US990886A - Pump. - Google Patents

Description

W. J. LAPWORTH.

Patented May 2, 1911.

n H [F u i 2.1 1

To all whom it may concern:

operating with the UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcn wiLLfAM J. LAPWORTH, or rrr'rsnnne, KANSAS.

PUMP.

' Be it lmown' that I, WILLIAM J. LAP- WORTH, citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Crawford and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pumps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to pumps and refers partlcularly to apparatus employing compressed air as a motive power for lifting water, such appliances being commonly termed pneumatic displacement pumps.

The chief objects of the improvements which form the subject matter of this application are :-to provide a pump that will be efficient and economical in its action, simple in construction, and so arranged that its operation will be entirely automatic and continuous. r

A further object of this invention is to provide means whereby air under comparatively low pressure may be used, said means consisting of relay devices arranged at various points along thedischarge pipe, and copump to increase the velocity of the stream delivered through the discharge pipe and adding to the effieiency of the apparatus as a whole.

I accomplish the desired results by means of the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this :ap plication, theview showing in vertical section the lower portion of a well and casing in which is arranged a pneumatic pump embodying my improvements.

Referring to the details of the drawing,

4 the numeral 1 indicates a well bore, 2 the casing and 3 the earth rounding and supporting the casing. Submerged at a given depth in the well is located a pump cylinder 4 of suitable capacity, and furnished in the lower head 5 with a water inlet port 6', governed by a check .valve "(1 An air supply pipe 8, connected at its upper end (not shown) with a supply of air under pressure, extends downward to the said pump cylinder 4, passing'throu h the up er head 9 to communicate with to cylin er cavity 10. The said cylinder is provided with a suitable discharge pipe 11," having its lower end opening near the bottom of the cylinder, and thence extending u ward through the head 9unti1 it reaches t epoint of discharge at Patented May 2, 1911.

the top of the well. The air supply pipe 8 is furnished with an automatic valve 12, having its stem 13- connected to a bell-crank lever 14, operated by mechanism hereinafter vdescribed. The-upper pump cylinder head 9 is provided with an opening 9 guarded by a relief valve 15. This valve and the said air'valve 12, are simultaneously operated by an automatic device constructed as follows :-Arelief cylinder 16 is arranged between the said valves and contains a float 17 having rods or stems 18, 19, projecting respectively through the upper and lower ends of the float cylinder 16, suitable stuiiing boxes 20 being furnished to guard the openings in the cylinder ends through which they pass. The cavity of the float cylinder above and below the float 1'7 communicates with the bore of the discharge pipe 11 through short pipes 21, 22, arranged near the ends 'of the cylinder and tapped into the wall of the discharge pipe, thus forming supports for the said cylinder. The upper float rod 18 is operatively connectedwith the bellcrank lever 14,-by a pin 23 which engages a slot in said lever. The lower float rod 19 is operatively connected in the same manner to a bell-crank lever 24, which is attached to the stem of the said relief valve 15.

It will be evident that the reciprocal movement of the float 17 in its cylinder, in a manner to bedescribed, will operate both valves at the same time, and the arrangementof their mechanism and connections is such that when one valve isopen the other will be closed.

At suitable intervals along the discharge pipe 11 are arran ed automatic relays, whose function is to ii itroduce' fresh charges of compressed air into the discharge pipe to supplement the action of the air introduced into the pump cylinder. Only one such relay is shown in the drawing, but as many similar devices may be installed as desired. Each relay consists of a cylinder 25, 1n

which is mounted a float 26 provided with stems 27, 28, projecting upward and down ward through stuiiing boxes 29, the upper I the valve 30, while the relief float 17 closes the air valve 12 when moved upward.

To properly operate the apparatus ,it is necessary to have the pump cylinder 4 and the relief cylinder 16 submerged in the water, which is indicated by the reference y numeral 33.

To explain the action of the pump, we will suppose the pump cylinder 4 and the relief cylinder 16 to be filled with water. The float 17 under these conditoins will be at its highest position, with the air valve 12 open and the relief valve 15 closed. If, now, air under pressure is admitted to the pipe 8, the valve 12 being open as stated,

' the air'will displace the water in the pump cylinder, forcing it up through the discharge pipe 11. When the air in the discharge pipe reaches the level of the relief cylinder 16, it will displace the water therein, allowing the float 17 to fall, closing the air valve 12 and opening the relief valve 15, the air in the pump chamber 4 escaping through said valve 15. The pump chamber Will then be again filled with water, which ing the compressed air to again displace the.

rushes in through the inlet port 6, and as soon as the fresh supply of water reaches the relief cylinder 16 it will enter through the lower port 22 and raise the float 17, opening the valve 12 and closing the valve 15, allowwater which has filled the pump cylinder. As the water passes upward through the discharge pipe it will enter the chamber of each relay cylinder 25 in succession, if there are more than one-installed, the action being the same in each case, which is as follows :the pressure of the water will raise thevfloat 26 and open the air valve 30 connected therewith, admitting a quantity of air under pressure from the pipe 8 which will enter the discharge pipe acting upon the watertherein to increase its velocity, thus economically supplementing theenerg'v applied by the air which enters through'the pump cylinder at the greater depth. A cer-.

tain proportion of the air from the pump cylinder 4 will enter the pipe 11 during each cycle of operations and will ascend the said pipe so that during the operation of the appliance the ascending current will consist of portions of water alternating with ockets of compressed air, the latter expan ing as higher elevations are reached. When one of these pockets arrives at the relay cylinder 25, the expanding air will drive out the water therefrom, and cause the float 26 to descend, thus closing the air valve 30 to shut off this auxiliary supply of air. The air thus introduced by the action of the relay also forms a pocket or cushion between two portions of water. In deep wells and wherever the water is to be lifted to an unusual height, the air employed as a motive force must be' held under -a correspondin ly high pressure which requires the expen iture of a large amount of initial energy. It is for the purpose of permitting the use of air under comparatively low compression, accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the cost of production that the system of relays is installed, and the advantages of this plan will be particularly evident when air at a suflicient pressure is not available to lift the water to the required height through the medium of the pump cylinder and its imme diate attachments.

- Having'thus described my invention, what I claim as new, is

1. In a pneumatic pump including a pump-cylinder having a water inlet port, a water discharge pipe, an air supply pipe and a relief port, the combination of a valve for said water inlet port, a valve for said airsupply pipe and a valve for said relief port, and means operatively connecting the valve in the air supply pipe with the relief port valve, said means comprising a cylinder communicating withsaid discharge pipe, a float in said cylinder and connections between said float and said valves, whereby the movements of said 'fioat will close one of said valves and open the other, and auto matically operative means connected with said air-supply pipe for admitting, air directly to said discharge pipe.

2.In'a pneumatic pump, including a pump cylinder having a water inlet port, a

water outlet pipe, and an air supply pipe, the combination of a valve in said air pipe, a relief valve in said pum cylinder, a relief cylinder having a plurahty of ports communicating with said outlet pipe, a float in said relief cylinder, operative connection between said float and said valves, a relay cylinder arranged above said relief cylinder and communicating with the saidoutlet pipe, a passage connecting said air pipe with the outlet pipe, a' relay valve in saidpassage and afloat in said relay cylinder operatively connected with the relay valve. I

3. In a pneumatic pump, the combination with a pump cylinder having a valve controlled water inlet port, a water outlet pipe and an air inlet pipe, of means for alternately admittingair under pressure to the pump cylinder'and removing .it therefrom,

and a relay for intermittently admitting air under pressure to the water outlet pipe, said In testimony whereof I afifix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM J. LAPWORTH.

Witnesses:

A. H. MGCORMIGK, E. E. COULTER.

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