AN IMPROVED METHOD OF RAISING WATER AND OTHER FLUIDS
Year: 1840

page_text: HANCOCK'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HANCOCK, of Nos. 1 and 2; Sidney Square, Mile End, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send.greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by petition, represent unto Her most Excellent Majesty.
Queen Victoria, that I had invented "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF RAISING
WATER AND OTHER FLUIDS," and Her said Majesty being willing to encourage
all useful Inventions did issue Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of
Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifteenth day of October,
in the fourth year of Her-reign, whereby Her said Majesty did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Hancock,
Her especial licence that I, the said James Hancock; my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Hancock, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years-therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, 'use; exercise, and-vend,..within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all
Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my said Invention; in which
said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said James
Hancock, by an instrument in writing under my hand. and. seal, particularly
to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled
in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months.next

page_text: and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference beingt hereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Hancock, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
nscertained in and by the following instrument in writing :-
My Invention or improved method of raising water and other fluids consists
in certain applications" and arrangements herein-after particularly mentioned
and described, whereby the method of raising water by an endless rope or band
is improved and rendered much more efficient. This method of raising water
has been long known and practised both in this and other countries, a rope
pump having been used for many years to raise the water at Windsor Castle,
and Mr. George Child having recently used a woollen band for this purpose
instead of a rope. But in these methods there is a great loss or useless expen-
diture of power, since a large quantity, nearly one half of the water elevated
from the well or reservoir, is not delivered or discharged at the required height
or level, but runs back into the well or reservoir whence it came. This will
be evident at once on inspection of any of the methods hitherto practised of
raising water by an endless rope or band, when it will be seen that the water
which is elevated by or adheres to the back or under side of the rope or band,
runs back into the well or reservoir, and is not delivered or discharged at the
required height or level in the same manner as that which is elevated by or
adheres to the other or upper side of the rope or band. Thus the power
requisite to raise this large quantity of water, amounting to nearly one half of
the quantity actually delivered and discharged at the required height, is lost or
uselessly expended. This loss or useless expenditure of power is almost
entirely avoided in my improved method of raising water and other fluids.
This defect in the methods of raising water by an endless rope or band at pre-
sent in use arises from the rope or band being in every part equally tenacious
and absorbent of the water, which may be obviated in one of the manners
herein-after mentioned. Further, my Invention consists also in raising and
discharging at the required height a much greater quantity of water or other
fluid than has hitherto been done by an endless rope or band, and this is
effected in my improved method by certain applications herein-after mentioned,
whereby the front or upper side of the elevating rope or band is made as
bibulous, tenacious, and absorbent of water and other fluids as possible. The
nature of my Invention, then, is an improved method of raising water and others
fluids, whereby the loss or expenditure of power which now takes place, from
the cause above mentioned, in the application of the endless rope or band, is

page_text: almost entirely avoided, and a much greater quantity of water and other fluids
may be raised than has hitherto been done by the endless rope or band.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I proceed to describe
in what manner it may be performed according to the methods which I have
invented and put in practice. It is a principal feature of my improved method
that the endless rope, band, or fabric by which the water and other fluids
is raised should have its back or under side as little absorbent and tenacious
of water and other fluids as possible, and its front or upper side as bibulous,
tenacious, and absorbent of the water and other fluids as possible..
And in order to explain clearly the manner in which my improved method
is to be carried into practice, I distinguish the endless band employed into
three parts. First, the non-absorbent part, which I call the basis or foundation
of the bands; secondly, the absorbent part or useful elevating portion; and,
thirdly, the outer net or covering, which is used to secure and protect the
surface of the absorbent part or useful elevating portion of the band.
The non-absorbent portion, back, basis, or foundation, may consist of sub-
stances in their nature but little absorbent or tenacious of water, as leather,
strips of the skins or hides of animals in their natural state, or tanned and
prepared in any of the known and usual modes with the hair or wool on,
and in that case the skin or hide may of itself constitute the back, basís,
or foundation of the band, and the hair or wool, the absorbent portion, its
surface being covered or protected with an outer net or covering, or left
uncovered; but I do not approve such bands, and I think them much inferior
to the bands made in any of the following methods, all of which I have
found useful and to answer extremely well for raising water and other
fluids. The basis or foundation I make in one of the following ways:→
I select two similar and equal pieces of strong woven hempen cloth, such as
is made for sails of ships, or for the washing of silk, or two pieces of any
other similar and suitable strong fabric, as of wollen, hair, and cocoa-tree
fibre; I then pay over one side of each of the pieces with the compound solu-
tion of caoutchouc (herein-after described), and having left the solution to dry
until it becomes in that particular adhesive state that the two surfaces of the.
solution will adhere firmly to each other, and which state is known among most
workmen of caoutchouc by the term tacky, I place the one piece over the other
with the payed surfaces in contact, and press them together evenly, by passing,
the fabric between rollers, or by other similar and convenient means of pressure,
until the whole is well and firmly pressed together; I sometimes press the
surfaces together by rollers heated with steam, as in particular states of the
surface of the caoutchouc this will render the adhesion more perfect than if

page_text: the rollers are cold. Three or any other number of thicknesses of cloth may
be united together, according to the strength of basis .or. foundation which is
required, in the manner just. described....Other substances. of a glutinous or
resinous nature may be used; but they are..much inferior: to the compound
caoutchouc solution; I also use," in the basis or foundation, a fabric composed
in the warp of iron or other metallic wire, either alone or mixed with split cane
and threads of animal or vegetable material, such as hemp, wool, silk, india-
rubber, or cocoa-tree fibre, and, in the weft or woof one or more of the same
substances, weaving it in the usual and well-known manner, by which means
a fabric of great strength and of any requisite length or width may be pro-
duced. I then pay over one side of this fabric with the compound caoutchouc
solution, and having payed over one side of a piece of the strong woven hempen
cloth, or similar material before mentioned, of the same dimensions as the wire
fabric, with the said compound caoutchouc solution, I place the two together
when in the fit state to adhere, and press them closely as before mentioned; I
then pay over the other side of, the wire. fabric and place another piece of the
said cloth upon it, and thus form a very strong basis or foundation, in which
the wire fabric is effectually protected from the wet. I also use a fabric, having
in the warp strands of caoutchouc, covered or uncovered, alternated with animal,
vegetable, or other fibrous material, and with the said. animal or vegetable
material in the weft or woof, and woven in the usual manner; and my basis or
foundation is made by uniting two or more similar pieces of such fabric with
the compound caoutchouc solution, and pressing them together in the manner
above described..
..
The basis or foundation of the band, made in one or other of the ways
above described, is ready to receive the absorbent or elevating portion of
the band, and I make this absorbent or elevating portion and attach it to
the basis or foundation, for the purpose of raising water and other fluids,
in one of the following manners: Having selected a basis or foundation
of proper length, width, and strength, I cover it on one side all over with
pieces of sponge, so as to present a tolerably even surface. The surface to
be covered, is payod over with the compound solution of caoutchouc, and
each piece of sponge is also payed on one side with the same solution, and when
the solution on the basis and on the sponge is in a "tacky".state, or a fit state
to adhere firmly together, I place the pieces of sponge on the basis, and press
them down by. passing a roller over them, or by any other convenient means of
producing pressure. And I find it to lead to an advantageous result, in respect
of the quantity of water raised and delivered at the required height, that the
sponge should be a little thicker at the edges of the band than at the middle,

page_text: and also that the outer edge of the sponge should be flush with the outer edge
of the basis. The sponge being fixed to: the basis or foundation in the manner
herein-before described, I cover the whole with net work or with some loose
open fabric of hemip, hair, or metal wire; or other similar änd, suitable material,
sewing, lacing, or otherwise firmly attaching it to.-the-basis, or foundation;
and I find that the diagonal net is less adapted to the above purpose than the
square or polygonal net, as the meshes pull togetlier more than in 'these other
kinds, and I generally use 'the square net, placing it so that the threads: may be
arranged longitudinally and transversely to the band, that is, according to the
direction of the length and breadth of the band. When the netting-is-fixed,
I pass á strong cord of hemp or other suitable material-diagonally. 'from-*-side
to side across the surface, and secure it firmly by sewing, or otherwise; to
the basis of 'the' band, at each angle or point where its direction changes, by
which means a sufficient firmness is given to the whole; capable of sustaining
any weight of water that can be raised by an 'endless band. I have also found
it advantageous to cover the whole 'absorbing or elevating surface"with" a
second loose netting, securing it firmly at the sides 'to the basis or foundation
of the band. I also form the absorbing or elevating surface in the following
manner: Having decided on the width of the band; I take'strips of list or
cloth of any convénient width, as an inch or more; which I plat' or weave, either
by hand or in the loom, in the usual manner, making the warp of as many
lengths as the width of the band requires; " I then sew that part of the woof
which is in sight in front, along the bottom of each crossing' part, which makes
each part so sewn a little bag or bucket; I then cut'sponge into pieces of such
a size as may be conveniently fixed on a square, of which the side is equal to
the width of the strips of which the fabric is composed, and fix these by means
of the compound caoutchouc solution, in the manner before described upon
every part of the above fabric where the warp appears in sight, so that there
is in every row of the surface of the fabric alternately a bag or bucket and a
tuft of sponge, both' in the direction of the warp and of the woof. This
elevating or absorbing surface being so prepared, I áttach it firmly to a basis or
foundation, either by means of the compound 'caoutchouc solution, in the manner
already mentioned, or by sewing it with thread, silk, or india-rubber thread or
cord, or by both means if requisite, according to the length and breadth of the
5 band; I then cover the absorbing surface with net work, and; if necessary, pass
a stout cord of hemp or other suitable material diagonally across the elevating
surface, sécuring it firmly, at the angles or turnings, in 'the männer before
described in the construction of the last-mentioned bands. I also form an
absorbing or clevating surface in the following manner: I take a piece of. nct

page_text: work of hemp, hair, iron, or other metallic wire, of any required length and
breadth, and fix or fasten the two side edges or selvages together, so as to form a
cylindrical bag; this bag I fill with sponge, cork, hair, wool, either separately
or in combination. . These cylinders or ropes of absorbent substances are firmly
fixed or attached, by sewing or otherwise, to a basis or foundation either
longitudinally or portions of them transversely, and further secured by an outer
covering of net work, or with strong cord if necessary, in the manner before
described. If the cylinders are fixed longitudinally, they must be sewn through
to the basis or foundation at any small interval, so as to prevent the absorbent
materials of which they are composed from being displaced and becoming too
condensed. I also use these cylinders, or ropes of absorbent materials, when
unattached to a basis or foundation as here described, in the same manner as
ropes and woollen bands have hitherto been used. The absorbent surface may
also be composed of ropes of hemp, hair, or pieces of skins or hides of animals
prepared or in their natural state, with the fur or wool on, or of other similar
and suitable substance, sewed or firmly fixed by the compound caoutchouc
solution, as before described. I also make an absorbing or elevating surface
as follows:-I set up a loom with warp, the ground of which I make of hemp,
flax, wool, cotton, silk, cocoa-tree fibre, metal wire, or other similar and
suitable material; for the pole, I use strands of hair or whalebone, or the two
combined, and my weft I make of the same materials above named as the
ground of my warp. I then weave it according to the usual mode of weaving
velvet plush or hat shag, raising my pile of the material in the pole, and then
cutting it through with a treanat, so as to constitute a hair or whalebone or a
hair and whalebone brush. This absorbing or elevating surface is attached to
a basis or foundation by sewing, lacing, or otherwise, and protected by net work
if necessary, as before described.
The compound caoutchouc solution herein mentioned is the substance
generally known in the trade either under that name or under the name
of indian-rubber varnish, and is the substance described in the Specification
of Letters Patent granted to me, the Eighth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty, "for a method of forming
a fabric or fabrics applicable to various uses by combining caoutchouc, or
certain compounds thereof, with wood, whalebone, or other fibrous materials,
vegetable or animal, manufactured or prepared for that purpose, or with
metallic substances manufactured or prepared," and which said Specification
bears date the Eighth day of August of the same year, and was duly enrolled
in Her Majesty's Inrolment office of Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery,
on the day of the date thereof; and the following is the mode in which I

page_text: am usually in the habit of preparing the said solution: -I take any quantity
of caoutchouc and steep it in coal tar or oil of turpentine, or a mixture of
both, sufficient to dissolve it; when dissolved, I pass it through an iron
strainer, and it is then fit for use.
The band, prepared in one of the ways above mentioned, and securely
joined at the ends in some of the usual and well-known manners, is to be
placed round two drums or rollers, whereof one is at the height or level at
which the water or other fluid is to be discharged, and the other is immersed
below the surface of the water or other fluid is to be raised. And I find no
advantage in immersing the lower drum or roller to any greater depth than is
sufficient for the complete saturation of the absorbent portion of the band.
The band must then be made to move or rotate, by machinery applied to
the upper drum or roller in some of the usual and well-known manners, and
the velocity at which the band must rotate so as to raise and deliver the
greatest quantity of water and other fluids, will depend on the circumstances
of each case, and can only be determined by experiment, but I have observed
a velocity of twelve hundred feet per minute to be a good average velocity.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim as my
Invention any of the mechanical arrangements necessary for making the endless
band to rotate with the proper velocity, nor any of the various substances and
materials herein-before mentioned, except so far as they are used in con-
nection with and in aid of my improved method of raising water and other
fluids as herein-before described; but what I claim as my Invention is as
follows:-
First, I claim the application, to raising water and other fluids, of an endless
band, whereof one portion is non-absorbent and the other portion is absorbent
of the water and other fluids.
Secondly, I claim the application, to raising water and other fluids, of a basis
or foundation made as herein described.
Thirdly, I claim the application, to raising water and other fluids, of sponge
when attached to a basis or foundation, as herein described.
Fourthly, I claim the application, to raising water and other fluids, of a fabric
of list or cloth, and tufts of sponge, as herein described.
Fifthly, I claim the application, to raising water and other fluids, of cylinders
of net work filled with sponge, cork, hair, or wool, as herein described.
Sixthly, I claim the application, to raising water and other fluids, of hemp,
hair, pieces of the skins or hides of animals, when attached to a basis or
foun:lation, as hercin described.

page_text: Seventhly, I claim the application, to raising water and other fluids, of the
horsehair, and whalebone brush herein described.
Lastly, Iclaim the application, to raising water and other fluids, of net work
when used as a protection, covering, or security to an absorbing surface, as
herein described.
In witness whereof, the said- James Hancock hath hereunto set his
hand and seal; the Fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
JAMES (L.B.) HANCOCK.
AND-BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Fifteenth day of April, in.
the year.above mentioned, the aforesaid James Hancock came before our Lady
the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein -contained, in form above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.