IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS 64
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Shepherd Sawrey, Alfred Attwood and Henry
Woodburne all of Ulverston in the County of Lancaster Engineers for au
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS
64
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Shepherd Sawrey,
Alfied Attwood, and Henry Woodburne at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents on the 23rd September 1882.
JOHN SHEPHERD SAWREY, ALFRED ATTWOOD and HENRY WOODBURNE all of
Ulverston in the County of Lancaster Engineers "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS
38
The object of our Invention is to lift water from a great depth with a minimum
of power and it is particularly applicable to the raising of water from mines and
for water-works, ships and other places where water is required to be lifted with
the least expenditure of power.
"
It has been heretofore proposed to construct pumps wherein the hollow tubular
plunger shafts or columns are caused to be actuated vertically and alternately by a
'pump bob" but difficulties have been experienced in obtaining the efficient action
of such pumps whereas by our Invention we believe these difficulties and objections
have been overcome.
According to our Invention we employ tubular rams which work through stuffing
boxes in a chamber which is in connection with the suction valve and pipe the
plunger at the lower end is of greater diameter than the upper, whereby a vacuum
is caused when the plunger descends. The pressure on each ram being equal the
balance of the pump is maintained. To bring the delivery valves into a state of
equilibrium or nearly so there is provided between the valve boxes a suitable
connection consisting for example of a pipe which takes the weight off the valve;
this pipe is provided with a tap or valve which is operated by the pump gear in
such manner that when the ram is about to ascend the tap is opened and the water
in the rising main passing through the connection to the plunger.chamber below
the delivery valve is put in equilibrium and the water can then rise freely through
the delivery valve. When the ram is about to fall the valve in the connecting pipe

page_text: is closed and on the ram descending the delivery valve also closes. The full weight
of water is maintained in each pump above the delivery valve giving a perfect
balance through the whole action. The water to be raised is admitted near the
lower end of the hollow plunger through one or more apertures and passes up the
inside of same when it rises. In order to regulate the flow through the connecting
pipe and valve we may provide a stop valve which can be adjusted as required.
According to a modification we connect the moving delivery valve chamber to a
solid ram barrel by elbow tubes working in one another at their ends and held
together by suitable clamping appliances. We usually employ two such elbows
but more than two could be used if desired. The ram and the moving delivery
valve chamber are connected by rods which work the plunger up and down.
We may also further modify the aforesaid arrangements of pump by using
differential valves instead of the connecting pipe with cock or valve as first
described. We accomplish this by connecting two valves of slightly different area
by a cross piece provided with arms or pivots which turn in bearings on the valve
box, so that when one valve is rising by the inrush of the water the other is falling;
the smaller valve acts in the first instance as a relief valve to establish equilibrium
(as before described for the connecting pipe and valve arrangement), and then both
valves act as delivery valves
When working a single pump we employ compensating weight for balancing the
weight of the moving parts of the pump and of the column of water above the
delivery valve

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by.
the said John Shepherd Sawrey, Alfred Attwood, and Henry Woodburne in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd March 1883.
JOHN SHEPHERD SAWREY ALFRED ATTWOOD and HENRY WOODBURNE all of
Ulverston in the County of Lancaster, Engineers * IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS'
"
The object of our Invention is to lift water from a great depth with a minimum
of power and it is particularly applicable to the raising of water from mines and
for water works, ships and other places where water is required to be lifted with
the least expenditure of power.
«
It has been heretofore proposed to construct pumps wherein the hollow tubular
plunger shafts or columns are caused to be actuated vertically and alternately by a.
pump bob" but difficulties have been experienced in obtaining the efficient action..
of such pumps whereas by our Invention we believe these difficulties and objections.
have been overcome.
.
According to our Invention we employ tubular rams which work through stuffing.
boxes in a chamber which is in connection with the suction valve and pipe, the
plunger at the lower end is of greater diameter than the upper, whereby a vacuum.
is caused when the plunger descends. The pressure on each ram being equal the
balance of the pump is maintained To bring the delivery valves into a state of
equilibrium or nearly so there is provided between the valve boxes a suitable con-
nection consisting for example of a pipe which takes the weight off the valve; this
pipe is provided with a tap or valve which is operated by the pump gear in such
manner that when the ram is about to ascend the tap is opened and the water in.
the rising main passing through the connection to the plunger chamber below the
delivery valve is put in equilibrium and the water can then rise freely through the
delivery valve. When the ram is about to fall the valve in the connecting pipe is
closed and on the ram descending, the delivery valve also closes. The full weight
of water is maintained in each pump above the delivery valve giving a perfect
balance through the whole action. The water to be raised is admitted near the
lower end of the hollow plunger through one or more apertures and passes up the
inside of saine when it rises. In order to regulate the flow through the connecting
pipe and valve we may provide a stop valve which can be adjusted as required.
According to a modification we connect the moving delivery valve chamber to
a solid ram barrel by elbow tubes working in one another at their ends
and jointed by suitable clamping appliances. We usually employ two such
elbows but more than two could be used if desired. The ram and the moving
delivery valve chamber are connected by rods which work the plunger up and
down.
-
We may also further modify the aforesaid arrangements of pump by using
differential valves instead of the connecting pipe with cock or valve as first
described. We accomplish this by connecting two valves of slightly different area
by a cross piece provided with arms or pivots which turn in bearings on the valve
box, so that when one valve is rising by the inrush of the water the other is falling ;
the smaller valve acts in the first instance as a relief valve to establish equilibrium
(as before described for the connecting pipe and valve arrangement) and then both
valves act as delivery valves.
When working a single pump we employ compensating weight for balancing
the weight of the parts of the pump and of the column of water above the delivery
valve
In order that our Invention may be more fully explained and understood we will

page_text: now proceed to describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying
drawings. Figure 1 shows in elevation one half being in section so much of a double
acting pump constructed according to our Invention as will be necessary to explain
this part of same. Similar letters of reference refer to like parts in all the
Figures.
A, A are the tubular plunger shafts, which, in our Invention take the place of
the ordinary wooden spear rods. B, B are the suction valves, C C, the lower
delivery valves and D, D, the upper delivery valves, these latter being contained
in boxes forming part of the tubular plungers A, A. In a double stroke of each
pump therefore the water is drawn through the suction valve B, into the lower side
of the piston E during the up stroke at the same time the water above the piston E
is discharged upwards through the openings F in the hollow ram G through the
upper delivery valve D into the tubular pump rod, which is provided at its top end
with a spout or casing to discharge its water while moving up and down. During
the down stroke of the piston E the water below it is all discharged through the
lower delivery valve Cinto the upper side of the piston, but as the hollow plunger G
occupies in its descent part of the cubic space above the piston E a quantity of
the water equivalent in bulk will be forced upward through the upper delivery
valve D. The pump therefore delivers during both strokes but sucks only during"
the up stroke.
Instead of pistons and hollow plungers we sometimes use as an alternative plan
that shown in Figure 7 which shows a single pump double acting, with suction
valve B, lower delivery valve C and upper delivery valve D as before arranged to
pump into a fixed rising main by means of the ordinary wooden spear rods, but by
placing the upper delivery valve D above the plunger and making the latter hollow
with openings at its lower end H in the same way as shown in Figure 1 at F
we are enabled to dispense with the wooden spear rod and use the rising main as
in Figure 1 to impart motion to the pump and at the same time to convey the
water discharged to the surface.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 shew different ways or arrangements of relieving the
delivery valves, under considerable heads of water, from a portion of the pressure
on them, thereby causing less strain on the pump when commencing to discharge
Figure 2 also shows in sectional and side elevation one form of relief valve
consisting of a plug cock J which when automatically opened at the bottom of the
stroke admits the pressure of the column or head to the underside of the delivery
valve In Figure 3 the smaller valve relieves as much of the pressure on the
large valve as is due to its smaller area this valve being self acting by the
proportionate areas of the two valves. Figure 4 is a slide valve which is opened
at the bottom of the stroke (in a single acting pump) and closed at the top in the
same manner as in Figure 2, that is by the rise and fall of the combined valve box
(delivery) and pump rod in conjunction with fixed tappets or strikers.
In Figure 5 the pressure of the water forced upwards at the commencement of
the discharging stroke of the pump acting on the upper side of the small piston
assists the large delivery valve off its seat having the practical effect of making its
underneath area momentarily greater than its upper area by that of the small
piston (multiplied by leverage) and therefore easier to open against the head of
water above. We make the use of the above described equilibrium valves optional,
the ordinary description of valve might be used with either arrangement of our
pumps.
Figures 2 and 6 shew two alternative plans by which the number of long
connections between the pumps at the bottom of the mine and the engines at the
top are dispensed with and we are enabled to connect the tubular pump rods to
the discharge passages of the pumps by means of elbow tubes jointed to one
another by stuffing boxes or packed by any known method by which a water-
tight movable joint may be constructed, the pump in this case being connected to
the tubular pump rod above the elbow tubes by suitable connecting rods as shown.
The pumps in these two cases, are shewn single-acting; but may be made double

page_text: acting as in Figures 1 and 7 or, by using pistons and rods and four valves to each
pump as such pumps are commonly constructed.
In either of the arrangements in which double acting pumps are used, in order to
obtain a continuous flow up the rising main we sometimes place the two cranks of
the driving shaft at an angle of 120° apart or thereabouts instead of opposite each
other as is usual, we thereby avoid the great strains caused by the head or column
of water being stopped and set in motion again at each end of the stroke. To
balance the action of the engine under these circumstances we employ counter-
weights. We further steady the action of the delivery water by allowing the
column of water to press against a piston having a strong spiral spring behind it
and placed above and near the delivery valve, this spring piston acts the part of an
air-vessel.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed we declare that we claim as our aforesaid Improvements in
pumps.
First: The combination of tubular pump-rods (which serve also as rising mains)
with double or single acting pumps substantially as set forth
Second-The combination of tubular pump rods acting also as discharge pipes
and provided with elbow tubes and stuffing boxes in connection with double or
and 6
single acting pumps substantially as described with reference to Figures
of the accompanying drawings.
Third: The application to either of the foregoing arrangements of relief valves
as shown and described with reference to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Fourth-The combination of two double acting pumps pumping into either fixed
or moving rising mains with driving cranks placed at 120° apart and of spring
pistons to give steadiness of action and prevent shocks substantially as described.
In Witness whereof we the said John Shepherd Sawrey Alfred Attwood and
Henry Woodburne have hereunto set our hands and seals this ninth day of
March one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three.
Vitness to the signatures of
John Shepherd Sawrey
Alfred Attwood and
Henry Woodburne
JNO. CREWDSON
(L.S.)
(L.S.)
JOHN S. SAWREY
ALFRED ATTWOOD
HENRY WOODBURNE (L.S.)
Clerk with the said John Shepherd Sawrey
14 Union Street
Ulverston.