IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PUMPING
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Smith, of Heywood,. in the County of
Lancaster, Colliery Underlooker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR PUMPING."
Sealed tho 2nd June 1857, and dated the 17th December 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th December 1856.
I, JOHN SMITH, of Heywood, in the County of Lancaster, Colliery Under-
looker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR PUMPING," to be as follows:-
. This Invention is particularly applicable for pumping water from mines, in
which the pumps are placed at a considerable distance from the bottom of
the shaft, and consists in the uso or employment of cords, chains, ropes or
bands, instead of the pump trees, usually employed; by this means the cords,
chains, ropes, or bands can be taken over or under guide pulleys and conveyed
at any angle or level to the pumps. After the pump bucket has been drawn
to one end of the pump barrel to discharge the water, it is taken back to the
other end of the pump barrel by a counterpoise of sufficient weight to over-
eeme the friction of the pump bucket and the resistance of the cord, chain,
rope, or band; this counterpoise may be on wheels or otherwise, and a spring
is or may be applied to assist the return of the counterpoise. When it is
desirable to increase or diminish the length of the stroke of the pump bucket,
without altering the length of the crank, an intermediato shaft with pulleys
of different diameters upon it is introduced between the crank and the punip.
The machinery usually employed for transmitting the motion from the
driving, crank to the pump bucket consists of rigid bars of sufficient strength

page_text: to push and pull the pump bucket to and fro; these bars are generally placed
within the pipes that convey the water away, and owing to their rigidity can
only be used in a direct line, or else they are guided by elbow levers. By
using flexible cords, chains, bands, or ropes, and a counterpoise, as above
described, the pumps may be placed at any angle or level; less power is required
for working them, and repairs are easily made.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th June 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
SMITH, of Heywood, in tho County of Lancaster, Colliery Underlooker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Smith, Her special licenco that I, the said John Smith,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Smith, my executors, adininistrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
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. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN GIACHINERY FOR PUMPING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Smith, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Smith, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
The nature of my said Invention consists in the use or employment of cords,
chains, ropes, or bands for transmitting motion from the steam engine or other

page_text: motive power to the pumps employed in mines or other places, instead of
employing rigid pump trees and elbow levers, as now customary. And in
order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, reference being
had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters]
marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation of my improvements in machinery for pumping,
and Figure 2 is a plan of the same. These views shew how my improved
machinery may be applied to fetch water from any part of a coal mine in
which the beds of coal dip at different levels, and the passages run at different
angles. a is the crank shaft of a steam engine placed near the mouth of the
pit from whence the water has to be pumped. To this crank shaft is con-
neeted one end of a wire rope b; this rope passes over the guide pulley c, then
down the shaft of the pit and under the pulley d, from whence it is conducted
along the passages of the mine and secured to the hook e attached to tho
carriage f. The rope b in passing from the pulley d to the hook is guided
by the pulleys 9 and hand by the lurry i, one of which is placed wherever a
bend or a different level in the passage renders a variation in the direction of
the rope necessary; it is evident that the rope may be guided in any direction
by simply modifying the position of the guide pulleys or guide lurry. The
lurry i and carriage frun upon guide rails fixed to the floor of the passage,
and tie carriage f, to which is fixed the plunger j, is weighted so that after
the plunger has been drawn out of the pump barrel k by the forward action
of the crank shaft a, it may be taken back to the other end of the barrel by
the inertia of the said weight or counterpoise fixed to the carriage, which runs
on inclined rails, the said counterpoise being sufficiently heavy to overcome
the friction of the pump bucket and the resistance of the rope. A spring
may be applied to assist the carriage in returning to the bottom of the inclined
rails. The pump barrel k is furnished with valves for the ingress and egress
of the water, as in pumps of the usual construction, the water to be pumped
being admitted to the barrel through the pipe l. When the crank, shaft a
revolves, the plunger j rises in the barrel k and forces the water through the
pipes m to the mouth of the pit; or the water from tho pump k may be dis-
charged at the bottom of the pit, and raised from thence to the top by the
usual pumping machinery. I prefer to attach a chain to the end of the wire
rope b, which chain is hooked to the carriage f; by this means, when the rope
becomes elongated by tension, the slackness of the rope is taken up by hooking
another link of the chain to the carriage. A cord, chain, or band may bo
substituted for the wire rope b.

page_text: Figure 3 represents in plan a modification of my improvements in machinery
for pumping. In this instance two pump barrels and two plungers jare
shewn. The ends of the wire rope b aro connected to a double crank n, and
the plungers are attached to a chain passing around the pulley o. When
the crank shaft n revolves, every revolution causes one plunger to ascend and
the other to descend in the pump barrels, which are in connection with the
supply pipe and off pipes m, as before described. The pulley o is mounted
in a sliding frame, acted upon by a screw, for the purpose of being able to take
up the slackness of the rope when the same becomes elongated by tension.
When it is desirable to increase or diminish the length of the stroke of tho
plunger or pump bucket without altering the length of the crank, an inter-
mediate shaft with pulleys of different diameters upon it is introduced between
the crank and the pump.
The machinery usually employed for transmitting motion from the driving
crank to the pumps consists of elbow levers, and rigid bars called pump trees,
of sufficient strength to push and pull the pump bucket to and fro; these
bars are generally placed within the pipes that convey the water away, and
owing to their rigidity they can only be used in a direct line, or they may be
guided diagonally by the elbow levers. By using flexible cords, chains, bands,
or ropes, as above describod, the pumps may be placed at any distance from
the bottom of the pit and at any angle or level; less power is required for
working them, and as the cords, chains, bands, or ropes are outside the pipes,
repairs are easily made when necessary.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to
the details herein set forth, as the samo may be varied according to the par-
ticular object for which the improved machinery for pumping is required; and
I claim the use or employment of flexible cords, chains, ropes, or bands for
working pumps as described, or any modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord, Ono
thousand night hundred and fifty-coron
Witness,
II. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
JOHN SMITH. (L.B.)