A NEW OR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF PUMP OR FLUID DRAWING AND FORCING APPARATUS
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Miller at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 11th March 1876.
ALEXANDER MILLER, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer. "A NEW OR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF PUMP OR FLUID DRAWING
AND FORCING APPARATUS."
This said Invention has reference to and consists in a new or improved con-
struction of radial reciprocating cylinder or barrel pump, with stationary outer
radial pistons or plungers, which are formed or fixed on the inner end of their
stems, made hollow for the fluid to be drawn in and forced out through them as the
barrels are reciprocated on the pistons. The back or outer ends of the hollow stems
or pipes carrying the piston are formed or attached, radially as stated, to an outer
circular pipe (or it might be of a polygonal or other suitable shape) common to and
opening into all the said hollow pistons and their barrels, requiring no valves, but
one inlet branch and valve and another outlet valve and branch on the said circular
pipe, for the whole of the pumps ranged radially inwards towards the centre of this
pipe, corresponding to the centre where all the axes of the pumps meet, and where
their actuating driving shaft is fitted, preferably reciprocating at right angles to the
plane in which the pumps lie, with a disc and crank pins. on opposite sides of it;
but the shaft might revolve with a crank for each pump, actuated by connecting
rods attached to the said crank pins, or cranks at their inner ends, having their
outer ends each attached to the inner close end of its corresponding reciprocating
barrel, which is actuated as the shaft and disc reciprocate to and fro, all recipro-
cated at the same time and speed inwards and outwards with the same length of
stroke.
As so far described if these reciprocating pump barrels were close at the ports
beyond the stationary piston, it is plain they would all draw in the liquid or fluid
on their in stroke, and discharge it on their out stroke to the extent of the cubic
contents of the stroke of the barrel. However by this Invention this is not the
case, as each pump has an open branch on each side of it near its inner close end,
these branches projecting in a straight line towards the corresponding branches of
the two pumps nearest them, so as by a stuffing box joint to work into or over these
others, lengthening these duplex branches or pipes as an expanding chamber to a
greater extent than the stroke of the pumps, so that the pumps draw in the fluid
on the out stroke and force it out on the in stroke of the pumps, all at the same

page_text: time, to the extent of the difference between the cube of the stroke of pump barrels
and that of the new or improved lengthening stuffing box pipes, which might by
these improvements be termed the real displacing barrels. Three, four, five, six, or
moro pumps could be thus worked at equal angles and distances radially round a
centre shaft and circle, but four are preferred, and when four are used the angles
enclosed between the radii forming the axles of the pump barrels would be cach
ninety degrees (90°), those for five and six would be 30° and 30° respectively, so
that the duplex close stuffing box sliding pipes (opening into the inner end of the
reciprocating pump barrels on each side of them) would form the sides subtending
these angles, and the whole together would form a true square, pentagon, or hexagon,
at all points of the stroke, enlarging and contracting as the pump barrels went out
and in respectively; the diameter or cubical contents of these pipes in proportion
to that of the pump barrels determining in a great measure the action and delivery
of this new or improved arrangement of pump, which besides only requiring two
valves for the whole set of pumps, the petitioner considers would draw and force
much more water or other fluid for the power or force expended than pumps or
other fluid drawing and forcing apparatus heretofore in use.