IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING OR FORCING FLUIDS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Wilson, of Patricroft, near the City of
Manchester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING OR FORCING FLUIDS."
Sealed the 16th October 1857, and dated the 11th May 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Wilson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th May 1857.
I, ROBERT WILSON, of Patricroft, near the City of Manchester, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING OR FORCING FLUIDS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists principally in an improved mode of collecting water
in a receiver to be used as a reserve or direct supply for hydraulic presses
employed in pressing cotton or other articles of the like nature, and for which
Letters Patent were granted to James Nasmyth and myself on the Third day
of November, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six. In the Specification
of the said Letters Patent the pressure is obtained by weights suspended to a
plunger fitting in a receiver, which is raised by pumps forcing water into the
said receiver.
My present improvements consist in obtaining the required pressure by the

page_text: direct application of steam; for this purpose I place a cylinder in a line with
the receiver, and attach the plunger to a piston fitting in the said cylinder. In
order to economise space and steam I attach an internal cylinder or trunk to
the piston; this trunk works in a stuffing box in the bottom of the first
cylinder, and the internal diameter of the trunk is sufficiently great to pass
over the receiver. When the plunger is at the bottom of the receiver, steam
is admitted in the annular space between the cylinder and trunk, to raise the
piston with the plunger and the trunk, thereby raising the water or other fluid
into the receiver. When the piston is at the top, the valve is acted upon to
admit the steam above the piston, and the plunger is then forced into the
receiver; by this means the water or other fluid in the receiver is forced out
under the pressure due to the diameter of the large cylinder, the strength of
the steam, and inversely to the diameter of the plunger. The receiver and
steam cylinder above referred to may be placed in a vertical or horizontal
position, or the steam cylinder, instead of being above the receiver, may be
placed below it, if preferred. A modification of my improvements may be con-
structed by causing the steam to raise a piston which is in communication
with the plunger, and with a weight equal to the pressure to be imparted to
the fluid in the receiver; in this instance, when the steam has raised the piston
the valve is closed, and on allowing the steam to escape, the weight descending
by its own gravity forces the fluid out of the receiver.
Another modification of my improvements consists in imparting the requisite
pressure to the fluid, partly by the direct application of steam, and partly by a
weight, as above described. In this modification, after the steam has been
admitted below the piston to raise the plunger and the weight, the valve is
opened to admit steam above the piston to assist the weight in giving the
requisite pressure to the fluid. When several receivers are used, the valves, by
which steam is admitted to the cylinders, may be so connected that when one
plunger is down the next shall be raised, or the plungers may be raised and
lowered in any required succession by suitable gear.
The above described improvements in machinery or apparatus for raising or
forcing fluids may be applied either wholly or in part to other purposes where
fluids are to be raised or influenced by force or pressure.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on, the
11th November 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
WILSON, of Patricroft, near the City of Manchester, Engineer,. send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Robert Wilson, Her special licence that I, the said Robert
Wilson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Robert Wilson, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING OR FORCING FLUIDS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Robert Wilson, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, 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 Robert Wilson, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
My said Invention of improvements in machinery or apparatus for raising
or forcing fluids is principally applicable for collecting water under pressure in
receivers, which water is to be used as a reserve or direct supply for working
hydraulic presses. Letters Patent were granted to James Naysmyth and
myself on the Third day of November, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
six, for the Invention of "Improvements in Hydraulic Pumps and Presses for
Packing Cotton and other Articles of the like nature." Now, my present
Invention consists in certain improvements upon the Invention above referred
to, but it is also applicable for raising and forcing fluids for other purposes.
The first part of my Invention consists in obtaining the required pressure for

page_text: Taising or forcing nuids by the direct application or steam acting on a piston
to which a plunger is attached.
Secondly, in combining the direct application of steam with a weight con-
nected to the piston and plunger, by which means the pressure on the fluid is
derived partly by the steam and partly by the weight.
Thirdly, in causing steam to raise a weight connected to the plunger, and in
making the weight sufficiently heavy to produce by its own gravity the required
pressure for raising or forcing the fluid.
And in order that my Invention may be, more fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon.
Fig. 1 represents a section of my improved machinery or apparatus illus-
trating the first part of my Invention. a is a cylinder, into which steam is
admitted by the valve b, within the cylinder a is the piston c, to which is connected
the trunk d and plunger e; the trunk d works in a stuffing box f in the lid g
of the cylinder a, and the plunger e works in the receiver h, which is furnished
with a leather ring at i, as in hydraulic presses of the usual construction. The
receiver h is supported by the foundation plate l, and the cylinder a by the
columns m, m. The fluid to be raised or forced is supplied to the receiver h
through the pipe j, and is conveyed to the packing press or other object for
which it is required by the pipe k. These pipes are provided with valves to
admit the fluid at j, and shut it off at k when the plunger is rising, and vice
versa when the plunger is descending; or the fluid may enter and and leave the
receiver through the same pipe. The Drawing represents the parts in the
positions they occupy when the piston c is at the bottom of the cylinder a,
and the trunk d is resting on a packing ring n in the foundation plate l. The
internal diameter of this trunk is sufficiently great to pass over the receiver h,
and the external diameter is so much less than the diameter of the cylinder a
that there is sufficient surface between the two for the action of the steam on
the under side of the piston c. The mode of operation is as follows:-When
the valve 6 is turned to admit steam to the port a', the steam acting on the
under surface of the piston c causes it to rise in the cylinder, thereby raising
the trunk d and plunger e; the fluid is then forced into the receiver h by
atmospheric or other pressure. When the piston c arrives at the top of the
cylinder a, the valve b is reversed to admit steam to the upper surface of the
piston, which then descends with the trunk and the plunger, the latter forcing
the water or other fluid out of the receiver h, under the pressure due to the
diameter of the cylinder a, the strength of the steam, and inversely to the

page_text: diameter of the plunger. The machinery above described may be placed
either vertically or horizontally; if placed horizontally a plunger may be con-
nected to each side of the piston to form a double-acting apparatus.
Fig. 2 represents a section of my improved machinery or apparatus illus-
trating the second part of my Invention. In this modification the trunk dis
connected as before to the piston c, but the plunger e, instead of being con-
nected to the piston c, is connected to the bottom of the trunk d, which is filled
or partly filled with weights o, o; in this arrangement, the steam entering
below the piston c, has to raise the weighted trunk d and the plunger e, and
the water or other fluid is forced out of the receiver h, during the descent of
the piston c, with a pressure due to the diameter of the cylinder a, the strength
of the steam, the weight contained in the trunk d, and inversely to the
diameter of the plunger.
In performing the third part of my Invention, I make use of an arrange-
ment of machinery very similar to that shewn in Fig. 2, but the cylinder a,
instead of having a lid above, is open at the top; in this instance the diameter
of the trunk d may be reduced to increase the surface of the under side of the
piston c; the piston c must be weighted to the extent required to produce the
pressure on the fluid in the receiver. When steam is admitted under
the piston c, it raises the plunger as before described, and when the piston is at
the top of the cylinder the steam is shut off and the plunger descends, thereby
forcing the water or other fluid out of the receiver under the pressure due to
the weight on the piston, and inversely to the diameter of the plunger. When
two receivers are employed in combination with each other, it will be apparent
that the plunger of one may be made to rise while the other is descending by
uniting the valves of the steam cylinders, and that when three or more
receivers are acting in combination with each other, the valves may be united
so as to raise and lower the plungers in any required succession, by which
means a constant supply of water or other fluid under pressure may be
maintained. The mode of uniting the valves does not require to be par-
ticularly described, as any competent workman can arrange the requisite levers
and rods to form the communication from the plungers or trunks to the valves.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish to observe that I do not limit myself to the
5 details herein set forth, as the same may be considerably modified without
departing from the peculiar character thereof; but what I do claim is,―
First, the improved arrangement of machinery or apparatus, shewn and
described in reference to Fig. 1, for raising or forcing fluids by the direct
application of steam acting on a piston to which a plunger is connected.

page_text: Secondly, the improved arrangement of machinery or apparatus, shewn and
described in reference to Fig. 2, for raising or forcing fluids by the combined
action of steam and weight.
Thirdly, the improved arrangement of machinery or apparatus, described in
reference to Fig. 2, for raising or forcing fluids by a weighted piston and
plunger raised by steam and descending by their own gravity.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Wilson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
ROBERT WILSON. (L.S.)