US2482870A

US2482870A - Prefabricated cesspool structure

Info

Publication number: US2482870A
Application number: US785463A
Authority: US
Inventors: Louis P Price
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-11-12
Filing date: 1947-11-12
Publication date: 1949-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 1966-09-27

Description

Sept. 27, 1949.- l.. P. PRIC 2,482,870

` PREFABRICATED CESSPOOL STRUCTURE Filed Nov. l2, 1947 l IN VEN TOR. OU/5 ,0. DQ/CE.

BX l l 2K2@ Patented Sept. 1949 UNITED vSTATES PATENT OFFICE PREFABRICATED CESSPOOL STRUCTURE- Louis P. Price, Honolulu, `Territory of Hawaii Y Application November 12, 1947, Serial No. 785,463

2 Claims. (Cl. 182-2) tion of uid waste. c

An object of the invention is to provide a cesspool or the like comprising preformed sectional units which may be arranged as desired to form a structure of any desired capacity and Vwhich may be erected in but a small fraction of the time employed in the construction of a cesspool by the usually-followed procedure.y

Another object of the invention is to provide a cesspool structure which permits erection operations to be carried out from operating positions entirely above the surface of the ground thereby protecting the workmen engaged in the work of installation from the many hazards which sub-surface excavations entail and releasing them from the usual duties of planking and shoring the sides of the excavation to insure against cave-ins.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sectional cesspool structure which when buried in the ground is fully capable of withstanding crushing strains such as may be imposed thereon by vehicles of reasonable weight passing thereover.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cesspool designed to facilitate outward flow of its fluid contents as the level of the latter descends due to natural seepage of the fluid into the surrounding soil.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, Will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specication. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section showing a cesspool constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one section of the cesspool casing.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the intersectional keys.

In many rural and suburban areas, cesspools or septic tanks, as they are often referred to, are commonly used to dispose of excreta and waste materials. Such cesspools are usually constructed by excavating in the ground at a suit- Lse i able location a, pit of the desired size and depth,

usually about eight feet in diameter and extending downwardly beyond ten or twelve feet until soil of suitable porous and fluid-conducting characteristics is reached. In the pit is then constructed an axially vertical tubular casing of natural stone, pressed brick or, in many instances, w`ood, the casing being made purposely of a porous nature so as to permit liquid waste which may `subsequently enter theV cesspool through the sewerV pipe leading thereinto to graduallyl seep into the surrounding soil. A suitable cover is then placed on the casing and the excavation, exteriorly of the casing and cover is back-filled with earth. It often occurs Vthat the Asoil in which the excavation is made is of a sandy .stresses tending to crush component parts of the structure or to cause relative offsetting of some parts relative to others thereof. I provide a component unit of the structure as shown in Figure 2 comprising a preferably cast concrete casing 4, of circular or other desirable cross-sectional shape, having a bore 6 extending axially therethrough and provided with relatively parallel top and bottom surfaces 1 and 8 respectively. I have found it best to employra casing of at least six feet internal diameter with a wall thickness measuring approximately four inches, suitable 'reinforcement in the form of wire mesh 9 or the like being molded into the Wall to give the section adequate strength against fracture or crumbling during the operations of handling, shipping or installation. I provide casing sections in axial lengths of one, two, three and six feet which when combined in any desired grouping can be made to produce, to the nearest foot, a unit casing' of any length, The four foot section,

however, is considered as the standard and the drawing and description a unit. Y Y

The bottom end face 8 of the casing section is preferably made as a continuous unobstructed plane face but the Opposite end face 1 has therein herein are based on such ly inclined to lie at substantially an angle fof Y forty-five deg-rees with respect to Itl'legaxis ofi-the section, the uppermost open end of each passage intersecting the bore surface `of the section and being positioned closer to `the `ulcoper face -I than the lower end of the passage. I have found the best proportions for the openings form-ingthel passages I 3 to be a horizontal width of about nine inches and a vertical height of .about two and `one-half inches. Also I have found that efficient operation calls for the provision of horizontal rows of passages spaced vertically .preferably at two-foot centers and with Aeach row containing about sixteen passages spaced equidistantly around the casing section.

Installation of the cesspool is effected by excavating an earth bore I4, yas shown in Figure 1, havin-g a diameter vat least one -foot in excess of that of the casing andextending to a depth of one and one-half feet in .excess of the total required depth of the `cesspool casing. Such excavation may be conveniently carried out by means of a clamshell bucket operated from above ground level by an automotive crane or other suitable operating mechanism. In many instances earth will be encountered which is sunlciently compacted to be self-sustaining while the excavation is being made Ybut Where the soil is crumbly it may be Vnecessary to sink a-sheet metal dam sleeve into the earth as the excavation progresses so as to .prevent cavingI in of the sides of the bore. In some instances also, the .excavation may extend downwardly below the level of the sub-surface water table in which case the use of the dam sleeve is imperative. After the excavation has been .completed and the bottom thereof has been substantially levelled, the first casing section is lowered into place and substantially centered with vthe .earth bore, the notched vend l of the .casing of course being uppermost. After the aforesaid first section has been .properly set, centering 4keys .1.6, Which are shown in Figure 3, are placed in the key notches II.

Each key I6 comprises a substantially H-shaped 1 cast concrete body having a rectangular bar portion II at the opposite ends of which are provided integral head portions I8 having wings I9 extending oppositely beyond the top and bottom surfaces of the bar portion. The transverse cross-sectional form of the bar portion is made to conform with the vertical cross-sectional area of a key notch II so that `the bar portion will fit freely into and fill'the key notch. Ihe length of the bar portion is slightly in excess of the casing wall thickness so that the wings I9 extend upwardly and downwardly along the inner and outer wall surfaces of two casing sections which may be placed in superposed coaxial alignment.

It will be noted that the inner surface 2| of each wing is upwardly and outwardly inclined with respect to its junction with the top or bottom surface, as the case may be, of the 'bar portion so as to insure 'tight Wedging of the key against the bottom of the 'key notch and against the confronting bottom surface 8 of the superposed casing section which is next placed on the previously set section as shown in Figure 1. The upwardly opening gaps of the placed keys between the upper wings I9 thereof cooperate to form a pocket into which the overlyingcasing section may be moved so as to accurately center and retain the casing sections in alignment. The lowering of the casing sections into `placemay be accomplished by 4a Yrope or cable bridle which may be passed through upper ones of the Vent passages I3 and which may be attached to the lift line of the crane or other liftling mechanism hereinbefore mentioned.

When as many casing sections have been placed fone on'the other to provide a chamber of the requiredfdepth, a prefabricated reinforced cover 23 is placed over the upper end of the casing to fclose Ythe latter. Suitable loops 2@ are provided in the cover to which bridles may be attached to `place or remove the cover. Also, a plug member 21 is provided .centrally of the cover which may be removed as desired to facilitate periodic inspections of .the cesspool chamber. When the cover has been finally set, the waste line 2G is installed and the peripheral space around the casing is filled with coarse gravel 22 or other such porous medium `after which the earth retaining dam sleeve, if any has been used, is removed and the cover l-l 29 of earth is laid over the cover. This completes the installation.

In operation, the fluid vwaste matter entering the cesspool chamber through the waste pipe iii will, if the level of ud inthe chamber is sui'- ficiently high, flow outwardly and downwardly through the inclined passages and will seep through the back ll `2? into the surrounding earth. The `inclination of the passages also serves to lend force to the outward flow of the fluids, thus maintaining the cesspool .in a better state of .clearancethanmight be expected of conventional construction wherein the fluids would have to find their way through the interstices between loosely laid brick ,cr stone. It will also be seen that the erection of a cesspool constructed in accordance with the :principles of my invention refquires only a fraction of the time necessary to .prepare for `and assemble a conventional cesspool; that the resulting structure is much stronger than the usual stone or brick structure and .that all of the construction operations may be carried out above rground level thus eliminating the hazards generally associated with sub- 'terraneanconstruction work of this nature.

I claim:

1. In a cesspool structure, a casing comprising a plurality of preformed tubular cast concrete sections disposed in axially aligned relation to for-m inner and outer walls of a cesspool chamber, each section having axially extending notches lin an end surface thereof and at least one of said sections having downwardly inclined passages extending from the chamber radially outwardly of the wall thereof, H-shaped keys insertible in said notches having portions extending radiaily beyond said inner and outer walls, said portions having extensions embracing the inner and outer wall Yportions of adjacent sections in said notches and in the end surface confronting said notches, respectively, for holding the respective sections in relative axial alignment, and a removable cover -engaged `with a-n end surface of a section for closing an end of said chamber.

2. In a cesspool structure, a, casing comprising a plurality of substantially cylindrical preformed tubular cast concrete sections disposed in axially aligned relation to form inner and outer walls of a cesspool chamber, each section having axially extending notches in an end surface thereof and at least one of said sections having downwardly inclined passages extending from the chamber radially outwardly of the wall thereof, substantially H-shaped keys nsertible in said notches having portions extending radially beyond said inner and outer walls, said portions having extensions embracing the side wall portions of adjacent sections in said notches and in the end surface confronting said notches, respectively, for

holding the respective sections in relative axial 15 and rotational alignment.

LOUIS P. PRICE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,204,462 Lawrence Nov. 14, 1916 1,536,000 Hawkins Apr. 28, 1925 1,695,443 Studley Dec. 18, 1928 2,392,551 Roe Jan. 8, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 450,277 Great Britain July 14, 1936 699,314 France Dec. 9, 1930