IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION OF SUCTION SIPHONS FOR RAISING LIQUIDS AND PRODUCING CONDENSATIONS AND EVAPORATIONS IN VACUUM
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edouard de Lagillardaie, of Lorient, in the
Empire of France, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF SUCTION SIPHONS FOR RAISING LIQUIDS AND PRODUCING
CONDENSATIONS AND EVAPORATIONS IN VACUUM."
Scaled the 12th April 1870, and dated the 1st November 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edouard de Lagillardaie
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st November 1869.
I, EDOUARD DE LAGILLARDATE, of Lorient, in the Empire of France,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SUCTION SIPHONS FOR RAISING LIQUIDS AND PRODUCING
CONDENSATIONS AND EVAPORATIONS IN VACUUM," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of a siphon and a reservoir or filler; the ends
of the two arms of the siphon are immersed, the descending one being
arranged vertically. The reservoir communicates by a pipe provided
with a cock with the liquid to be drawn off; the lower part of the

page_text: reservoir is fixed on an horizontal plane on a level with the highest
part of the siphon, a tube for the passage of air reaches from the upper
part of the reservoir to the top of the siphon. In making use of
the apparatus the reservoir is first filled up, having previously shut
the cock of the pipe and the communication between the apparatus
and the atmosphere is then cut off; the suction siphon is then ready
for working and acts as soon as the cock is opened and a suction
at each end of the siphon is produced, and the liquid rising and passing
over the bend of the siphon a regular downward flow is established.
During this first phase the air in the siphon expands and enters the
reservoir and a sudden lowering of the liquid level is occasioned, but
as soon as it rises the air returns to the siphon and mingles with the
liquid current and is impelled downwards. At the other end of the
siphon the liquid rises in the reservoir, and the loss occasioned by the
filling is repaired in a short time. By this means the suction siphon
is not emptied and can even bear the introduction of a certain quantity
of air. By shutting the descending tubo of the reservoir when the
siphon is stopped working it is always ready for a fresh operation.
In filling the siphon it is merely necessary to determine a pressure
in the apparatus sufficiently gentle to enable the liquid to be drawn off
to rise to the top of the short branch of the siphon. The flow of the
liquid previously introduced into the reservoir induces a state of pressure,
which it retains as long as any liquid remains therein, since the
summit of the siphon and the lower part of the reservoir are established
on the same horizontal plane, but there is in the siphon at the opening
of the tube communicating with the reservoir a lower pressure than
that necessary to cause the filling; it is the difference between these
pressures which regulates the flow of air from the reservoir into the
current fluid and the limits of action of the siphon, which latter is
determined by the height of the fall and that of the short arm of the
siphon over the liquid. The siphon acts like a water machine and effects
a direct suction, producing the same effects as a vacuum.
In place of a cock for regulating the admission of air into the
apparatus an automatic valve is to be prefered set in motion by a float
placed in the reservoir.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edouard de Lagillardaie in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDOUARD
DE LAGILLARDAIE, of Lorient, in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Ier
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Edouard de Lagillardaic, Her special licence
that I, the said Edouard de Lagillardaic, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edouard de Lagillardaic, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agrco with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, usc,
excrcise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SUCTION SIPHONS FOR RAISING LIQUIDS
AND PRODUCING CONDENSATIONS AND EVAPORATIONS IN VACUUM," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edouard de Lagillardaic,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the samo to be filed
in the Great Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edouard de Lagillardaic, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is
to say:-
The nature of the said Invention of improvements in the construction
of suction siphons for raising liquids and producing condensations and
evaporations in vacuum is as follows:-
This Invention consists of a siphon & and a reservoir or filler a; the
ends of the two arms of the siphon arc immersed, the descending one

page_text: being arranged vertically. The reservoir a communicates (by a pipe 6
provided with a cock) with the liquid to be drawn off; the lower part of
the reservoir a is fixed on an horizontal plane on a level with the highest
part of the siphon; a tube c for the passage of air reaches from the
upper part of the reservoir to the top of the siphon. In making use of
the apparatus the reservoir a is first filled up, having previously shut the
cock of the pipe b, and the communication between the apparatus and
the atmosphere is then cut off; the suction siphon is then ready for
working, and acts as soon as the cock is opened, and a suction at each
end of the siphon is produced, and the liquid rising and passing over
the bend of the siphon a regular downward flow is established. During
this first phase the air in the siphon expands and enters the reservoir a,
and a sudden lowering of the liquid level is occasioned, but as soon as it
rises the air returns to the siphon and mingles with the liquid current, and
is impelled downwards; at the other end of the siphon the liquid d rises
in the reservoir a, and the loss occasioned by the filling is repaired in a
short time. By this means the suction siphon is not emptied, and can
even bear the introduction of a certain quantity of air. By shutting
the descending tube 6 of the reservoir when the siphon is stopped
working it is always ready for a fresh operation. In filling the siphon it
is merely necessary to determine a pressure in the apparatus sufficiently
gentle to enable the liquid to be drawn off to rise to the top of the short
branch of the siphon. The flow of the liquid previously introduced into
the reservoir a induces a state of pressure, which it retains as long as
any liquid remains therein, since the summit of the siphon and the
lower part of the reservoir are established on the same horizontal plane;
but there is in the siphon at the opening of the tube communicating
with the reservoir a lower pressure than that necessary to cause the
filling; it is this difference between these pressures which regulates the
current of air from the reservoir into the running fluid and the limits of
action of the siphon, which latter is determined by the height of the
fall and that of the short arm of the siphon over the liquid d. The
siphon acts like a water machine, and effects a direct suction, producing
the same effects as a vacuum. After filling the reservoir a acts as a
regulator, and if it contains liquid in sufficient quantity the flow is not
immediately stopped on the admission of a quantity of air exceeding
that corresponding with the delivery of the siphon; but the level of the
liquid becomes lower in the reservoir a, and if an excess of air continues
to enter the reservoir will soon be emptied. It is therefor importan

page_text: make use of the suction siphon for producing or maintaining a state of
vacuum to regulate the admission of air into the apparatus; a simple
cock conveniently arranged enables this to be effected, but it is far pre-
ferable to use an automatic valve e, Fig. 2, set in motion by a float f
placed within the reservoir; this valve shutting up and down is fixed in
the pipe destined to establish the communication with the centre in
which the suction is made; it is connected to the float in such wise that
at the moment of the closing, which is naturally produced when the
liquid descends into the reservoir below a certain level, there still
remains in the reservoir a quantity of liquid sufficient to produce a
complete filling. The motion of the siphons bringing back liquid into
the reservoir a determines the action of the float f and the opening of
the valve e, the function of which is intermittent as long as the pressure
of the medium in which the suction is made exceeds that of the reservoir.
When these pressures are equal the valve e remains constantly open.
In practical operation it is not necessary that the siphon and reservoir a
draw from the same source; the liquids introduced into either of these
parts of the apparatus may be if necessary of a different nature, and no
mixture is to be feared, as the bend of the tube of communication is
raised sufficiently high. The siphon and reservoir a may be kept at
very remote distances and at levels very various without inconvenience.
The same independence exists between the suction siphon and the
apparatus or reservoirs in which they are to produce suction.
The suction siphon may be employed in various ways, the chief of
which include, 1st, the priming or filling of the reservoir a, and retaining
the same in the siphons used for drawing off the liquids; 2ndly, the
raising of liquids by means of suction; 3rdly, the production of and
keeping in a state of vacuum, the cooling of the liquids, and the con-
densation and evaporation in the vacuum. As instances of which,
1st, the filling and retaining the same in the siphon pipes. In the
Plate 2 of the accompanying Drawings the two siphons 8, 8', draw from
the same source d and work by the same fall c, c', under the pipes which
establish the communication of the siphons 8, 8, with the reservoir a.
On this Drawing is marked an emptying tube g joining the top of one of
the siphons &; when this tube g plunges into the alimentary or supply
reservoir d the liquid rises to a certain height in this tube, but without
penetrating into the siphon pipe &¹, and no modification is introduced in
the functions of the apparatus, but the contrary is the case. By lowering

page_text: the level in the reservoir d the plunging end of the tube g is uncovered,
and the atmospheric air penetrates into the siphon pipe and arrests the
flow, and the emptying is more or less complete according to the size of
the orifices of the uncovered extremity. As soon as the level of water
rises sufficiently to immerse the end of the tube g and the admitting
orifices of the siphon the filling of the siphon pipe is re-established.
During this time the flow through the suction siphon & has not been
stopped on account of the before-mentioned action of the automatic
valve c.
The emptying tube 9 permits of the regulation of the pressure
of the flow. The suction siphon & might be put in motion by the action
of a fall independent of that which produces the flow of the siphon pipc.
.
Fig. 3 shows the arrangement necessary when it is difficult to place
the descending branch of the siphon in a vertical position, and passing
direct to the water to be removed, and where there is not sufficient
distance for a special fall for causing a suction siphon to work. As
shown in the Drawings the siphon pipe & is brought into a basin whose
edges are established at the very level of the water; this basin is pre-
viously filled with water, the suction siphon is then set to work, and
the flow of water from the basin causes the filling of the siphon &; from
that moment a regular flow is established. When the liquid rises into
the basin the fall increases, and the flow of the suction siphon & profits
thereby, and the flow through the siphon pipe & is increased as the level
becomes lower in the basin.
Fig. 4 shows an arrangement more especially applicable to siphons
emptying into the sea. A tube coming from the top of the siphon
pipe plunges into a small reservoir i suspended on one of the
extremities of a balance j; at the other end of this balance is fixed a
float K, acting as a counterbalance, and keeping the reservoir i at a
suitable height as long as the flow is produced in the desired direction,
but as soon as the level rises outside above the level of the liquid to be
run off it reaches the float K, and the small reservoir i becomes lowered,
and the orifice of the tube which is plunged into it being uncovered the
siphon pipe is emptied. When the water level beconies more elevated
inside than outside, and any communication ccasing between the atmo-
sphere and the siphon pipe s', this latter works without interuption,
but its work being unimportant there is no difficulty in the flow.
Secondly, the raising of liquids. The action of the siphon permits of
the raising of liquids to a height equal to that of the reservoir a, and

page_text: even to a greater height by the introduction of air into the ascending
liquid column. This latter proceeding, the injection of air in a liquid
column, requires apparatus for producing a constant delivery, by aid of
a siphon, producing a flow to a level superior to that of the water to be
removed, or to a syphon bent above its normal height, resulting from
the density of the liquid.
Fig. 5 represents a disposition of flow at a level more elevated than
that of the water to remove. Supposing, for instance, that it is desired to
raise standing waters in a pond kept below the water level either by the
banks of a canal or by the configuration of the place. The bank is put
in communication with the waters to be raised by a siphon pipe 8', which
may be termed a siphon pump, the branches of which reach by their
superior orifices to the distributing reservoir o. The ascending branch
established vertically, and provided with a cock for taking in air, or a
tube of injection 2, penetrates into the distributor o to a certain height;
the other branch is fixed at the bottom of this reservoir, which is in
communication with the automatic valve of the reservoir a; the tube l,
Fig. 6, in particular, being bent comes to plunge into a small reservoir r
filled with water. The plunging part is bored with holes that can be
totally or partially immersed, and the injection of air is regulated by
modifying the elevation of the reservoir ; so by setting the suction
siphon & to work a suction can be determined in the distributer of the
pump siphon &, and the water rises to a certain height in either of the
branches of the siphon. Air being then admitted into the siphon &' by
aid of the tube water and air mingled together is made to flow into the
reservoir distributor o, air is removed by the suction siphon a', and water
penetrating into the descending branch establishes itself there at a more
or less elevated level, and produces by its weight a flow outside the
apparatus; thus the pump siphon works simultaneously as a siphon and
as an elevating machine. The various apparati already described being
founded on principles of suction it may be conceived that siphons act in
the same manner as pneumatic machines, therefor in order to produce a
vacuum in a reservoir it is put into communication with the automatic
valve of the reservoir of a suction siphon.
Fig. 7 shows an instance of the application of siphons to condensations
in vacuum. Two boxes m, m, placed at each end of the frame of a
condensor n are put in communication by the tubes of the condensor.
From the bottom of each of these boxes descends a pipe p, p, and the

page_text: pipe siphon is thus arranged on the upper part of the condensor and of
the boxes, and small tubes meeting above the top of the descending
branch pare seen. Another tube reaches from one of the boxes to the
automatic valve of a siphon reservoir 8. The tubes of the condensor are
perforated with several holes. The size of the descending branch p being
suitably reduced it is in its flow that the liquid reaches its maximum of
rapidity, when the flow is established by the siphon reservoir 8. As
concerns the frame of the condensor n the liquid can penetrate to it if
the apparatus works only as a siphon, but as soon as the communication
with the steam is opened a pressure is manifested which throws back the 1
water standing in the tubes of the condensor in the frame n.
The con-
densation is then produced by the contact with the ends of the tubes as
well as with the liquid circulating there, since they are perforated with
holes. The air given up by the steam is partly removed by the tubes of
the condensor n, but especially by the effect of suction established at the 1
top of the descending branch p. This effect must be active enough to
preserve the state of vacuum in which it is desired to condensate.
Finally, my new system of pumps may be employed as lift and force
pumps by aid of the siphon pump formed of two siphons, one acting as
a mover and the other as a pump, or they may be used as suction pumps 2
by aid of the suction siphon, which operates simultaneously as a mover
and pump.
Fig. 8 represents the application of my siphons to the clearing of
ponds or emptying basins or reservoirs of any description. The ascending
branch of the pipe siphon & reaches to the very bottom, whilst its 2
descending branch communicates with a receptacle P destined to receive
the productions of the clearing. The apparatus is set in motion by the
working of the siphon filler or reservoir 8.
The system is based chiefly on the state of pressure always below that
of the atmosphere within the pipe siphons at all the points above the 3
water to be removed.
Secondly. On lessening the pressure which is produced within the
siphon pipes on one hand by reason of the elevation of the point con-
sidered above the basin, and on the other by reason of the rapidity of
the current.
Thirdly. Upon the facility of determining a state of pressure at an
inferior point less than that existing at a superior one by regulating the
3

page_text: quickness of the flow at certain parts of the pipes by making them at
those parts more or less wide.
Fourthly. On the improvements in the pressure valve of the liquid
columns for the injection of air.
Fifthly. The use of the apparatus called the filler or reservoir, which
utilizes the difference of pressure between the state of rest and that of
motion.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edouard de Lagillardaic, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
EDOUARD DE LAGILLARDAIE. (L.S.)
EDOUARD DE LAGILLARDAIE. (L.S.)