IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS
Year: 1855

page_text: Sealed the 26th February 1856, and dated the 27th August 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Alexander Cooling
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th August 1855.
I, THOMAS ALEXANDER COOLING, of Temple Chambers, Whitefriars, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS "
to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in pumps consists in simplyfying the arrange-
ment of the parts, so that the machine throws a greater quantity of water and
works with a less amount of labour than those at present in use. The rising
main is divided into two branches, and between them is placed the barrel, the
lower part of which is secured to a valve box, fitted on one branch of the main,
and to the other branch another valve box is fitted, communicating with the
upper part of the barrel. The front plates of the valve boxes are fitted with
screws, so that the interior may be easily got at for inspecting or repairing the
valves. The form and arrangement of the pump rod and its connexion with
the handle or lifting lever are also different to those at present in use; the
pump rod is bent at the upper part, to form a recess or space for a connecting
link to work in. This link is jointed at one end to the lower angle of the
bent part of the pump rod, and at the other end to the lifting lever or handle

page_text: By this simple arrangement of the upper working parts of the pump, friction
is greatly lessened. The pump may be fitted with an air vessel, or not, accord-
ing to the purpose to which it is to be applied. I reserve a right to vary the
details of my Invention, of which the foregoing is an outline.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Alexander Cooling in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ALEXANDER COOLING, of Temple. Chambers, Whitefriars, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of August; in the year of our
Lord One thousand cight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Alexander Cooling, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Alexander Cooling, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Thomas Alexander Cooling, my executors, administrators, 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 PUMPS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Thomas Alexander Cooling, my executors or administrators, 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 Patcit.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Alexander Cooling, 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:
My Invention of improvements in pumps consists, firstly, in simplifying the
construction of these machines, so that they may be manufactured with less
labour than is usually required upon them, thus reducing the prime cost; and
secondly, by improvements in the construction and arrangement of certain
parts single and double action pumps, to make theni work easier, deliver

page_text: a greater quantity of water, and render them more portable than those now
in use.
In the Drawing forming part of this Specification, Figure 1 represents
an elevation of a portable pump, suitable for agricultural; manufacturing, or
other purposes, where water or other fluid is required to be lifted to the
surface of the earth, or forced to an elevation above it; Figure 2 repre-
sents a vertical section of the pump. A is the suction pipe, which is either
carried down below the surface of the water, or, a piece of flexible tubing.
may be screwed or otherwise attached to the short piece of pipe A, where'
the lower part of the pump terminates; B, B, are the water ways; B¹, the
discharge pipe; C, the, cylinder or barrel of the pump; D, the piston or
plunger; E, the piston rod; F, F, the valve boxes or chambers, the covers
of which are secured by nuts or screws, so that access. may be readily had to
the valves, either for the purposes of cleaning, or repairing, or removing any
substance that may interfere with the action of the valves; G is the air vessel,
which is formed of wrought or cast iron, screwed on to the socket or nose g¹.
To the air vessel G is secured the clip H, which forms upon one side a guide:
for the piston rod E, and upon the other a support for the link or links, to
which one end of the lever or handle is connected; or the guide and support
may be cast with the air vessel. A reciprocating motion is given to the piston
rod E by means of the lever I, which, is secured to it by a screw bolt at i¹.
The lever is forked, so as to; pass clear of the air vessel; the other end is
fastened by a pin to the link K, which is secured to the bolt k³, passing through
the clip H, to which it is fastened by a nut. This arrangement of the working
part of the pump secures perfect freedom of motion, with scarcely any friction,
and admits of being readily taken asunder when required. Another arrange-
ment for working the pump rod consists in securing a straight lever to the
piston rod by a bolt or clip, allowing it to pass through a slot cast for the pur-
pose in the air vessel. In cases where no air vessel is required, the vessel G
would be replaced by a standard or upright, in which case the lever for working
the piston rod would pass through an aperture made in the upright or standard.
The last-mentioned arrangement of the working lever is well adapted for the
larger sized pumps, where it is desirable to work at both ends of the lever.
Where preferred, the handle may be secured at one end to the upper part of
the air vessel, and connected by slings to the rod in the ordinary manner; I,
however, give the preference to the foregoing methods. The whole of the
lower part or body of the pump, including the top and bottom valve chambers,
is cast in one piece. The valves may be made of vulcanized india-rubber or
of leather; they are fastened to the door of the chamber by nuts, and are of

page_text: the ordinary kind, known as "clack valves." L is a framing, to which the
pump is attached by nuts. To the framing is fitted a pair of wheels, by which
the pump may be easily moved from place to place when inclined, so as to
throw the weight upon the wheels.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise arrangements of the mechanical details herein described
and shown, as the same may be varied without departing from the Invention;
but what I claim, and desire to secure under the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, is,-
Firstly, casting the barrel or body of the pump, together with the top and
bottom chambers or valve boxes, in one piece, as herein-before shown and
described, and also its application to two or three barrel pumps.
Secondly, making the air vessel form a standard or support for the lever or
handle of the pump, as shown and described.
Thirdly, the method of connecting the lever or handle to a clip or other
support by means of a single or double link, and also the arrangement of
passing the handle through a slot or aperture made in the air vessel, or through
a standard used in lieu thereof, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Alexander Cooling, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
THOMAS ALEXANDER COOLING. (L.S.)
Witness,
CHARLES BARLOW,
Patent Office, 89, Chancery Lanė,
London.