CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
ANTHONY EMSLIE, late of the Borough and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
but now of No. 5, Barge Yard, Bucklersbury, in the City of London, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by petition, represent unto Her most Excellent Majesty
Queen Victoria, that I had invented "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS,"
and Her said Majesty being willing to encourage all useful Inventions did
issue Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Ninth day of June, in the fifth year of Her reign,
whereby Her said Majesty did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the James Anthony Emslie, Her especial licence that
I, the said James Anthony Emslie, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Anthony Emslie, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make; use, exercise, and vend, within England
and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my said Invention; in
which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said
James Anthony Emslie, by an instrument. in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner. the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be iurolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
James Anthony Emslie, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention relates to a mode of raising, lifting, or forcing water or other
liquid, whereby I am entitled to effect a great saving in the use of steam or
other power, as well as of fuel, where fuel is required. In pumps in which
buckets are used, my Invention or improvement consists in a new bucket,
which is described in Fig. 2 on the Sheet marked A hereunto annexed, and
parts of it in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, in the said Sheet.
Figure 1 thereon represents a vertical section thereon, through the centre of
a pump barrel of one of my new buckets made with four leaves or floats.
a, a, are sections through the centre of two smaller leaves or floats, of each of
which a representation in a horizontal position is given by the Drawing H in
Figure 3 on the said Sheet. d is one of two larger leaves or floats resembling
each other, by which a representation in a horizontal position as afforded by
the Drawing J in Figure 4 on the said Sheet. These larger leaves or floats
exceed the smaller leaves or floats in size only by the thickness of the material
of which the smaller leaves or floats are composed, and so that they may
underlap the smaller leaves or floats as represented at k, k, in Figure 2; the
smaller leaves or floats therein being marked a, a; b, b, are projections on the
smaller leaves or floats a, a, to prevent the smaller leaves or floats after they
have been raised up by the depression of the bucket from clinging to the rod c,
and thus preventing the action of the bucket on its upward stroke. The four
leaves or floats are cut through, as represented at u in the Figures 1, 3, and 4,
in order to form a hinge with e, in Figures 1 and 2, which is a clamp for
hinging the leaves or floats, and connecting them with the rod c; for this
purpose the clamp e is curved at the ends or hollowed out in a concave form
on the under side, so as to fit and form a hinge with the convex part of the
aperture u made in the floats or leaves. The clamp e has also an aperture
coinciding with the aperture in the boss g in the centre, through which the
rod c passes, and that rod is wormed as a screw at the bottom, and on this
screw a nut works, which nut, by being screwed upwards, brings the clamp e
close down upon the hinged part of the leaves or floats, and secures them
tightly in their position, permitting them, however, to play upon the hinges.
At the points where the leaves or floats are cut through a plate f is secured to
the back or under side of the aperture, as represented at Figures 1, 3, and 4.

page_text: The floats or leaves may be set up at any angle, but that of 45 degrees will
generally be found best; and in ordinary lifts, during the upward stroke they
rest against and are entirely supported at the top by the sides of the barrel, in
which case the boss g may be round or square, or any other convenient form.
In higher lifts, however, in order to take off a portion of the pressure from the
sides of the barrel and the hinges, arms are extended, as shewn in Figure 1,
and by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, through which the screws h, h, work, and by
means of blocks, (which, in that event, must be cast on or cut out of the backs
of the leaves or floats,) afford them support; if such supports are applied only
to some of the leaves or floats, the same should be applied to the larger leaves
or floats, and the screws will enable the leaves or floats to be lowered, and
thus expanded at the outer edges to supply any slight diminution occasioned
by wear, or adapt them to a barrel somewhat varying in dimensions. Where a
great vibration of rod cannot be avoided, it will be necessary to put the rod c
of the bucket in guards, either at the top or bottom of the stroke, or else
to affix a hoop to the bottom of the rod c, which hoop should be of the size
of the barrel. The bucket, as above described, may be made entirely of metal,
wood, or other suitable substance; and I recommend the above mode of
hinging the leaves or floats, although other methods may be adopted with
efficiency. I do not confine myself to any particular number of leaves or
floats, which may be varied according to circumstances. In manufacturing
the bucket, after the leaves or floats are hinged upon the boss, I recommend
that a mandril should be driven through the hole in the boss, having a screw
thread with nuts working thereon on each side of the boss, in front of each of
which screw threads are to be placed, with arms radiating to a plane, passing
through the centre of the bucket, so that by applying the nuts, the leaves or
floats may be fixed to any angle, and when put in the lathe, turned up to fit
the pump barrel accurately.
Figure 2 represents a horizontal section through a pump barrel, with a view
of the upper side of the bucket. The same letters in Figures 1 and 2 repre-
sent similar parts. The dotted lines 1, 1, 1, 1, shew the formation of the boss g
under the leaves or floats.
Figure 3 represents one of the smaller leaves or floats, with a horizontal
and vertical section, and the lines for geometrically describing the same. The
chord of the arc i, i, is of the same length as that at i, i, Figure 2, and the
transverse sine of the arcs j, j, is obtained by drawing a line at an angle of 45°
degrees from the sine of the arcj, j, in Figure 2.
Figure 4 represents one of the larger leaves or floats, with a horizontal and
vertical section, and the lines for geometrically describing the same.
The

page_text: chord of the arc k, k, is of the same length as that at k, k, Figure 2, and the
transverse sine of the arc is obtained as described in Figure 3. This bucket
can be applied to all kinds of pump barrels without any alteration of the
barrels. There is no friction in the downward stroke by reason of the leaves
or floats being pressed by the action of the fluid, and folding towards the rod c,
and on the upward stroke the friction is at the minimum by reason of the
thinness of the edges. Where sand or other substances abound in the fluid;
the wear or tear will be less than that occasioned by the bucket now in use.
My bucket cannot well choke, for even should a portion of rubbish or other
substance get between the leaves or floats, a slight reversion of the stroke will
displace it, bringing the rubbish or other substance up to the surface, when it
will be projected with the fluid.
As regards this part of my Invention, described above, and on the said Sheet
marked A, I claim as my Invention, the formation of buckets for pumps,
whether made of metal or other substance, in the form set forth, not limiting
myself to any particular number of leaves or floats, or the method in which
they may be hinged, or the angle at which they may be set up, and the use
thereof in all kinds of pumps for the raising, lifting, or forcing of water or
other liquid.
The Sheet marked B represents my improvement in pump work for mines,
wells, and other places, exhibiting a vertical section thereof through a series of
lifts, for the purpose of raising water or other liquid a distance of 75. feet, or
thereabouts. In the construction of this apparatus I take a length of tubing, as
at A, to the extent of, say, twenty-five feet (but more or less, as occasion may
require). Upon the top of this tubing I place a box B, of dimensions suitable to s
the quantity of water or other liquid to be delivered at each stroke, and the bore
of the water tubing must be suitable to the dimensions of the box. This box B is
fitted with three valves C, D, and E, the valve C being at the head of the tube
for preventing the water or other liquid returning at the time the delivery valve
D is open. The valve E is made of a floating substance, and has a rod attached
to it, so that on the water or other liquid rising in the water box B, it may
become elevated thereby, and close the mitred opening, so as to prevent the
water or other liquid rising in the air tube. F, G, is a box fixed round the
delivery valve D, and being always full of water keeps it perfectly air-tight;
H is the reservoir for water, affixed round or under the box B, and is of greater 3
capacity, for the purpose of receiving the water delivered by the box B at
each stroke. From the reservoir H another length of water tubing I (similar
to the water tubing A,) ascends to a second box K, which is fitted up in
all respects similar to the box B. The air tube F passes through or round

page_text: the reservoir, and round the water box, into a second air tube L, ascending
from the water box K. A third length of water tubing M ascends from the
reservoir last mentioned, and has at its head a water box N, fitted up in all
respects similar to the boxes before described, with this exception, videlicit,
that instead of having a reservoir, a spout O is attached, for carrying and
delivering the water in the direction required. The air tube L is of larger
bore than the previous tube, and rises till it meets withe the air cylinder Q;
a small branch pipe R, from the box N, forms a junction with this air tube L
below the cylinder Q, so that on the elevation of the piston S in the cylinder Q,
caused by the vacuum created under the piston T in the steam cylinder U, and
also by the pressure of the atmosphere in excess of the pressure required to sup-
port the column of water or other liquid in one lift, the air in all the boxes is
thereby acted upon, and removed into the air tubes and cylinder, and water or
other liquid takes the place of the air removed from the boxes. The theory of
the action of this portion of the stroke of the engine is founded upon the well-
known law of the pressure of fluids. Thus, assuming the pressure of the
atmosphere to be fifteen pounds per square inch, and that this pressure will
support in vacuo a column of water of nearly thirty-four feet in height, it is
evident that if the height of the column be fixed at twenty-five feet, or there-
abouts, there will be on the head thereof a surplus pressure of about four and
a half pounds on each square inch, which is sufficient, taking all the lifts
together, to overcome the friction of this portion of the stroke of the engine.
The remaining portion of the stroke (that is, the downward stroke of the
piston S, or the stroke for delivering the water, is produced by admitting steam
at or about the atmospheric pressure into the cylinder U under the piston
T, by the steam port V, which, causing the piston S to descend in the air
cylinder Q, restores to the surface of the water in each of the water boxes a
pressure equal to that of the atmosphere, the effect of which is, owing to the
tendency of the water to gravitate, that the water is ejected at the delivery
valves before mentioned. A pipe W is conducted from the waste port X
of steam cylinder U to the top of the cylinder Q, through which pipe, on
reversing the valves Y and Z, the steam flows, and is acted upon and.
condensed by a jet of water from the rose a, and, on the piston S attaining.
the summit of its stroke, ejected at the port b into the tube fitted with a
water-tight valve c. The cylinders are connected at their tops by a pipe d,
which keeps on the surface of each piston an equal amount of pressure, the
cubical contents of each of the cylinders being at least equal to the cubical
contents of the whole of the water boxes employed. The valve e at the neck
of the waste steam pipe W is for the purpose of preventing the water from

page_text: flowing down it on the elevation of the piston S. The pistons are fitted with
rods attached to a working beam having parallel motions at either end, from
which beam the valves Y and Z may be worked by means of tappets. The
steam port V is connected with a steam boiler, proposed to be worked at high
pressure, so that the steam may be wiredrawn and enter the cylinder at a low
degree of elasticity. In starting this apparatus, it is first necessary (by means
of an air pump, which can be applied to each of the water boxes in succession,)
to exhaust the air from all the water boxes that the water may rise therein,
the admission of the steam in cylinder U under the piston T causing the
descent of the water in the boxes, and thereby obtaining the first portion of
the stroke; when its condensation producing a vacuum in the cylinder U, the
air returns from the boxes in consequence of the surplus atmospheric pressure
and performs the remaining portion of the stroke. The engine might also be
started by filling the reservoirs and valve boxes with water, and employing
steam at a somewhat higher pressure, till the whole of the water tubing was
filled with water. In the invention of this apparatus, I do not limit myself to
any size or form of tube, either longitudinally or transversely; nor to any par-
ticular dimensions or form of valves, boxes, cylinders, rods, or other parts;
nor do I confine myself to the precise figures or shapes as shewn in the annexed
Drawings, as the same may be varied as found requisite; nor to the use of any
particular metal or other material for the construction thereof respectively;
nor to any certain number of lifts between the well and the cylinders; nor to
the exclusive use of steam.
I do not claim as my Invention the raising of water without its entering
the working barrels of pumps, neither do I claim the Invention of raising water
by means of a series of lifts, by means of air-tight tanks or cisterns. But I do
claim the principle of the general arrangement and adaptation of the machi-
nery described, and the peculiar application of the sources of its action, as set
forth in the description of Sheet B, and the above statement thereof. And as
the general arrangment, or some portion of it, above described, without the steam
cylinder and its appurtenances, under some circumstances, may be worked with
advantage by water, manual or other power, I also claim for my Invention, or
any portion or portions thereof, the use or application of such power, or as
many powers as can be so applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Anthony Emslie, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
JAMES ANTHONY (L.s.) EMSLIE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Ninth day of December,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid James Anthony Emslie came before
our Ladly the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Ninth day of December, in the year above written.