The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-12-11
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC ,. HAsKN. director.
Washington, d. @.
AMERICAN SOLVES PUMP
PROBLEM

ficiency has been a problem of th'
ages. Now it is said that it has beer
! solved by an invention shortly to b'
/ tested in Washington
Thomas Gaskell Allen, an American
/ by birth, and "A graduate of an Amer
| lean university, is the inventor MIR
Allen is now a British subject and
lives in Lo-.dOh where he is the heac
of "a firm of engineers, Lut II his IN
Ventfon, whic- he calls the hydraulic
mat-the water seIf-raiser-proves tc
be all that is claimed for it, England
will not be permitted to claim entire
credit for him and. his accomplish
ment.
Sir Oliver Lodge has investigated
the hydrautoma and prepared Il long
technical report in which he ranks the
device as one of the greatest inven-
tions the world has ever known and
expresses his amazement that IT was
not hit upon centuries ago.
When the news of the marvel first
reached this country, official repre-
sentatives in London were instructed
to look into it, and upon the reports
made to Washi.- gton the bureau OF
weights and measur-S proceeded to
build a workinss model here. Mr.. Allen
recently conferred with government
officials and will return in a short
time when the tests are to be made:
Meanwhile another experimental
model has been installed in a New
York office building and is said to be
operating successfully
Briefly described, the hydrauton1at
is a device that raises water to any
desired height automatically, the wa
ter itself furnishing the power. Once
installed it will continue to function
steadily witLoL. interruption and
without any attention until it wears
out. That sounds like perpetual mo-
ton. a problem that has never been
solved altho inventors have worked at
it for centuries with so little success
that whenever one comes forward
with the claim that at last he has
made the great discovery he is looked
upon as ascandidate for the BOBBY
hatch. But the hydrautomat is per-
petual motion. it is said. in SO far as
it win continue to operate as long as
the flow of water continues and the
machine holds together.
Moreover, it will work efficiently
when the flow of water is So slight
that il could rot be utilized in any
other way. Also it may be constructed
on a small scale adaptable to the re
o. a farmer who would
use it on a small creek to raise water
for irrigating purposes and to de-
velop power to run his machinery and
lighting plant, or it may be built on
scale sufficiently large to furnish the
water supply for a large city.
First 7 G of Water for Power.
Obviously the first use of water for
the water from stream or other
source for use at another place. one
of the primitive devices for raising
water from a stream was the norla,
which consisted of a; large upright
framework like a wheel placed so
that t flow OF the current turned it
on its axis. To the perip. cry of the
wheel were attached hinged buckets,
which were often earthen jars tied on
the f->r9c, and which wEre partly
Il In efr sarral
and upon being carried to the top
were emptied by tripping device in
to a trough which led the water away
on the higher level
Later Archimedes developed his
screw. which consisted of a coil of
pipe abou- a cylinder. set a consider
able angIS~f-om the vertical. TO run
this a. ter wheel or tCr' ne was
necessary. Theoretically water could
be raised to any height il this man
ner. but practically it required too
much power, the gearing of wheels
complicated the work, and there were
other objections. The hydraulic ram
was more efficient and more practical
and the Principle has been widely APP |
Piled.
Still another automatic machine is
he windmill, but ut is complicated |
and more or less unwieldy. However, |
he great objection TO it is that it |
operates only when the wind blows, /
and the wind has a way of being con- |
-rary. 1t bloweth not only where it |
isteth, as the Bible says, but when,
md experience has demonstrated that |
he windmill pump does not work Of
-en when water is needed most Mr.. |
Aliens invention, it is claimed, meets /
md overcomes the objections to all
.hese devices.
The hydrautomat is described as
literally a reciprocating engine in
which the power of water and air al
,ernately Geyelop the power. 1t does
iet work by shock or impetus as in
he case of the water ram. 1t does
rot require the machinery necessary
% operate the Archimedian screw
Once installed it requires no attention
o keep it working smoothly. In other
words, the initial cost of building and
the device is the only ex-
'ense involyed-'
Not Turbine i'm Any Sense.
The hydrautomat is not a turbine
las been raised by it to a desiredt
height, the water may be permitted
o fall and operate a turbine or sim
lar mechanism thus developing pow
T which can be utilized as desired to
un machinery directly or to be con-
erted with electric energy. But it is
lot intended to do the work of a tur-
inc. Great waterfalls such as Mia
ara or Zambesi exert tremendous
ower which may be utilized to oper-
tie turbines and develop great sources
f energy. The hydrautomat develops
nergy from streams which flow slow
' and the power of which heretofore
as not been utilized.
simplicity. is its first characteristic.
he principle involved is that of water
lowing thru a pipe into a metal cyl Is
lder. Now as the water enters the
ylinder it. naturally forces out the |
ir, which escapes thru a pipe open
lg from the top and leading to an
Their cylinder, which is filled with
-ater. As the air enters the second
ylinder The water which it contains
forced out thru a pipe to a third
ylinder placed at a higher level. Thus
ne pressure of the water flowing intol
ne first cylinder is utilized to force
lie water from the level of the second
} the third. The actio-- is purely au-
,matic the compressed air acting as
piston.