Improvements in Fountains.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fountains.
I, GUSTAVE TROUVÉ, of 14, Rue Vivienne, Paris, France, Electrical Engineer,
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 has for its object to provide a fountain (which for convenience may
be termed an "apartment" fountain) in which luminous and changing effects may
be produced.
The invention may be applied to fountains which are provided with a water
reservoir or container and means for producing the necessary pressure, or to
fountains which are connected with the ordinary water service pipes of the house.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,
forming part of this Specification, which illustrate the invention by way of example
only and in which
Figure 1 is an elevation of a fountain in which the water is supplied by the
service pipe, the jets being shewn as surrounded by a basket of flowers.
Figure 2 is a similar fountain in which the jets are represented as springing from
a rock.
Figures 3 and 4 shew respectively central vertical sections of these two
fountains.
Figures 5 and 6 are underside plans of the basin, shewing the arrangement of
the colored glass frames.
Figure 7 is an elevation, and Figure 8 a vertical section of a fountain combined
with a water supply reservoir.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
a is the fountain basin, the centre portion 6 of which is made of glass, c is an
electric incandescent lamp contained within a reflector d forming part of the stand
upon which the basin is supported, and e a glass chamber or jet nozzle, which forms
an essential feature of this invention. This chamber or nozzle is mounted directly
over the glass portion 6 of the basin and the water supplied by pipe h is compressed
therein and issues in jets through the orifices with which it is pierced. The nozzle
has preferably a spherical end pierced with small holes, but it may be of any other
desired form. The employment of this glass nozzle or chamber e avoids the
necessity of using metal fittings and their adjuncts which, besides intercepting the
light, are generally inconvenient.
Between the glass bottom 6 and the lamp c, I mount a movable frame ƒ carrying
differently colored glasses, any one of which may be interposed between the lamp
and the fountain. This frame may be in the form of a slide, as represented
in Figure 5, or it may be mounted to rotate upon an axis g, as in Figure 6. By
combining two or more of these colored glass screens, infinitely varied effects may
be produced. i is the outlet pipe for the water from the basin a.
In Figures 7 and 8, the stand of the fountain constitutes a water reservoir k
provided with a hand bulb for which may be substituted a pump or other equivalent
means for producing the jets. I is the pipe by which the water passes into the jet
nozzle f, and m a pipe leading from the bottom of the basin for returning the water
o reservoir k. The reservoir may be provided with an automatic device for com-
pressing the water, such as, for example, a mechanism based on the principle of
hat of a moderator lamp.
These fountains may be made of a more or less ornamental appearance, as shewn
n the drawings, but a very fine effect may be produced, with the nozzle alone, by

page_text: placing fish in the basin which will be illuminated as they move by the central
luminous focus..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed,. I declare that what I
claim is :
1st. An illuminated decorative or apartment fountain in which the jets are
produced by means of a perforated nozzle-or-chamber.of glass in which the water
.is compressed, said nozzle or chamber being mounted directly above a transparent
portion of the bottom of the basin, beneath which is placed the luminous focus, the
whole arranged as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings.
2nd. In an illuminated decorative or apartment fountain, the combination, with
a catch-basin for the water, of a luminous focus & placed beneath the transparent
bottom of said basin, a movable frame with colored glasses placed between the
luminous focus and said transparent bottom, and a perforated glass jet nozzle or
chamber, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3rd. In an illuminated decorative or apartment fountain, the combination of a
reservoir à in communication with a suitable water forcing arrangement, a pipe /
for conducting the water into the perforated transparent glass chamber or jet
ozzle, and a pipe m for returning the water from the basin to the reservoir, all as
Lereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings.
G. TROUVE.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.