Improvements in Air Pumps.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 11th Apr., 1891
UDPLEIE DIECIFICATION.
Improvements in Air Pumps.
A communication from ALBERT LOUIS REINMANN, ALLEN A. DITTMAR, and
HUGO FALKENHAUSEN, Electricians, all of the City, County, and State of
New York, United States of America.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E., 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 reference to improvements in air-pumps and the invention
consists of an air-pump in which the suction and discharge valves are worked by
electricity. This object is attained by the mechanism shown in the accompanying
drawings in which
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of an air-pump in accordance with this invention, and
Fig. 2 is a plan showing the connection of the air-pump with an electric
generator.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
A in the drawings is a chamber or casing and B B are the pump cylinders
which are perpendicularly mounted upon the chamber by means of flanges b b¹
screwed or otherwise secured on the upper part of the said chamber. The upper
part or top-plate of the said chamber A has openings which communicate with the
lower openings of the cylinders. Through the chamber A passes a crank-shaft C
one end of which is fitted to the inner side of one wall of the chamber by means of
a bearing while the other end passes out through the opposite wall of the same with
bearing and stuffing box. The crank-shaft has two cranks c c opposite each other
and each crank arranged directly below the centre of one of the pipe cylinders B B'.
The pistons FF within the said pump cylinders are operated by means of the
connecting rods D D¹ which are connected with the cranks of the crank shaft and
the pins of the piston. The upper ends of the pump cylinders are closed by
the casings G and G₁ the outwardly extending flanges of the bottom plates of
which are screwed or rivetted to the outwardly extending flanges at the upper ends
of the cylinders. The bottom plates of the casings G G₁ are provided with valve-
openings 99 92 and 93 conical in shape the openings 9 and g³ tapering upwards and
the openings g¹ and g tapering in a downward direction.
g
The casing G as well as the casing G¹ are divided into two compartments H H'.
The suction pipes hh to which the vessels to be evacuated are connected enter the
compartments H and the discharge pipes h' h' are leading from the compartments H'
to the trap cylinder J. The latter is mounted on the top plate of the base-
chamber A and communicates with the interior of the same. The upper part of
the trap cylinder is provided with air-holes and covered by a dome I.
g
as
KKK and K are electro-magnets placed upon the top plate of the chambers G
and G¹ the bores of the same communicating with the interior of the compart-
ments H H and H' H', the cores k¹³ of the electro-magnets serve
valve-stems and are provided at their lower ends with conically shaped valve pistons
which fit into the respective valve openings 9 y¹ g³ ³ in the bottom plates of the
chambers GG". To the top portions of the electro-magnets K² and K¹ longitudinal
guide casings ii' are secured in which the cores k³ and are suspended by means
of spiral springs and 3. The pistons of the valve-stems or cores are provided
with suitable packing rings so as to form an air-tight closing of the valve openings.
The cores are made of soft iron but the lower portions of the same consist of
brass so that these portions may not be magnetised by the electric current and not
affect the iron parts of the pump.

page_text: L is an electric commutator made of hard rubber or any other non-conducting
inaterial in the shape of a disc which is mounted on the crank-shaft and receives
by the same its rotary motion. Semi-annular conducting rings and are secured
to the commutator disc the ring T being somewhat smaller than the ring A so
that each semi-annular ring lies in a different periphery as shown in the plan view
Fig. 2. A standard M is provided with a spring acting conducting brush o which
presses alternately upon the ring sections and when the commutator disc is in
rotary motion. The ring sections and are so arranged that both sections receive
the electric current simultaneously by the brush o. The standard M is furthermore
provided with one pair of stationary conducting brushes m and m¹ and with one
pair of like brushes n and n' the brushes m' and n coming alternately in contact
with the ring-section and the brushes m and n' in contact with the ring-section
when the pump is in motion. The electric current is conducted from an electric
generator N through the spring acting brush o to the commutator and either
through the ring-sections and land the conducting brushes mm² and n n'
respectively to the electro-magnets, the electric current being closed by wires
leading from the electro-magnets back to the electric generator as clearly shown
in Fig. 2.
The chamber A the cylinders B B' and the trap cylinder J are filled with oil as
usual in air-pumps.
The crank-shaft may be rotated by hand or power as desired.
In the illustration shown in Fig. 1 the piston F is in a position about to close
the valve o of the compartment H' of the casing G the air being forced through
the said valve and the discharge pipe into the trap-cylinder from where the
air escapes through the air openings j. The valve stem or core k is about to drop
from the suction valve g in the compartment H of the casing G with the down
stroke of the piston whereby the suction compartment H of the casing G is
opened. The stop pin d prevents the core k from dropping too far down. Of course
the valve g will be closed before the valve g is opened.
The piston F is in a position about to complete its stroke and the valves g³ 9³
are in a position reversed to the valves g g². The opening and closing of the valves
is performed by electricity and the electricity operates when the pump is in motion,
in the following manner :-
The brush presses against the ring-section and transfers the positive current
from the electric generator N to the ring sections and from there by means of
the conducting brushes m m¹ to the electro-magnets K K'; the current is closed
by the wires leading from the said electro-magnets to the negative pole of the
electric generator. The cores k² of the electro-magnets K K are thus magnetised
and automatically drawn up whereby the valve g is closed and the valve g³ opened
by the valve-pistons of the said cores as clearly shown in Fig. 1. When a further
motion is made by the crank-shaft the conducting brush n¹ will come in contact
with the ring-section and the brush n in contact with the ring-section 1, and the
current will be conducted through the brushes n n¹ and the respective wires to the
electro-magnets K' K. The cores k¹³ will then be magnetised and drawn up
whereby the valve g¹ is opened and the valve g³ closed while the valve g will be
opened and the valve g³ closed as by the broken current in the electro-magnets KK²
the cores become unmagnetised and drop i.e. they assume the position of the
cores shown in the drawing.
In this manner the opening or closing of the respective valves is performed
simultaneously with the alternating up and down strokes of the pistons in the pump
cylinders.
The process of the evacuation of vessels &c. is the same as in other mechanical
air-pumps and therefore not illustrated in the drawings.
This improved air-pump is very simple and has the advantage that any complicated
mechanism for opening or closing the suction and discharge-valves is entirely
dispensed with by the same.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. An air-pump having electro-magnets which when energised by an electric
current cause the cores to close or open the suction and discharge valves of the
pump cylinders substantially as set forth.
2. In an air-pump casings which are divided into suction and discharge compart-
ments and communicating by suction and discharge valves with the pump cylinders
in combination with electro-magnets the cores of which are arranged to close or open
said suction and discharge valves by means of an electric current substantially as
shown and described.
3. In an air-pump the combination of an electric commutator disc with electro-
magnets the cores of which act as valve stems to close or open the suction and
discharge valves of the pump cylinders by means of a closed or broken electric
circuit conducted to the electric circuit from the rotating commutator disc sub-
stantially as set forth.
4. In an air-pump the combination of the crank-shaft operating the pump
pistons with an electric commutator-disc mounted upon and rotated by the same
for conducting an electric current to electro-magnets the cores of which act as
valve-stems to close or open the suction and discharge valves of the pump
cylinders by means of said electric current substantially as described and for the
purpose set forth.
Dated this Eleventh day of March 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.