AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR RAISING WATER
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Stevens, Manager of the British & Foreign
Office for Patents, 1B, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Square, in the County
of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR RAISING
WATER." A. communication from abroad, by Jean Baptiste Guignes,
of Marseille in the Empire of France
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration on
the 9th November 1860, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
STEVENS, Manager of the British & Foreign Office for Patents, 1B, Welbeck
Street, Cavendish Square, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR RAISING WATER," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my
executors, administrators, & assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same,
and have made solemn Declaration that it has been communicated to. me from
abroad by Jean Baptiste Guignes, of Marseille, in the Empire of France.
1
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Stevens, do hereby declare the
following Complete Specification under my hand and seal fully describes and
ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which the same
Price 8d.1

page_text: is to be performed (reference being had to the accompanying Drawings), that
is to say:
The machine is self-acting, and requires no outlay for fuel or hand labour,
one man being sufficient to set it in motion, and it has the further advantage
It may be
of being available in any water, whether running or stagnant.
applied to various purposes, and is constructed as follows:-The framework
is made of wood, and is placed on a raft or boat B, Fig. 1, the water-wheel
D being the chief motive power. The extremities of the shaft E are sup-
ported on the frame in the bearings F. A drum G is placed on the shaft E
communicating movement to the drums II, I, J, which regulate the degree of
speed by means of the strap K. In case the strap should not act properly, an
endless chain might be substituted. The strap sets the shaft L in motion,
the latter resting in the bearings M of the frame A, at each end of which a
trundle N is placed, giving movement to an endless chain of buckets O, which
feed the basin P by means of the trough Q. This endless chain of buckets is
The
held by a small catch O, O, when it is desired to arrest the movement..
water passes through the sluice R into the pipe S, and thence into the divisions
T setting the water wheel D in motion, and this movement, when once esta-
blished, is continuous. When it is desired to use the machine for the purpose
of drawing off a piece of stagnant water, the basin P, and the endless chain
of buckets should be filled in the first instance by means of a forcing pump,
in order to set the water wheel in motion; whereas the water-wheel with bent
paddles, represented Fig. 3, takes its movement directly from the sluice 4
underneath. A cylindrical pipe U, Fig. 1, is placed beneath the water-wheel
serving to conduct the water which has been used in giving the movement in
the desired direction.
This quantity of water is calculated at about half that raised by the buckets
0, the surplus half of which escapes at the point V, to which is fixed a pipe X,
conducting the water to the level of the cylindrical pipe U, the two united
giving a fall of the double quantity equal to a considerable force which may
be utilised in various manners.
The apparatus represented Fig. 2 (front view), and Fig. 3 (side view) rests
on a stone foundation solidly established. It receives its movement throug
the sluice 4, Fig. 3, which retains the running water at a pressure of 4 fee
2 inches, the water being enclosed in the conducting race 5, terminating cir
cularly, and enclosing the water-wheel with bent paddles, allowing a suflicien
quantity of water to escape to give to it a force equal to that of 25 horses
which may be increased or diminished according to requirement, by means o
the sluice. The rotation continues, and the water ascends to the heigh

page_text: indicated by the trundles which receive the buckets. In the same way by
substituting an undershot mill-wheel for that with bent paddles, the machine
may be made to operate in running water. The apparatus represented Fig. 4
produces similar results to that represented Figs. 2 & 3, but differs from it.
1st, in having two pump-barrels instead of the endless chain of buckets which
would be embarrassing in some cases. 2nd, in the facility of placing the
apparatus on account of the elevation of the masonry. 3rd, in the economy
in the masonry; and 4th, the simplicity of the mechanism.
This apparatus is preferable in certain localities from the economy in the
construction & the solidity of the masonry, although it produces less satisfac-
tory results. The motive power is an undershot mill-wheel, placed in a stream
of water, either free or running in its natural bed, such as a canal, or any other
piece of running water, capable of being utilised in the same way. But as it.
would be impossible to arrest the movement of the apparatus when placed in
running water, a double muille is employed, which when out of gear allows
the wheel to turn without working the pumps when repairs are necessary or
when from any other reason it is desired to stop the working.
With this stream of water, a force equal to that of two horses is obtained,
which moves two pump barrels proportioned to the force raising the water
to the desired height. By the same stream of water the force and the product
can be increased, either by a stoppage, a fall, or by enlarging the apparatus,
according to requirement.
The undershot mill-wheel A, Fig. 4 takes its movement from the current.
B. which is either free, enclosed, or with a stoppage. The shaft C is supported
in rests D, fixed in the masonry E, and bears at the extremity a crank causing
by an eccentric rotation the connecting rod G to move, which communicates
its up and down movement to the balance beam H, turning on its axis I, and
supported in bearings J, fixed on the stone pillars K. Movement is thus
given to the two pistons L, connected with the barrels of the sucking & forcing
pumps M, which suck in the water by the double pipe N, uniting in one at its
extremity, and fill it by means of the pipe Q, forming a siphon which conducts
it to the desired height.. In case of the pump barrels needing repairs or
otherwise, the movement of the shaft C may be arrested without stopping the
rotation of the water wheel in the following manner, when a floodgate or
other arrangement cannot be established to stop the water or turn it from its
course.
Between the water-wheel A turning freely on its axle C, and the bearing
D fixed on the masonry E, a double muffle with tenon P, Q, is placed, putting
in motion and stopping the water-wheel A, to which the part of the muffle

page_text: is fixed. The part P of the muffle slides on a square part of the shaft and
between the bearing D and the fixed part Q of the muffle. The sliding part P
of the muffle is governed by a forked lever R, turning on its axis S, and fixed
at its extremity by a moveable knob T, reaching a slide U, which gives it a
backward and forward movement, serving to gear and ungear the sliding
muffle, which when arrived at its destination, communicates the movement
of the water-wheel A to the shaft C, and the latter in turn transmits it to the
two pump barrels M.
Having thus described my Invention, what I claim and desire to secure by
Letters Patent, is the mode of raising water as above described and repre-
sented in the accompanying Drawings, Pl. 1, Figs. 1 & 2, and Pl. 2, Figs. 3
& 4. At the same time I do not confine myself to the exact arrangements, as
above shown, as they may be varied and modified without departing from the
principle of the Invention.
In witness whereof, I the said Charles Stevens, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
CHARLES STEVENS. (L.S.)