Patent ID: 8047808

Claim:
A system for pumping liquid, said system comprising: a compressed air source; and a pump for vertically moving the liquid upward in intermittent pumping cycles, said pump being powered solely by said compressed air source, said pump including a first container having a closed upper end and an opposing bottom end, the opposing bottom end being in communication with the liquid, a second container having a discharge port and an opposing inlet, the opposing inlet being in communication with the liquid, and a U-shaped tube disposed interior to said first and second containers, the U-shaped tube having two upper open ends, a first portion of said U-shaped tube extending vertically downward, a second portion extending horizontally through a side wall of said second container, and a third portion extending upward interior to said second container, and a supply line extending between the compressed air source and the U-shaped tube, the supply line being coupled to the U-shaped tube such that compressed air from the supply line travels upward through the third portion of the U-shaped tube in the form of a series of air bubbles, said compressed air source supplying compressed air to the first container through the closed upper end such that during each pumping cycle: the compressed air urges a first portion of the liquid out of the first container, an accumulation of compressed air forming an air bubble in the first container, the air bubble being urged through the U-shaped tube and into the second container, the air bubble moving upward through the second container and out the discharge port, a second portion of liquid being urged upward in the second container and out of the discharge port by the upward movement of the air bubble, and a third portion of liquid being drawn through the opposing inlet of the second container and out of the discharge port by the upward movement of the air bubble, the first container, U-shaped tube and second container each being replenished with liquid at the conclusion of each pumping cycle.