mprovements in the Arrangement and Construction of Apparatus for Extracting Sewage sludge or other Semi solid Mattor from Tanks or Places where it Subsides or is Precipitated.
Year: 1886

page_text: mprovements in the Arrangement and Construction of Apparatus
for Extracting Sewage sludge or other Semi solid Mattor
from Tanks or Places where it Subsides or is Precipitated.
I, JOHN CHAMPNEY BOTHAMS of 24 Church Field Road, Fisherton Anger in the
County of Wilts, Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention of Improvements in Extracting Sewage Sludge or other semi-
solid matter from tanks or places where it subsides or is precipitated, refers
principally to tanks used for the subsidence or precipitation of sewage sludge and
whence it is extracted by vacuum or compressed air.
The Improvements consist, in cases where the sludge is extracted by vacuum, in
providing for each tank a branch pipe from the main suction pipe, which branch
pipe is laid along near the lowest part or the centre of the tank, a few inches above
the bottom, the branch pipe having inlets on or near its under side at intervals of
a few feet; each inlet may be provided with a valve to close or open it: so that
the sludge may be drawn into the branch pipe from any part of the tank, by
opening the inlet to the pipe which is situate nearest to that part of the tank and
thereby diminish to a great extent the offensive manual labour of raking the sludge
along the tank when there is only one inlet to the pipe by which it is extracted.
In tanks having too great a width for one branch pipe to act effectually, two or
more such branch pipes with inlets and valves may be provided.
In cases where the sludge is raised or extracted from the tank by compressed air,
the branch pipe or pipes may be placed below the bottom of the tank and with
inlets and valves on the upper side.
The Improvements are shewn in the Drawing, where Fig. 1 represents a double
set of four tanks each, the pipes are shown by a thick dotted line; a. a. a. a. is the
main suction or delivery pipe; a. b: a. b: a. b: the branch pipes; c. c. c. the inlets
and valves; d. d. d. the rods by which the valves are actuated; Fig. 2 is a plan,
Fig. 3 a longitudinal section and Fig. 4 a cross section of part of a tank with the
branch pipe a. b. which is shewn turned up at the end b. against the end of the
tank, to allow its being cleared; c. c. are the inlets with valves; d. d. d, are the rods
by which the valves are closed or opened,

page_text: The valves may be of any ordinary form in general use, a simple disc e sliding
with a circular motion on the face of the flange f of the inlet, the centre of motion
being a pin g in the flange f, as shewn by Figs. 5 and 6 to an enlarged scale; or
the valve may be a plate h. sliding on the flange f of the branch inlet and between
two parallel grooves or guides ; as shewn by Figs. 7 and 8-or the plate h may
be provided with a groove at each side to slide on the parallel sides of the flange
of the inlet as shewn by Fig. 9.
In cases where the sludge is extracted from the tank by a vacuum being formed
in the suction pipes, a plate may be provided and fixed a short distance above each
of the inlets as at k or l in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 in order to obtain a more horizontal
direction and more extended area for the draught of the sludge to the inlet of the
brauch pipe, and to prevent the water or air above the sludge being forced into
the pipe by the pressure of the atmosphere acting in a vertical direction within a
limited area over the inlet.

page_text: Improvements in the Arrangement and Construction of Apparatus
for Extracting Sewage Sludge or other Semi Solid Matter
from Tanks or Places where it Subsides or is Precipitated.
I JOHN CHAMPNEY BOTHAMS, of 25 Church Fields Road, Fisherton Anger in the
County of Wilts, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS FOR
EXTRACTING SEWAGE SLUDGE OR SEMI SOLID OR THICK FLUID MATTER FROM
TANKS OR OTHER PLACES, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention of Improvements in the arrangement and construction of apparatus
for extracting sewage sludge or semi solid or thick fluid matter from tanks or other
places, refers principally to the getting out the sludge from sewage subsidence or
precipitation tanks; and in cases where the sludge is to be extracted by creating a
partial vacuum in the main and branch pipe; instead of the usual system of
providing a pipe branching from or being an extension of the main pipe by which
the sludge is to be extracted, with its open end or one inlet placed in the tank,
I provide a branch pipe leading from the main pipe and continued along the
middle of the tank or along near the lowest part of the tank, a short distance
above the bottom, and having inlets on or near its under side a few feet apart, each
inlet to be fitted with a valve to close or open it, so that when the inlets to the
branch pipe in the tank are all closed, the sludge may be drawn into the branch
pipe from any part of the tank, by opening that pipe inlet which is situate nearest
to the part of the tank from which it is desired that the sludge should be extracted;
and thereby diminish to a great extent the expensive and offensive manual labour
of raking or sweeping the sludge along the tank when there is only one inlet to
the pipe by which it is extracted.
In a tank having too great a width or area for one branch pipe to act effectually,
I provide two or more such branch pipes with inlets and valves and arranged so
that the inlets may be properly distributed over the area of the tank.
The branch pipe or pipes may be laid a short distance below the surface of the
bottom of the tank and with the inlets and valves placed on its upper side and in
communication with the interior of the tank, in cases where the sludge is extracted
by creating a partial vacuum in the main and branch pipes; or by means of an
ordinary lift or suction pump, or where the sludge is allowed to flow into the
branch pipe, the openings are then closed and the sludge is forced or raised out of
the branch pipe into the main pipe by the application of compressed air, admitted
to the branch pipe near to its closed end.
In cases where the sludge is extracted from the tank by a partial vacuum being
formed in the pipes, a guide plate may be provided and fixed a short distance
above each of the inlets to the branch pipes, in order to obtain a more horizontal
direction and more extended area for the draught of the sludge to the inlet of the
pipe and to prevent the water or air above the sludge being forced into the inlet
of the branch pipe by the pressure of the atmosphere acting in a vertical direction
within a limited area over the inlet,

page_text: My Invention as applied to the extraction of sewage sludge from tanks by
creating a partial vacuum within the pipes, is shewn in the Drawing, where Fig. 1
represents a double set of 4 tanks each, the pipes are shewn by thick dotted lines;
a. a. a. is the main pipe, a. b; a. b; a. b. &c are the branch pipes; c. c. c. are the
inlets and valves; d. d. d. d. the rods by which the valves are opened or shut;
Fig. 2 is a plan, Fig. 3 a longitudinal section & Fig. 4. a cross section, to an enlarged
scale of part of a tank, with the branch pipe a. b. which is shewn turned up at its
end b to facilitate its being cleared if necessary; c. c. are the inlets and valves,
d. d. d. are the rods by which the valves are opened or closed.
The valves may be of any ordinary form in general use; for instance, as shewn
by Fig. 7 a longitudinal section of part of a branch pipe with inlet and valve, and
by Fig. 6. a plan of the same inverted, being formed of a plate e. sliding with a
circular motion on the face of the flange ƒ of the inlet, the centre of motion being
a pin g in the flange f; or as shewn by Figs. 8 and 10 a plate sliding on the
flange f of the branch inlet and between two parallel grooves or guides ;; or by
Fig. 9 where the plate h is provided with a groove at each side to slide on the
parallel sides of the flange of the inlet.
In Figs. 2, 3 and 4 the guide plate is shewn at k, k.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The extraction of sewage sludge or semi solid or thick fluid matter from a
tank, pit or place by means of one or more lines of piping placed along the tank
near the lowest part of the bottom, the piping to be provided with inlets placed a
short distance apart, each inlet to be fitted with a valve to be opened or closed,
each line of piping to be connected at its nearest end to the main pipe by means of
which the semi solid or thick fluid matter is to be extracted, and the other end to
be closed, the pipe inlets to be distributed so that when they are all closed, the
semi solid or thick fluid matter may be extracted from any part of a tank, by
opening the inlet valve nearest to that part, when the pumping or other extracting
power is applied to the main pipe, as hereinbefore described.
2. The providing a plate of suitable material to be fixed a short distance above
the inlets of the piping to create a more horizontal direction in the flow of the
seni solid or thick fluid matter to the inlet of the piping-as hereinbefore
described.
Dated this Sixth day of October 1886.