Ismael Robinet was a glassblower at the Baccarat glassworks. In the twenties of the 19th century he developed a pump which was to replace the glassblower's lungs. In 1832 he was awarded a prize and a gold medal by the French Academy of Sciences.

The pump (or piston) spread rapidly in the glass industry as we know from many comtemporary reports.

It was about the size of a bike pump, its diameter a little wider than the blowpipe's. One end was closed, the other had an opening with a leather diaphragm, into which the mouth end of the blowpipe fitted exactly. When the pump was pressed towards the blowpipe, the air in the cylinder was compressed and it flew  into the gather in the mould at the end of the blowpipe.