Improvements in Apparatus for Forcing or Lifting Water or other Liquids.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 1st July, 1893-Accepted, 12th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Forcing or Lifting Water or
other Liquids.
We, EVAN EVANS of Denbigh Street, Llanrwst in the County of Denbigh,
Ironmonger and Plumber and WILLIAM VEITCH of Trefriw in the County of
Carnarvon, Managing Director of Sulphur Mine, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:--
This invention has for its object an apparatus for lifting or forcing water or
other liquids by means of compressed air or gas and is applicable for use in wells,
quarries, mines, coal pits and the like, also for lifting oil, vitriol, and other acids,
liquors in chemical works, breweries and the like.
The invention consists.
First. In a vessel of any suitable form or capacity, hereafter called the forcing
chamber. This is partially or preferably wholly submerged in the water or other liquid
to be raised or is supplied with the water or other liquid under a sufficient head for
the liquid to run into it by force of gravity.
Second. A self acting valve allowing the free entrance of the liquid but
preventing its exit through the same valve, and also another self acting valve, and
its connections, allowing the water to freely rise through the said connections to
the reservoir or other place to be supplied but preventing the water from running
back through this valve.
Third. A self acting apparatus for admitting the air to the forcing chamber,
shutting it off and simultaneously opening an exhaust when the forcing chamber is
full of air and is emptied of its water.
This self acting apparatus consists in a supply valve and an exhaust valve
coupled together or otherwise arranged to work synchronously and a device for
actuating these valves. From any convenient part of the pipe leading from the
forcing chamber to these valves I take a small pipe. This pipe is divided into
two branches, on one is a graduated adjustable cock to accurately regulate the
speed through which the air can pass so that only a small amount can pass in a given
time. The other branch has a cock which will allow a large force of air to pass in a
given time. The two branches are brought to a cylinder in which works a piston,
and connected with the rod of this piston are tappets. These tappets are so
arranged that as the piston rises a given distance in this cylinder a tappet suddenly
opens the second and larger cock causing a large amount of air to instantly enter
the cylinder and to force the piston and tappets rapidly up, and the piston or tappets
being connected with the valve lever to instantly close the admission to the forcing
chamber, and at the saine instant open the exhaust. The piston having arrived at
the end of its stroke the larger regulating valve closes automatically by means of a
weight or otherwise; the piston now gradually exhausts through the small regulated
valve until the forcing chamber is full. By this time a tappet has arrived at a point
at which it relieves the valve rod and the valve rod being heavily weighted
instantly falls closing the exhaust and at the same moment opening the air supply
valve. The tappets are preferably arranged on a sliding tappet rod and this rod in
falling opens the larger regulating valve and thus at once allows the air in the
cylinder to escape, the larger regulating valve now closes and is in position to be
again opened by the tappets as they rise for the second stroke in the manner already
above described.

page_text: In giving this description of our experimental apparatus we do not wish to be
confined to this exact arrangement as it is obvious that any other modification of
this device, by which the two valves can be simultaneously and suddenly opened
and simultaneously and suddenly closed at a properly regulated interval, just
allowing time for the forcing chamber to fill with air and water respectively, will
work. A single three way cock slide or double lift valve could if desired be used
instead of the two valves connected.
The cylinder can be of any desired material, such as lead, in cases where
corrosive gases or liquids are used and other mechanism can take the place of the
tappets. The piston could have electric devices or other relays of power whereby
the instant it rose or fell to a given point it should put in operation a fresh source
of power which shall instantly operate the valves
Dated the 30th day of September 1892.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Forcing or Lifting Water or
other Liquids.
We, EVAN EVANS of Denbigh Street, Llanrwst in the County of Denbigh,
Ironmonger, and Plumber, and WILLIAM VEITCH of Trefriw, in the County of
Carnarvon, Managing Director of Sulphur Mine, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object an apparatus for lifting or forcing water or other
liquids by means of compressed air or gas, and is applicable for use in wells,.
quarries, mines, coal-pits, and the like, and for lifting oil, vitriol and other acid
liquors in chemical works, breweries and other places.
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in
which :-
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the complete apparatus:
Figure 2, an elevation of the pump proper :
Figure 3, a sectional plan of the same:
Figure 4, a cross section of the upper valve and valve chest of cylinder:
Figure 5, transverse view of same:
Figure 6, longitudinal view of lower valve below cylinder: and
Figure 7, transverse view of same.
The invention consists-
First, in a passage A of any suitable form or capacity, hereafter called the
forcing chamber. This is partially preferably or wholly immersed in the water or
other liquid to be raised, or is supplied with the water or other liquid under a
sufficient head for the water to run into it by force of gravity:
Secondly, in a self-acting valve for each forcing vessel, allowing the free entrance
of the liquid, but preventing its return through the same valve; this is set forth
diagrammatically at B:
Thirdly, in an exit pipe C from each chamber, where there are more than one,
and we prefer two, carrying water or other liquid to where it is wanted; this
pipe C is also supplied with valves, not shown, for preventing the return of the
liquor:
Fourthly, in a regulating device forming the main subject of the invention,
whereby the air is alternately sent into the chamber or chambers so as to force out
the water or other liquid, and then withdrawn so as to allow fresh water to enter.
D D¹ represent the pipes leading from this apparatus to the chamber or chambers.

page_text: The advantages of using compressed air in place of steam are that the air does not
condense or combine with the water to any appreciable extent.
The apparatus for regulating the air is set forth in detail in Figures 1 and 2.
E is the entrance of compressed air from any convenient source: F, a valve
chamber and f, a piston valve therein: d, ports connected by pipes D D', Figure 1,
to chambers A. According as the valve F is at one end or other of its stroke, so
are the ports d, respectively, one open to the air and the other to the entrance E,
or vice versa.
The apparatus for moving this valve is as follows:-
G is a cylinder, and H a piston. This cylinder is supplied by pipe I and valve J
with compressed air or steam, or other motive fluid; the piston in the drawing is
going in the direction of the arrows. K is a cylinder kept continually full of
oil or water. L is a valve allowing a slow percolation of liquid through it:
and, ports connected with this valve. When the piston is in the middle of
the stroke, it cannot go quickly, being buffered by the oil in cylinder K, which can
only pass from one end of the cylinder to the other at this time through the valve L,
the moment, however, the piston arrives past the port 1, the oil can very rapidly
pass from to, consequently, the piston H travels very rapidly. At this point,
the yoke M comes in contact with the tappets N and N', rapidly moving the valve f
and the valve J respectively into the reverse positions. This action changes the
ports of chamber G, the admission port now becoming exhaust, and vice versa,
simultaneously, through the tappet N and its valve rod being pushed forward the
pipe D is cut off from the atmosphere and connected with pipe E, while the pipe D'
is cut off from the pipe E and connected with the atmosphere. The reverse action
now takes place, the piston H moves rapidly back in the direction contrary to the
arrows, for a short distance until it passes port 1, when again the air cannot merely
pass round up valve L but through the ports to , consequently, the piston again
moves very rapidly and the yoke M comes in contact with the tappets N' and N',
respectively, when again the reversal of the valves takes place, the exact opposite
to that already described. It will be obvious that this principle of having a small
escape Land a large escape or relay and or and can be applied in a great
variety of ways, as it is really the principle of a relay, and any other method of
using a relay can be adopted whereby, when the piston has gone about three fourths
of its stroke, and is about to work the valves, an additional force or a lessening of
the impediment shall come into play, whereby the action during the remaining
portion of the stroke shall be very rapid, and thus the valves be almost instantly
reversed.
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. In apparatus for forcing or lifting water or other fluids, the arrangement of a
forcing chamber having an entrance for the fluid supplied with a back pressure valve,
an exit for the fluid also supplied with back pressure valve, and leading to the
receiving reservoir, and a third pipe supplying air or gas under pressure to the
forcing chamber having mechanism for automatically allowing that air to escape as
soon as the vessel has become full of air, and again admitting air under pressure
as soon as the vessel has become filled with water.
2. In an apparatus for forcing or lifting water or other liquids, an automatic
valve regulator in which the valves are very rapidly and simultaneously reversed
after remaining stationary during the filling and during the emptying of the forcing
chamber.
3. The compressed air actuating device substantially as herein described and set
forth in the accompanying drawings, whereby the current of air is, through nearly
the entire stroke, entirely unimpeded, and the valves of two chambers almost
instantly changed, and thus there is always, except during a minute period at each

page_text: stroke, a full stream of condensed air going to one chamber and a full stream of
exhaust air passing from the other chamber.
Dated this 30th day of June 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, and London, Patent: Agents.