IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATER WELLS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alphonse Donnet, of Lyons, in the Department of
the Rhone, France, Householder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATER WELLS."
н
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alphonse Donnet at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th January 1867.
I, ALPHONSE DONNET, of Lyons, in the Department of the Rhone, France,
Householder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATER WELLS," to be as follows:-
The principal object of my Invention is to enable a much larger quantity
of water to be drawn than can be obtained from an ordinary well; to effect
this I close the well hermetically at the surface of the water, whereby all
communication with the atmospheric air except from the bottom of the well is.
cut off.
One method of constructing the said improved well consists in making the
walls of béton, concrete, or other water-tight or non-absorbent material, and
then closing it at the surface of the water by means of a metal plate resting
on a ledge of the wall, and made air-tight against it by means of cement, that
portion of the well below the metal plate forming the water chamber. This
water chamber may also be constructed of cast iron or other metal in the.
shape of a bell or box, closed at the top and open at the bottom of the well.

page_text: This bell is sunk to the bottom of the well after the latter has been dug, and
when in its place the space around it between it and the side of the well is
filled with concrete or other material. Any water well of the ordinary con-
struction can easily be converted into a well of this improved construction, for
when the water contained in a well is enclosed in a water-tight bell or
chamber the apparatus or pump for drawing it up will act as perfectly in a
well fed by one or more springs from some subterranean reservoir as in a well
formed in a larger body of water. The suction pipe of the pump takes the
water from the upper part of the bell or just below the plate used for closing
the well, and time is thus given to the water to free itself from any sand it
may have carried with it into the well. The well being closed at the surface
of the water and the atmospheric pressure which in ordinary wells prevents
the water from entering as fast as the pump draws it off being removed, it
follows that a pressure equal to one atmosphere (less the friction) upon the
water entering the bottom of the well is, gained. For this reason it is no
longer necessary to sink a deep and wide well for the purpose of obtaining
a large quantity of water, and my system or method of constructing wells
effects therefore a great saving compared with wells of the old construction.
It also effects a saving in motive power, because the forced suction renders
the flow of water to the well much easier than is the case with the ordinary
wells. in which the atmospheric pressure is balanced.
the well is rendered more copious the thousand little channels which carry the
water to the well become enlarged, and if one of my closed wells should be
opened after having been at work the supply would remain more abundant
than in an ordinary well. Any ordinary water well as at present existing can
easily and at a trifling cost be converted into a well of my improved con-
struction, and any kind of pump, no matter what the size, may be applied to
it. The pumps may be worked by steam or other power, and this Invention
will be found as useful for agricultural as for manufacturing or industrial
purposes..
As the flow of water to
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alphonse Donnet in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th June 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALPHONSE
DONNET, of Lyons, in the Department of the Rhone, France, Householder,
send greeting.

page_text: '
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
the said Alphonse Donnet, Her special licence that I, the said Alphonse
Donnet, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alphonse Donnet, 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 THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATER WELLS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alphonse Donnet, my executors or admini-
strators, 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 Alphonse Donnet, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
My system of water wells has for its object to furnish a much larger
quantity of water than is yielded by an ordinary well of the same size. To
effect this it is only necessary to close the well hermetically at the surface of
the water or between the surface of the water and the top of the well in such
a manner that all communication of the water with the atmospheric air except
through the bottom of the well is cut off.
Any ordinary water well can easily be converted into a well according to
my new system, because if the water contained in the well is enclosed by an
air-tight bell or chamber open only at the bottom the pump or suction
apparatus will act as efficiently with a well communicating by one or more
sources or channels with some subterranean reservoir, as with one surrounded
by a larger body or sheet of water. Any kind of pump is therefore
applicable.
In the accompanying Sheet of Drawings Fig. 1 represents one mode of
constructing wells on my system, and Figs. 2 and 3 represent another mode.
In Fig. 1 the lower part of the well acting as the water chamber is con-

page_text: structed in air and water-tight concrete or masonry A, at the top of which is
formed a ledge C, whereupon rests the metal plate B, made air-tight against
the wall by cement or other suitable packing..
From the above it will
The second mode, see Figs. 2 and 3, consists in forming a metallic bell,
cylinder, or chamber hermetically closed at the sides and top, but open at the
bottom. This bell or chamber is lowered to the bottom of the well and fixed
or walled in by ordinary concrete in such a position that its top shall be
slightly below the surface of the water. In the mode represented in Fig. 1;
as well as in that represented in Figs. 2 and 3, the suction pipe G of the
pump takes the water at the surface of the chamber.
be seen that I relieve the water from the atmospheric pressure which would
otherwise have obstructed its entry, whilst I retain the pressure.resulting in
an ordinary well when the pump is at rest from difference of water level
outside and inside the well. The water consequently enters the chamber not
only with the pressure due to the difference of level, but also under the action
due to the atmospheric pressure less the friction. By these means an ample
supply for the pump is kept up, and it is therefore no longer necessary to dig
deep and large wells for obtaining a large supply of water. My system causes
therefore a very considerable economy as compared with the ordinary wells.
With ordinary wells the water percolates through the surrounding strata
simply by gravitation, and the supply is therefore often insufficient, but with
my system, owing to the forced suction, the water runs rapidly and finds ready.
access to the well, and owing to its more rapid flow the thousand minute
crevices and channels through which it passes become more or less enlarged,
the passage to the well more open, and the supply more abundant. Supposing
an ordinary well is closed according to my system and worked for a certain
time, it will be found on reopening the well that the supply of water has
become more abundant than it originally was, and therefore the depression of
the water level when working greatly reduced. From this follows that there
is a gain in mechanical power corresponding to the difference in the depression
or lowering of the water level before and after the closing of the well.
It will be observed from the Drawing that I place the suction pipe G upon.
the top of the chamber. As the suction takes place at the surface of the
water it is no longer necessary to dip the suction pipe deep into the water,
and as all the water enters from the bottom of the chamber it has time to
separate itself from sand and other matter carried with it in its course.
In Figs. 1 and 3 a Gwynne pump is represented in connection with my
well, but, as before stated, any kind of pump may be employed. Instead of
closing the well at the height indicated by the water level when the pump is

page_text: at rest, as described, it may be closed at the top, or at any place between the
top and the water level, the whole of the well below the closing plate being
again formed into a hermetically closed chamber open only at the bottom. The
suction pipe fitted with a foot valve is passed through the plate into the
well. Upon the pump being set in motion the air will be exhausted, and the
water will enter the well under an increase of pressure corresponding with
the vacuum formed.
Having now described the nature of my said improvements and the manner
in which they may be carried into effect, I wish it to be understood that what
I claim as the Invention to be secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is, the hermetically closing of water wells in the
manner and for the purposes substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alphonse Donnet, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
A. DONNET. (L.S.)