IMPROVEMENTS IN FOUNTAIN-APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE DISPLAY OF JETS OR STREAMS OF WATER
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th August 1880. A communication.
from abroad by Wilhelm Böckmann, of Berlin, Germany.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOUNTAIN-APPARATUS FOR
FACILITATING THE DISPLAY OF JETS OR STREAMS OF WATER." [A com-
munication from abroad by Wilhelm Böckmann, of Berlin, Germany.]
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This Invention relates to fountains for producing artificially and displaying jets
or streams of water, and comprises apparatus whereby the pressure of the water in
such fountains may be utilized for raising over again a portion of the water which
has been already used, so that the same comes into play again before it escapes.
It has hitherto been usual to obtain the supply of water for fountains from mains,
which generally contain water flowing under great pressure, and to reduce the
pressure of the water as required. This is done in order to change the jet or
rising stream which issues at a great velocity into a steady flowing or gently
running one, and to effect this reduction of pressure in the water, recourse has
been had to a small outlet from the main through which the water is discharged
into a pipe of larger diameter than the said outlet, whereby the speed of the
discharge is considerably reduced. The water in the fountain basin after having
been once used has hitherto simply been allowed to run to waste.
According to this Invention I provide means for employing a proportionally
small quantity of water at a high pressure, and thereby produce a considerably
greater effect than can be obtained with fountains of the construction hitherto in
use, as according to this Invention most of the water which has once been used is
raised again by an injector or ejector arrangement provided for this purpose, and
is again brought into play before it is allowed to escape. I am thus enabled to
provide fountains or cascades with an apparently large quantity of water at places
where this has hitherto been impossible owing to the lack of sufficient means for
fully utilizing the water that was accessible.
In carrying the said Invention into practice a frame is arranged in a hollow
centre-column of the structure formning the fountain, which frame mainly consists
of a bottom plate, three uprights, and a triangular top plate. This frame carries
the whole ejection arrangement. The principal water supply-pipe is divided into
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page_text: three branch pipes which have their outlets above at different heights through
suitable nozzles.
I employ an ejector or injector of well known construction, that is to say, it
resembles to a great extent the injectors used for feeding steam-boilers.
A peculiar feature of this Invention consists in the facility with which the
injector cones or nozzles may be adjusted so as to correspond with the various
circumstances that have to be taken into consideration, namely, the pressure in the
supply pipe on which is dependent the speed of discharge, the height to which the
water is to rise, and the aesthetic effects to be produced.
I obtain the desired results by suitably arranging the area of the outlet or
nozzle of the water-supply pipe, by adapting the diameter and shape of the
outlet opening or nozzle of the injection cone, and by suitably arranging the
relative position of the two last named openings to each other.
As the requirements vary in particular cases, the injectors are so constructed
that they can readily be adjusted according to circumstances, and in such a
manner that it will also be possible to change both the outlet nozzle and the
injection cone, and also to shift these two parts centrally in relation to each
another.
A base plate of cast iron or other suitable material is provided and completely
closes the bottom of the fountain with respect to the channel for the supply pipes
in such a manner as to be perfectly water-tight, and it also forms the base for the
series of pipes employed. In the case of simple fountains, the above mentioned
channel can be dispensed with, and the base plate may be simply laid on the
ground where the water supply pipe is generally fixed. A long nut which is held
in its position by a lock-nut above is provided, so that the outlet opening or nozzle
of the injector can be raised or lowered as may be requisite by turning the said
The supply pipe passes through a bush in the base plate so that the aperture
may be water-tight. A three winged bridge-piece is also provided; said bridge-
piece by means of bolts keeps the cone tight against the jet pipe, and serves at
the same time as a guide for the nozzle which is held exactly central in all positions
it assumes.
nut.
All the ejectors or injectors are constructed on similar principles and are
accurately regulated by inserting an intermediate piece of suitable shape which
coutains the nozzle and the cone. Both the cone and the nozzle can be changed or
altered to suit varying circumstances.
The water
In the upper ejector the nozzle is made a fixture, but the cone is made adjustable
by means of a screw thread on the outside of the supply pipe, the desired position
being attained by turning the cone which has a corresponding screw thread on its
interior. The nozzle or the cone, or both of them if necessary, may be changed. The jet
pipe is securely attached to the branch supply-pipe by means of suitable annular
-When
coupling joints. This arrangement will be operated as follows, that is to say :-
the fountain is to be put in action I first open the branch supply pipe, unless the
fountain has been so arranged that it is fed directly from the main.
flows directly into an annular distributing pipe or distributor which is provided
with small outlet-pipes, and the water fills this distributor and is discharged into
the basin of the fountain through outlets at the side, which may be made in various
shapes, such for instance, as the heads of lions or other animals. As soon as the
basin is full, the water is admitted into the branch pipe by opening the valve in
connection therewith. The said pipe leads into the ejector, which is enclosed in a
box communicating with the basin by means of a connecting pipe and a suction
head, and the connecting pipe and head are thus filled with water at the same level
as that in the basin. The jet of water which is being discharged has an effect
both of suction and of ejection, and raises a portion of the water in the basin into
an upper basin; the latter basin however soon discharges its contents into the
lower basin and thus a kind of circulation is effected.
As the quantity of water is increased in the meantime by both the jets coming
direct from the inain, a large basin on a level or nearly so with the ground is also

page_text: gradually filled, and by this means the second ejector is submerged in water and
so put into action, and it conducts the water or a portion thereof from this last
named or bottom basin into the one immediately above it. Thus a double circulating
motion is produced in a fountain constructed according to this Invention, namely,
from the lowest basin into the next one, and from this central or intermediate one
to the upper basin.
In order to improve the effect I may place a third ejector in the upper mouth of
the jet pipe, and thus an upper jet of water may be produced, which by means of
suitable mouthpieces of ordinary construction can also be made to assume any
desired shape, such for instance, as that of a bell, a sheaf, or the like, and another
object, namely, that of further assisting the motion of the water in the jet-pipe
may also be thus attained, whereby the supply of water to the top basin will be
quickened.
For the first purpose according to experiments made by the inventor, a discharge
opening of only about 3 millimetres diameter is amply sufficient to supply and
bring into full play that kind of mouth-piece which is well known, and which
ordinarily requires an opening of 20 millimetres diameter.
If the fountain has already been in play, or if the basin is full through some
other cause, the action of the ejectors will at once bring it into full play, but it is
to be remarked that as experiments have shown it is advisable to cause the water
to rise as slowly as possible at first in order to effect the appearance of the
greatest possible quantity of water in motion, and play with the smallest possible
actual expenditure of water, but such quantity is used according to this Invention
under the highest procurable pressure.
It is not impossible at once to raise the water to the highest point by means of
a single injector, and this method is the only means for adapting many of the
existing fountains (especially those made of stone) which do not afford room
enough on their interior to fix the rest of the above described arrangements. The
single injector-arrangement will also find frequent application in the construction
of small fountains where it is not required to lift the water to a very great height,
say, not above 2 metres. If however the water is raised, as herein before fully
described, very effective fountains can be provided to operate at high pressure
(such for examples as that commonly existing in the water-mains of large towns),
without the disproportionate waste of water hitherto unavoidable.
The method of carrying this Invention into practice will vary according to the
nature of each case, and I have above only set forth an illustrative instance, which
however will make clear to any one acquainted with the subject the broad
principle upon which my improvements are based, and which such person will find
no difficulty in applying, either to new fountains (which may be built of
terra-cotta or other suitable material) or to existing ones.