IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING WATER.
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Ferdinand Prud'homme, of 51, Rue de Malte,
Paris, in the Empire of France, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING WATER.".
Sealed the 27th March 1863, and dated the 15th October 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Ferdinand
Prud'homme at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents with his
Petition, on the 15th October 1862.
I, FRANÇOIS FERDINAND PRUD'HOMME, of 51, Rue de Malte, Paris, in the
Empire of France, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING WATER," to be as
follows:-
lift
The apparatus consists of two main portions, whereof one, which I call tho
pump, is nearly at the bottom of the well, shaft, or place whence water is
to be lifted, and the other portion, which I call the force pump, is outside such
well, shaft, or place, and close to the motive power, whatever be the latter's
distance from the mouth of the said well, shaft, or place; the two portions,
that is, the lift and force pumps, communicate. by means of one or two pipes
through which the water rises. The lift pump is a cylinder or barrel closed.
at the ends, and fitted with two equal solid or full pistons on one and the
same rod; this cylinder or barrel, which is furnished with suction and force
valves, is divided midwise by a partition or diaphragm through which the

page_text: pistons' rod passes. The force pump is fitted with a single solid or full piston
worked by a steam engine or other motive power, and its motion is transmitted
to the pistons in the lift numn by the water in the ascension vines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said François Ferdinand Prud'homme in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th April 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS
FERDINAND PRUD'HOMME, of 51, Rue de Malte, Paris, in the Empire of
France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said François Ferdinand Prud'homme, Her special licence that I, the said
François Ferdinand Prud'homme, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said François Ferdinand Prud'homme, 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR RAISING WATER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
François Ferdinand Prud'homme, my executors or administrators, 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 François Ferdinand Prud'homme,.
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
My Invention relates to the construction of machinery or apparatus for
raising water. By means of my improved machinery water may be lifted
from considerable depths in a continuous or unbroken stream; the machinery.

page_text: is therefore especially suitable for shafts of coal mines and other deep places,
because it obviates the necessity of having to fix to the sides of such shafts or
places a series of pumps one above another from the bottom of the shaft to
its mouth.
.
My apparatus consists of two main portions, one of which I call the "lift
pump" and the other the "driving or force pump." The lift pump is placed
nearly at the bottom of the well, shaft, or other place whence water is
to be lifted; the force or driving pump is outside such well, shaft, or place,
and close to the steam or other driving engine or motive power employed,
whatever be the distance of such engine or power from the mouth of the said
well, shaft, or place. The two portions, that is, the lift pump and the driving
or force pump, communicate by means of one or two strong and stanch pipes
through which the water rises, such pipe or pipes opening at bottom into the
lift pump and at their further end into the driving pump. The lift pump is a
cylinder or barrel closed at the ends, and fitted with two equal solid pistons
on the same rod; this cylinder or barrel is divided midwise by a solid
partition or diaphragm, through which the rod of the pistons passes, the rod
working through a stuffing box. Suction and force valves are provided. Tho
force or driving pump consists of a cylinder or barrel fitted with a solid.
piston worked by a steam or other engine or motive power, and the to-and-fro
motion of this piston is transmitted to the pistons in the lift pump by the water
in the ascension pipes.
The force-pump piston is connected to the steam or motive engine by
jointing the pump piston rod to the crank arm or beam of such steam or
motive engine. The lift and force pump cylinders are bored or formed smooth.
and true on the inside; the lift pumps may most conveniently be fitted three
or four yards above the surface of the water to be raised.
In order that the construction and method of action of my apparatus may
be fully understood, I proceed to describe the accompanying Drawings, which
represent apparatus arranged according to my Invention.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the lift and driving pumps through the
centre. A, A', is the lift pump fitted nearly at the bottom of the pit or well,:
say, three or four yards above the surface of the water.; H, H', are suction pipes.
dipping into the water, and extending to the bottom of the well or mine shaft ;-
orifices are formed in the sides of the pipes near the bottom to admit the
water. a is a partition which is fixed across the cylinder A, A', and divides
it into the two chambers or compartments A and A'. B and B are two solid-
equal pistons fixed on a rod b, which works through a stuffing box a¹ attached
to tho partition a; the pistons are packed with leather or metallic-spring

page_text: packing. C, C', are valve chambers; D, d, suction valves, and D', d',
delivery or force valves. M is the body of the driving pump; it consists of a
cylinder bored smooth and true, and closed at the ends. This pump, which
is double-acting, is fitted with a solid piston P on a rod p, which passes
through stuffing boxes m, m, on the cylinder ends, and is jointed at one end
to the crank arm or beam of a steam or other motive engine. F, F¹, are
strong stanch ascension pipes through which the water rises, and by means
of the water in these pipes motion is transmitted from the piston P to the
pistons B, B'. The pipes F and F are attached at bottom to the cylinder.
A, A', from which they rise nearly vertically to the mouth of the well, and
are then carried over the edge, and brought horizontally to the pump M, to
which they are attached; near to their junction with this pump they com-
municate with valve chambers L, L', and G; ff, are twin or conjoined
valves in the chambers L, L'; the top of the valve chamber G opens into a
delivery pipe G¹.
The apparatus works as follows:-The pipes H, H', and the rest of the
apparatus from the cylinder M to the cylinder A, A', inclusively, being filled
with water, suppose the piston P travelling from right to left, the pistons
and valves will be in the position shewn in Figure 1. As the piston P moves
it presses on the water in the pipe F, the valves f and D₁ close, and the
piston B¹ will be forced from left to right, the piston B moving with it; and
the water contained in the chamber A', between its end and the piston B', will
be forced into the valve chamber C', raise the valve d", and enter the pipe F¹;
the water in the chamber A, between the piston B and partition a, will be
forced up the pipo F' to the chamber L'; the valve f¹ being open, some of
the water will be delivered through the chamber G and pipe G', and some
will pass into and fill the cylinder M behind the piston P. At the same time
a suction action will be produced in the chamber A, between its end and the
piston B, whereupon the valve D will open, and water will be drawn up
through the pipe H. When the piston P reaches the end of its stroke it
will stop momentarily, and the valves D and d¹ will at once close; the
piston P will travel back from left to right, and exert pressure on the water
in F, and close the valve f', and drive back the pistons B, B', from right to
left, thus forcing the water through the pipe F' into the chambers L, G, and
pipe G', the valve f being open. Thus the machine is double-acting, water
being drawn in at one end while being forced out at the other, and a continuous
delivery will be obtained through the pipe G¹.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of a modification of the preceding arrange-
ment, differing therefrom only in having an upright instead of horizontal lift

page_text: pump; A, A', is the lift pump, and M the driving pump. The machine works
thus: As the piston P travels from right to left the valves fand D' close,
and the water being forced up the pipe F will drive the pistons B, B',
upward; the water in the chamber A¹ between the top of that chamber and
the piston B', as also the water in A between the piston B and partition a,
will be forced through the pipe F¹ with the chamber L', some of it flowing
out through the pipe G', and the rest passing into and filling the cylinder M.;
and a suction action being produced between the end of the chamber A and
the piston B, water will be drawn up through the pipe H. When the piston P
performs its return stroke, that is, from left to right, it will press on the water
in F', and so drive the piston B' downward, and water will rise up the pipe F,
and be ejected from G', whereby a continuous delivery will be obtained.
Figure 3 is a central vertical section of a modification of double-acting
pump, differing from that in Figure 1 in this respect only, that the working
pressure of the water is exerted on the outer surfaces of the pistons B and B
instead of on their inner surfaces. The driving pump is not shewn, being
similar to that in Figure 1. The method of action is as follows:-As the
piston P of the driving pump travels from right to left, it forces the water in
the pipe F against the outer surface of the piston B, and thereby drives that
piston and the piston B¹ from left to right; thus while water is rising up the
pipe F¹, water is being drawn into the chamber A¹ through the valve d.
When the piston P travels back or from left to right, it forces the water in
the pipe F against the outer surface of the piston B', and drives that piston
from right to left, thereby forcing water through the pipe F, whence it is
delivered through the chamber L and pipe G¹; thus a continuous discharge is
obtained.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of a modification, in which the force pump
M, P, is single-acting, and provided with a compound valve L, L', and the
lift pump A, A', is combined with an air vessel R. The pump body M is
open at top, and is fitted with a solid piston P. In the foot M' is a valve
chamber G, in which is the compound valve L, L', hollowed out, or with
parts cut away, as shewn in the horizontal section, Figure 6; the conical
portion L of this valve closes the chamber G at bottom, and its cylindrical
portion L closes the chamber G at top. The valve L, L', also acts as a
chamber to another valve T, which opens in the contrary direction. t is a
small spring which keep the valve T shut when the latter is not forced down-
ward by the water. The apparatus works as follows:-The whole being filled
with water except the air vessel R (the upper half of which contains com-
presssed air), then when the piston P descends, the valves L and D close,

page_text: and the valves T and D open, and the pistons B, B', will be driven upward
by the water forced by the piston P through the pipe F into the part A¹ of the
lift pump. The water in the cylinder A¹ between the top end of that cylinder
and the piston B', and the water in A between the piston B and the
diaphragm a, will be forced into the air vessel R, the piston rod 6 being hollow
and open at its upper end, and perforated near the lower end with orifices
x, x, through which the water travels from A to A¹ and R; at the same time
suction is taking place in A, between the bottom end of A and the piston B,
the suction valve D will rise, and water will be drawn up through the suction
pipe H. When the piston P is at the bottom of its stroke it will stop
momentarily, and the valves D and T will close; but immediately the piston
begins to ascend, the valves L, L', will be lifted, because the piston B¹ will be
driven forcibly downwards by the air in R (the piston B moving down with
it), whereupon the water in A' between the piston B' and the diaphragm a,
as also the water in A between the bottom end thereof and the piston B, will
be forced up the pipe F into the valve chamber G, some of the water entering
and filling the cylinder M, and the rest escaping through the outlets G¹, J;
or if the outlet J be closed, the water will lift the valve i, and rise into the
pipe I. The pump M, P, being single-acting the outflow is not continuous,
but only takes place during the descent of the piston P.
Figure 5 is a vertical section of a modification differing only from the
preceding in respect of the pistons B, B', being on a solid instead of a hollow
rod, and in respect, also, of the resilient or elastic pressure of the air being.
exerted under both pistons, B and B', at the same time. The action is as
follows: When the piston P descends, it will press the water in the pipe F
against the top of the piston B¹, forcing the pistons B', B, downward. When
the piston P rises the compressed air will force the water into A, A¹, under
the pistons B, B', causing them to rise and drive water up the pipe F. The
valves L and D being open, some of the water will be discharged through J,
and the rest will enter the cylinder M.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,
First, the lift pump, herein-before described, in which two equal solid
pistons work in the same cylinder, such cylinder being divided into two
chambers or compartments by a fixed partition forming a resisting surface to
the action of the water.
Second, the mode of working the valves in combination with the mode of
working the pistons of the lift pump, whereby the suction and forcing of the
water are produced.

page_text: Third, the arrangement and combination of parts constituting the double-
acting force or driving pump, herein-before described, having no valves, but
having a solid piston transmitting motion to the lift pump pistons by continuous
columns of water.
Fourth, the arrangement and combination of parts constituting the single-
acting force pump with compound valve, berein-before described.
Fifth, the combination of an air chamber with the lift pump of the single-
acting apparatus for the purpose of exerting a resilient force or elastic action
on the lift pump pistons, as described.
Sixth, the general arrangement and combination of parts constituting my
improved machinery for raising water, herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said François Ferdinand Prud'homme, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
BRESSON, F.
Ingénieur Civil,
Rue de Malte, 51,
à Paris,
PRUD'HOMME. (L.B.)