a second aperture J, to which a siphon, a valve, or a siphon containing a valve, is
attached, substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I the said Carl Pieper, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty first day of January A.D. One thousand eight hundred
and eighty two
CARL PIEPER. (L.S.)