IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM PUMPS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS ATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM PUMPS."-A communication
from abroad by Henry S. Lansdell, James O. Alter, and C. T. Francis,
all of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, United States of America.
Sealed the 28th June 1864, and dated the 23rd January 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd January 1864.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM PUMPS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to create a vacuum or partial vacuum in a
chamber or vessel by means of a current or blast of steam, so that water may
be drawn up the supply pipe to fill such vacuum, and be discharged from the
vessel through a suitable opening or nozzle.
In carrying out the Invention the body of the pump consists of a spherical
or other suitably shaped vessel provided with a suction pipe, whereby the
water to be raised is conveyed into the vessel, which is also provided with a
discharge pipe like ordinary pumps. Another pipe, which I will call the
steam pipe, is also adapted to the vessel or body of the pump, and projects
through the same and terminates opposite to the discharge pipe. Steam

page_text: under pressure is admitted through the steam pipe, and as it fills the vessel
and rushes out of the discharge pipe it creates a partial vacuum in the vessel,
and therefore causes the water to rise up the suction pipe and enter the
vessel or body of the pump. The precise form in which the several parts
shall be constructed admits of some variation, but the principle of action is
always the same. The steam pipe may project more or less into the body of
the pump, or even made to enter the discharge pipe, provided sufficient room
or space round it be allowed for the passage of the water. It will also, in
some form of pumps, be found advantageous to cause the steam to impinge or
strike against a cone or ring adapted to or placed in the discharge pipe.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd July 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM PUMPS," being a communication to him from abroad,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention is an improvement on that class of devices by means of
which steam may be employed as an agent in raising and forcing liquids
without the use of engines or other working mechanical apparatus.
The improvement relates to a novel construction, arrangement, and combi-
nation of parts for developing and securing the most economical and efficient
use and operation of steam for the purpose specified.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is an external view or elevation of
the improved pump; Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 are vertical sectional elevations,
shewing the construction and arrangement of the several parts of the pump ;.
Figure 6 represents the pump with its parts arranged somewhat differently from
those represented by the preceding Figures, but constructed to operate upon
the same principle.
A represents the head of the pump, which may be made of any suitable
metal, and cast of globular or other convenient configuration, thereby insuring
an interior capacity somewhat greater than that of the supply or delivery pipe...
The general construction shown in the Drawings is preferred as being best
adapted to afford the desired tunnel-shaped passage for the water from a
point near the axis of the head A to the entrance of the discharge pipe,.
which point is the most advantageous one to introduce the jet of steam.
B represents the supply pipe, and C the discharge pipe, which will be formed
of suitable metal, and, if desired, may be constructed in sections, and secured
together by means of suitable flanges. It is desirable that the interior
surfaces of the pipes should be as smooth and free from obstructions as
possible in order to facilitate the rapid flow of water. D is the steam pipe,
which will enter the head of the pump as shewn, and may extend through the
head into the discharge pipe (as shewn in Figures 3 and 4), but for important
reasons herein-after stated the arrangement shewn in Figures 2 and 5 is
preferred. By this means the steam is permitted to escape into the head A of
the pump at a point slightly in front of a line extended from the axis of the
supply pipe B. By means of this arrangement less expenditure of steam will
be required to create the necessary vacuum than by the plan first named, by
reason of the simultaneous condensation of steam in the head A and in the
discharge pipe C, and in consequence thereof a more rapid exhaustion of air
in the supply pipe; economy of steam will also be effected from the fact that
the steam pipe passes a shorter distance through the cold water in the head of

page_text: the pump, the steam therefore loses less by condensation, and is brought into
active operation as a motor against the water to be expelled at a higher degree
of heat, and consequently, while acting, exerts a greater expansive force.
Moreover a greater quantity of water can be discharged from the pump, for
the reason that the entrance to the discharge pipe is not obstructed by the
steam pipe, and the steam is permitted to act upon a volume of water fully
equal to the capacity of the discharge pipe, which cannot be the case with the
former arrangement.
By means of the arrangement shewn in Fig. 6 the relative duty of the head
or globe A is reversed, it being in this instance employed as a steam chamber
surrounding the supply pipe and connecting the same to the discharge pipe,
the steam being admitted from the entire circumference of the upper end of
the supply pipe. The operation of this arrangement is very similar to that
shewn in Figures 3 and 4, and although both are decided improvements in
steam pumps, the particular arrangement and combination of parts shewn in
Figures 2 and 5 is considered to be more advantageous and better adapted to
accomplish the desired results. In cases wherein it may be desired to force
water to any considerable height above the point at which the steam may be
introduced, it is best to employ the compound conical ring fat or near to the
entrance to the discharge pipe, as represented in Fig. 5, in order to reduce
the capacity of the discharge pipe at a point immediately in front of the nozzle
of the steam pipe at which the velocity of water is necessarily the greatest.
The conical device h, Fig. 4, may also be used for a like purpose, but the
combination represented in Fig. 5 is preferred.
The operation of the pump will be fully understood after the following brief
description: The pump being properly adjusted for use and the lower end of
the supply pipe submerged in water, steam may be introduced through the
pipe D before described, by means of which the air contained in the pump
will be driven and exhausted therefrom, and to fill the vacuum thereby
created water will be forced up the supply pipe by atmospheric pressure, and
such water will be driven in a continuous stream through the discharge pipe
by the action of the steam."
For short lifts of water the relative arrangement of the discharge pipe
herein shewn will suffice, but for elevations exceeding the limit of atmo-
spheric pressure (steam being introduced at or below that point), the dis-
charge pipe after leaving the head A will be curved and extended to the
elevation required.
The pumps may be made of any size or capacity desired in proportion with

page_text: the amount of water to be raised in a given time, and steam may be taken
from ordinary boilers through flexible or rigid pipes as may be found most
convenient.
The improvement herein set forth is very simple, cheap, and durable, with
no liability to get out of order, as there are no valves or other working
mechanical devices connected therewith. These pumps are especially adapted
for employment as bilge or wrecking pumps, although they may be used with
great advantage and economy in almost all cases where steam or power pumps
may be adapted to effect the results sought.
Having now described this Invention of "Improvements in Steam Pumps,"
I would observe that I do not confine myself to the precise point at which
steam shall be introduced or be brought in contact with the water within the
pump, as it is quite obvious the same may be varied without departing from
the spirit of this Invention; neither do I claim any definite or peculiar con-
formation for the head globe or socket A, but I prefer the form herewith
represented; what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,--
First, the employment of the head or socket A and suction pipe in combi-
nation with the steam and delivery pipes, as herein described for the purposes
set forth.
I claim especially that construction and arrangement of parts by means of
which steam may be discharged into the head or socket A or its equivalent in
effect at a point near the axis thereof, as shewn in Fig. 2, for the purposes
herein specified and set forth.
I also claim the employment of the conical ring f in combination with the
steam and delivery pipes as and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)