IMPROVEMENTS IN AND PERTAINING TO SEWERS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Gregson Banner of Billiter Square in the City of
of London Sanitary Engineer for an invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
PERTAINING TO SEWERS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Gregson Banner at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th March 1882.
EDWARD GREGSON BANNER of Billiter Square in the City of London, Sanitary
Engineer, "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND PERTAINING TO SEWERS
"
In order to ventilate main sewers it is at present usual to provide them with
open gratings or " ventilators" whereby foul air is emitted into the atmosphere at
or about the ordinary road level in a manner not only extremely offensive to passers
by but also in some cases dangerous to health-moreover such gratings or
" ventilators are liable to become choked so that ventilation of the sewers is
arrested.
"
Now according to my invention to obviate or lessen these evils I divide the
sewers into sections separated from each other by traps, and provide each such
section with at one end an inlet or inlets of any suitable construction for air to enter
the sewer in any convenient manner, and at the other end a shaft or shafts of
suitable diameter (according to the size of the sewer) provided with means such as
a cowl or cowls or other appliance for exhausting air and gases from the sewer so
that they shall be discharged into the atmosphere at a much higher level than is
now usual.
In some cases in addition to providing the outlet shaft with an exhausting
appliance or appliances the inlet may be furnished with apparatus for forcing air
into the sewer in such manner as to aid the removal of foul gas from the sewer. In
some cases I utilize lamp posts for admitting air or forcing it into the sewer, such
lamp posts being made hollow, and the air being admitted at or near the tops thereof
or the inlet of air and exit of gas and air may take place through special shafts
•
+

page_text: extending to above the top or tops of a house or houses on either side of the road
or street; and in some cases the drains leading from houses to sewers may be
adapted to serve for these purposes.
.
'
By my invention there will always be a current of fresh air passing through each
section of the sewer in one direction sufficiently rapid to prevent gas of a deleterious
description issuing from the sewer.
Also in some cases I provide flushing apparatus in connection with each group of
sections.
Where storm water is to be separated from sewage I provide independent sewers,
and I treat the sewage at the effluent so as to purify it and that it may be
utilized.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Edward Gregson Banner in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd September 1882.
EDWARD GREGSON BANNER of Billiter Square, in the City of London, Sanitary
Engineer IMPROVEMENTS IN AND PERTAINING TO SEWERS
In order to ventilate main sewers it is at present usual to provide them with
open gratings or " ventilators" whereby foul air is emitted into the atmosphere at
or about the ordinary road level in a manner. not only extremely offensive to passers
by, but also in some cases dangerous to health; morcover such gratings or
"ventilators" are liable to become choked so that ventilation of the sewers is
arrested..
Now according to my invention to obviate or lessen these evils I divide the
sewers into sections separated from each other by traps and provide each such
section with at one end an inlet or inlets of any suitable construction for air to
enter the sewer in any convenient manner, and at the other end a shaft or shafts of
suitable diameter (according to the size of the sewer) provided with means such as
a cowl or cowls or other appliance for exhausting air and gases from the sewer so
that they shall be discharged into the atmosphere at a much higher level than is
now usual and quite out of harms way.
In some cases, in addition to providing the outlet shaft with an exhausting
appliance or appliances, the inlet may be furnished with apparatus by means of
which air is not only allowed to enter but is forced into the sewer in such manner
as to aid the removal of foul, and other gas from the sewer. In some cases, I utilize
lamp posts or special shafts or pillars in the streets for admitting fresh air or forcing
it into the Sewer, such lamp posts, or special shafts or pillars being made hollow
and the air being admitted at or near the tops thereof, or the inlet of air and exit
of gas and air may take place through special shafts extending to above the top or
tops of a house or houses on either side of the road or street; and in some cases
the drains leading from houses to sewers may be adapted with similar suitable
arrangments as above to serve for these purposes.
By my invention there will always be a current of fresh air passing through each
section of the sewer in one direction, sufficiently rapid to prevent gas of a deleterious
description issuing from the sewer.
'
Also in some cases I provide flushing apparatus in connection with each sewer
section or group of sections.
Where surface and storm water is to be separated from sewage I provide conduits
for the same, independent of the sewers and I treat the sewage at the effluent of
the sewer so as to purify it, and that it may be utilised.
In carrying out my invention I divide the sewers of a town into sections of any
convenient length dependent upon the arrangement of the streets, and I carefully
trap, so as to stop all existing communication between the sewer and the
external air.
I
When the communication is in the form of open grids or ventilators I close or
remove such grids entirely, and when in the form of house drains soil or other pipes
I see that each drain is properly trapped against the sewer; whilst as an additional
precaution I trap each soil pipe against the drain and provide an effectual trapped
overflow to each closet against the soil pipe as is hereafter mentioned.
At each end of each section of the sewer I provide a trap that isolates that.
section from the succeeding section; these traps may be syphon, dip or other traps
but I prefer not to use flap traps as they are apt to be kept partially open by

page_text: dirt &c., and then allow a current of air or noxious gas to
from adjoining sections of the sewer.
At one end of the section preferably the higher end I make an inlet opening for
the admission of pure atmospheric air.
This inlet or opening for the admission of fresh air may be at a grating at the
street level over a man hole or a street gully, or it may be connected below, beside
or above the lantern to the interior of lamp posts or to the pillars for the special
purpose or to any pipe, flue, shaft or chimney, which may or may not rise above
the general level of the buildings in the street or road.
The employment of lamp posts for this purpose renders it unnecessary to
obtain permission of householders to carry pipes or shafts up the sides of their
houses.
31
When the air enters the sewer or section of sewer through a lamp post or special
or fixed
post, it is advantageous that the same should be provided with an "inlet
down draught cowl head, and I prefer to use such a one as is described in the
specification of a former patent granted to me No. 4083 and dated 2 November
1877 to intensify the entering current..
In connexion with the opposite end of the sewer or section of sewer to that at
which the air inlet or fixed down draught Cowl is situated, I provide a shaft or
flue arranged to produce an exhausting effect in the sewer or section of sewer.
This effect I attain by preference, by the use of an exhausting cowl or cowls
such as that described in specification of a former patent granted to me No. 3400,
dated 5 October 1874, or such as that described in the specification of the Patent
No. 4083 dated 2 November 1877 also granted to me but any suitable exhausting
appliance may be employed.
With this arrangement there is a constant influx of fresh air (so long as the
exhausting apparatus is at work) at the one end of the sewer or section of sewer,
and a steady current of fresh atmospheric air through the sewer or section thereof
which dilutes to an enormous extent any gas that may be formed in the sewer and
carries it to the outlet where it is harmlessly delivered into the upper air above the
general level of the surrounding buildings.
By means of the above described combination the whole of the air or gaseous.
contents in any sewer or section of a sewer may be removed and its place renewed
with fresh atmospheric air once or oftener every hour or with sufficient rapidity
to utterly prevent the concentration of sewer gas, noxious vapour or deleteriously
impure air of any kind.
In order to keep the sewers clear, and particularly the traps which separate the
sections it is of course advantageous to flush them from time to time.
This may be done with water from any convenient source but the liquid
portion of the sewage, or the whole of the sewage may be utilized for the purpose
and forms an ample supply.
When fresh water is employed it may be procured from a hydrant, water cart or
other convenient source, and be accumulated in a tank situated in any convenient
position, near, the head of the sewer or any section of the sewer. An economical
arrangement is to use one of the existing manholes for the purpose, which under
my system are no longer needed as ventilators and must be effectually closed.
When sewage is employed it or a portion of it may be accumulated.in the same
way, or a part of the sewer itself may be made to act as the tank, and be discharged
from time to time.
This method is particularly applicable to long sewers with insufficient fall and a
deficient supply of water, as well as to sewers which discharge into the sea, or into
tidal streams as by detaining a portion of the sewage in the upper part of the
sewer, and suddenly releasing it, the contents of the whole sewer can be suddenly
thoroughly swept out; when the out fall is into the sea or a tidal stream it is
advantageous that the flushing should take place when the tide is sufficiently low
to allow the discharge at the outfall to take place as freely as possible.
The method of effecting the flushing must be varied according to the circumstances

page_text: of the case.
In such an instance as that mentioned above where it is applied
to a large outfall sewer, doors or valves may be placed in the sewer, and be opened
or raised by hand or otherwise and be arranged to give way as soon as the head of
liquid behind them rises to a given pressure and then to automatically or otherwise
close.
When the flushing liquid is contained in a tank its release may be effected by a
syphon special provision being made to suddenly fill the bend of the syphon, to put
it into action and not let the water dribble away.
Such arrangements are well known for the purpose, and usually consist in
admitting the water or a part of it into the tank by bursts or considerable
quantities.
!
The apparatus that I prefer to use is described in the specification of former
Letters Patent. No 2303 of 1872 granted to me but any device that will produce
the required result may be employed.
It is necessary that the flushing tank or section of sewer employed for the like
purpose should have an ample air inlet opening at the head of it so that when
the body of water temporarily accumulated descends or escapes thus creating a
vacuum and forcing the air contained in the sewer before it, its place may be taken
by air entering at the upper end of the sewer. If this be not attended to there is
danger of the traps in the house drains and closets being unsyphoned by the partial
vacuum produced. To guard against this the overflows of the closets should be so
arranged that they are automatically sealed by the after flush.
An efficient mode of doing thus is described below.
It is desirable wherever it is possible to keep the surface and storm water
separate from the sewage, or even when it is not convenient to do so I sometimes
provide in combination with the herein before described system of preventing the
formation of or removing the foul gas from the sewers, apparatus to treat the
sewage itself for its disinfection, either in the flushing tank or at the outfall. The
apparatus which I prefer to use is that described in the Specification of former
Letters Patent No. 2691 of 1873 granted to me by which a disinfecting fluid may
be automatically discharged regularly or intermittently into the sewage which may
be effected by the impulse of the flushing apparatus before mentioned.

page_text: which is fully described in my specification No. 2691 of 1873, by a cord or chain J
to a moving part of the trap, so that each time it discharges a quantity of
disinfectant is mingled with the sewage.
Figure 4 represents in elevation .a sewer with a part of one section separated
from the rest to act as an accumulator for sewage to flush the remainder. K. is the
closed portion and is separated from the remainder I by a valve M which can be
rapidly raised by a screw or a rack and pinion or equivalent device. The part L
is, trapped at each end, and each section is provided with an air inlet and an
éxhaust shaft as shewn.
When the outlet of the sewer is closed during a portion of the tide it is sometimes
advantageous to use doors or valves in place of the traps or of some of them.
Figure 5 is a section through a water closet overflow adapted for use in connexion
with my system of sewer ventilation
The pan a has a valve b below it and an overflow c into the box below the valve b
or into the soil pipe.
This overflow is trapped as shewn and the trap is kept full, and by the after
flush syphoning of its water seal thus formed is avoided.
Having described the nature of the said invention and the manner in which it
is to be performed I would have it understood that what I-consider to be novel and
original and therefore claim as secured to me by the Letters Patent hereinbefore
first in part recited is :-
1. Ventilating main sewers by dividing them into sections separated from each
other by traps and providing such section at one end with an inlet for air and at
the other end with an exhausting appliance substantially as described.
2. In connection with a main sewer divided into sections separated from each
other by traps and provided with exhausting apparatus utilizing lamp posts for
admitting air to such sections substantially as described.
3. In connection with a main sewer or section of sewer or with a group of sewer
sections each ventilated by means of an air inlet at one end and an exhausting
appliance at the other end the use of flushing apparatus adapted to clear the sewer
and the traps, and set in action either automatically or by hand, substantially as
described.
4. In a sewer divided into sections each of which is provided with an air inlet
at one end and an exhausting appliance at the other, utilizing one or more such
sections for the accumulation of sewage to be used for flushing purposes substantially
as described.
5. In connection with main sewers divided into sections and ventilated as set
forth in claim 1, the use of disinfecting apparatus to disinfect the sewage
substantially in the manner hereinabove described.
.
6. The use of the improved trapped overflow to water closet pan, substantially
as described with reference to Figure 5 of the drawings.
In witness whereof I the said Edward Gregson Banner have hereunto set my
hand and seal this twenty second day of September in the year of Our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two.