Improvement in Diaphragm Pumps.
Year: 1899

page_text: 3
Date of Application, 19th July, 1899-Accepted, 26th Aug., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Diaphragm Pumps.
I, RUDOLF RASCH, Copper Plate Worker, of Schulstrasse, Ruhrort, in the King-
dom of Prussia, 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:-
This invention relates to that class of pumps in which a flexible diaphragm or
membrane is used, instead of a piston for setting the liquid in motion, and has
for its object to combine simplicity of construction with economy of motive
power and suitability for lifting muddy or thick liquids.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a diaphragm
pump embodying my invention, Fig. 2 represents a modification.
The diaphragm m has in the centre an opening armed or stiffened by means
of a ring and provided with a valve, preferably a ball valve, adapted to close the said
opening automatically during the upmotion of the diaphragm, and to open during
the downmotion of the same.
The material of which the flexible membrane consists may be advantageously
utilized as a valve seat to form a water tight joint, as represented by the drawings,
for which purpose the internal diameter of the stiffening ring is considerably
larger than the diameter of the opening in the diaphragm. A fork or casing b
fixed to the stiffening ring serves to impart motion to the diaphragm, and also
as a guard to limit the motion of the ball valve. It is connected with the pump
handle or lever h by means of a link S passing through the delivery chamber.
The inlet of the pump body is provided with a check valve, as shown, and the
outlet communicates with a delivery pipe a.
If the water is to be lifted above the pump body, a check valve is provided
also in the delivery pipe a, as shown in Fig. 2, and the connecting rod S passes
through a stuffing box.
In some cases, the pump may have two diaphragms placed a short distance
apart and connected with each other by a tube, each of the two diaphragms, or
only the upper one, being provided with a valve.
In the suction pump represented by Fig. 1 the pump body g is open at the top.
and the ejection of water through the opening is prevented by a plate mounted
on the link or connecting rod S.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. A diaphragm pump having a moveable diaphragm or membrane provided
in the centre with an opening and with a ball valve adapted to close and open the
same automatically during the lifting and lowering of the membrane, substantially
as described.
2. In a diaphragm pump having a moveable diaphragm provided with a
central opening and an automatic ball valve, a connecting rod or link adapted

page_text: to set the diaphragm in motion, and provided with a guard plate to prevent
the ejection of water through the top opening of the pump body, substantially
as described.
3. A diaphragm pump constructed and adapted to operate substantially as
described and illustrated by the drawings.
Dated the 10th dov fT1 1900
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
Agents, 37 and 39, Essex Street, Strand, London.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
Agents, 37 and 39, Essex Street, Strand, London.