AN IMPROVED HY- DRAULIC MACHINE
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alphonse Médail, of Paris, in the Empire
of France, and of 4, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED HY-
DRAULIC MACHINE."
Sealed the 19th May 1854, and dated the 16th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alphonse Médail
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th December 1853.
I, ALPHONSE MÉDAIL, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and of
No. 4, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
HYDRAULIC MACHINE" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the raising and impelling of water and
other fluids, and is applicable in all cases wherein a large body of
water or other fluid is desired to be raised or impelled in a short space
of time and with a sinall expenditure of power, and may be adapted to
the following purposes

page_text: Firstly, raising and discharging water from the holds of ships and
other vessels, in place of the pumps ordinarily employed.
Secondly, draining marshes, swamps, and other similar places, and
raising and impelling water for the irrigation of meadows, and cætera,
as sandy or muddy water, and even pebbles, may be thereby raised with
the water without the slightest injury or hinderance to the machine.
Thirdly, for raising and impelling water in the different apartments
of buildings, and also for a variety of other simalar purposes where
water or other fluid is desired to be raised or impelled.
The Invention consists of a rotary machine acting by centrifugal
force, and is constructed as follows:-
The machine is of a conical form, and is composed of a series of
cones of sheet iron or other suitable material arranged one inside the
other, being separated and kept asunder in their respective positions by
means of vertical partitions. The innermost cone is closed at top and
bottom by means of a casting, by means of which also the whole machine
is connected to a central vertical shaft. The other cones are all opened
at the bottom, and are each a little higher than the other, the inner-
most conc being the lowest and the outermost one being the highest.
Each cone is provided at top with an internal flange projecting hori-
zontally over the space between it and the next cone, tho space at the
top of the cones thus forming as it were a bason, of which the top of
the innermost cone forms the bottom. The machine is enclosed at the
top by means of a cover of sheet iron or other suitable material, closely
united to the outer cone, and provided at the centre with an opening, to
which a vertical tube is adapted. The tube revolves with the machine,
and is furnished at its upper extremity with a reservoir or cistern, into
which the water or other fluid is discharged. The vertical shaft which
supports the whole machine is mounted in suitable bearings at top and
bottom, and is caused to revolve by means of any suitable mechanism.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The lower end of the cones
being immersed in the water or other fluid to be raised or impelled,
and the machine caused to revolve quickly, the centrifugal force will
compel the water or other fluid to ascend the conical spaces until it
meets with the internal flanges aforesaid, which will cause it to flow

page_text: into the basin formed by the upper ends of the cones, and the increas-
ing pressure of the water or other fluid will thence impel it through
the only outlet, viz., the vertical tube, which will discharge the same
into the reservoir or cistern at top, whence it may be conducted in
the desired direction by pipes or other suitable means, the quantity
of water or other fluid raised depending upon the dimensions of the
machine and the speed at which it rotates. I would here reinark,
that by allowing a portion of the water to escape it may be made to
act upon a water wheel connected to the shaft of the machine, and
thus the machine may be made self-moving.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by. the said Alphonse Médail in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th June 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ALPHONSE MÉDAIL, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and of 4,
Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
-teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her. heirs..and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alphonse Médail, Her special licence
that I, the said Alphonse Médail, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Alphonse Médail, 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 "AN IMPROVED
HYDRAULIC MACHINE," upon the condition (amongst others) that .I,
the said Alphonse Médail, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal should particularly describe and ascertain the nature

page_text: of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next aud immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alphonse Médail, 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 (that is to say) :-
My Invention of an improved hydraulic machine relates to the
raising and impelling of water and other fluids, and is applicable in all
cases wherein a large body of water or other fluid is desired to be raised
or impelled in a short space of time and with a small expenditure of
power, and may be adapted to the following and a variety of other
similar useful purposes:-
Firstly, raising and discharging water from the holds of ships and
other vessels, in place of the pumps ordinarily employed.
Secondly, draining marshes, swamps, and other similar places,
and raising and impelling water for the irrigation of meadows, &c.,...
as sandy or muddy water, and even pebbles, may be thereby raised
with the water without the slightest injury or hindrance to the
machine.
Thirdly, for raising and impelling water in the different apartments
of buildings and other places, and also for a variety of other similar
purposes where water or other fluid is desired to be raised or
impelled.
My Invention consists of a machine acting by means of centrifugal
force, and is constructed as follows:-The machine is of a conical form,
and is composed of a series of cones of sheet iron or other suitable
material arranged one inside the other, being separated and kept asunder
in their respective positions by means of vertical partitions. The inner-
most cone is closed. at top and bottom by means of a casting, by which
means also the whole machine is connected to a central vertical shaft.
The other concs are all open at the bottom and rise by gradation, the
innermost conċ being the lowest, and the outermost one being the
highest. Each cone is provided at top with an internal flanche pro-s

page_text: jecting horizontally over the space between it and the? next cone, the
space at the top of the cones thus forming: (as it were)' a bason, the
bottom of which is formed by the top of the innernost "cone.
The machine is enclosed at the top: by means of a cover of sheet
iron or other suitable material closely unitedi to the outer cone, and
provided at the centre with an opening, to which a' vertical tube is
adapted. The tube revolves with the machine, and' is furnished at its
upper extremity with a reservoir or cistern into which the water or
other fluid is discharged. The vertical shaft which supports the whole
machine is mounted in suitable bearings at top: and: bottom; and is
caused to revolve by means of any suitable mechanism!!!. Another
method of constructing the upper part of the above machine is as
follows:-Instead of enclosing the top of the machine by means of a
plate it is left open, and to the upper edge of the outer cone a cylinder
(also of sheet iron or other suitable material) is attached by means of a
flanche. The interior of the cylinder is furnished; with a worm or spiral
rim projecting internally.
The upper extremity of the cylinder communicates with a reservoir
or cistern. In order more clearly to illustrate the practical construc-
tion and application of my Invention, I have annexed hereunto two
Sheets of Drawings representing my improved hydraulic machine, and
have marked the same with figures and letters of reference correspond-
ing with those in the following description thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
In Sheet 1 of the Drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the apparatus
shewn partly in section, and Figure 2 is a semi-plan view of the same.
a, a, represent a series of cones arranged one inside the other, which
are separated or kept asunder by means of the partitions b, b, b, b. The
innermost cone a', is closed at top and bottom by means of the circular
plates or castings c, c, by means of which the whole apparatus is con-
nected to the central vertical shaft d, d. The intermediate cones are
each furnished at top with an internal flanche e, projecting horizontally
over the space between it and the next cone. f, f, is the cover of the
machine, which is attached to the upper edge of the outer cone a", and

page_text: is furnished at the centre with a vertical tube 9, 9. This tube revolves
with the machine, and is furnished at its upper extremity with a cistern
or reservoir h, h, into which the water or other fluid is discharged.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The lower ends of the
cones being immersed in the water or other fluid to be raised or
impelled and the machine caused to revolve quickly, the centrifugal
force will compel the water or other fluid to ascend the conical spaces
until it meets the internal flanches, e, e, which will cause it to flow into
the space formed by the upper ends of the cones, and the increasing
pressure of the water or other fluid, as the machine continues to
revolve, will thence impel it through the only outlet, viz', the vertical
tube 9, 9,
into the reservoir or cistern h, h, at top, whence it may
be conducted in the desired direction by pipes or other suitable
means.
In Sheet 2 of the Drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, shewn partly
in section, of another arrangement of the apparatus, and Figure 2 is a
semi-plan view of the same. The lower or conical part of the machine
is similar to the preceding, except that the internal flanches e, e, are
dispensed with. The top of the machine, instead of being enclosed, is
open, and to the top of the outer cone a", a cylinder f, f, is attached;
9, 9, is the worm or spiral rim attached to or formed in the interior of
the cylinder f, f. The action of this arrangement is as follows:-Tho
lower end of the cones being placed in the water or other fluid to be
raised or impelled and the machine caused to revolve quickly, as in
the preceding case, the centrifugal force will cause the water or other
fluid to ascend the spaces between the cones, impelling it against the
sides of the cylinder; the action of the worm will carry it forward to
the top whence it may be discharged in any convenient manner. I
would here observe that the quantity of water or other fluid raised will
depend upon the dimensions of the machine and the speed at which it
rotates.
Having thus described the nature and object of my said Invention of
an improved hydraulic machine, together with the manner of carrying
the same into practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I
claim as my Invention the construction and use of a revolving

page_text: hydraulic machine acting by means of centrifugal force, composed of
a series of cones placed one inside the other, in the manner and for
the purposes above particularly set forth and represented in the Draw-
ings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alphonse Médail, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
four.
10 Witness,
ALEX. PRINCE,
Patent Agent,
ALPHONSE MÉDAIL. (L.S.)
4, Trafalgar Square,
Charing Cross.