IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING AIR, AND FOR RAISING AND FORCING LIQUIDS BY THE AIR SO COMPRESSED OR BY STEAM PRESSURE, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE PARTLY APPLICABLE TO MEASURING AND INDICATING THE QUANTITY OF LIQUID PASSING THROUGH THE APparatus
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Ellis Rowland at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th January
1875.
I, ELLIS ROWLAND, of the Oity of Manchester, Mechanical Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING AIR, AND FOR RAISING AND FORCING LIQUIDS BY
THE AIR SO COMPRESSED OR BY STEAM PRESSURE, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE PARTLY
APPLICABLE TO MEASURING AND INDICATING THE QUANTITY OF LIQUID PASSING
THROUGH THE APparatus," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is first, the construction of an improved
pump for compressing air; secondly, the arrangement of suitable
mechanism for employing the air so compressed (or any other fluid
under pressure including steam) to the raising and forcing of liquids,
and also measuring and indicating the quantity passing through the
apparatus.

page_text: or conical cover at one end, and open to the atmosphere at the other.
In this cylinder I fit a piston having its upper side formed to correspond
and fit approximately into the hemispherical or conical end of tho
cylinder before mentioned. A quantity of water or other incompressible
fluid is placed in the annular space between the cylinder and hemi-
spherical or other projection from the piston, so that as such piston rises
ot its highest point in the cylinder, the fluid completely fills up any space
which may exist between the cylinder and piston, and so displaces every
particle of air which might otherwise lodge therein. An outlet valve is
fitted to the top of the cylinder discharging into a pipe or chamber, and 1
an inlet valve to the highest part of the hemispherical projection of tho
piston.
In order to use the air so compressed or compressed by any other
means for raising liquids, as for instance, the draining of mines, I take a
large close vessel (herein-after called the receiver) provided with an inlet 1
valve at its lowest point, and place it in the water at the bottom of or in
the shaft, so that such water may enter by its own gravity through the
inlet valve, and completely fill the said receiver. An outlet valve is
also fitted to or near the bottom of such receiver connected to a delivery
pipe which rises up the shaft and discharges the water at the top of the 2
shaft. To the highest part of the same receiver two other valves, an inlet
and an outlet valve respectively are fitted. The inlet valve is connected
by means of a pipe to the compressing pump or pumps or reservoir of
compressed air, and the outlet valve is open to the atmosphere. A float
works within the receiver provided with a wire connection to a counter- 2
poise on the outside of the receiver, and on this wire are two stops
which alternately operate a tumbler action. One side of such tumbler
action being connected to the inlet, and the other to the outlet air
valve.
The action of this apparatus may be thus described :-Supposing the 80
receiver to be full of water, and consequently the float at its highest
point therein, the tumbler action will have opened the inlet air valve, and
admitted the compressed air on to the surface of the water so pressing it
through the outlet valve at the bottom of the receiver and up the
delivery pipe to the top of the shaft. The float follows the descent of 35
the water in the receiver, and when nearly empty one of the stops
before mentioned comes in contact with the tumbler action and throws
it over in the opposito direction, so closing the inlet and opening the

page_text: outlet air valve, and thus permitting the compressed air to escape. The
surrounding water now gravitates into and again fills the receiver, and
in so doing causes the float to rise to its original position, when the
other stop comes into contact with the tumbler and again reverses the
valves, closing the outlet and opening the inlet when the operation is
repeated.
By ascertaining the capacity of the receiver and applying a counter
to the tumbler action, the quantity of water delivered may be indicated.
Although I have only described my improvements as applied to
raising water from mines, it will be apparent that it is equally applicable ·
to other situations where liquids including acids and the like have to be
raised.
Instead of compressed air steam may be substituted, when the last
described arrangement of mechanism may be used as a boiler feeder.
The inlet valve at the bottom of the receiver being in this case connected
to the feed water supply or to the economiser.