IMPROVEMENTS IN DIAPHRAGM SHIPS PUMPS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jacob Edson, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk and
State of Massachusetts, in the United States of America, Mechanical Engineer,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jacob Edson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th November 1880.
JACOB EDSON, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,
in the United States of America, Mechanical Engineer. " IMPROVEMENTS IN
DIAPHRAGM SHIPS PUMPS."
My Invention relates to diaphragm pumps chiefly used on board ships, and
consists in the construction of details and arrangement of parts hereinafter
described.
The casing of the pump is composed of two principal parts, namely, first, the
hollow base open at the top and communicating at the bottom with the suction
pipe; and, second, the head and lever supporter, between the under side of which
and the upper edge or flange of the base is secured the flexible rubber diaphragm.
The upper part of the base is bell mouthed, and provided with annular and radial
grooves and corresponding ribs which support the outer portion of the diaphragm
in its lowest position. The centre of the diaphragm is open and supports the
discharge valve.
Around the opening there is an upper and a lower ring of metal, between which
the inner portion of the diaphragm is clipped by means of bolts (preferably two
in number), said bolts extending upward through the cross head upon which the
pump lever acts, and which is held at the required distance by two vertical sleeves
cast on the upper ring and surrounding the bolts. The lower ring, which forms
a reciprocating supporting surface for the diaphragm, is curved downward, and
provided near its outer circumference with radial perforations. The suction valve
is a disc valve with bevelled coverplate, and the guide ribs of the discharge valve
are tapered at their lower ends parallel with the sides of the cover plate of the
suction valve. The top of the said cover plate is hollowed out to permit the
deposit of impurities contained in the water.

page_text: The head of the bolt in the centre of the suction valve is enlarged into a
triangle, which projects with its apex into the correspondingly recessed discharge
valve. The discharge valve has a hollow cone on its back (opposite the said
triangular bolt head), and an annular recess around the said cone. The discharge
valve is made very light, and arrested in its lift by a weighted stop piece made
in two halves, and suspended from an arm of the cross head by a slot, so as to
allow a limited vertical motion of the stop piece against the cross head, the
stop piece being guided by one of the sleeves which surround the two holding
down bolt.
The rubber diaphragm is curved in section to fit when at rest the supporting
surface of the lower ring.
The centre of the cross head actuated by the pump lever forms a hook, passing
under the centre of the cross head and open at the top, but long enough that its
extremity rests on the enlarged top of the cross head centre, so that not only the
up motion but also the down motion of the lever is shared by the cross head.
The fulcrum or journal of the pump lever is formed by a half cylindrical projection
cast on the upper edge of the pump head and hollow at the bottom; a half
cylindrical sleeve cast to a projection of the pump lever fits over the upper part
of the fixed journal, and is secured by a bolt passing through the sleeve to the centre
of the hollow journal. The hande of the pump lever is reversible, and fits with
its tapered end in the cast metal sleeve which forms the lower part of the lever.
The delivery place of pump head has a nose provided with projections for securing
a hose pipe. The upper end of the lever handle is provided with an adjustable
balance weight.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Jacob Edson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th May
1881.
JACOB EDSON, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts,
in the United States of America, Mechanical Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
DIAPHRAGM SHIPS PUMPS."
This Invention relates to improvements in diaphragm ships pumps, and it
consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as will herein-.
after be more fully shown and described, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, on which Fig. 1 represents a plan view of my improved pump; Fig. 2
represents a sectional side elevation; Fig. 3 represents a vertical section on the line
A, B, shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 represents a cross section on the line C, D, also
shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 represents a plan view of the base or chamber, showing
the diaphragm and piston as being removed; and Fig. 6 represents a bottom view
of the piston. Similar letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on the
different parts of the Drawings.
A is the base of the pump, which is secured to the deck of the vessel by means
of suitable screws; said base a projects downwards as a chamber a¹ that com-
municates with the bilge of the vessel by means of the suction pipe a², the upper
ends of the latter being for this purpose screwed into a screw-threaded recess in
the centre of the chamber a¹, or otherwise secured thereto in a suitable or
equivalent manner; b represents the head and lever supporter for the pump,
between the underside of which and the upper edge of the base a is secured the
elastic rubber diaphragm c, as shown; d, d, d, are the holding bolts for securing
the head b, base a, and rubber diaphragm c together. The upper part of the:
base a projects inwards, as a conical or convex supporting ring a³ for the elastic
rubber diaphragm c, which supporting ring is provided with a series of annular
grooves a, a, and annular bars or projections a³, a³, as well as with radial grooves
a, a, as shown. By so constructing the supporting surface a³ for the elastic
rubber diaphragm c, the latter is prevented from undue strain, tension, and wear
during its up and down reciprocatory motion, as each of the successive annular
rings or bars a³, a³, serve to hold the elastic rubber diaphragm in its proper and
natural position without allowing it to slip off its supporting surface; the radial
grooves a, a, serve to allow the water within the chamber a to reach the annular
grooves a, a, and thus to aid in the gradual and automatical release of the elastic
rubber diaphragm c during the upward stroke of the piston head, and thus to
prevent its cohesion to the supporting ring or surface a³, as well as to hold it on
to the rings or bars a, a, by the force required to lift the water; e is the recipro-
cating annular piston located on the upper side of the elastic rubber diaphragm c,:
as shown, below which is arranged the annular conical or convex supporting ring e',
having radial supporting bars e², e², joined in their lower ends to the annular
ring es, by which arrangement a proper support is provided for the elastic rubber
diaphragm c during the upward strokes of the piston; e³, e, are hollow vertical
posts projecting upwards from the annular piston e, on the top of which rests the
crosshead, the latter being secured to the said uprights es, es, the piston e,
diaphragm c, and supporting ring e¹ by means of the screw bolts g, g, and their
nuts g¹, g', as shown.
The rubber diaphragm c is moulded to an
form, as shown, by which it
is adapted to fit the convex bearing surfaces a³, e¹, when the pump is at rest, as.
represented in Figs. 3 and 4, and by moulding the diaphragm in such a manner it.
is more readily adapted to the various positions of the reciprocating piston during
its up and down motion, without undue strain and wear. The inner edge of the
diaphragm e projects slightly upwards, as an annular projecting ring c', that serves.

page_text: as a seat for the lift valve h; c², c², are annular conical projections on the upper side
of the moulded rubber diaphragm c, and serving as packing rings at the junction of
the holding bolts g, g, and the hollow uprights e, e, as shown in Fig. 4; h is the
lift valve having its seat on the annular rubber ring c¹; and i is the suction valve
having its seat on the upper end of the suction pipe a², as shown. For the purpose
of utilizing the smallest amount of space possible between the said valves, as well as
for the purpose of making them self adjustable on their seats, and in their proper
relations one to another during the action of the pump, I construct them as
follows: The lift valve h is provided on its underside with a central and conical
recess h¹, which, in combination with the conical projection i¹ on the top of the
suction valve i, serves to automatically adjust the lift valve h'on to its seat; and to
still further effect this purpose, the suction valve i is provided with a conic
frustrum acting conjointly with the inclined projections h2, h², on the underside
of the lift valve h, as shown; is is a cup or recess at the top of the suction valve i,
that serves to retain grit and impurities that are pumped up through the suction
pipe, and thereby to prevent the proper closing of the valve on its seat. The conical
projection on the upper part of the suction valve i is provided with a perforation
large enough to allow one or more fingers of the hand to be inserted, in case
it is required to remove the said valve or lift it from its seat to empty the
valve chamber, or for any other purpose. is a secondary and smaller hole
above the perforation in the conical projection , through which a hook or wire
can be inserted to raise the valve when desired. ³ is an annular cup or recess on
the upper side of the lift valve h¹, which cup or recess serves to retain water, which,
as the valve is slightly tipped to one side during its up and down motion, is made
to overflow, and thereby to lubricate the said valve, and to make it fit more closely
on its seat. I make the said lift valve has light as possible, so that it can be
raised with a minimum of power, and to insure its quick closing, and to provide a
stop against which it will strike when raised to its fullest extent. I use a device as
follows: On the cross head fis hung loosely the valve stop l that is provided with
a slot hole k¹ in its upper end, where it embraces the cross head f, so that it may
be capable of a vertical motion when the central projection h* on the upper side of
the lift valve h is brought to bear against the underside of said valve stop during
the upward motion of said lift valve, and in this manner the said adjustable piece k
answers two purposes; first, to act as a stop for the lift valve h; and, secondly,
to act as an additional weight for the purpose of closing the said valve more quickly,
and thus dispensing with an increase in the weight of the valve itself. ² is a semi-
circular side extension on the piece k which is arranged to embrace one of the
uprights e, by which the latter is made to serve as a guide for the vertically
adjustable piece k¹; this latter is cast in two halves that are secured together by
means of the set screw k³. The head b is provided on one side with a nose or delivery
place b, as shown, and upon the upper side of said nose are two projections 62, 63, made.
as shown, for the purpose of securing to the nose b¹, by means of a cord or wire, etc.,
a suitable hose, so as to conduct the water over the deck without soiling it, or for
any other purpose, as may be required. The cross head is provided midway
between its ends with two concentric circular surfaces f¹ and f³, the former a
smaller one and adapted as a lifting support for the lever l, which is for the purpose
provided with a recess fitting around a portion of the circular surface; the
extreme inner end of the lever 7 is curved upwards as a lip 72 that rests on the top of
the larger circular surface f2 on the cross head f, by which the piston is forced
downwards during the down stroke of the lever.
By this peculiar connection between the lever and its cross head I am able to
connect and disconnect the lever very rapidly, as may be needed in case of repairs;
and as the rubbing surfaces are very small as compared with other pump connec-
tions, a minimum of frictional resistance is to be overcome. The lever is made
with a tapering socket 1 for the reception of the curved reversible handle m, which
latter is to be used in the position as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, in case the vessel
is without deck-load, but if the deck is loaded and the pump is to be used, it is

page_text: only necessary to reverse the handle to the position shown in dotted lines in said
Figure 3. As the socketed lever inclines towards the middle of the pump, it will
be seen that no fastening device is required to attach the handle m to the socketed
lever. I provide the upper end of the handle m with an adjustable balance
weight m having a set screw m², by means of which the said balance weight can
be adjusted and secured to any desired part of the handle m so as to equalize and
regulate the weights of the handle m and its lever on either side of the fulcrum
on which they swing. In one piece with the upper end of the socketed lever lis
cast a semicircular sleeve fitting loosely over the convex skeleton bearing b³ that
is cast in one piece with the upper rim of the head b, as shown.
A slot-hole or opening b is made midway on the skeleton bearing b³; the lever l
and the bearing 6s are jointed together by means of the T headed bolt n, its head
resting on the underside of the bearing 63 in the concavity as shown, and its screw
threaded body passing through the opening 6 and up through a perforation in the
semicircular sleeve 6, on the upper side of which it is provided with a pair of
nuts n¹, n¹, as shown. A similar skeleton bearing is cast to the rim of the head b
opposite to the one marked b³ in case it may be required to reverse the position of
the lever l.
What I wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim is,-
1st. In a diaphragm pump the stationary supporting surface as, having annular
bars or projections a³, as, grooves a, a, and radial grooves a, a, and reciprocating
supporting surface e¹ with its radial supporting bars e², c², and annular ring es
combined with a flexible diaphragm c.
2nd. The suction valve with its tapering top i, conic frustrum 2, and
chamber, combined with the lift valve h, having conical recess h¹ and inclined
projections h², h².
3rd. In a ship's pump the lift valve h with its upper annular recess h³.
4th. The suction valve i with its conical projection
hole and hook hole i³.
provided with finger
5th. In a diaphragm ships pump the piston e with its posts es, e³, and cross
head fin combination with the lift valve h, the automatic adjustable valve stop and
weight / having a slot-hole k² and guide piece k².
6th. The moulded
rubber diaphragm c adapted to fit when at rest the
conical bearing or supporting surface a³.
7th. In combination with the cross head f and its concentric surfaces f¹, f', the
lever with its recess , lip 2, semicircular sleeve l, and the skeleton bearing 6³,
with its headed fastening bolt n.
8th. In a ships pump for the purpose described the inclined lever / with its
tapering socket 13-in combination with the reversible handle m.
9th. In combination with a ships pump the head b with its delivery place or
nose b¹ provided with projections 62, 62.
10th. In the combination with the base a, a', and flexible diaphragm c of a ships
pump the upper head piece b.
11. In combination with the handle m the adjustable balance weight m¹ having
set screw m³.
12. The herein described elastic diaphragm c having central opening for the
left valve h, as shown, and adapted to fit the stationary supporting surface a³ when
the pump piston is at rest in its lowest position.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jacob Edson, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty first day of April, A.D. 1881.