IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO THAT AND SIMILAR APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND FORCING FLUIDS, AND FEEDING STEAM BOILERS KNOWN AS GIFFARD'S INJECTOR
Year: 1865

page_text: of Manchester, and County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO THAT AND SIMILAR APPARATUS FOR
RAISING AND FORCING FLUIDS, AND FEEDING STEAM BOILERS KNOWN AS
GIFFARD'S INJECTOR.'"
Sealed the 11th July 1865, and dated the 14th February 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Gresham at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
February 1865.
I, JAMES GRESHAM, of the Atlas Works, in the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO THAT AND SIMILAR APPA.
RATUS FOR RAISING AND FORCING FLUIDS, AND FEEDING STEAM BOILERS KNOWN AB
GIFFARD'S INJECTOR," to be as follows:-
It is well known that Giffard's injector, (patented 23rd July 1858,
No. 1665,) cannot be started into operation with certainty if the feed water
is much more than five feet below the apparatus, but that if the jet or current
[Price 8d.]

page_text: is once started into motion the injector will feed itself with water or other
liquid from depths below it approaching that at which an ordinary suction
pump will lift water or other liquid. To work the injector, therefore, when
its feed water has to be lifted from, say, more than five feet below its level,
certain arrangements have hitherto been employed to charge the feed or
suction pipe with water, and keep it supplied from a convenient level till the
injector has got to work, at which time this temporary supply is cut off; the
injector then feeding itself from its proper low level supply. This mode of
charging the injector has been generally accomplished by placing a small
tank or cistern at about. the level of or a few feet above the level of the
injector, the tank being filled when required by the injector. This tank or
cistern is connected by a pipe with the water chamber of the injector, and
this is in communication with the suction pipe, at the lower end of which a
valve is placed opening to a current ascending the feed pipe, but closing
against water from the charging tank or cistern. In this mode of charging
the water in the suction pipe below the injector is motionless, and its inertia
has to be overcome by the action of the injector, and consequently it requires
for the greatest depths careful manipulation to start the injector into work.
The first part of my Invention consists in arranging charging apparatus so
as to overcome the difficulties above referred to by causing the charging
supply to descend and enter at the lowest point of the suction pipe above the
foot valve, by this means upward motion is given to the entire column of
water in the suction pipe, consequently there is no tendency to break the con-
timnity of the jet in the sudden effort to impart motion to the column of water
in the suction pipe when the charging supply is cut off, as is the case in the
charging arrangement hitherto used.
The second part of my Invention relates to a method of charging the
injector by drawing the feed water or liquid up the suction pipe of the
injector sufficiently high to enable the injector to start into operation, at
which time the action of this apparatus is dispensed with; and this part of my
Invention consists in creating a partial vacuum by means of a steam or other
fluid jet or current; the chamber in which the partial vacuum is formed
being brought into communication with the feed or suction pipe of the
injector. The manner in which I prefer to carry this part of my Invention
into effect is by surrounding a branch pipe from the overflow cavity of the
injector with a larger pipe or funnel, and arranging an annular space between
the outside of one and the inside of the other pipe for the steam or other jet.
In some forms of the injector I prefer to combine this apparatus with the

page_text: The
injector by forming a chamber round the discharging nozzle of the injector,
leaving an annular space for the escape of the steam or other fluid.
chamber or cavity is supplied with steam by a branch pipe from the steam
pipe of the injector, and it escapes from the chamber or cavity through the
overflow orifice. In working an injector having this apparatus applied thereto
or combined therewith the jet for lifting the feed is first turned on, then the
injector is brought into operation in the usual manner, and when this has
been accomplished the lifting jet is turned off, and the injector continues to
work.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Gresham in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
GRESHAM, of the Atlas Works, in the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
LWHEREAS fler most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, er heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Gresham, Her special license that 1. the said James Gresham,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I. the said
James Gresham, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make.
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO THAT AND SIMILAR APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND
FORCING FLUIDS, AND FEEDING STEAM BOILERS KNOWN AS 'GIFFARD'S INJECTOR."
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Gresham, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal. should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I. the said James Gresham, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed: to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
'
It is well known that Giffard's injector cannot be started into operation
with certainty if the feed water is much more than five feet below the appa-
ratus, but that if the jet or current is once started into motion the injector
will feed itself with water or other liquid from depths below it, approaching
that at which an ordinary suction pump will lift water or other liquid.
To
work the injector, therefore, when its feed water has to be lifted from, say,
more than five feet below its level. certain arrangements have hitherto been
employed to charge the feed or suction pipe with water and keep it supplied
from a convenient level till the injector has got to work, at which time this
temporary supply is cut off; the injector then feeding itself from its proper
low level supply. This mode of charging the injector has been generally
accomplished by placing a small tank or cistern at about the level or a few
feet above the level of the injector the tank being filled when required by
the injector. This tank or cistern is connected by a pipe with the water
chamber of the injector, which is in communication with the suction pipe, at
the lower end of which a valve is placed opening to a current ascending the
feed pipe, but closing against water from the changing tank or cistern.
In this mode of charging the water in the suction pipe below the injector, is
motionless, and its inertia has to be overcome by the action of the injector,
and consequently it requires for the greatest depths careful manipulation to
start the injector into work.
The first part of my Invention consists in arranging charging apparatus so
as to overcome the difficulties above referred to by causing the charging
supply to descend and enter at the lowest point of the suction pipe above the
foot valve; by this means upward motion is given to the entire column of
water in the suction pipe, consequently there is no tendency to break the
continuity of the jet in the sudden effort to impart motion to the column of
water in the suction pipe when the charging supply is cut off, as is the case
in the charging arrangement. hitherto used.
The second part of my Invention relates to a method of charging the
injector by drawing the feed water or liquid up the suction, pipe of the
injector sufliciently high to enable the injector to start into operation, at
which time the action of this apparatus is dispensed with; and this part of my
Invention consists in creating a partial vacuum by means of a steam or other

page_text: fluid jet or current: the chamber in which the partial vacuum is formed being.
brought into communication with the feed or suction pipe of the injector.
The manner in which I prefer to carry this part of my Invention into effect is
by surrounding a branch pipe from the overflow cavity of the injector with a
larger pipe or funnel, and arranging an annular space between the outside of
one and the inside of the other for the steam or other jet. In some forms of
the injector I prefer to combine this apparatus with the injector by forming a
chamber round the discharging nozzle of the injector, leaving an annular
space for the escape of the steam or other fluid. The chamber or cavity is
supplied with steam by a branch pipe from the steam pipe of the injector, and
it escapes from the chamber or cavity through the overflow orifice.
working an injector having this apparatus applied thereto or combined
therewith the jet for lifting the feed is first turned on, then the injector is
brought into operation in the usual manner, and when this has been accom-
plished the lifting jet is turned off, and the injector continues to work.
In
The manner in which the first part of my Invention is carried into effect is
illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings. Fig. 1 is an
elevation showing the apparatus as applied to an ordinary steam boiler, and
Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of the valve and case at the foot of the suction
pipe.
is the furnace end of an ordinary steam boiler; 1, furnace doors; m, man-
hole; n, water guage; p, steam valve in connection with the pipe ()
conveying steam to the injector; q, valve in connection with the pipe (g')
conveying feed water from the injector to the boiler. The injector (a) may
be of any ordinary construction, but that represented is one made according
to the Patent granted to Robinson and Gresham, dated the Tenth day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
four, and numbered 2789. is the overflow pipe: g is the suction pipe
having the foot valve (g) at its lower end, the casing (g) of which is
immersed in the supply water; is the charging tank or cistern, it may be
supplied from the feed pipe (q) of the injector by a pipe (4) upon which a
tap () is placed; n is a pipe passing from the tank or cistern (r) to the
foot valve casing (g). This pipe has a tap (¹) by means of which the
water from the tank or cistern may be turned on or off. In the Drawings
this tap is supposed to be turned by a toothed pinion which geers with a
toothed segment upon one arm of a lever (v) having its fulcrum carried
upon any suitable bracket, the other arm being forked to enter between
collars upon the cone spindle of the injector, and is so arranged that when

page_text: the cone spindle is turned to open the passage for the sieam, the end move-
ment of the cone spindle acting through the lever and pinion will turn the
tap (u') and shut off the supply of water from the charging tank or cistern.
When the injector is in operation and the tap () is opened, the tank or
cistern (r) will be filled; when the injector is not in operation, the steam
valve (p) is shut, and the central cone spindle (b) is drawn back, and when
the injector is to be brought into operation the cone spindle is screwed
inwards to close the steam space, and this opens the charging tap (u'), then
the steam valve (p) is turned on, and the cone spindle (b) is then screwed
back, and by the same movement the tap (u) is gradually turned off, by
which time the injector will be properly at work. Instead of the overflow
pipe () being turned down it may be turned up to discharge the overflow
water into the cistern () by means of a pipe arranged as shown by dotted
line in Fig. 1. In this case the injector may be stopped by screwing the
central cone spindle inwards without using the valve (p), and when it is
screwed back a current of water will be caused by the action of the injector
to descend from the cistern (r). and pass up the suction pipe through the
injector, and back through the overflow pipe to the cistern; but this current
will be gradually shut off as the cone spindle is screwed outwards. In this
arrangement the pipe (t) may be dispensed with as the cistern may be filled
through the overflow pipe by closing the valve (g) when the injector is at
work. Of course the charging lap (a) may be manipulated separately by
hand if required.
The manner in which the second part of my Invention is carried into
effect is illustrated by Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6. Fig. 3 is an outside view of
an injector similar to that shewn in Fig. 1, having my improvements applied,
but they are applicable in like manner to any ordinary Giffard's injector.
g is the suction; f. the steam pipe, and h, the overflow pipe of the
injector. A branch pipe (¹) is secured to the overflow pipe of the form
shewn in the enlarged detached view Fig. 4. and upon this another pipe (2)
of trumpet form is screwed as shewn. so as to surround the nozzle of the
branch pipe () and form an annular chamber (h) as shewn by Fig. 5, a
section at A, B, Fig. 4. This annular space or chamber (h) is connected by
means of a pipe (h) having a tap (h) upon it with the steam pipe, as shewn
in Fig. 3. When the injector has to be started into operation with this
apparatus the tap (h) is turned on, and the steam then escapes through the
annular space between the nozzle (h) and the external pipe (2) and creates
a partial vacuum or suction, which acts to draw the water or liquid up the

page_text: suction pipe (g) through the water space between the cones or nozzles of
the injector (which is open) and through the pipe (h), and when it is seen
escaping the steam is turned on to start the injector in the usual manner,
and when it has got to work the tap () is turned off. The exhausting or
vacuum apparatus may be modified in various ways, for instance, the steam
or other jet may be brought into the centre, and the chamber surrounding
it may be made to communicate with the overflow orifice. Fig. 6 is an
outside view, partly a longitudinal section, of an ordinary injector, having
a fixed discharging cone or nozzle (d), but modified to embody my
improved mode of lifting the water, so as to charge and bring the injector
into operation. is the pipe for supplying the injector with steam; g, the
suction pipe; c, the partition cone or nozzle; b, the central cone spindle; d,
the discharging cone or nozzle; e, the receiving cone or nozzle and h, the
overflow orifice. The discharging cone or nozzle is surrounded by an annular
chamber () as shewn, and this chamber is made to communicate with the
steam pipe (through a tap () formed upon the side of the injector and a
branch pipe () as shewn. This injector is started into operation in the same
manner as that shewn by Fig. 3.
My improved charging apparatus may be used either with or without a
foot valve at the lower end of the suction pipe, but an advantage will be
found from the use of a foot valve, especially when the depth from which the
water has to be lifted approaches the greatest depth at which the apparatus
will perform its office.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the
manner of carrying the same into effect, and claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, the combination and arrangement of apparatus for charging
injectors to start them into operation, and particularly the introduction of the
charging water just above the foot valve, as herein-before described under the
first division of my Invention, and shown in the Drawings.
Secondly, the charging of injectors to start them into operation by drawing
the liquid up the suction pipe by forming a partial vacuum by means of a
steam or other fluid jet, as herein-before explained under the second division
of my Invention.
Thirdly, the construction, arrangement, and combination of apparatus
shown by Figs. 4 and 5, and its combination with injectors, substantially as
shewn by Fig. 3 of the Drawings, and also the construction, combination,
and arrangement of injectors, substantially as shown by Fig. 6 of the
Drawings, and herein-before described under the second division of my
Invention.

page_text: Fourthly and lastly, the use of a foot valve at the lower end of the suction
pipe when employed in combination with apparatus according to my second
claim.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Gresham, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witnessed by
PETER J. LIVSEY,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JAMES GRESHAM. (L.S.)