IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF CARRYING OUT THE PROCESS OF SOFTENING AND PURIFICATION OF WATER AND IN APPARATUS FOR USE THEREIN
Year: 1884

page_text: I, WILLIAM WYATT, of Ellesmere, in the County of Shropshire, Civil Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD
OF CARRYING OUT THE PROCESS OF SOFTENING AND PURIFICATION OF WATER
AND IN APPARATUS FOR USE THEREIN to be as follows:-
33
The object of my invention is to insure the automatic measuring and delivery
of the required quantities of water and lime water or other reacting liquid, by
absolute cubical measurement, such measurement of the 2 or more liquids being
carried on simultaneously or nearly so and by continuous action or by action
intermittent at short intervals.
In order to carry out the measurement in the way described I make use of a
mechanical contrivance having chambers of the required relative capacities
connected together in such a way that the act of filling them, each with its own
proper liquid, and then emptying them either by the motion of pistons or of the
chambers themselves, shall cause the proper relative quantities of liquid to be
delivered; or I may make use of only one chamber which may be filled once or
any number of times with water, and then once or any number of times with
lime water or other reacting liquid.
The machine may be worked by the pressure of the water passing through it,
in which case it would preferably take the form of an Hydraulic pumping Engine;
or it may be worked by a steam Engine or any other motive power, in which
case it would preferably be made as a pump with 2 or more cylinders, or with one
cylinder capable of alternate, action as before described; but I may adopt any
other mechanical contrivance that will ensure the automatic measuring and
delivery of the liquids by means of the cubical contents of a chamber or chambers
in the way before described.

page_text: I WILLIAM WYATT of Ellesmere in the County of Shropshire-Civil Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD
OF CARRYING OUT THE PROCESS OF SOFTENING AND PURIFICATION OF WATER
AND IN APPARATUS FOR USE THEREIN and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following"
statement:-
My invention refers to a method or methods of carrying out the process of
softening water-The object of the invention being to insure the automatic
delivery of the proper quantities of water and lime water or other reacting liquid
by absolute cubical measurement in such a way that the quantity of reacting
liquid delivered shall depend absolutely upon the quantity of water supplied.
The usual method of mixing the water and reacting liquid is
1 by running the proper quantity of reacting liquid into a tank or reservoir
and then pumping or running the hard water to it or vice versa or by running
both liquids in together, the quantities being ascertained by the capacities of the
tanks or reservoirs from or into which the liquids are run or
2nd by the adjustment of pipes or taps in such a way that the required
quantities of the liquids may run through them simultaneously.
Now my invention differs from the first of these arrangements inasmuch as by
it (my invention) the liquids are delivered by the action of suitable machinery
measuring comparatively small quantities, such measuring not being dependent
upon the capacities of the tanks or reservoirs from or into which the liquids are
run or pumped but dependent on the capacities of a chamber or chambers forming
a part or parts of an automatic measuring machine capable of continually
delivering determinate relative quantities of two or more liquids without skilled
attention (except such as is required to keep the machine or appliance in working
order) so long as the supply of liquids is properly kept up and power suppliel
for driving.
It differs from the second inasmuch as that arrangement is an inferential one
dependent on the relative carrying power of pipes or orifices whereas my invention
is a positive arrangement worked by absolute cubical measurement only.
I make use of an apparatus, by means of which the water to be acted upon
and the lime water or other reacting liquid are each measured in suitable chambers
one of the chambers being made to contain any given quantity of the water to
be acted upon and the other or others to contain the proper or any given quantity
of lime water or other reacting liquid or liquids.
The chambers are filled by means of pumps or by pressure from the mains or by
other suitable means and are emptied simultaneously or nearly so into the same
vessel or receiver where further mixing may if necessary be carried on by any
known process and the mixture may then be filtered by any known means or
deposition of the carbonates or other matters may be allowed to take place
without filtering in an open tank or in a closed vessel under pressure-The
chambers may or may not have pistons and may be connected with each other by
connecting rods or other contrivances and may be worked either by the pressure
of the water flowing through them or one of them or by any other suitable
motive power.
In place of having separate chambers for the water and reacting liquid or
liquids the measurement may be carried on in the same chamber by means of

page_text: alternate action in such a way that the chamber may become filled once or two
or more successive times with water and then once or two or more successive
times with reacting liquid, the number of times being proportionate to the required
relative quantities of water and reacting liquid>
In order to illustrate and explain the principle of action I shall now refer to the
accompanying diagram and describe four ways of carrying out the absolute or
positive measurement referred to.
In Figure 1, A and B are cylinders each having a piston-The pistons are
connected by means of the rod C or by any suitable arrangement of rods or,
levers.
The water to be acted upon is measured in the cylinder A and the lime water or
other reacting liquid in the cylinder B, the relative capacaties of the cylinders or
those portions of them occupied by a complete stroke of the pistons being
proportionate to the required quantities of water and lime water or other reacting
liquid.
The passage of the water into the cylinder A under pressure generated by its
own vertical column (or by any kind of pump or machine suitable for the purpose)
moves the piston forward to the end of it's stroke the smaller piston being moved
simultaneously.
The smaller cylinder communicates with a vessel containing the reacting liquid
in such a way that during the stroke of the piston the cylinder has become filled
with the reacting liquid.
When the pistons have arrived at the end of their stroke the action is reversed
by any usual or suitable arrangement of valves or slides-The water contained in
the cylinder A passes out along the pipe D while the reacting liquid ejected from
the cylinder B passes along the pipe E and so on during every stroke of the
machine.
Figure 2 illustrates another method.
In this Figure A and B are cylinders as described under figure 1 A being
intended for the water and B for the reacting liquid-The cylinders are each
supplied with any common or usual arrangement of valves but in this case are
connected with a crank shaft worked by the pully or wheel C-In this arrangement
the motive power is not supplied by the water passing through the machine but
from other power by means of the wheel C.
It is to be understood that if it is necessary to use more than one reacting liquid
the number of chambers or cylinders will be correspondingly increased-for
instance, under the arrangement shown in fiqure 2 the crank shaft might be
lengthened and one or more extra cylinders added.
Figure 3 shows another method A is the cylinder for the water which may be
fitted up as an ordinary lift pump, B is a separate pump for the reacting liquid
connected to the same handle-By this arrangement the proper quantities of the
liquids are forced along the pipes C and D.
Figure 4 shows still another arrangement.
In this arrangement the measuring is carried out in a tipping box hung on
centres at A-The portion B of the box is intended for water and the portion C
for reacting liquid. The pipe D carries water and the pipe E reacting liquid―
F is a three way cock or any valve suitable for the purpose-The lever of this
cock is connected with the tipping box in such a way that at every tipping the
position of the valve is so altered that water runs from the pipe D into the
compartment B and reacting liquid from the pipe E into the compartment C
alternately and the tipping box is balanced in such a way as to insure each
compartment holding its proper relative quantity
It is to be understood that I do not confine myself to these particular mechanical
contrivances for carrying out the process but I adopt any suitable contrivance by
means of which the water and reacting liquid may be delivered simultaneously or
nearly so and at the same time be measured in the aforesaid positive manner by
the cubical contents of chambers or cylinders.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The measuring in an absolute or positive manner (by means of the cubical
contents of a chamber or chambers forming part or parts of an automatic
measuring machine in the manner before described) the quantities of water and
lime water or other reacting liquid or liquids used in the process of softening
water.