Districts and Apparatus Connected therewith.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Apr., 1887
Complete Left, 24th Jan., 1888
Complete 'Accepted, 2nd Mar.,
1888
or Districts and Apparatus Connected therewith.
I ADRIEN LE MARQUAND, of 1 Boulevard St. Denis, Paris, France, publicist do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a novel system of sewage or drainage of houses and towns
or districts and is based on the supposition that all sweepings, dust, kitchen waste and
various other debris more or less hard or solid will be collected and removed
frequently by carts or other special appliances and that rain water or surface drainage
will be separately conveyed away by its own system of pipes or conduits. There thus
only remain to be dealt with by my system of sewage or drainage, excreta, household
slops, foul waters from factories and other foul or polluted liquids and matters of a
more or less pasty nature capable of becoming more or less dissolved in water,-in
short all such matters as are generally discharged into the waste or soil pipes of
houses. The main object I have in view is to convey away these matters to such a
distance from the town or district that they will no longer be injurious, and to do this
automatically and continuously, before any fermentation is set up, in closed vessels or
conduits without contact with the air or with the surrounding earth.
I will first give a general description of my system and then explain the means and
apparatus by which I carry it into effect.
The superficial area of a large town is divided into several working districts the
extent and boundaries of which are determined by the density of the population, the
quantity of water which is each day at the disposition of the inhabitants, the number
of houses and the character of the undulations of the land.
The matters which flow to the main soil or waste pipe of a house from the various
smaller waste pipes or which come directly from a fall pipe, empty themselves after
having passed the last syphon or trap into an automatic discharge apparatus of sinall
size, and great simplicity.
This apparatus is placed at the outlet of the premises and connected with a
collecting candnit or nine placed under the street or road.

page_text: The mechanism with which it is provided, operates automatically; as soon as the
matters, a few gallons only, have attained a given level, the contents are violently
discharged into the collecting conduit in which a constant barometrical depression is
mainiained.
A check valve placed between the apparatus and the conduit automatically prevents
the return of any matters into the house under any circumstances.
In order to ensure the regularity of the barometrical depression throughout the
whole length of the collecting conduit notwithstanding the simultaneous presence of
the sewage matters with this depression, that is to say, with an atmosphere of less
than atmospheric pressure and to avoid the frequent employment of pipes of large
diameters the collecting conduit of each district is divided into a series of arteries of
different sizes, of short lengths, communicating directly and separately with collecting
vessels.
With the same object the conduits are specially arranged as hereinafter described
where they have to be bent or dipped downward in order to pass some obstacle.
At a certain point of the district, by preference at the bottom of a slope if there is
one, are two collecting vessels in which a regular barometrical depression is constantly
maintained, these vessels each in its turn receive the liquids which come from the
arteries of the conduit and send them on afterwards-automatically with the aid of the
atmospheric pressure to the central pumping works.
The central pumping works are provided with closed apparatus absolutely air tight
and are situated, when convenient, in the town itself upon a site as near as possible
to all the collecting vessels of the different districts; they are connected to these
vessels by two conduits or pipes, one of which, the barometrical conduit, (into which
no sewage matters ever enter) distributes amongst the collecting vessels and the
different districts by direct communication the barometrical depression produced at
the works by suitable pumps. The other conduit serves on the contrary exclusively
for the conveyance of the sewage matters.
Finally the central pumping works provided only with air tight apparatus, and
with hermetically closed vessels, force the sewage matters by another conduit out of
the town or district to as great a distance as may be desired where they may be
treated, utilized or purified without danger.
The gases disinfected in hermetically closed vessels can be employed to heat the
engines of the works.
Having given a general description of my system I will now proceed to describe în
sufficient detail the means or apparatus by which I carry it into effect.
WORKING DISTRICTS.
.
It is difficult to indicate in a general manner the average extent of each district,
in fact when the houses are very close together, or are built in flats accommodating
more than one family, the district should cover less ground than when the houses are
separated by gardens or the number of inhabitants is more limited.
The districts being composed of branches of the conduit or pipe of short lengths,
connected with two automatic collecting vessels, their extent is limited only by the
capacity and the normal delivery of these vessels which fill and empty themselves
automatically and alternately during the 24 hours and should be able to send on to
the central pumping works all the matter which they receive from the collecting
conduit or pipe.
The districts are themselves divided into large independent arteries or branches;
they are generally placed according to the inclination of the soil.
AUTOMATIO DISCHARGE APPARATUS.
The automatic apparatus which is situated between the main soil or waste pipe of
the house and the collecting conduit or pipe placed under the roadway is a light box
of muntal or other material the chane and dimensions of which can be varied as required.

page_text: Its mechanism is such that it can be made so as to be placed in a very limited space,
generally under the ground, as near as possible to the surface thereof but at a sufficient
depth to avoid the effects of frost. A simple hole in the yard or garden into which
the soil pipe passes is often sufficient to receive this apparatus.
It is divided into two closed compartments by a vertical partition the lower part
only of which is pierced with holes or made of wire or lattice work of any suitable
metal. On one side of this partition in the upper part of the apparatus is the soil
pipe from the house; on the other side is a discharge pipe which passes through the
body of the apparatus to allow of its junction with the pipe of the collecting conduit
situated further on under the roadway.
In the discharge pipo a vertical sluice or valve of thick glass is fitted in the interior
of the apparatus; its seat is formed with a hole corresponding to the diameter of the
soil pipe. This sluice, or valve, composed of two polished plane surfaces sliding one
upon the other alternately intercepts and opens communication with the collecting
conduit. The face of the seat of the valve is so arranged that the latter, made of
the same material and provided with caoutchouc, cannot leave it whether open or closed.
To the arm of a lever connected to this valve is fitted a metal float of suitable form
provided with a releasing device actuated by another float of smaller dimensions and
placed above. The mechanism is enclosed in a metal casing formed with holes and
having a metal cover or top provided with a latch, a padlock, or any suitable
fastening. The two compartiments of the apparatus are also each covered with a plate
which can be easily opened to permit of cleaning either compartment, this cleaning
will only be necessary at very long intervals.
The cover of the compartment into which the house pipe discharges is provided with
a. valve capable of opening inwards only to facilitate the action of the atmospheric
pressure within the apparatus when the outlet valve is opened so as not to exhaust the
syphons of the house pipes.
The apparatus, the partitions, the valve and its seat may be made of any suitable
metal or material. All the metal parts may be galvanized and coated with tar to.
ensure preservation.
The working of the apparatus is as follows:-
The apparatus receives the slops, fecal and other fermentable matters from the soil
or waste pipe of the house. The matters that are more or less dissolved in water pass
through the first partition, all foreign bodies and paper not yet destroyed or insuffi-
ciently dissolved and which the last syphon of the house has allowed to pass being
retained or quickly dissolved in the bottom of the apparatus without obstructing the
vertical partition.
The sirupy, muddy and pasty liquids pass through the casing of the mechanism and
their level rising in the apparatus covers the first Boat. As soon as it is immersed in
these matters the float tends to rise but is held by the releasing device which only
At this moment the
acts when the level of the liquid rises to the small upper float.
first float being completely immersed rises sharply, and attains the final point of its
travel in the apparatus, completely opening the outlet valve and the communication
with the collecting conduit. or pipe.
The atmospheric pressure then acts through the valve in the cover of the inlet com-
partment upon the surface of the matters and drives them with force first through the
partition and afterwards through the open pipe into this conduit; the level immediately
falls compelling the small float and the releasing device, with which it is provided, to
resume their normal position. Whilst the level, in falling, allows the lower float to
descend the valve, still immersed in the liquid, automatically closes and the releasing
device, upon which it then acts by its weight, is set ready for the next-action. The
mechanism thus acts according as the height of the level of the liquid increases or
diminishes.
The valve during its movement rubs continually against its seat and the to and fro
movement which is imparted to it by the action of the float always keeps the
mechanism in a perfect state of cleanliness.
The valve can also be made of two plane surfaces united on one axis and both

page_text: pierced with a hole at the same distance from this axis, or it may consist of three
plane surfaces with a hole communicating with the conduit or pipe. The opening of
the valve will then only be produced when the three holes by the play of the float are
brought in front of each other. When one of the surfaces turns upon the common
axis so as to cover the hole of the other or of the two others the proper closing of the
valve is obtained.
It will be understood that when this valyo is shut the pressure of the liquid upon
its surface and the atmospheric pressure which acts upon it by reason of the
barometrical depression maintained in the collecting conduit or pipe will keep it
tight upon its seat, and that the polished surfaces, of glass, for example, will not
oxidize or deteriorate although immersed in the liquid. and that placed thus one
against the other they ensure a complete and tight closing of the apparatus.
A check valve is placed hetween the apparatus and the collecting conduit. It
allows not only of completely shutting off the house, when from any cause this
becomes necessary, but it also automatically prevents, in all cases, the return of the
matters from the conduit to the apparatus and consequently to the house.
The check valve is formed of a sphere or hemisphere of caoutchouc which will
rise under the action of a slight pressure of the matters or gases drawn by the
-atmospheric depression or partial vacuum in the collecting conduit. The seat of
this valve is arranged so that no foreign body can remain on it. It is at first inclined
from the side of the flow, then the valvo bears-ou-a-prominence, the sides of which
form an obtuse angle with it. The valve is guided by a rod which moves in a small
box. It is sufficient to scrow up or down another rod upon the first ono to prevent
the valve acting and to thus form a completo obstruction.
If the quantity of water which is in the house is not sufficient to allow of the
evacuation through a general pipe uniting the product of all the waste pipes, or-if
the general evacuating pipe cannot be constructed for some reason, the matters are
caused to fall-directly from the fall pipe into the automatic apparatus the size of
which is then somewhat increased to facilitate, in the absence of the house syphons,.
the dissolving of paper, scraps &c. If, however, a syphonic obstruction by means
of the apparatus is considered necessary it can easily be obtained by arranging that
the closing of the valve shall never allow the liquids to fall below the prolonged fall
"pipe.
COLLECTING CONDUIT OR PIPE.
The collecting conduit is placed in galleries, drains or trenches under the roadway
as near as possible to the houses from which, by means of the automatic-discharge.
apparatus, they receive the matters and liquids.
The pipes, which may be of wrought or cast iron, earthenware or other suitable
material, need only be capable of supporting externally a pressure a little higher than
that of the atmosphere, but the joints must be strictly tight. The conduit will consist
of a number of pipes, as long as it is possible to procure them. Its diameter will vary
according to the number of houses it. has to clear and the quantity of matter to
collect.
The numerous arteries or branches of the collecting conduit of a district should
proceed in the shortest way towards the two collecting vessels of this district, after
having received the matters from the adjacent smaller pipes, but as much as possible
without communicating with each other on the way.
Pipes of different diameters can thus be employed in the arteries of a district as
well as in the various branches of the same artery according to whether the quantity
of materials they have to collect in their course is more or less great.
These arrangements will ensure throughout the collecting conduit an almost equal
distribution of the barometrical depression which should be kept up in the vessels of
the district, but as the speed of the gases in the pipes is very much greater than that
of the liquids and in order to facilitate the passage of the one over the other so as to
obtain a very regular working of the system, it will be necessary to conform as much
as possible to the following rules.

page_text: 1st. When it is desired to effect the junction of a pipe conveying simultaneously
the barometrical depression and the sewage matters with another pipe intended for the
same purposes, the junction of the one which will deliver its matters to the other will
be made upon the upper part of the other by means of a special piece of variable
form with single or double branches and of increased diameter at the point of
junction.
2nd. Whilst placing ordinarily the collecting conduit in the direction of the slope
or incline of the district it will be arranged at different parts in lengths of variable.
but slight inclination discharging one into another.
It will be understood that a pipo following a rapid decline will always be full at
that part which is the lowest even with a small quantity of matter in it and that it
will be useless to attach to this part any pipe from a house. With the arrangement
indicated while thus facilitating the equal distribution of the liquids and of the gases
in the conduit the barometrical depression therein is also equalized as much as
possible.
The advantage to be derived from rapid declines for carrying forward the matters
is no doubt lost, but this apparent loss is more than compensated for by the acceleration
in the speed of the matters produced by their being carried forward by the gases
whose passage is thus favored and whose speed is much greater. Moreover this
arrangement facilitates the continual formation in the conduit of lumps of matter
which being thrown sharply forward in a series of jerks constantly brush or rub the
sides of the pipes thus ensuring their cleanliness and rendering obstruction or
stoppage more difficult.
3rd. The syphon passages, that is to say, the parts which have to pass under an
obstacle, are provided with a special apparatus arranged as follows:-
:-
A special piece of cast iron is placed on each side, right and left of the conduit, at
the places where the bend for the passage of the syphon begins and ends. These
pieces are connected to two bent pipes which are placed under the obstacle to be
avoided. Through the lower of these pipes the sewage matters will pass whilst the
gases will flow exclusively through the upper one as soon as the syphon is full and
will again enter the conduit beyond the bend or dip. In the event of the conduit
becoming completely full and to provent any matters entering the bent pipe for con-
veying the gases I provide this pipe on each side with a small float of metal, movable
and of elongated form so as not to occupy too much space in breadth.
It is guided
by a rod upon which it rests when not in action. As soon as the level of the sewago
matters reaches the float it will rise and close the bent gas pipe by means of a
sphere or hemisphere of india-rubber with which it is provided at its upper part.
As soon as the level of the liquid falls, that is to say, when the collecting conduit
most requires the syphon to work, the float falls to its position of rest.
In some
cases, it will be sufficient to make the two ends of a syphon communicate by a small
pipe placed in the syphon itself or parallel to it to establish equilibrium in the
depression.
4th. At intervals in the conduit as well as in the greater part of the apparatus an
opening will be made in the pipes in which will be screwed a small metal tube or
pipe. This tube is constructed in such a manner that any person can test by means,
for example of a gauge the barometrical depression which exists at that part of the
conduit. This small pipe has a screw threaded hole closed at its upper part by a
screw plug of the same pitch and provided with a notch or nick. The small pipe has
besides within it a drilled tube which terminates in the screw threadel-hole, which
hole is hermetically closed by the screw plug. When-it-is-wished to ascertain the
barometrical-depression at any desired point where one of these pipes is situated a
key-like termination of the gauge is introduced into the notch or nick of the screw
plug and is turned so as to cause the plug to descend. The screw thread of the
gauge which is the same as that of the plug engages with the pipe from which it
follows that by turning the screw of the gauge the plug will be screwed inwards and
at the same time the gauge will be completely screwed upon the pipe. A neck in th
screw thread of the instrument will then communicate with the drilled tube and with

page_text: the gauge and the desired indication can be read upon the dial. It will be seen tha
even should the gauge not be withdrawn there can be no escape and no loss.
t
If on the contrary the gauge has to be immediately withdrawn it is only necessary
to unscrew it; the screw plug following all the movements of the key will rise. fir-t
closing the drilled tube and reaching the top of the opening with the end of the
screw thread of the gauge which can be withdrawn. The screw plug is thus auto-
matically put in place again and the closing is hermetic.
5th. Finally to guard against all uncertainties it will be prudent to unite all the
branches at their meeting points at the intersections of the drains and to provide
them with cocks, valves or sluices, to permit of the sewage matters taking different
directions according to circumstances.
When the conduit passes under a road having houses on each side, it will he under-
stood that a pipe should be laid on cach side and naturally of a diameter smaller than
if a single pipe had to receive the sewage matters from all the houses in the road. If
the road-way is narrow the conduit will branch off froin each house to the two pipes
so that by means of cocks or valves the sewage matters from the houses may be let into
either of these pipes. If the road-way is broad and this arrangement would necessi-
tate too much work, communication between these two pipes should be made only at
intervals, or,
if the road was not long, at its two ends only. With a conduit thus
-constracted, and exclusively in communication with the discharge apparatus before
described which under the influence of the atmospheric pressure will force through it
the sewage matters put into motion by the barometrical depression, and with the rapid
passage of the gases above the sewage matters obstructions and stoppages in the pipes
will be impossible and the system will work without interruption.
AUTOMATIC COLLECTING VESSELS..
The arteries of each district terminate separately and directly in a collecting
reservoir which, placed above the two automatic collecting vessels, distributes the
sewage matters of the conduit alternately into each of them in a single stream. The
capacity of the collecting reservoir should be calculated to receive the contents of
the conduits of the district during the time necessary for the automatic emptying of
each of the two collecting vessels. In this manner the emptying of the sewage
matters of the conduits even in the event of one of the vessels being out of action on
account of damage or other cause can be assured. Communication between the bottom
of this collecting reservoir and the automatic collecting vessels is established by a pipe
adjoining the check valves. The collecting reservoir receives at its upper part a pipe
which conducts the gases of the collecting conduit directly into the barometrical conduit
without passing through the automatic collecting vessels. The vessels which may be
of metal should be air tight and placed under-ground at any point of the district as
near as possible at the bottom of an incline and underneath the collecting reservoir.
The dimensions of each of the two vessels will be determined by the area of the district
and the quantity of sewage matters to be received and forwarded in the 24 hours.
Each vessel is composed of the following parts:-
A receiver of metal which need only be sufficiently strong to support with the
sewage matters the atmospheric pressure. A check valve similar in form to the one
before described is placed at the upper part of the receiver. It allows of the outflow
of sewage matters from the collecting conduit but it prevents their return as well as
that of gases or of atmospheric pressure. A rod fitted with a counterweight passes
through a stuffing box and bears upon the rod of the valve in order to stop its action
during the filling of the vessel. As the vessels automatically fill and empty so are
the two valves of their two inlets controlled by a movement which will be hereinafter
described. Another similar check valve is placed at the lower part of the vessel.
It serves exclusively to establish communication between the sewage matters of the
vessel and a special sewage conduit leading directly to the central works. Its
arrangement permits of its allowing these matters to pass but under all circumstances
to prevent their return. Above the vessel and forming a part of it is placed a

page_text: chamber of the same metal in which terminates a barometrical conduit which never
receives sewage matter, and communication with which is established on the one hand
with the works and on the other with the collecting reservoir and consequently with
the collecting conduit. Atmospheric pressure is exerted in the two vessels through
two openings. The first opening is closed by a clack valve of metal which auto-
matically opens inwards when the atmospheric pressure acts upon it. The second
opening is closed by a sliding valve of metal or other suitable material attached
through an opening arranged in the side of the chamber to a rod which is provided
at its upper part with a counterweight. The barometrical conduit can likewise be
closed in the interior of the chamber by a similar valve attached directly to the same
metal rod. This rod in rising or falling under the action of a float in the vessel
actuates the two valves on the rod simultaneously. The first described valve however
does not begin to open until the other valve is closed. The float of any suitable
shape moves freely up or down the rod.
The automatic operation of the vessel takes place as follows:-
Let it be supposed that the vessel is empty, the valve communicating with tho
barometric conduit open and consequently the other sliding valve closed and kept
tight on its seat by atmospheric pressure. The barometrical depression caused by the
pumps at the works is transmitted by means of the barometrical conduit and of the
valve connectel therewith to the interior of the vessel. The weight of the liquids
contained in the collecting reservoir causes the sewage inlet valve to rise and the
sewage matters are precipitated into the vessel with the gases which have not been
drawn through the upper part of the collecting reservoir into the barometrical conduit.
Naturally these gases are then immediately taken up by this conduit and the sewage
matters fail to the bottom of the receiver. The level of the liquid in rising carries
with it the float which slides along the rod; when it encounters a tappet with which
the rod is provided at its upper part it lifts it carrying with it the two sliding valves.
At this moment the vessel is full of sewage matters, the valve of the barometrical
conduit is closed, the other valve has just opened and atmospheric pressure has
replaced in the interior the barometrical depression which previously existed there.
The atmospheric pressure then acts against the valve of the barometric conduit. The
sewage inatters no longer pass through the inlet valve and are drawn in by the corro-
sponding valve of the other vessel. The suction or draught produced at the works in
the general receivers of the sewage matters causes the outlet valve to rise and the
atmospheric pressure acting in the vessel upon the liquids which it has just received
forces them forward violently and automatically into the special liquid conduit. The
float having then fallen with the level of the liquid meets a tappet fixed to the lower
part of the rod, carries with it and before the level can fall below the outlet valve the
valve communicating with the atmosphere shuts at the same time that the valve of the
barometric conduit on the contrary opens. The depression of the barometrical conduit
is reestablished in the vessel and as soon as the second vessel is full, the valve again
rises, the sewage matters again enter the receiver and the same operation takes place
being in like manner repeated alternately and indefinitely in the two vessels.
In order to obtain between the two collecting vessels of each district an automatic
movement to ensure the arrival of the sewage matters in one of them at the moment
when the emptying of the other commences and to arrange that the latter being
empty cannot begin to fill before the first has become full and vice versa, I adopt
the following arrangement :-
The rod of each float of the two vessels-which actuates the valves passes through
a stuffing box and is connected by a lever arm to a pin on which is also pivoted
another lever arm terminated by a counterweight. To this last lever arm close to the
counterweight is attached a connecting rod which has at its other end a slot or
groove in which slides one end of a pin or bolt. The other end of this pin slides on the
contrary in the slot placed at the end of another connecting rod attached to the
counterweight of the lever arm of the other vessel. On the other hand the rods of
the sewage inlet valves of the two vessels are connected with the respective ends of
a balance beam the axis of which is attached by an arm to the pin or bolt which
1

page_text: The barometrical conduit and the sewage conduit put the automatic collecting
vessels in direct connexion with the central works.
Each of these conduits is composed of pipes of suitable material capable of resisting
externally a pressure a little more than that of the atmosphere; their diameters are
calculated according to the cube of the sewage matters and gases to be carried off
from the district at the time of day when the delivery will be the greatest. If these
conduits communicate directly with the works, their diameter should be the same for
the whole of their length; if on the contrary they are to distribute their contents or
their gases into a similar conduit conveying the sewage of another district, the
diameters should increase from the point of junction in proportion to the cube to be
carried away.
The works should be placed as near as possible to all the collecting vessels of the
different districts of the town and be joined to these vessels by the shortest road.
They are provided with a series of reservoirs in which pumps or pneumatic engines
of any suitable description maintain in turn a strong barometrical depression.
These reservoirs being put alternately in communication with the barometrical
conduit transmit the desired depression to the collecting vessels and throughout the
whole of the conduit, and they will produce in the general sewage receivers the
necessary lepression so that the atmospheric pressure acting upon the full collecting
vessels of the district will automatically force forward their contents.
The pumps or pneumatic engines should be capable of taking up all the gases
arising from the system as they are produced and then forcing them through a
gas conduit to the place selected for utilizing, treating or destroying them without
danger or trouble.
These gases can be made to undergo a change at the works, such as a cleaning or
washing in a series of vessels containing sulphuric acid. They can afterwards be
employed in the furnaces for heating the boilers and in this way the conduit for the
pumping forward of the gases may be dispensed with.
The liquid pumps or the suction and force engines may be of any suitable con-
struction and should also be capable of dealing with all the sewage matters as they
arrive in the general receivers so as to force them afterwards through a conduit to
the place chosen for their utilization, treatment or purification.
The sewage matters which come from the automatic collecting vessels through the
conduit are received in the upper part of a series of general receivers placed one below
the other, and it is from the lower part of these receivers in the interior of which the
atmospheric pressure is caused to act, that the pumps draw the sewage matters to
pump them forward.
The conduits for the pumping forward of the sewage matters and gases are

page_text: constructed of any suitable material; they should be able to resist the maximum
internal pressure necessary for carrying the sewage matter and gases to their
destination. Their diameters should be calculated by the quantity of sewage matters
or gases to be pumped forward in the 24 hours.
The pumps and machinery of the works are driven by any suitable motor. For
cases of urgency all the parts of the works are provided with additional or supple-
mentary parts.
The apparatus arranged in the works for ensuring the regular working of the
system throughout its whole extent should be completely and hermetically closed; the
works can therefore be placed if necessary and without inconvenience in the midst of
or in close proximity to a town or the centre of a population as in the case of water
works.
In some large towns it will be advantageous to replace the barometrical conduit by
pumps effecting directly the barometrical depression in the collecting conduit
through the collecting reservoir and in the collecting vessels of each district; but it
will then be necessary not to pump the gases forward through a special conduit but
to destroy them or utilize them on the spot. In very large towns there should be
several works connected together so as to distribute the power required and in the
smaller towns where there would only be one district the two collecting vessels of
this district should be placed in the works.
1007

page_text: =
or Districts and Apparatus Connected therewith.
ADRIEN LE MARQUAND, of 1 Boulevard St. Denis, Paris, France,. publicist, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to a novel system of sewage or drainage of houses and towns
or districts and is based on the supposition that all-sweepings, dust, kitchen waste and
various other debris, more or less hard or solid, will be collected and removed
frequently by carts or other special appliances and that rain water or surface drainage
will be separately conveyed away by its own system of pipes or conduits. There thus
only remain to be dealt with by my system of sewage or drainage, excreta, household
slops, foul waters from factories and other foul or polluted liquids and matters of a
more or less pasty nature capable of becoming more or less dissolved in water, -in
short all such matters as are generally discharged into the waste or soil pipes of
houses. The main object I have in view is to convey away these matters to such a
distance from the town or district that they will no longer be injurious, and to do
this automatically and continuously, before any fermentation is set up, inclosed vessels
or conduits without contact with the air or with the surrounding earth.
I will first give a general description of my system and then explain the means and
apparatus by which I carry it into effect.
The superficial area of a large town is divided into several working districts such as
are indicated in the diagrammatic view Figure 1 the extent and boundaries of which
are determined by the density of the population, the quantity of water which is each
day at the disposition of the inhabitants, the number of houses and the character of the
undulations of the land.
The matters which flow to the main soil or waste pipe of a house from the various
smaller waste pipes or which come directly from a fall pipe, empty themselves after
having passed the last syphon or trap into an automatic discharge apparatus of small
size and great simplicity.
This apparatus which is such as is shown in Figures 2, 2ª, 6, 6ª and 6b is placed at
the outlet of the premises and connected with a collecting conduit or pipe placed under
the street or road.
The mechanism with which it is provided operates automatically; as soon as the
matters, a few gallons only-have attained a given level, the contents are violently
discharged into the collecting conduit in which a constant barometrical depression is
maintained.
A check valve (see Figuro 3) placed between the apparatus and the conduit
automatically prevents the return of any matters into the house under any
circumstances

page_text: In order to secure the regularity of the barometrical depression throughout the
whole length of the collecting conduit notwithstanding the simultaneous presence of
the sewage matters with this depression, that is to say, with an atmosphere of less than
atmospheric pressure and to avoid the frequent employment of pipes of large
diameters, the collecting conduit of each district is divided into a series of arteries of
different sizes, of short lengths, communicating directly and separately with collecting
vessels.
With the same object the conduits are specially arranged as hereinafter described
where they have to be bent or dipped downward in order to pass some obstacle.
At a certain point of the district, by preference at the bottom of a slope if there is
one, are two collecting vessels, such as shown in Figure 4. in which a regular
barometrical depression is constantly maintained, these vessels each in its turn receive
the liquids which come from the arteries of the conduit and send them on afterwards
automatically with the aid of the atmospheric pressure to the central pumping works.
The central pumping works (see Figures 5 and 5º) are provided with closed
apparatus absolutely air tight and are situated, where convenient in the town itself
upon a site as near as possible to all the collecting vessels of the different districts;
they are connected to these vessels by two conduits or pipes, one of which, the
barometrical conduit B (into which no sewage matters over enter) distributes amongst
the collecting vessels and the different districts by direct communication the
barometrical depression produced at the works by suitable pumps. The other conduit C
serves on the contrary exclusively for the conveyance of the sewage matters.
Finally the central pumping works provided only with air tight apparatus, and with
hermetically closed vessels, force the sewage matters by another conduit out of the
town or district to as great a distance as may be desired where they may be treated,
utilized or purified without danger.
The gases disinfected in herinetically closed vessels can be employed to heat the
engines of the works.
Having given a general description of my system I will now proceed to describe in
sufficient detail the means or apparatus by which I carry
WORKING DISTRICTS (FIGURE 1).
into effect.
It is difficult to indicate in a general manner the average extent of each district;
in fact when the houses are very close together, or are built in flats accommodating
more than one family, the districts should cover less ground than when the houses
are separated by gardens or the number of inhabitants is more limited.
The districts being composed of branches of the conduit or pipe of short lengths,
connected with two automatic collecting vessels, their extent is limited only by the
capacity and the normal delivery of these vessels which fill and empty themselves
automatically and alternately during the 24 hours and should be able to send on to
the central pumping works all the matter which they receive from the collecting
conduit or pipe.
The districts are themselves divided into large independent arteries or branches;
they are generally placed according to the inclination of the soil.
Figures 1 and 7 show various arrangements of districts.
AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE APPARATUS (FIGURES 2, 2ª, AND 6, 6º, 6º).
The automatic apparatus which is situated between the main soil or wasto pipe D
of the house and the collecting conduit or pipe placed under the roadway is a light
box of metal or other material the shape and dimensions of which can be varied as
required. Its mechanism is such that it can be made so as to be placed in a very
limited space, generally under the ground, as near as possible to the surface thereof
but at a sufficient depth to avoid the effects of frost. A simple hole in the yard or
garden into which the soil pipe passes is often sufficient to receive this apparatus.
It is divided into two closed compartments by a vertical partition a the lower part
).
AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE APPARATUS (FIGURES 2, 2ª, AND 6, 6º, 6º).
The automatic apparatus which is situated between the main soil or-wasto pipe D
of the house and the collecting conduit or pipe placed under the roadway is a light
box of metal or other material the shape and dimensions of which can be varied as
required. Its mechanism is such that it can be made so as to be placed in a very
limited space, generally under the ground, as near as possible to the surface thereof
but at a sufficient depth to avoid the effects of frost. A simple hole in the yard or
garden into which the soil pipe passes is often sufficient to receive this apparatus.
It is divided into two closed compartments by a vertical partition a the lower part
)"

page_text: only of which is pierced with holes or made of wire or lattice work of any suitable
metal. On one side of this partition in the upper part of the apparatus is the soil
pipe D from the house; on the other side is a pipe b which passes through the body
of the apparatus to allow of its junction with the pipe of the collecting conduit situated
further on under the roadway.
In the pipe a vertical sluice or valve e of thick glass is fitted in the interior of the
apparatus, its seat is formed with a hole corresponding to the diameter of the soil
pipe. This sluice or valve, composed of two polished plane surfaces sliding one upon
the other, alternately intercepts and opens communication with the collecting conduit.
The face of the seat d of the valve is so arranged that the latter, made of the same
material and provided with caoutchouc cannot leave it whether open or closed.
To the arm of the levere of this valve mounted on the pin or axis is fitted a metal
float g of suitable form provided with a releasing device actuated by another float i
of smaller dimensions and placed above. The mechanism is enclosed in a metal
casing formed with holes and having a metal cover or top k provided with a latch, a
padlock, or any suitable fastening. The two compartments of the apparatus are also
each covered with a plate 7 which can be easily opened to permit of cleaning either
compartment; this cleaning will only be necessary at very long intervals.
The cover of the compartment into which the pipe D discharges is provided with a
valve W capable of opening inwards only to facilitate the action of the atmospheric
pressure within the apparatus when the valve e is opened so as not to exhaust the
syphons of the house pipes.
The apparatus, the partitions, the valve and its seat may be made of any suitable
-metal or material. All the metal parts may be galvanized and coated with tar to
ensure-preservation.==
The working of the apparatus is as follows:-
The apparatus receives the slops, fecal and other fermentable matiers from the soil
or waste pipe of the house. The matters that are more or less dissolved in water
pass through the first partition a, all foreign bodies and paper not yet destroyed or
insufficiently dissolved, and which the last syphon of the house has allowed to pass,
being retained or quickly dissolved in the hottom of the apparatus without obstructing
the vertical partition.
The sirupy, muddy and pasty liquids pass through the casing of the mechanism and
their level rising in the apparatus covers the first float y. As soon as it is immersed
in these matters the float tends to rise but is held by the releasing device which only
acts when the level of the liquid rises to the small float i. At this moment the first
float , being completely immersed rises sharply, and attains the final point of its
travel in the apparatus, completely opening the valve c and the communication with
the collecting conduit or pipe.
The atmospheric pressure then acts through the valve W upon the surface of the
matters and drives them with force first through the partition and afterwards through
the open pipe into this conduit; the level immediately falls compelling the small
float and the releasing device h, with which it is provided, to resume their normal
position. Whilst the level, in falling, allows the float y to descend the valve C, still
immersed in the liquid, automatically closes and the releasing device upon which it
then acts by its weight is set ready for the next action. The mechanism thus acts
according as the height of the level of the liquid increases or diminishes.
C
The valve e during its movement rubs continually against its seat d and the to
and fro movement which is imparied to it by the action of the float always keeps
the mechanism in a perfect state of cleanliness.
The valve can also be made of two plane surfaces united on one axis and both
pierced with a hole at the same distance from this axis, or it may consist of three
plane surfaces with a hole communicating with the conduit or pipe. The opening
of the valve will then only he produced when the three holes by the play of the float
are brought in front of each other. When one of the surfaces turns upon the
common axis so as to cover the hole of the other or of the two others the proper
closing of the valve is obtained.

page_text: It will be understood that when this valve is shut the pressure of the liquid upon
its surface and the atmospheric pressure which acts upon it by reason. of the
barometrical depression maintained in the collecting conduit or pipe will keep it tight
upon its seat, and that the polished surfaces, of glass, for example, will not oxidize
or deteriorate although immersed in the liquid, and that placed thus one against the
other they ensure a complete and tight closing of the apparatus.
A check valve, Figure 3, is placed between the apparatus and the collecting conduit.
It allows not only of completely shutting off the house when from any cause this
becomes necessary, but it also automatically prevents in all cases the return of the
matters from the conduit to the apparatus and consequently to the house.
The valve m is formed of a sphere or hemisphere of caoutchouc which will rise
under the action of a slight pressure of the matters or gases drawn by the atmospheric
depression or partial vacuum in the collecting conduit. The seat of this valve is
arranged as seen at p so that no foreign body can remain on it. It is at first inclined
from the side of the flow, then the valve bears on a prominence the sides of which
form an obtuse angle with it. The valve is guided by a rod n which moves in a small
box s.
It is sufficient to screw up or down another rod p upon the first one to prevent.
the valve acting and to thus form a complete obstruction.
If the quantity of water which is in the house is not sufficient to allow of the
evacuation through a general pipe uniting the product of all the waste pipes, or if
the general evacuating pipe cannot be constructed for some reason, the matters are
caused to fall directly from the fall pipe D into the automatic apparatus the size of
which is then somewhat increased to facilitate, in the absence of the house syphons,
the dissolving of paper, scraps, &c. If however a syphonic obstruction by means of
the apparatus is considered necessary it can easily be obtained by arranging that the
closing of the valve c shall never allow the liquids to fall below the prolonged
The collecting conduit. A is placed in galleries, drains or trenches under the road-
way as near as possible to the houses from which by means of the automatic discharge
apparatus they receive the matters and liquids.
The pipes which may be of wrought or cast iron, earthenware or other suitable
material need only be capable of supporting externally a pressure a little higher than
that of the atmosphere, but the joints must be strictly tight. The conduit will consist
Its diameter will
of a number of pipes, as long as it is possible to procure them.
vary according to the number of houses it has to clear and the quantity of matter to
collect.
The numerous arteries or branches of the collecting conduit of a district should
proceed in the shortest way towards the two collecting vessels of this district, after
having received the matters from the adjacent smaller pipes but as much as possible
without communicating with each other on the way (see Figure 7).
Pipes of different diameter can thus be employed in the arteries of a district
(see r, s Figure 7) as well as in the various branches of the same artery (seet, u, v)
according to whether the quantity of materials they have to collect in their course is
more or less great.
These arrangements will ensure throughout the collecting conduit an almost equal
distribution of the barometrical depression which should be kept up in the vessels of
the district, but as the speed of the gases in the pipes is very much greater than that
of the liquids and in order to facilitate the passage of the one over the other so as to
obtain a very regular working of the system, it will be necessary to conform as much
as possible to the following rules :-
1st. When it is desired to effect the junction of a pipe conveying simultaneously
the barometrical depression and the sewage matters with another pipe intended for
the same purposes, the junction of the one which will deliver its matters to the other
will be made upon the upper part of the other by means of a special piece (see

page_text: Figures 8, 9, 10) of variable form with single or double branches and of increased
diameter at the point of junction.
2nd. Whilst placing ordinarily the collecting conduit in the direction of the slope
or incline of the district it will be arranged at different parts in lengths of variable
but slight inclination discharging one into another (see Figure 11).
It will be understood that a pipe following a rapid decline will always be full at
that part which is the lowest even with a small quantity of matter in it and that it will
he useless to attach to this part any pipe from a house. With the arrangement indi-
cated while thus facilitating the equal distribution of the liquids and of the gases in
the conduit the barometrical depression therein is also equalized as much as possible.
The advantage to be derived from rapid declines for carrying forward the matters
is no doubi lost, but this apparent loss is more than compensated for by the
acceleration in the speed of the matters produced by their being carried forward by
the gases whose passage is thus favored and whose speed is much greater. Moreover
this arrangement facilitates the continual formation in the conduit of lumps of matter
which being thrown sharply forward in a series of jerks constantly brush or rub the
sides of the pipes thus ensuring their cleanliness and rendering obstruction or stoppage
more difficult.
3rd. The syphon passages, that is to say, the parts which have to pass under an
obstacle, are provided with a special apparatus which is represented in Figure 12 and
is arranged as follows:-
A special piece F of cast iron is placed on each side, right and left of the conduit at
the places where the bend for the passage of the syphon begins and ends. These
-picces are connected at e, to two bent pipes y and of varying diameters and which
are placed under the obstacle to be avoided. Through the-lower pipe the sewage
matters will pass whilst the gases will flow exclusively through the upper one y as
soon as the syphon is full. The sewage maiters from the conduit and which fall into a¹
will drive into 6' a volume equal to their own weight. The gases following the easiest
route will be drawn in at c¹ and will reenter the conduit at d¹ on their way to the
collecting vessels. By raising the cover e an opening will be made for examining,
cleaning or repairing the apparatus.
As
In the event of the conduit becoming completely full and to prevent any matters
entering the pipe y I provide this pipe on each side with a small float of metal,
movable and of elongated form so as not to occupy too much space in breadth. It is
guided by a rod upon which it rests when not in action. As soon as the level of
the sewage matters reaches the float it will rise and close the pipe y by means of the
sphere or hemisphere of india rubber with which it is provided at its upper part.
soon as the level of the liquid falls, that is to say, when the collecting conduit most
requires the syphon to work, the float falls to its position of rest.
In some cases, it
will be sufficient to make the two ends of a syphon communicate by a small pipe
placed in the syphon itself or parallel to it to establish equilibrium in the depression.
4th. At intervals in the conduit as well as in the greater part of the apparatus an
opening G will be made in the pipes in which will be screwed a small metal tube or
pipe H, Figures 13, 14 and 15. This tube is constructed in such a manner that any
person can test, by means, for example, of a guage, J, the barometrical depression
which exists at that part of the conduit. This small pipe has a screw-threaded hole 1
closed at its upper part by a screw plug K of the same pitch and provided with a
notch or nick I. The pipe H has besides within it a drilled tube M which terminates
at N in the hole 1, which hole is hermetically closed by the screw K. When it is
wished to ascertain the barometrical depression, at any desired point where one of these
pipes His situated the key-like termination of the gauge J is introduced into the
notch or nick L of the screw K and is turned so as to cause the screw K to descend.
The screw thread O of the gauge which is the same as that of the screw K engages
with the pipe H from which it follows that by turning the screw the screw K will
be screwed inwards and at the same time the gauge will be completely screwed upon
the pipe H. The neck Q made in the screw thread of the instrument will then
communicate with the pipe M and with the gauge and the desired indication can be

page_text: read upon the dial. It will be seen that even should the gauge not be withdrawn
there can be no escape and no loss.
If on the contrary the gauge has to be immediately withdrawn it is only necessary
to unscrew it; the screw K, following all the movements of the key L, will rise,
first closing the pipe M and reaching the top of the opening G with the end of the
screw thread of the gauge which can be withdrawn. The screw K is thus auto-
matically put in place again and the closing is hermetic.
5th. Finally to guard against all uncertainties it will be prudent to unite all their
branches at their meeting points at the intersections of the drains and to provide them
with cocks, valves or sluices, to permit of the sewage matters taking different
directions according to circumstances.
When the conduit passes under a road having houses on each side, it will be
understood that a pipe should be laid on each side and naturally of a diameter smaller
than if a single pipe had to receive the sewage matters from all the houses in the
road. If the roadway is narrow the conduit will branch off from each house to the
two pipes so that by means of cocks or valves the sewage matters from the houses may
be let into either of these pipes. If the roadway is broad and this arrangement would
necessitate too much work, communication between these two pipes should be made
only at intervals, or, if the road was not long at its two ends only. With a conduit
thus constructed and exclusively in communication with the discharge apparatus
before described which, under the influence of the atmospheric pressure, will force
through it the sowage matters put into motion by the barometrical depression, and
with the rapid passage of the gases above the sewage matters obstructions and
stoppages in the pipes will be impossible and the system will work without
interruption.
AUTOMATIC COLLECTING VESSELS (FIGURE 4).
The arteries of each district terminate separately and directly in a collecting
reservoir which, placed above the two automatic collecting vessels, distributes the
sewage matters of the conduit alternately into each of them in a single stream. The
capacity of the collecting reservoir should be calculated to receive the contents of the
conduits of the district during the time necessary for the automatic emptying of each
of the two collecting vessels. In this manner the emptying of the sewage matters
of the conduits even in the event of one of the vessels being out of action on account
of damage or other cause can be assured. Communication between the bottom of this
collecting reservoir and the automatic collecting collecting vessels is established by a
pipe adjoining the check valves. The collecting reservoir receives at its upper part a
pipe which conducts the gases of the collecting conduit directly into the barometrical
conduit without passing through the automatic collecting vessels. The vessels (see
Figure 4) which may be of metal should be air tight and placed under-ground at any
point of the district as near as possible at the bottom of an incline and underneath
the collecting reservoir. The dimensions of each of the two vessels will be determined
by the area of the district and the quantity of sewage matters to be received and
forwarded in the 24 hours.
Each vessel is composed of the following parts
A receiver m¹ of metal which need only be sufficiently strong to support with the
sewage matters the atmospheric pressure. A check valve m similar in form to
the one before described, is placed at the upper part of the receiver. It allows of the
out-flow of sewage matters from the collecting conduit but it prevents their return as
well as that of gases or of atmospheric pressure. A rod s¹ fitted with a counter-
weight passes through a stuffing box and bears upon the valve m in order to stop its
action during the filling of the vessel. As the vessels automatically fill and empty so
are the two valves of their two inlets controlled by a movement which will be
hereinafter described. Another similar check valve J is placed at the lower part of
the vessel. It serves exclusively to establish communication between the sewage
matters of the vessel and the special sewage conduit C leading directly to the central

page_text: works. Its arrangement permits of its allowing these matters to pass but under all
circumstances to prevent their return. Above le vessel and forming a part of it is
placed a chainber 71 of the same metal, in which terminates the barometrical
conduit B which never receives sewage matter and communication with which is
established on the one hand with the works and on the other with the collecting
reservoir and consequently with the collecting conduit. Atmospheric pressure is
exerted in the two vessels through the two openings sand . The first opening t¹ is
closed by a clack valve u¹ of metal, which automatically opens inwards when the
atmospheric pressure acts upon it. The second opening is closed by a sliding
valve of metal or other suitable material attached, through an opening arranged in
the side of the chamber, to a rod which is provided at its upper part with a
counterweight a". The barometrical conduit can likewise be closed in the interior of
the chamber by a similar valve c attached directly to the same metal rod. This rod
in rising or falling under the action of tlie float-H-actuates the two valves simul-
taneously. The valve however does not begin to open until the valve -is-closed.
The metal float H of any suitable shape moves freely up or down the rod a¹.
The automatic operation of the vessel takes place as follows:-
Let it be supposed that the vessel is empty, the valve e" open and consequently
the other valve ' closed and kept tight on its seat by atmospheric pressure. The
barometrical depression caused by the pumps at the works is transmitted by means of
the barometrical conduit and of the valve c" to the interior of the vessel. The weight
of the liquids contained in the collecting reservoir m causes the valve m to rise and
the sewage matters are precipitated into the vessel with the gases which have not
been drawn through the upper part of the collecting reservoir into the barometrical
conduit B. Naturally these gases are then immediately taken up by this conduit and
the sewage matters full to the bottom of the receiver. The level of the liquid in
rising carries with it the float H which slides along-rod-'; when it encounters the
tappet with which the rod is provided at its upper part, it lifts it, carrying with-it
the two valves and c". At this moment the vessel is full of sewage matters, the
valve is closed, the other valve bas just opened and the atmospheric pressure
passing in at V has replaced in the interior the barometrical depression which
previously existed there. The atmospheric pressure then acts upon the valve c¹. The
sewage matters no longer pass through the valve m' and are drawn in by the corre-
sponding valve of the other vessel. The suction or draught produced at the works
in the general receivers of the sewage matters causes the valve J to rise and the
atmospheric pressure acting in the vessel m upon the liquids which it has just received
forces them forward violently and automatically into the special liquid conduit C.
The float H having then fallen with the level of the liquid meets the tappet K fixed
to the lower part of the rod a', carries it with it and before the level can fall below the
valve J the valve e' shuts at the same time that the sluice valve e on the contrary
opens. The depression of the barometrical conduit is reestablished in the vessel and
as soon as the second vessel is full, the valve m' again rises, the sewage matters again
enter the receiver and the same operation takes place being in like manner repeated
alternately and indefinitely in the two vessels.
The arrangements shown in Figure 16 permit of obtaining between the two
collecting vessels of each district an automatic movement to ensure the arrival of the
sewage matters in one of them at the moment when the emptying of the other
commences and to arrange that the latter being empty cannot begin to fill before the
first has become full, and vice versû.
The rod of each float of the two vessels which actuates the valves R passes
through a stuffing box S and is connected by the lever T to the pin T¹ on which is
also pivoted another lever U terminated by the counter weight U₁. To this last lever
close to the counterweight is attached a connecting rod X which has at its other end
a slot or groove X' in which slides one end of a pin or bolt Y. The other end of this
pin Y slides on the contrary in the slot placed at the end of the connecting rod X"
attached to the counterweight U" of the rod U¹ of the other vessel. On the other
hand each rod a, a' of the valves b, b' of the two vessels m' is connected respectively

page_text: to the ends of a balance beam c the axis of which is attached by an arm to the pin or
bolt which moves in the grooves or slots of the connecting rods. The operation of
this automatic movement is as follows:-
The vessels m' and m¹¹ are supposed to be, m' in the process of emptying and min
the process of filling. When the vessel m" is full, as soon as the float H has raised
the rod to operate the valve R the counterweight U will move the connecting
rod X" from left to right with the pin or bolt Y which is at the end of its slot or
groove; the beam e will change its position, tho rod a¹ will free the valve b' at the
same time as the valve b will be prevented by the rod a from rising. When the
float of the vessel m' shall have fallen in consequence of the discharge of the sewage
matters contained in such vessel, it will move down the rod to operate the sliding
valves; the arm U of the counterweight U will be brought back into its vertical
position and the slot X of the connecting rod X will slide in its turn along the pin
or bolt Y without touching the beam and consequently without affecting the position
of the valve rod of each vessel. It is only when the vessel m" is full that the beam c
will begin to move to free the valve b of the empty vessel and engage on the other
hand the valve 6¹ of the full vessel. This operation with the necessary intervals will
be repeated indefinitely.
The barometrical conduit and the sewage conduit put the automatic collecting
vessels in direct connexion with the central works.
Each of these conduits is composed of pipes of suitable material capable of resisting
externally a pressure a little more than that of the atmosphere; their diameters are
calculated according to the cube of the sewage matters and gases to be carried off
from the district at the time of day when the delivery will be the greatest. If these
conduits communicate directly with the works, their diameter should be the samo
for the whole of their length; if on the contrary they are to distribute their contents
or their gases into a similar conduit conveying the sewage of another district, the
diameters should increase from the point of junction in proportion to the cube to be
carried away.
The works should be placed as near as possible to all the collecting vessels of the
different districts of the town and be joined to these vessels by the shortest road.
They are provided with a series of reservoirs M in which pumps or pneumatic engines
of any suitable description maintain in turn a strong barometrical depression. These
reservoirs being put alternately in communication with the barometrical conduit B
transmit the desired depression to the collecting vessels and throughout the whole of
the conduit they will produce in the general receivers N the necessary depression so
that the atmospheric pressure acting upon the full collecting vessels of the district will
automatically force forward their contents.
The pumps or pneumatic engines should be capable of taking up all the gases
arising from the system as they are produced and then forcing them through the gas
conduit O to the place selected for utilizing, treating or destroying thein without
danger or trouble.
These gases can be made to undergo a change at the works, such as a cleaning or
washing in a series of vessels containing sulphuric acid. They can afterwards be
employed in the furnaces for heating the boilers and in this way the conduit for the
pumping forward of the gases may be dispensed with.
The liquid pumps or the suction and force engines may be of any suitable con-
struction and should also be capable of dealing with all the sewage matters as they
arrive in the general receivers N so as to force then, afterwards through the conduit P
to the place chosen for their utilization, treatment or purification.
The sewage matters which come froin the automatic collecting vessels through the
conduit are received at R in the upper part of a series of general receivers placed one
below the other and it is from the lower part S of these receivers, in the interior of
C

page_text: which the atmospheric pressure is caused to act, that the pumps draw the sewage
matters to pump them forward.
4
The conduits for the pumping forward of the sewage matters and gases are
constructed of any suitable material; they should be able to resist the maximum
internal pressure necessary for carrying the sewage matter and gases to their
destination. Their diameters should be calculated by the quantity of sewage matters
or gases to be pumped forward in the 24 hours.
The pumps and machinery of the works are driven by any suitable motor. For
cases of urgency all the parts of the works are provided with additional or supple-
mentary parts.
The apparatus arranged in the works for ensuring the regular working of the
-system throughout its whole extent should be completely and hermetically closed;
the works can therefore-be-placed if necessary and without inconvenience in the
midst of or in close proximity to a town or the centre of a-population as in the case of
water works.
. In some large towns it will be advantageous to replace the barometrical conduit by
pumps effecting directly the barometrical depression in the collecting conduit through
the collecting reservoir and in the collecting vessels of each district, but it will then
be necessary not to pump the gases forward through a special conduit but to destroy
thein or utilize them on the spot. in very large towns there should be several works
connected together so as to distribute the power required and in the smaller towns
where there would only be one district the two collecting vessels of this district should
be placed in the works.
Having now-particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what-manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1 claim,
in respect of the sewerage or drainage of houses and towns or districts and apparatus__
connected therewith, is :-
1. A system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts comprizing
apparatus which receive the sewage matters from the waste or soil pipes of the houses
and discharge it automatically into collecting conduits, a series of collecting conduits
arranged in arteries and branches throughout the town or district, a pair of collecting
vessels arranged at a suitable point of the town or district, the two vessels of each pair
receiving and discharging the sewage matters alternately, a pipe through which the
sewage matters are conveyed from the collecting vessels to pumping works, another
pipe communicating between the upper part of the collecting vessels and the pumping
works, and pumps or pneumatic engines which maintain a constant barometric
depression in the last named pipe and throughout the system and also draw the
sewage matters from the collecting vessels, all substantially as set forth.
2. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts, an automatic
discharge apparatus to receive the sewage matters from the soil or waste pipe of a
house and deliver it to a collecting conduit, said discharge apparatus comprizing a box
or vessel connected with the soil pipe and collecting conduit respectively, a sluice or
valve controlling the outlet to said conduit and means whereby when the liquid level
in said box has reached a given height the valve is suddenly opened to its full extent
to enable the liquid to discharge, substantially as set forth.
3. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts, the
combination in an automatic discharge apparatus which receives the sewage matters
from the soil or waste pipe of a house and delivers it to a collecting conduit, of a
valve C, lever e, float
g, releasing device h and float i arranged and acting substantially
in manner and for the purpose set forth.
4. The inwardly opening valve W in combination with the outlet valve c and with
means whereby said outlet valve is suddenly opened to its full extent when the liquid
has reached a given height in the apparatus, substantially as set forth.
5. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts the com-
bination with an apparatus which receives the sowage matters from the soil or waste
pipe of a house and with a collecting conduit into which said apparatus discharges, of

page_text: a check valve between said apparatus and said conduit whereby all return of the
sewage matters is prevented and whereby the house can in case of need be shut off
from the system, substantially as set forth.
6. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts, a collecting
conduit in which a barometric depression is maintained and which collects and
conveys the sewage matters to collecting vessels, substantially as set forth.
7. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts, a collecting
conduit, forming part of the system, of increased diameter at its outlet end and
connected at this end to the upper part of another collecting conduit also forming part
of the system, substantially as set forth.
8. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts, the com-
bination with the sewage collecting or conveying pipe where it has to bend or dip in
order to pass under an obstacle of another bent or dipping pipe connected at its ends
to the upper part of the bend of the sewage pipe whereby the gases which are
travelling with the sewage are provided with a separate pipe for passing under the
obstacle, substantially as set forth.
9. The combination with the pipes y and and the pieces F, F of the floats/","",
valves i, i and valve seats c d substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
10. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts, a conduit
having an opening G in combination with a plug and with means whereby communi-
cation can be established with a gauge for testing the atmospheric pressure or
barometric depression, substantially as set forth.
11. The combination with the opening G in the conduit, of the pipe H, screw
threaded hole I, screw plug K, notch or nick L and drillod tube M, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
12. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts, a pair of
collecting vessels which receive and discharge the sewage matters alternately,
barometric depression assisting the filling of said vessels and atmospheric pressure
effecting their discharge, substantially as set forth.
13. The combination with the receiver m¹ of the collecting vessel and with the
supply pipe A and discharge pipe C of same, of the chamber above said receiver,
the valve c communicating with the barometric depression conduit B, the valve vi
communicating with the atmosphere, and the float H whose rod actuates said
valves cand v, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
14. The combination with the receivers of the two collecting vessels and with the
float rods of same, of the balance beam c controlling the inlet valves to said receivers
and of means whereby the fall of the float of the one receiver is transmitted through
said beam to the inlet valve of the other receiver and frees the same, and vice versa,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
15. In a system of sewage or drainage for houses and towns or districts, a
barometrical conduit between collecting receivers and pumping works, said conduit
receiving and conveying gases only, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 24th day of January 1888
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.