An Improved Air-pump, especially useful for Exhausting or Diminishing the Pressure in Vacuum-pans, Stills, and other Vessels.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1895
Complete Specification-Left, 1st Aug., 1896-Accepted, 31st Oct., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Air-pump, especially useful for Exhausting or
Diminishing the Pressure in Vacuum-pans, Stills, and other
Vessels.
We JAMES ALFRED WANKLYN of 6 Derby Villas New Malden Surrey Professor
of Chemistry and WILLIAM JOHN COOPER of 6 Derby Villas New Malden Surrey
Consulting and Analytical Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
Our improved air pump consists of a strong and air tight vessel, which may
conveniently be made of copper, iron, lead or other suitable air tight and sufficiently
resisting material. The shape of the vessel admits of .considerable variation and one
convenient shape is an upright cylinder closed at top and bottom except that in the
top there are two perforations and that in the bottom there is one perforation.
One of the top perforations is fitted with a narrow pipe which presently bifurcates-
one furcation being an air vent, and the other furcation in communication with the
vacuum-pan or still, which is intended to be exhausted or to have its atmospheric
pressure altered or regulated. Both furcations require good stop cocks.
The other top perforation (which may be a comparatively wide one) is designed for
the reception of the water, glycerine, oil, mercury or other liquid which is there-
through poured into the cylindrical vessel. It must be provided with either a stopper
or a stop-cock.
The bottom perforation of the cylinder allows of the escape of a pipe which is long
or short according to the nature of the liquid employed and to the degree of exhaustion
aimed at by the air pump. This pipe is also provided with a stop cock or stopper,
and its lower end may dip under liquid.
The principle upon which the action of this air pump depends is that illustrated by
the well known experiment of Torricelli; and the method of using this air pump is
perfectly obvious.
Its advantages are its sudden and rapid action when that is wanted; and also its
slow and gradual action when that is required-in short it is under perfect control.
In towns with an ordinary water supply this air pump enables us to exhaust a large
vacuum-pan without employing a steam engine or gas-engine or severe manual or
other labour.
It is most available and economical and (when it is required to do so) is capable of
bringing about a high degree of exhaustion.
Our air pump may be duplicated, that is to say there may be two cylindrical vessels
with the bottom pipes joined together and also a single common communication with
the vacuum pan, and in that way continuous exhaustion may be achieved.
Dated this First day of November 1895.

page_text: An Improved Air-pump, especially useful for Exhausting or
Diminishing the Pressure in Vacuum-pans, Stills, and other
Vessels.
JAMES ALFRED WANKLYN of No. 6 Derby Villas, New Malden Surrey Professor
of Chemistry, and WILLIAM JOHN COOPER of No. 6 Derby Villas New Malden Surrey
Consulting and Analytical Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to he particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our improved air-pump consists of a strong and air-tight vessel which may
conveniently be made of copper, iron, lead or other suitable airtight and sufficiently
resisting material. The shape of the vessel admits of considerable variation, and one
convenient shape is an upright cylinder A as shown in the accompanying drawing
closed at top and bottom except that in the top there are two perforations ppl and that
in the bottom there is one perforation p.
One of the top perforations (p') is fitted with a narrow pipe n which presently
bifurcates one furcation being an air-vent and the other furcations being in
communication with the vacuum pan or still which is intended to be exhausted or to
have its atmospheric pressure altered or regulated. Both furcations require good
stopcocks as shown.
The other top perforation p (which must be a comparatively wide one) is designed
for the reception of the water, glycerine, oil, mercury, or other liquid which is there-
through poured into the cylindrical vessel. It must be provided with either a
stopper as shown or a stopcock, and must be surmounted by a reservoir f which
may be funnel-shaped or of other convenient shape.
The bottom perforation p³ of the cylinder A allows of the escape of a pipe t which
is long or short according to the nature of the liquid employed and to the degree of
exhaustion aimed at by the air-pump. This pipe is also provided with a stopcock or
stopper and its lower end may dip under liquid.
The principle upon which the action of this air-pump depends is that iilustrated by
the well known experiment of Torricelli; and the method of using this air-pump is
perfectly obvious. Its advantages are its sudden and rapid action when that is
required; and also its slow and gradual action when that is required-in short it
is under perfect control.
In towns with an ordinary water-supply this air-pump enables us to exhaust a large
vacuum-pan without employing a steam engine, or gas engine, or severe manual or
other labour. It is most available and economical and (when required to do so) is
capable of bringing about a very high degree of exhaustion.
Our air-pump may be duplicated, that is to say there may be two cylindrical vessels
such as A, with the bottom pipes t joined together and a single common communi-
cation with the vacuum-pan and in that way continuous exhaustion may be
achieved.
In comparing our air-pump with the common air-pump our wide cylindrical vessel
closed at top and bottom represents the cylinder of the common pump and the
liquid contained by it represents the piston. In using our pump we close the
narrow communications with the vacuum-pan or still or other vessel to be exhausted
and we close the bottom orifice p³ of the cylinder A and allow the air-vent and
wide top opening to be open. Then we pour the liquid into the top-reservoir f
and the air is forced out through the air-vent c. Next we shut the air-vent v and
then we open the bottom valve in p and immediately the liquid begins to descend
and the descending liquid in the lower pipe t acquires great velocity sweeping the
pipe. Before the level of the reservoir has fallen too low we insert the stopper f¹

page_text: or close the wide stop-cock at top of the cylinder A and lastly we open the com-
munication with the vacuum-pan or still which becomes thereby exhausted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:
1. The employment of the comparatively wide top aperture for the admission of
the liquid.
2. The surmounting of the cylinder with the reservoir which enables velocity of
current to be set up in bottom pipe.
3. The general arrangement substantially as afore described.
4. The production of the Torricellian air-pump in form suitable for manufacturing
industry.
5. The joining together of two cylinders after the manner aforesaid so as to make a
continuously acting pump.
Dated this First day of August 1896.
JAMES ALFRED WANKLYN
WILLIAM JOHN COOPER.