Improvements in Pumps Used in Absorption Refrigerating Machines for Pumping Liquor Ammonia or other Volatile Liquid.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 6th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Pumps Used in Absorption Refrigerating Machines
for Pumping Liquor Ammonia or other Volatile Liquid.
I, HARRY WILLIAM NEILD, of Shoe Lane, in the City of London, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in pumps used in absorption
refrigerating machines for pumping liquor ammonia or other volatile liquid.
Pumps as hitherto made for this purpose have been single acting and fitted with a
plunger of the full size of the working barrel. The objections to this are,
1. That the pump is very expensive to make in proportion to its capacity.
2. That as it only delivers on the down stroke the flow of liquid is objectionably
irregular and to obviate this two pumps have to be provided and worked and
3. That the plunger being so large and having to work under so heavy a pressure
requires very deep packing and is very liable to heat, and to wear and cause leakage
of ammonia past the gland.
To obviate these objections I use a double acting pump with a piston rod of small
diameter.
The pump 1 form with a long block piston accurately fitting the barrel.
When the barrel is vertical the piston rod passes out through a packed gland in the
top cover and this cover is so made as to form a small tank for water to cover the
top of the gland and absorb any ammoniacal gas which may escape.
The pump barrel is formed with delivery and suction passages passing up it on
opposite sides of its exterior. From the delivery passage there are two openings into
the barrel one close up to the top cover the other close to the bottom. Steel valve
seatings are screwed into the sides of these openings from the outside and the valves
are formed with rubber facings to rest against the seatings. The stems of the valves
pass across the delivery passage and into guiding recesses formed in removeable
cover pieces which cover over openings on the outer side of the delivery passage.
The valves and valve seatings can readily be got at by removing these cover pieces.
A spring is placed behind each valve to keep it closed excepting when the valve is
forced back by the pump delivery.
In order to allow as little accumulation of gas or liquid between the valves and
the piston as practicable the piston is made at the ends of its stroke to come close
up to the ends of the barrel and fit closely to them and with the same object the
clearance between the valve and the inside of the barrel is made as small as
practicable.
The suction valves are arranged one in a vertical position at the top of the vertical
suction passage which is at the side of the barrel and the other in a vertical position
exactly beneath the centre of the barrel. Above the top suction valve there is a
passage into the barrel close to its top cover-at the bottom the vertical suction
passage opens into the main suction passage to the lower suction valve.
When the pump is mounted horizontally both suction valves are placed at right
angles to the barrel and each valve with its valve seating is carried within a block
which can readily be inserted into or withdrawn from a recess formed to receive it at
one or other end of the suction passage which in this case goes along the under side
of the barrel whilst the delivery passage is above the top of the barrel.
The end cover of the barrel out through which the piston rod passes is as
previously described formed as a water tank so that the gland may always be kept
covered with water and the piston rod is made to pass out from the tank through a
second gland. The packings in the inner and outer glands or stuffing boxes may be

page_text: compressed simultaneously when the cover of the outer stuffing box is screwed up if
the stuffing boxes are formed with a loose tube extending around the piston rod
from one stuffing box to the other. In this tube which is surrounded by the water
in the tank a number of holes may be made to admit the water as a lubricant to the
piston rod.
In the pumping engine I employ two of the double acting ammonia pumps with
one brine pump and steam driving cylinder in tandem order.
The two ammonia pumps I place one on one side and the other on the other side
of the piston rod of the steam cylinder and couple the piston rods of the ammonia
pumps by readily removeable connections to a cross head on the piston rod of the
steam cylinder whilst the brine pump may be in a line with the steam cylinder and
the pistons of both be coupled to the same piston rod. One ammonia pump only is
required to be in use at one time the other being disconnected and out of use but
ready to be brought into action whenever the pump which is being used requires
adjustment.
The arrangement may be varied and consist of the steam engine and the two
ammonia pumps leaving out the brine pump and its connections or may consist of
the two ammonia pumps with or without the brine pump.driven by a fast and loose
pulley leaving out the steam engine.
2000
HARRY W. NEILD.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Pumps Used in Absorption Refrigerating Machines
for Pumping Liquor Ammonia or other Volatile Liquid.
I, HARRY WILLIAM NEILD, of Shoe Lane, in the City of London, 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:
This invention has for its object improvements in pumps used in absorption
refrigerating machines for pumping liquor ammonia or other volatile liquid.
Pumps as hitherto made for this purpose have been single acting and fitted with a
plunger of the full size of the working barrel. The objections to this are,
objectionably
1. That the pump is very expensive to make in proportion to its capacity.
2. That as it only delivers on the down stroke the flow of liquid
irregular and to obviate this two pumps have to be provided and worked and,
3. That the plunger being so large and having to work under so heavy a pressure
requires very deep packing and is very liable to heat, and to wear and cause leakage
of ammonia past the gland.
To obviate these objections 1 use a double acting pump with a piston rod of small
diameter.
The pump I form with a long block piston accurately fitting the barrel.
When the barrel is vertical the piston rod passes out through a packed gland in
the top cover and this cover is so made as to form a small tank for water to cover the
top of the gland and absorb any ammoniacal gas which may escape.
The pump barrel is formed with delivery and suction passages passing up it on
opposite sides of its exterior. From the delivery passage there are two openings into
the barrel one close up to the top cover the other close to the bottom. Steel valve
seatings are screwed into the sides of these openings from the outside and the valves
are formed with rubber. facings to rest against the seatings. The stems of the
valve pass across the delivery passage and into guiding recesses formed in removeable
cover pieces which cover over openings on the outer side of the delivery passage.
The valves and valve seatings can readily be got at by removing these cover
pieces. A spring is placed behind each valve to keep it closed excepting when the
valve is forced back by the pump delivery.

page_text: In order to allow as little accumulation of gas or liquid between the valves and the
piston as practicable the piston is made at the ends of its stroke to come close up to
the ends of the barrel and fit closely to them and with the same object the clearance
between the valve and the inside of the barrel is made as small as practicable.
The suction valves are arranged one in a vertical position at the top of the vertical
suction passage which is at the side of the barrel and the other in a vertical position
exactly beneath the centre of the barrel. Above the top suction valve there is a
passage into the barrel close to its top cover-at the bottom the vertical suction
passage opens into the main suction passage to the lower suction valve.
When the pump is mounted horizontally both suction valves are placed at right
angles to the barrel and each valve with its valve seating is carried within a block
which can readily be inserted into or withdrawn from a recess formed to receive it
at one or other end of the suction passage which in this case goes along the under
side of the barrel whilst the delivery passage is above the top of the barrel.
The end cover of the barrel out through which the piston rod passes is as
previously described formed as a water tank so that the gland may always be kept
covered with water and the piston rod is made to pass out from the tank through a
second gland. The packings in the inner and outer glands or stuffing boxes may be
compressed simultaneously when the cover of the outer stuffing box is screwed up
if the stuffing boxes are formed with a loose tube extending around the piston rod
from one stuffing box to the other. In this tube which is surrounded by the water
in the tank a number of boles may be made to admit the water as a lubricant to the
piston rod.
In the pumping engine I employ two of the double acting ammonia pumps with
one brine pump and steam driving cylinder in tandem order.
The two ammonia pumps I place one on one side and the other on the other side
of the piston rod of the steam cylinder and couple the piston rods of the ammonia
pumps by readily removeable connections to a cross head on the piston rod of the
steam cylinder whilst the brine pump may be in a line with the steam cylinder and
the pistons of both be coupled to the same piston rod. One ammonia pump only
is required to be in use at one time the other being disconnected and out of use but
ready to be brought into action whenever the pump which is being used requires
adjustment.
The arrangement may be varied and consist of the steam engine and the two
ammonia pump leaving out the brine pump and its connections or may consist of
the two ammonia pumps with or without the brine pump driven by a fast and loose
pulley leaving out the steam engine.
In order that my said invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a double acting pump for pumping ammonia
liquor back from the absorber into the generator of an ice machine. Figure 2 is a
vertical section through the same. Figure 3 is a plan.
The pump consists of a barrel A with flange branches B B for the delivery valves
and a back plate C on which the pump stands vertically when working. A block
piston D works accurately in the barrel A and is fitted to the piston rod E as shown.
The rod passes through a stuffing box gland F in the top cover G of the pump.
This cover also forms a small circular tank H or container to hold water for
absorbing any ammoniacal gas which might escape.
The valves II are two horizontal delivery valves opening into a passage J which
connects both of these valves with the delivery of the pump J.
The delivery valves 1 having a rubber face K fitted into the steel or iron slide
block and held by a screw M. There are grooves cut in the sides of the slide block to
allow the liquor to pass to the back of the valve and so maintain equilibrium as
shown which forms the valve box cover. There is a spring behind the valve

page_text: slide block to keep the valve closed excepting when the pump delivering forces the
valve from its face. O is a steel seating on which the valves rest when closed.
The clearance in front of these valves is reduced to the smallest possible space so as
to allow as. little accumulation of gas or liquid between the valves and the piston as
practicable.
The suction valves P and P' are arranged one P at the top in a vertical position
and opposite the delivery valves and one P1 at the bottom exactly beneath the centre
of barrel. The top suction valve P is connected by a passage Q into the main
suction passage
to the lower suction valve P¹.
Figure 4 is a plan of a similar pump arranged horizontally. Figure 5 is a
vertical section through the centre of the same and Figure is a cross section
through the valve boxes. It differs from the pump arranged to work vertically in
having both suction P and P valves placed at right angles to the barrel of pump
these valves are prevented from rising too high by cotters QQ passing through
slots in the middle of the valves as shown or forks embracing the spindles of the
valves may be employed.
The chamber Y is arranged as a water container. The stuffing box gland is a
double one and goes straight through as shown at X X. The inner gland packing
at T prevents the ammonia from escaping from the pump into the water and the
water gland packing prevents the water from escaping from the container. The
outside stuffing box cover S when screwed down compresses the packing both in the
water and in the inner gland as shown. The stuffing box distance piece U is
perforated with a number of small holes to admit the water as a lubricant to the
piston rod.
Figure 7 is plan showing two double acting horizontal ammonia pumps with one
brine pump and a steam cylinder driving them all arranged on one bed plate.
Figure 8 is a side elevation partly in section. A is the steam cylinder with the
slide valve on the top and driven by the eccentric C. B B are two heavy fly-
wheels on either side of the steam cylinder. D D are two double acting ammonia
pumps placed side by side and connected together by their appropriate pipes and
cocks as shown. Di D₁ being the suction branches and D the main delivery
branch for the same. P, P, are the two piston rods to work the two ammonia
pumps they are keyed into a cross head E as shown this device also allows
either pump to be thrown quickly out of gear by knocking out either of the
keys. The piston rod F of the steam cylinder is keyed into the middle of the
cross head and the outside ends of this cross head are connected by rods to
the crank pin in fly wheel. The briue pump G is placed behind the two ammonia
pumps and driven by a long piston rod P₁ direct off the centre of cross head into
which it is keyed. The whole is mounted on one cast iron bed plate Y as shown
which is provided with the necessary holes for foundation bolts etc.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The double acting ammonia pump substantially as described with upright
cylinder and block piston; suction valves one at the bottom of the cylinder, and the
other at the side and close to the top and both working vertically; and delivery
valves at the side of the cylinder one at either end and moving horizontally as
herein set forth.
2. The double acting ammonia pump substantially as described with horizontal
cylinder and block piston; and vertically moving suction and delivery valves at the
sides of the cylinder and moving transversely as herein set forth.
3. In a double acting ammonia pump substantially as described mounting the
valves in olocks capable of ready removal as herein set forth.
4. In a horizontal ammonia pump substantially as described forming the cylinder
end with a water trough and two stuffing boxes as herein set forth.

page_text: 5. The combination substantially as described consisting of a steam cylinder and
brine pump with piston rods in line; a cross head attached to the same rods and two
ammonia pumps one on either side with their piston rods attached to the cross head
as herein set forth.
6. Apparatus substantially as represented by the annexed drawings.
Dated this 5th day of September 1889
HARRY W. NEILD.