IMPROVE- MENTS IN DOUBLE. OR SINGLE ACTION PUMPS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the Firm of John Gedge
.and Son, of No. 23, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN DOUBLE. OR SINGLE ACTION PUMPS."-A communication from
abroad by Clauda Gonin of Sti
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
Ith October 1865.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of
No. 23, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOUBLE OR SINGLE ACTION PUMPS," (a communication
to me from abroad by Claude Gonin, of St. Etienne, Loire, France,
Tinsmith,) to be as follows:-
These improvements may be applied to pumps for pumping water from
wells, ships, mines, quarries; and various other purposes. The barrel has
two fixed cylinders in connection with the exit pipe; on each of these two
cylinders is fitted another cylinder or bucket, which can manoeuvre on the
first; and by its continuous up-and-down movement sucks the water in

page_text: descending and forces it into the cylinder on which it works, and the faster
it rises the greater the power with which it forces the water. A valve
furnished with a piece of leather is placed at the bottom of the cylinder,
forming the pump barrel, and a leathern valve at the bottom of the bucket.
In descending the valve of the bucket is opened by the force of the water,
and that of the cylinder is closed by the weight of water forced into this
cylinder by the action of the adjoining cylinder or barrel. It will be
easily understood that the valve of the bucket closes in rising, while that
of the cylinder opens, and it follows that the water forced back by one of
the buckets finding the cylinder valve open enters the pump barrel, and
there finding the opposing valve closed makes its exit by the spout. The
alternate rise and fall of the buckets will therefore necessarily cause a
constant flow from the spout, and it will be evident that the quicker the
buckets are relifted, that is to say, the more rapid and powerful the
pumping, the more the water compressed by the rising of the bucket will
endeavour to rise in the escape pipe. The pump balance may be worked
by hand or other power, according to the dimensions of the pump and its
application. The above is a description of a double-action pump, but a
single-action one, having only one bucket, may also be constructed on the
same principle, without, however, being intermittent.. This Invention also
comprises a valve, the head of which is of caoutchouc, and around the rod
of which is a spring arrested by a bar. The spring necessarily yields to
the pressure of the water, but when that pressure is removed it will always
compel the closing of the valve. This improved valve is not only appli-
cable to the construction of pump above described, but to every other.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 7th April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 23, South-
ampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto

page_text: me, the said William Edward Gedge, Her special licence that I, the said
William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOUBLE OR SINGLE ACTION PUMPS," (a
communication to me from abroad by Claude Gonin, of St. Etienne, Loire,
France, Tinsmith,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I; the said
William Edward Gedge, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Gedge, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
:
Figures 1, 2, and 3 (Sheet 1) of the annexed Sheets of Drawing, form-
ing part of this Specification, illustrate the construction of a double-action
pump made according to this Invention, Figure 1 being a front elevation,
Figure 2 a lateral elevation, and Figure 3 a section of same.
The pump barrel consists of two fixed cylinders A, B, uniting at C
with the exit or discharge pipe D; on each of these cylinders is fitted
another cylinder or bucket E, E', which can work on the first which fits
within it, and by a continuous up-and-down motion this bucket sucks the
water in descending, and in rising forces it into the cylinder on which it
works, and the more rapidly it is raised the greater the force with which it
pumps up the water.
A valve G, G¹, (the form of which is precisely
indicated at Figure 3,) covered with leather, is placed at the bottom of
each pump barrel cylinder, and a leathern clack valve H, H', at the bottom
of each bucket. The relative position of the valve of the pump barrel
and that of the bucket in opening and closing, in the two cases of rise and
fall, will be understood by reference to Figure 3, where it will be seen at
E that the valve H' of the bucket forced by the water is open, and that the
valve G¹ is closed by the weight of water in the cylinder B, on which it is
placed, which water is forced there by the bucket of the other cylinder A.

page_text: It will be easily understood that in rising, as at E, the valve H will have
closed and that G have opened. It follows that the water forced up by
one of the buckets finding open the valve of the cylinder on which the
bucket works, enters the pump barrel A, B, and that finding the opposite
valve closed, has no other mode of exit than by the outlet or discharge
pipe D. The alternate ascent and descent of the buckets will therefore
necessarily bring about a constant feeding of the discharge pipe D, and it
will be understood without difficulty that the faster the buckets are raised,
that is to say, the quicker and more powerful the pumping, the more the
water compressed by the rising of the bucket will endeavour to escape
and rise in the supply or discharge pipe D. Now it will be evident that
no matter what. the depth of the well in which the pump is placed, the
water will forcibly arrive after a relatively very short working of the pump
balance beam, and that by the mechanical arrangement of this pump,
combined as regards the size of the cylinders and buckets according to the
object in view, a constant supply with a continuous and relatively very
abundant jet of water will be obtained. The consequence is that this
pump, excellent, for example, for supplying water to gardens, is equally
suitable for drainage purposes.. It need scarcely be observed that by
lengthening the lever arm of the pump balance more pumping power
will be obtained, and that if the diameter of the cylinders and buckets
intended for draining off water becomes very considerable, any other
power than manual labour may be applied on the balance beam. By
reference to Figures 1 and 2 it will be seen that these buckets are
lowered and lifted again by means of bars M, M, fixed upon them, and
which are tied to the pump balance beam either by iron rods or by wire
cables N, N', which fit on to the balance beam O, which pivots at O', that
is to say, naturally in the centre, between the two points of attachment of
these, two rods or cables on the balance beam, so that on the working of
this balance one is lifted while the other is lowered, which movement is
naturally necessary to the simultaneous ascent and 'descent of each bucket.
The above is a description of the most perfect pump made according to
pump,
this Invention, that is to say, a double bucket or double-action
these improvements are equally applicable for single-action pumps with
but one bucket, the jet of water being nevertheless unintermittent.
but
Figure 4 (Sheet 1) is a front elevation of a single-action pump made
according to this Invention; Figure 5, a lateral elevation of same, and
Figure 6, a section shewing the play of the valves. X, Y, plate supporting
the pump barrel; R, frame carrying the lever by which the pump is set a

page_text: work; M, rod moving the two cylinders E and E' by the aid of the iron
frame m, m; n, n, pieces fastening the pump barrel A to the plate X, Y.
A, fixed cylinder; E, E, moveable cylinders or buckets; s, s, (Figure 4).
lower valve; K, iron arm or bracket supporting the pump barrel; r, T, T,
holes placed in R for the working lever, and which permit its position to be
changed according to the height to which the water is to be raised; G, G¹,
(Figure 6), valves; H; H', clack valves. The mechanical arrangement
of this improved pump being free from all complication in the construction
of its parts, possesses over and above its good working qualities the
somewhat rare advantage of not easily getting out of order, and thus
avoids the necessity of those repairs which are so frequently required by
other pumps.
Figures 7 and 7* (Sheet 1) shew a valve forming part of this Invention,
which may be termed a safety valve, and is preferable not only to replace
the valve shewn Figures 3 and 6, and in relation to the improved construc-
tion of pump above described, but which may be applied, and of which I
claim the exclusive application to pumps of every description. It is a
spring valve, the head a of which is of caoutchouc, and the spring B
wound on the rod c is fixed to it at c¹, and stopped by the bar d. The
water naturally overcomes the power of the spring, the object of which is
always to hermetically close the valve, and then the valve opens, but as
soon as the water no longer vanquishes the power of this spring, it is
always certain that the spring B will compel the valve to close.
Figure 1 (Sheet 2 of the accompanying Drawings) is an elevation of a
fire-engine with pump made on the principle of this Invention; Figure 2,
section of pump barrel; Figure 3, plan of same; Figure 4, bottom of
pump barrel; and Figure 5, both sides of pump barrel valve detached.
The pump barrel is composed of a cylindrical box A, of brass, copper, or
other suitable material, closed at each end by a valve B; on this box slide
two other cylinders of the same material C, C'; these latter act as pistons,
and are herein-after so called; they are furnished with a valve D, and set
in motion by an iron piece E, which unites them. A lever F, oscillating
around G, gives by means of the joint H a come-and-go movement to the
pistons. On reference to the Drawing the movement of the pistons and
the play of the valves will be perfectly understood, and it will be observed
that at each movement of the lever a certain volume of water is forced
into the pump barrel, where it is compressed, and consequently compelled
to escape by the discharge pipe. The piston C is furnished with a cap to
preserve the valve. The water penetrates by holes placed all round. The

page_text: piston valves are of leather. An india-rubber band, fixed by one end to
the bottom of the cylinder and holding by the other to the leathern plate,
acts as a spring and forces this latter to continually come back to its place.
The valves of the pump barrel are composed of a brass box b; screwed on
à cap or ring c, and carrying at its central part a slide d, in which moves
an iron rod e. This rod carries a caoutchouc washer, upheld by a copper
or brass plate. It is this caoutchouc which forms joint when the valve is
closed. A spiral spring tends to continually close the valve; v, x, y, z,
opposite sides of valve. The entire apparatus is placed in a case or tank;
and is there firmly held by an iron rod passing through the pump barrel.
In order to prevent leakage the iron rod is contained in a tube soldered
to the inside of the pump. This case is mounted on a carriage or a
barrow, and must be full of water, because in order to work the pump it
is necessary. that the whole of the pump barrel be immersed. If required
a second lever may be added, placed on the first and fixed to it by iron
clamps, straps, or rings. The joint between each piston and the pump
barrel is made by means of a leather washer pressing against the sides of
the piston and held by the cap or ring C.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
W. E. GEDGE. (L.S.)