Apparatus for Raising and. Forcing water.
Year: 1886

page_text: Apparatus for Raising and. Forcing water.
९
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm' of Haseltine, Lake, and Co Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex 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 :-
My invention relates to that class of apparatus for raising and forcing water, in
which water put under pressure, either naturally or artificially, is used as a transmitter
of power for raising double the quantity of water, particularly from great depths
or distances from the first source of power, as for instance from deep mines; and
the invention is intended to obviate the use of tightly fitting cylinders and pistons,
or to permit the arrangement of such cylinders and pistons, if used, at the top of
the mine or other accessible point from which power is transmitted, and is also.
intended to obviate the difficulties and expense incident to the use of expensive
and cumberous mechanical connections.
The invention consists in novel combinations of parts hereinafter described and
pointed out in the claims, including upper and lower mercury vessels arranged one
above another near the bottom of the mine or other locality from which water is
to be raised, and connected by a mercury pipe or column, a suction pipe leading
to the upper vessel, a discharge pipe leading from the upper vessel, and a pipe
through which water is supplied under pressure, leading to the lower vessel,
Enough mercury is employed to about fill one vessel, and the pipe connecting the
vessels. When water is supplied under pressure to the lower vessel, the mercury
therein will be forced into the upper vessel and will displace through the discharge
pipe any water contained therein, and when the lower vessel is relieved of pressure
the mercury will return thereinto by gravity, and the space created in the upper
vessel by the fall of the mercury will fill with water through the suction pipe.

page_text: In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a vertical section of an apparatus
embodying my invention in its simplest form, a single acting cylinder and piston
to create the working pressure being employed to give an intermittent discharge
of water; Figure 2 is a vertical section of an apparatus in which a double-acting
cylinder and piston operate two reciprocating water columns to obtain a continuous
discharge; and Figure 3 is a vertical section of an apparatus which is operated by
a water column moving continuously into the machine to produce the constant
discharge of double the volume of water at a height less than that of which the
initial pressure is the equivalent.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures.
Referring first to Figure 1, A is the cylinder of a single acting forcing pump or
ram, of which B is the reciprocating piston and M the water chamber. This ram
may be located at any convenient place, at the top of a mine shaft for instance.
C and D are upper and lower chambers or vessels of about equal capacity, which
may be located at the bottom of a mine for instance. A pipe, E, communicates
from the bottom of the chamber, C, to the bottom of the chamber D. A pipe, F,
communicates from the chamber, M, of the cylinder, A, to the top of the chamber, D.
A suction pipe, H, having a foot valve, I, at the bottom, extends into the water to
be pumped. A pipe, G, extends from the top of the chamber C, to the place of
discharge, and a valve, J, affords outward communication from this chamber, C,
into the pipe, G.
The cylinder, A, is provided with a cock, L, on top as shown.
The chambers, C, and D, should be situated about from one eleventh to one
twelfth as far apart vertically as the vertical distance from the level of water to be
pumped, upwards to the actuating pump or ram, A, B. These chambers are
connected by a mercury column that reciprocates from one chamber to the other
through the pipe, E, the quantity of mercury being sufficient to nearly fill the
pipe, E, and chamber, C, but not enough to ever flow over into the suction pipe H.
The operation is as follows:-
.
The chambers, M, C, and D, and pipes F, and H, are supposed to be full of water
(except the space occupied by mercury) and the piston, B, is to be reciprocating
back and forth by means of any power suitably applied. A forward movement of
the piston, B, in the direction of the arrow, forces water down the pipe F, into the
chamber, D, thereby causing the mercury therein to flow up the pipe, E, into the
chamber C. The water upon the mercury in the chamber, C, is prevented by
the foot valve, I, from escaping down the suction pipe, H, and is thus necessarily
forced through the valve, J, into the pipe, G, and thence to the place of discharge.
When the reverse motion of the piston, B, takes place (to the right as here
shown) the chamber, M will be enlarged and the mercury that has just previously
been forced into the chamber, C, will fall into the chamber, D, and thus force
water from that chamber up the pipe, F, into the chamber, M. At the same time
the vacuum formed in, the chamber, C, by the fall of the mercury will be supplied
with water through the suction pipe, H, as in an ordinary piston pump. Upon
the next stroke of the piston, B, into the chamber, M, the first described action
will be repeated. The cock, L, is to supply the chamber, M, with water on the
first start or whenever it may be necessary. Of course another similar arrangement
could be connected to the other chamber, M¹ of the cylinder, A, by the pipe, F¹,
shown by dotted lines, and the discharge pipo, G, could be used in common by.
both. This would make this apparatus, taken as a whole a double acting one
having two pipes for the forcing water, and one main pipe for the discharge.
In Figure 2 is shown a double-acting apparatus on the same general principle
nis described in Figure 1, but where each of the pipes, F, F1, are used to convey the
feeding water and the discharge water alternately; while one volume is forced
down one of the pipes F, F¹ by the piston D, two volumes are forced up the other
of those pipes and then vice-versa.

page_text: The cylinder, A, with its chambers, M, M³, piston, B, the chambers, C, C, D, DI
and connecting pipes E, E¹, with mercury columns operate in the same manner as
the similar parts in Figure 1.
The chambers, C, C¹, are surmounted by a valve chest, C*, with which the
suction pipe, H, communicates and in which are suction valves, J, J³, and dis-
charge valves J, J. The outlet valve; J, from the chamber, C, permits outward
communication from that chamber through the discharge pipe, G, to the pipe, F³,
and a similar outlet valve J, permits similar communication from the chamber, C¹,
through the pipe, G', to the pipe, F.
The cylinder, A, is surmounted by a valve chest, A*, from which leads the final
discharge pipe, O. Communication between the two water chambers, M, M¹, and
the pipe, O, is controlled by two valves N; N¹, connected so that when one is closed
the other is always open.
The operation is as follows:-
In the drawing the piston, B, is supposed to be moving to the left, and as it
began to move, the current starting toward the discharge, O, immediately caused
the valve, N, to close upon its seat. Therefore the water in the chamber, M, is
necessarily forced down the pipe, F, upon the mercury in the chamber, D, and the
pressure upon this mercury forces it upwards into the chamber, C, thus displacing
an equal quantity of water in that chamber, which is thus forced through the
valve; J, pipe, G, and F', into the chamber, M¹. During the same stroke the
mercury in the chamber, C¹, falls into D¹, and thus forces an equal volume of
water up the pipe, F¹, and at the same time the chamber, C¹, receives water from
the suction pipe, H, as before described. Thus for each volume of water that
descends by the pipe, F, two volumes ascend by the pipe, F¹, and while one of
these volumes fills the chamber, M³, the other leaves by the valve N¹, and
represents the net effect of one stroke of the machine. Upon reversing the stroke,
the corresponding effects will be produced in each of the corresponding opposite
chambers.
In Figure 1. the duty of the falling mercury column being to draw water into
the chamber, C, and also to force it into the vacuum formed when the piston, B, is
enlarging the chamber, M, in the cylinder, A, the height of the mercury column
should be proportioned to that duty.
'
In Figure 2 the duty of the mercury column is to draw water into the machine
and force it through the cylinder, A, up the pipe, o, to the final discharge, ordinarily
against atmospheric pressure, and the heights of the mercury columns should be
calculated accordingly. In both cases due allowance should be made for the head
necessary to overcome the friction of liquids flowing through the pipes. The less
excess there is in the height of mercury columns over that necessary, the more
economical in power will be the apparatus.
In Figure 3 the chambers, C, C, D, D¹, connecting pipes E, E¹ and mercury
reciprocating through these pipes, the outlet valves, J, J¹, inlet valve, J, J³, of
chambers, C, C1, and common suction pipe, H; all perform the same functions
respectively as the similar parts in Figure 2. The forcing pipe, F, in this Figure
leads into an induction chamber, P, which is common to the two chambers D, D¹³,
and which contains two induction valves Q, Q¹, that are so connected by a lever, R,
that the closing of one insures the opening of the other. From the ends of this
lever are suspended rods, S, S', which extend into the chambers, D, D¹, as shown,
and to these rods the induction valves Q, Q1, are attached. Sliding on the
rods S, S¹ are round iron floats, T, T¹ supported by the mercury, and which are of
such a size as to fit at the proper times into the lower parts of the chambers D, D¹,
respectively in the manner of a piston in a cylinder, although the fit need not be a
tight one. Nuts or collars, U, U limit the downward movements of the floats
upon these rods.
Chambers, V, V₁, are intermediate between the induction chamber, P, and the
chambers D, D', and in the partition between the chambers V, V¹, and D, D¹; are

page_text: holes, y, y, which form short cylinders in which slide small pistons w, w¹, and these
pistons are capable of moving entirely out of their cylinders, or holes, so that the
-holes may at proper times form open communication between the chambers V, VI,
and D, D¹. Eduction valves x, x, opening inwardly as to the chambers, D, D¹,
open communication at proper times from these chambers D, D¹, to the cominon
discharge pipe, G¹. The pistons, w, w¹, and valves, x, x¹, may either form one
piece or may be in several separate pieces pressing against one another so that they
will all move simultaneously.
A discharge pipe, G, from the chambers C, C¹, connects with G¹, and a pipe G³
is a continuation common to both.
The operation is as follows:-
Water put under high pressure by any means is constantly flowing into the
chamber, P, and as shown in the drawing is now entering through the valve, Q,
and chamber, V, and piston hole or cylinder, y, into the chamber, D, and from
there forcing the mercury into the chamber, C, and the water out of that chamber
into the discharge pipe, G, as before described. High pressure water is upon the
valve, x, and holds it to its seat, and thus the valve, o, is held open so that the
mercury column from C¹, to D¹, is free to force the water in D¹ out through
the discharge pipe G¹ to join the water from the pipe G and form a common
current through G². The flow of mercury, from D into C, will continue until the
float, T, is arrested by the collar, U, and by that time it will have fallen to the
part of the cylinder, D, in which it fits as a piston. The pressure will then be
upon the float T and consequently through the rod, S, upon the left-hand end of
the lever, R. This end will then be pulled downward bringing the valve, Q, to
its seat and lifting the valve, Q1, from its seat against the pressure that was
holding it down. The valve, Q, will then in turn be held to its seat by the high
pressure upon it. The valve, Q1, being thus held open, the chambers, P, and V¹,
will be in cominunication and the high pressure from the pipe, F, will act upon
the piston, w¹, and cause it to force the valve ¹ against its seat while the piston
itself will be forced out of its cylinder y¹. Communication will thus be established
from the pipe F, into the chamber, D¹, when the reverse stroke of that just
described will take place. Thus for each volume of water that enters the
apparatus by the pipe, F, two volumes will be discharged by the pipe, G², one
of thein being supplied by the pipe G, and the other by the pipe, G'.
To get the full effect of these volumes, the mercury columns should be high
enough relatively to the discharge water columns, and the passage should be free
enough to insure that the action produced by the falling of the mercury column
shall be quite as fast or slightly faster than the action produced by the high
pressure column of water. If the mercury column does its work first, the column
of mercury will come to a balance with the discharge water column, and the action
upon that side will simply rest until the stroke reverses.
The object of reducing the size of the chambers D, D¹, at the bottom is merely to
reduce the size of the iron floats. The chambers could be made of one diameter
and the floats, T, to fit them as pistons for the whole length, or if the iron
floats T, T, should be made heavy enough so that when they are arrested by the
collars U, U¹, and the mercury leaves them, their mere weight should be sufficient
to overbalance the pressure holding down the valves Q, Q¹, then there need be no
fit at all between the floats and the walls of the cylinders, D, D¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :—
First In a water raising or elevating apparatus, the combination with two
mercury vessels arranged one above another and a pipe leading from the bottom of
the upper vessel downwards to the bottom of the lower vessel; of suction and
discharge pipes, leading from the upper part of the upper vessel, and a pipe leading
3.
1

page_text: to the lower vessel and through which water may be supplied under pressure to
force the mercury therein into the upper vessel substantially as herein described.
Second-In a water raising or elevating apparatus the combination with pairs
of upper and lower mercury vessels and pipes leading from the bottom of the
upper vessels to the bottom of the lower vessels, of suction and discharge valves
communicating with the upper part of the upper vessels and suction and discharge
pipes leading to and from the upper vessels, a forcing water column and induction
valves controlling communication between said column and the upper part of the
lower vessels, and eduction valves controlling communication between the upper
part of the lower vessels and a common discharge pipe; substantially as herein
described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.