AN IMPROVED MODE OF RAISING WATER BY ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Cooke and Charles
Frederick Cooke at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 1st February 1867.
We, THOMAS COOKE, senior, and CHARLES FREDERICK COOKE, of the Firm
of Messieurs T. Cooke and Sons, Buckingham Works, in the City of York,
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MODE OF RAISING WATER BY ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, AND APPARATUS CONNECTED
THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
Our new and improved mode of raising water by atmospheric pressure and
the apparatus connected therewith consists in the use of a reservoir or tank
placed at a height of not exceeding 25 feet above the well or other source from
which the water is to be drawn, and a pipe provided with a foot valve reaches
from the bottom of the tank into the well. The top of the tank communicates
with an air pump, and when by means of it the air is exhausted from the tank
to an extent corresponding to the elevation of the tank above the well the
water will rise up through the said pipe and fill the tank. On the tank being
nearly filled a float will be caused to act suddenly on two small air valves,
one being opened into the external air and the other being closed and shutting
off the connection with the air pump, the atmospheric pressure on the water
will now cause it to flow out through a valve at the bottom of the tank, and
which opens to the pressure of the water; when the water level has sunk to
near the bottom of the tank a float will again act upon the two air valves, closing
the one leading to the external air, and opening the exhaust valve leading to the

page_text: air pump. By this automatic action of the valves the tank is alternately filled and
discharged. Instead of connecting the air pump direct with the tank, and in
order to obtain a more steady and uniform action of the air pump and water
tanks, we place a vacuum chamber between the pump and tank, which acts as
an accumlator of force and permits of a more rapid exhaustion of air, and
consequently also of a quicker filling and discharge of water.
To produce a continuous flow of water two water tanks are placed side by side,
having their air valves connected by levers, and again actuated and controlled
by floats alternately in such a manner that whilst one tank is filling with water
the other is discharging. If the water has to be raised higher than 25 feet,
for instance, say to a height of 40 feet, then one tank or pair of tanks is placed
20 feet above the well, and the second tank or pair of tanks 20 feet above the
first, the suction pipe of the upper tank reaching to near the bottom of the
lower tank; by a repetition of this arrangement water can be raised to any
height by stages of 20 feet. All the tanks being connected with the pump or
intermediate vacuum chamber the degree of exhaustion is the same for 100°
feet as for only 20 feet, but the capacity of the pump and the power for
driving it must be five times as large in the first case.
The apparatus can be made of any size to raise water to any height and in
any quantity. The pump, driven by hand or by steam power with its piston
acting on air, an elastic medium, can work at almost any desired speed, keeping
up a steady and uniform flow of water. It is not necessary that the steam
engine and pump be placed near the hydraulic apparatus, it can be placed a
quarter of a mile, half a mile, and even more distant as may be most convenient.
The whole apparatus is economical both as regards the first cost and the
working expenses, and there are no parts of it liable to get out of order.