Ditch-emptying scoop rods, pendulum pumps, and a rack-raised ladder
Figures 11-14: water-lifting and hoisting mechanisms
Four numbered devices are sketched with brief captions: scoop-ended rods for emptying ditches (Fig. 11); a pair of piston pumps worked by a pendulum (Fig. 12); a ladder raised by means of a toothed wheel (Fig. 13); and a wheel that drives two scoop rods (Fig. 14). The captions name only the working substance or part — water and 'ladder' — while the mechanisms themselves are shown in the drawings. A line of mirror-script runs along the lower edge of the leaf.
On this page
Figure 11: scoop rods for emptying ditches
Long rods ending in scoops (vuotafossi) are arranged to lift water and spoil out of a ditch. The device belongs to Leonardo's studies of moving water and earth on a worksite.
Figure 12: pendulum-driven pair of piston pumps
A swinging pendulum drives a pair of piston pumps, converting its oscillation into the alternating strokes that raise water. It is one of several pendulum drives in this notebook.
Figure 13: ladder raised by a toothed wheel
A ladder (scala) is set upright by the action of a toothed wheel engaging its rungs like a rack. The mechanism converts rotary motion into the lifting of the ladder.