Year: 1889

page_text: We, JOHN KISER LEEDY, of Toms Brook, in the County of Shenandoah, and
NOAH WINGERT SOLENBERGER and GERMAN SMITH of Winchester, in the County of
Frederick, and all of the State of Virginia, United States of America, gentlemen,
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 relates to certain new and useful improvements in automatic com-
pressed air water elevators, which improvements will be fully understood from the
following description and claims, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings
in which :-
Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section showing our improved automatic compressed
air water elevator, the parts being in a state of rest, and the gravitating bucket being
in position to receive water.
Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the intermediate tripping valve mechanism,
and its air pipes indicating by the aid of dotted lines, a hand lever which may be sub-
stituted for the working beam and its toe, as represented in figure 1.
Referring to the annexed drawings by letters, A designates a strong vessel which
we shall hereinafter denominate the air storage vessel. This drum communicates
by means of a pipe a with a suitable air forcing engine, adapted to compress air
under great pressure into the said drum, which latter is provided with a gauge h,
and a safety valvo e. From the dram A leads off a pipe d provided with a
regulating and cut off cock a¹, which pipe leads into one end of a strong valve
box B, and at d is provided with another regulating cock if found necessary. The
valve box B into which the compressed air supply pipe d is tapped, has a chamber 66
terminated by a cone valve seat, for a cone trap valve 63, which is provided with a
spider guide 6 working against the wall of the chamber 63. The valve is somewhat
less in diameter than the diameter of the chamber 6, and it is applied on the end of
the reduced stom 63, of a cylindrical plunger b¹, the outer end of which protrudes
beyond the end of valve box B, for a purpose presently explained.

page_text: At c¹ is a vertical outlet passage through the valve box, and at 6 is a similar
passage. The passage c¹ communicates by means of a pipe with a submerged
drum D, and the passage b, is an outlet for air when the plunger 6' is at the terminus
of its outward stroke, as indicated in figure 2. The drum D may be located at any
practical depth in a well E and it should be provided at its bottom with a suitable
valve i, opening upwardly for allowing water to flow through the valve aperture into
the said drum, but to trap the water therein. Near the lower end of said drum D
is a bell mouth connected to an outlet pipe F, which extends upward out of the well
and is curved, as shown in figure 1, and secured to the bracket arm n of a standard H
and terminates in a discharge nozzle f directed downward.
This discharge nozzle fis located in such relation to a bucket G that it discharges
water therein. The bucket G is pivotally secured to one limb of a working beam J,
which has a V-edge fulcrumed at k on a standard S. The bottom of the bucket G
is provided with an outlet pipe gl having a regulating or cut off valve g³, and a
seat 93, which latter when the bucket is at its highest point is closed by a fixed
valve g.
The stem g of the valve g is vertically adjustable by means of nuts g
impinging against the bracket arm n of the standard H, to which this valve stem is
secured. Directly beneath the outlet pipe g¹ of the bucket G is a water receptacle W,
shown clearly in figure 1 of the annexed drawings.
The working beam or lever J can be nicely or properly adjusted to an equipoise by
means of weights W1 W hung from its extremeties, and one limb of this beam is
guided in a slot t in the standard H, while the opposite limb J' is guided in the
bifurcated upper part of a standard K. This limb J¹ is constructed with a
trough adapted to afford a track for a shifting ball 1, which trough is turned
up at its ends jj to prevent the said ball escaping from it at the termini of its
strokes.
We apply in the vertical slot of the standard K an adjustable rest or stop s, upon
which is supported the arm J₁ of the vibrating beam J, when the beam is in the
position shown in figure 1. In close relation to the fulcrum of the beam J and
rigid therewith is an arm or toe g, which, when the said beam is in the position
indicated in figure 1, will press the plunger 61 inward a sufficient distance to close the
vent b and open the valve b³, as will more fully hereinafter appear.
The operation of the elevator is as follows:-
The storage vessel A having been charged with air under considerable pressure,
the cocks a¹ d are opened more or less. Compressed air will now pass from the
storage vessel through pipe d and press upon the water in the submerged drum D,
closing check valve i, and forcing the water up through the pipe F and discharging it
from the nozzle f into the vessel G on one arm of the beam J. When the weight of
water in vessel G preponderates over the ball Z, this vessel will descend leaving the
valve g and opening the outlet passage through the discharge pipe g', thus allowing
water to flow from said vessel G into the tank W. The rapidity of flow from
vessel G can be regulated by means of the cock 9. At the moment the vessel G
starts to descend, the pipe g¹ will be opened, and simultaneously therewith the toe
or arm 9 will leave the end of the plunger 6', thereby allowing the pressure of air
to close valve 63 against its seat. The air pressure from the reservoir A will now be
cut off from the submerged drum D in the well E, and the vent b opened. This
operation will instantly relieve the drum D and allow water to flow into it through
its valve opening.
As the arm of beam J on which is hung the bucket G descends, the ball Z will roll
towards the fulcrum of this beam and insure a steadiness to the working thereof.
When the water has run out of the bucket G the left hand arm of beam J will pre-
ponderate, and the bucket will rise, the several parts again assuming the position
shown in figure 1. The valve 6s will now be open, the vent 6 closed by plunger b¹, the
outlet pipe of bucket G closed by the stationary valve g, and the valve i in the sub-
merged drum closed. Communication is established between the storage vessel A and
drum D, and the water in it elevated by the compressed air and discharges it into
the bucket G, which, when it is filled, will again descend. It will thus bo observed

page_text: that the operation of our water elevator is strictly automatic as long as the storage
vessel A is kept charged with air. If it is desired to control the movements of the
apparatus by hand, this can be done by the employment of a hand lever L, as indicated
in figure 2 in dotted lines, by means of which the plunger b¹ and its valve can be
operated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:—
1st. The combination with the storage vessel, the submerged drum provided with a
valve opening inwardly, a valve box provided with a connected plunger, and valve and
an air vent, pipes connecting the vessel A, the drum D and valve box B, a vibrating
beam J provided with a toe t, adapted to act on plunger b³, a bucket hung from one
arm of said beam and provided with an outlet pipe, a stationary valve for this outlet
pipe, and a pipe leading from the drum D, and arranged to discharge water into the
said bucket, all substantially as described.
2nd. The combination with a pivoted working beam J, and a bucket G pivoted to
this beam and provided with an outlet and a valve seat in the bottom; of a
stationary adjustable valve adapted to close upon the valve seat in the bottom of the
said bucket, a support for the valve, a support for the beam J, a supply pipe F
emptying into said bucket G, and means for elevating the water, substantially as
described.
;
3rd. The combination with a pivoted weighted beam J provided with a toe g³, a
bucket G pivoted to the said beam, a rolling counter balancing weight 7 upon said
beam of a stationary valve g adapted to close upon a valve seat in the bucket G, a
valve box B, a reciprocating valve in said box, this valve being opened by the toe g³
on the beam J, air pipes de, a submerged drum D provided with an inwardly opening
valve, a water supply pipe F leading from the drum D to the said pivoted bucket G,
all arranged as, and for the purpose herein stated.
Dated this 22nd day of January 1889