IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED IN EFFECTING THE SOFTENING " PURIFICATION OF WATER AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES to be as follows
Year: 1884

page_text: I HERBERT PORTER of Honor Oak in the County of Surrey Analytical Chemist
(F.C.S.) and JOHN HENDERSON PORTER of Blackfriars in the City of London Civil
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED IN EFFECTING THE SOFTENING
"
PURIFICATION OF WATER AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES to be as follows:-
OR
This Invention like that for which Letters Patent were granted to John
Henderson Porter 11th July 1881 N° 3040, has for its object the regulation auto-
matically of the supply of the solution of lime or other reagents employed in
carrying out the softening or purification of water so as to preserve the due
proportion under varying rates of discharge from the vessel in which the said
solution is stored.
In the Specification of the above mentioned Letters Patent the pressure of a head
of water compresses a volume of air within a closed vessel, of suitable capacity and
provides for the transmission of this compressed air to a second vessel containing the
solution of lime or other reagent in such a way as to expel the solution from this
to a third vessel wherein it meets and reacts upon the hard water also entering
such vessel under the same pressure as the water which in the first vessel served to
compress the air and to transfer to the second vessel a volume of such compressed
air equal to the volume of the solution to be expelled from such second vessel to
the third.
Now this present invention dispenses with the volume of compressed air that
formed an essential feature of the former invention and at the same time dispenses
with the comparatively large vessel necessary for compressing the air and for
containing the volume of water employed to compress it.
Within the same vessel in which the solution is prepared I place a waterproof
bag or a waterproof partition of flexible material which will occupy but little space
beyond that occupied by the solution and I connect one side of this flexible
partition or the interior of the bag with the water supplied under pressure; and
by admitting this water under control of a suitable cock or valve and by opening a
communication from the solution to the vessel in which the hard or impure water
is to be acted upon, I' cause the bag or the flexible partition to be gradually
Dell

page_text: expanded or distended and by such distention or expansion to expel the solution
from one vessel to the other at the rate and in the proportion regulated by the
cock or valve upon the water pipe with which the bag or partition is connected.
As the water to be softened or purified will or may be admitted to the second
vessel in regulated proportion to the solution and meets it under the influence of
the same pressure of water supply, the action of the apparatus will become
automatic by the action of any ball valve float or other contrivance controlling and
influencing the discharge of the contents of this second vessel.
Instead of expelling the solution from a vessel by distention of the bag in the
way above described the reverse action may be performed by which the same
object is obtained-that is to say-the bag may be supplied with the solution and
this may be ejected from the bag by the admission to the vessel of water to press
upon all sides of the exterior of the bags.
While we have hereinbefore proposed to place the bag within the same vessel as
that within which the solution is prepared it may be convenient to place it in a
separate compartment or vessel into which the clear solution may be transferred
from the vessel in which it is actually prepared.

page_text: I HERBERT PORTER of Honor Oak in the County of Surrey Analytical Chemist
(F.C.S.) and JOHN HENDERSON PORTER of Blackfriars in the City of London Civil
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED IN EFFECTING THE SOFTENING OR
PURIFICATION OF WATER AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES "and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
This Invention like that for which Letters Patent were granted to John
Henderson Porter 11th July 1881 N° 3040 has for its object the regulation
automatically of the supply of the solution of lime or other reagents employed in
carrying out the softening or purification of water so as to preserve the due pro-
portion of the supply of the reagent to the water under treatment under varying
rates of discharge.
In the Specification of the above mentioned Letters Patent the pressure of a
head of water compresses a volume of air within a closed vessel of suitable capacity,
and provides for the transmission of this compressed air to a second vessel containing
the solution of lime or other reagent in such a way as to expel the solution from
this to a third vessel wherein it meets and reacts upon the hard water also entering
such vessel under the same pressure as the water which in the first vessel served
to compress the air and to transfer to the second vessel a volume of such com-
pressed air equal to the volume of the solution to be expelled from such second
vessel to the third.
This present Invention has for its object to dispense with the volume of
compressed air that formed an essential feature of the apparatus constructed
according to our said former Invention and at the same time to dispense with the
comparatively large vessel necessary for compressing the air and for containing the
volume of water employed to compress it. We will describe our present Invention
with reference to the accompanying Drawing Figure 1 of which is an elevation
partly in section and Figure 2 a plan of apparatus constructed for the purposes of
our Invention.
Within the vessel A we place a waterproof bag B of flexible material which will
occupy but little space beyond that occupied by the solution, which is admitted by
the pipe and valve C to the vessel A externally to the bag thereby compressing the
said bag into a comparatively small space.
We put in communication with the interior of the bag the pipe D supplying
water under pressure and fitted with the cocks or valves E and F, and when the
valve at C is closed and the cocks or valves E and F are opened the pressure of
water entering the bag by the pipe D will gradually distend it and so expel the
solution by the pipe G at such rate or proportion as may be controlled by the
cock F which cock may be fitted as shown with a graduated dial plate and index
points for facilitating the proper adjustment of the opening of the said cock. The
solution thus expelled by the pipe G will pass into the vessel H where it will meet

page_text: with and react upon the hard water entering the same vessel by the branch I from
the pipe D the pipe I being also fitted with a valve or cock K for regulating the
proportion of hard water to the quantity of solution regulated by the cock F
The action of the apparatus is automatic if the discharge from the vessel H be
governed by the action of a ball-valve float or other equivalent contrivance suitable
for controlling or influencing the rate of discharge from that vessel.
When the supply of solution which was in the vessel A has become exhausted
by the complete distension of the bag B under the action of the water entering the
bag, the handle L is operated to shut off the water under pressure from the pipe D
by means of the cock E and at the same time open the cock M by which the water
will be expelled from the interior of the bag by the waste pipe N when a new
supply of the solution is admitted to the vessel A by the opening of the cook or
valve at C.
It may sometimes be convenient to prepare the solution within the same vessel
as that in which the bag is employed for expelling it and in such cases it will of
course be necessary to provide suitable apertures and covers for the introduction of
the matters to be dissolved and for closing effectually against the pressure exerted
by the distension of the bag.
It will be evident that the apparatus described may be used generally for
supplying one liquid automatically to another in due proportion. and is not
necessarily limited to the treatment of water for purifying or softening it.
It will further be evident that the bag vessel and pipes may be so relatively
arranged that the solution is admitted into the bag and the water under pressure
to the space at the exterior of the bag or that instead of the bag a flexible water
proof partition may be used which divides the vessel in such a manner as to afford
separate spaces for the solution and the water or other two liquids substantially
as described with reference to the bag.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed-we declare that what
we claim is
First Apparatus or means for use in the purification or softening of water or
for other purpose whereby the pressure of the water or liquid to be treated with
the reagent or other liquid is directly utilized to cause the automatic supply of the
one liquid to the other substantially as herein before described.
Second-In apparatus for purifying or softening water or for automatically
supplying one liquid to another in due proportion the employment of a flexible bag
or partition substantially as herein before described.
.
Third-The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the apparatus
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.