IMPROVEMENTS IN SIPHONS
Year: 1885

page_text: I PAUL BERNARD EYGRETEAU of Saint-Denis-de-Pile (Gironde) in the Republic
of France, Mechanician do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SIPHONS and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
در
This invention relates to apparatus for decanting or transferring liquids from one
vessel to another and consists of a siphon which is charged by mechanical means
arranged so as to be capable of pumping or forcing the liquid when the liquid ceases
to flow by gravity.
Fig. 1 shews an arrangement of my improved siphon as applied to the removal
or draining of liquids from a barrel.
A
A lever B, hinged at one end to the upper extremity O of a fixed rod A and
provided at its other end with a handle, has suspended from it the top C of the
bellows D; or the bellows may be replaced by any suitable pumping device.
bent tube E forms part of, or is fixed in, the hollow bung F, an annular space being
left between the outside of the tube and the inside of the hollow bung, through
which space the air introduced by the bellows can pass. The said bellows are
provided with an inlet valve G and an outlet valve H. The bottom of the bung F,
which forms part of, or is secured to, the bellows, is screw threaded so as to be
capable of being firmly fixed in the bung hole of the barrel and of closing the said
hole hermetically.
Within the part of the pipe E depending into the barrel slides a pipe I slightly
smaller in diameter than the pipe E and connected by a rack J to a small pinion K,
the spindle of which projects outside of the bung and is provided with a handle or
knob L. By means of this pinion the pipe I can be raised or lowered so as to
prevent it from stirring up the dregs which may have been deposited at the bottom
of the barrel. By this arrangement, the siphon is capable also of serving for
decanting purposes since it can be used for withdrawing the clear portion only of
liquids.
A conduit pipe M, the extremity of which is provided with a stop cock N, is
connected with the pipe E and conveys the outflowing liquid wherever required.
The mode of operation of my improved siphon will be easily understood. The
air forced in by the bellows enters at the bottom of the bung and remains in the
upper part of the barrel compressing the liquid which is thus compelled to rise in
the pipes I, E, M. As soon as these pipes are full, the siphon, being charged, comes
into operation and the flow of liquid continues by gravity, care being taken to
force a little air from time to time by means of the be lows or to form an opening
allowing air to have access to the upper part of the barrel. The stop cock N serves
for regulating or for stopping the flow of liquid.
When the barrel into which the liquid is being transferred instead of being below
the other barrel is on a level with it, it will be self-evident that when the level of
the liquid is the same in both barrels, the liquid will cease to flow by gravity. Air

page_text: is then forced-by means of the bellows into the upper part of the barrel to be
emptied and causes the whole of the liquid remaining therein to be transferred to
the receiving barrel without disturbing the dregs or sediment which may have been
deposited at the bottom of the barrel It will thus readily be understood that my
apparatus is at once a siphon and a pump.
When it is required to decant and to transfer liquids contained in vessels of small
capacity, such as bottles, from one vessel into another, the arrangement of the
apparatus is similar to that above described although much simpler as shewn in
fig. 2.
The siphon I is pushed more or less through the cork P which receives the
neck t of the collapsible bulb D provided with inlet and outlet valves. It will be
seen that the siphon is charged by mechanical means and the liquid transferred by
atmospheric pressure.
In another arrangement, the syphon is charged by means of a partial vacuum
produced by mechanical means as shewn in the arrangement in fig. 3.
As the piston a rises, the liquid enters the pump barrel b through the pipes c
provided with prolongations so that the liquid can be drawn from any suitable
height in order to avoid reaching the dregs or sediment which may have been
deposited at the bottom of the vessel.
When there are no dregs to be considered the pump barrel, instead of being
provided with pipes such as c, is open at the bottom as shewn in dotted lines
in fig. 3.
As soon as the pump barrel b and the piped forming a continuation thereof are
full, the outflow takes place by gravity and should it stop before the vessel is
thoroughly emptied it can be continued by operating the piston a.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. A siphon constructed substantially as described and shewn in fig. 1 or in fig. 2
so that it is charged or brought into operation by mechanical means that is to say
by the pressure of the air upon the surface of the hermetically enclosed liquid, the
said pressure being produced by means of the bellows D or other suitable pumping
device fixed upon the cork of a bottle or the bung of a barrel and serving at the
same time for emptying such vessels when the outflow of the liquid which is being
removed therefrom ceases to take place by gravity, the said liquid being transferred
without disturbing the dregs or sediment which may have been deposited at the
bottom of the vessels, the lower extremity of the said syphon being held at a
distance from such bottom ɛo that the siphon can also serve for decanting liquids.
2. The modified construction of siphon, substantially as described and shewn in
fig. 3, charged mechanically by the partial vacuum produced by means of the
piston a moving in the pump barrel b which is open at the bottom when there are
no dregs or sediments to be considered or provided with pipes having prolongations c
when dregs or sediments are deposited at the bottom of the vessels from which
liquid is being transferred, the modified siphon also being capable of serving for
decanting liquids.