Patent ID: 9499417
Filing Date: 2016-11-22
CPC Classification: B01J,C02F

Claim Text:
1. A water softening and ferrous iron and hydrogen sulfide removal system, whose surrounding environment is air, for treating over a period of time a pressurized flow of water that has a combination of problems of temporarily varying severity chosen from the group of water problems including having a higher than desired level of hardness or a higher than desired concentration of dissolved ferrous iron or hydrogen sulfide, said system comprising: a well tank, a water softening tank having a tank wall and top and bottom portions that combine to define a specified interior volume for said water softening tank, and wherein said top portion having proximate the highest point in said top portion a first tank opening that is situated directly in said tank wall and serves as a tank inlet, a cation exchange media situated in said water softening tank and adapted to treat said water problem of having a higher than desired level of hardness, a conduit that is configured to bring water to and supply said flow of pressurized water through said first tank opening, a brine tank that contains a brine solution, a programmable control valve having a plurality of inlets and outlets and which is configured to regulate said flow of said pressurized water to and from said water softening tank and to allow for the periodic rejuvenation of said cation exchange media using said brine solution, and wherein said programmable control valve is situated in said first tank opening, a means configured to connect with said conduit at a location upstream of said well tank and introduce air from said surrounding environment into said pressurized flow of water through said means so as to yield a flow of pressurized, aerated water downstream from said means and through said system, a second tank opening that is situated in said top portion of said water softening tank and directly in said tank wall and distal from said first tank opening, said second tank opening having a threaded inner surface and an adjoining top surface, an adapter having an inlet and an outlet and top, middle and bottom portions and a passage that extends between said inlet and outlet and is configured to allow for gaseous flow through said adapter, wherein said bottom portion of said adapter includes said inlet and has a threaded outer surface that is configured to screw into and provide a water-tight seal between said threaded inner surface of said second opening of said tank wall and said threaded outer surface of said bottom portion of said adapter, wherein said middle portion of said adapter having a flange that is configured to pull down against said adjoining top surface of said second tank opening when said outer surface of said adapter bottom portion is screwed into said threaded inner surface of said second tank opening, and with said flange having a compressible sealing member that is compressed when said flange is pulled down against said adjoining top surface of said second tank opening to provide a water-tight seal between said flange and said adjoining top surface of said second tank opening, wherein said top portion of said adapter includes said outlet and has a threaded outer surface, a downcomer pipe having an outer surface that is adapted to slidably fit within said passage of said adapter, with said downcomer pipe having top and bottom ends and a specified length therebetween, wherein said specified length is set so that when a portion of said downcomer pipe is situated in said passage of said adapter, with said top end of said downcomer pipe extending above said outlet of said adapter, said bottom end of said downcomer pipe extends downward and below said inlet of said adapter and into said water softening tank to a depth that thereby defines an intersection between said top and bottom portions of said water softening tank and so as to contribute to creating an air space in said top portion of said water softening tank that allows for sufficient mixing of said aerated, pressurized water with said air in said top portion of said water softening tank so as to treat said pressurized flow of water for said combination of problems, wherein said specified length of said downcomer pipe is further adapted so as to allow said bottom end of said downcomer pipe to be temporarily set, at a specific point in time during said period for treating said pressurized flow of water, at a first depth from among a range of adjustable depths in said water softening tank, and with said first depth being chosen according to the relative severity, at said specific point in time, of each of the problems in said combination of temporarily varying water problems being experienced in said flow of water, and a releasable, compression ring fitting that is configured: (a) to fit over and surround a portion of said downcomer pipe that extends above said outlet of said adapter and to attach to the outer surface of said downcomer pipe and to said threaded outer surface of said top portion of said adapter, (b) to temporarily lock the location of said downcomer pipe relative to said adapter so that the depth at which the bottom end of said downcomer pipe is set at said first depth that is appropriate for the relative severity, at said specific point in time, of each of the problems in said combination of temporarily varying water problems being experienced in said flow of water, and (c) when the relative severity has changed, at a later point in time, of each of the problems in said combination of temporarily varying water problems being experienced in said flow of water, to temporarily lock the location of said downcomer pipe relative to said adapter so that the depth at which the bottom end of said downcomer pipe is set at a second depth different from said first depth and that is appropriate for the relative severity, at said later point in time, of each of the problems in said combination of temporarily varying water problems being experienced in said flow of water.