Improvements in Apparatus and Appliances for Softening, Purifying, and Filtering Liquids.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Dec., 1891
Compléte Specification Left, 3rd Oct., 1892-Accepted, 12th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus and Appliances for Softening, Purifying,
and Filtering Liquids.
I CECIL HENRY FITZMAURICE of The White House, Littleton, Shepperton,
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of my invention is to construct an apparatus for softening, purifying
and filtering water and other liquids in an easy and efficient manner.
The apparatus occupies little space and is not so costly as those now in use.
Appliances may also be provided for attracting the solid particles held in suspension
and which can be readily removed for cleansing purposes.
According to one part of this invention I place the tank containing the lime,
soda crystals or other softening agent at a lower level than the other tanks and by
means of a rotary pump or other device worked by the superior weight or force of
the head of water, the lime water is drawn up from a tank to mix with the water
entering a branch of the filtering or precipitating tank.
I place in the precipitating tank irregular or flattish shape pieces of wood, metal,
pottery, or a combination connected together by chains, links or rods which lodge
themselves in irregular order in the tank so as to break up the direct flow of water
and cause a precipitation, gathering or incrustation on the material of the solid
particles or flocculent matter contained in the water..
The water thus softened and deprived of its impurities is permitted to flow from
a filter in the tank in a clean state or may be conducted to other tanks to be again
operated on.
The appliances arranged as above may be easily removed for cleaning purposes
and adapted for general use in factories and other places, but for domestic softening
and purifying of water I purpose arranging the softening agent in porous jars
having the exterior glazed in V form so that more of the porous portion is exposed
to the action of the flowing water as it flows down them. These jars have a lip
for the water to first enter and then to flow over the edge of the lip. The jars
can be in any number (according to the quantity of water to be treated) in trays
suspended by hooks from the upper part of an ordinary tank in which the filtering
agent can be arranged as first herein explained.
Dated this 1st day of December 1891
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said C. H. Fitzmaurice.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus and Appliances for Softening, Purifying,
and Filtering Liquids.
I, CECIL HENRY FITZMAURICE, of The White House, Litterton, Shepperton
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
The object of my invention, is to construct an apparatus for softening,
purifying, and filtering water and other liquids in an easy and efficient manner.
The apparatus, occupies little space and is not so costly as those now in use.

page_text: Appliances may also be provided for attracting the solid particles held in suspension
and which can be readily removed for cleansing purposes.
My invention will be clearly understood by reference to the annexed drawings
in which at Figure 1 I show a sectional elevation of the apparatus complete. A is
the first receiver tank of the impure water by the tap B. This tank is charged
with a softening agent, such as lime caustic or other for strongly impregnating the
water, which is pumped up the pipe C and caused to issue from the nozzle D, the
pump being operated by the head of impure water by the pipe E, which after
acting on the pump motor in F flows into the mixing tank G. From this the
water passes under the partition H and flows out of the tank G by the outflow I
into the vessel J provided with a screw, or other agitator K capable of being
driven by the motor shaft L through the band or strap M, in which vessel the
water and the softening agent are completely mixed, the water being somewhat
cloudy but softened and purified.
The water from the vessel J falls from the overflow N into the trunk P and
then up within the tank where all particles of flocculent matter are attracted
to the surfaces of jumbled up quantities of pottery, tiles, pieces of iron, pieces
of wood, or other material suspended in the tank, which pieces by chains and cross
bars R can at invervals be lifted and then allowed to fall for the precipitants to
be dislodged and settle at the bottom as sludge to be drawn off by the tap S when
desired.
The obstructions are so interlaced that the uprising water in the tank is com-
pelled to move in a zigzag broken up condition, although it travels up very slowly
due to the capacity of the tank which differs considerably to the others from which
it derives its supply.
The water by the time it reaches the bars R is clear but to prevent any light
flocculent matter from escaping, I fit between perforated plates T, U, a good thick
layer of cokernut fibre, rope yarn, or other material, so that the water leaving by
the tap is perfectly clear.
I do not confine myself to any particular material for retarding the upflow in the
tank to ensure precipitation of the solids and flocculent matters, nor to their shape,
whether they be regular or irregular, and to put this clear I show in the tank a
series of regular shape roofing tiles strung upon chains. These tiles have oblong
holes in them and as they are dropped on to the chains, they look in opposite
directions alternately and rest upon each other, whereby they become fixed in
position. The irregular pieces are supposed to be waste ends of staves from a
brewers cooperage, these pieces having a hole bored for the reception of a peg by
which they can be linked together. If the pieces are of iron, I purpose making
them of the shape shown at Figure 2, by slitting the piece of iron from two sides
I form centre lips which can be bent up and down respectively and by punching a
hole at the ends of the lips they can be linked together for any desired lengths. If
I employ cones as at Figure 3 each string can be set to break joint with the next
and so on when fitted in the tank.
The series of tanks shown at Figure 1 is specially adapted for railway stations
and factories taking the supply of water from a river or a stream particularly those
situated in country and outlying districts.
It is well known that in many cities and suburban places, the water supplied to
houses is often very hard and contains organic bodies which renders, a filter
necessary. In order to meet these inconveniences, I suspend in the ordinary house
tank seen at Figure 4 of the drawings, a tray a in which I place a series of jars b, b,
containing lime, soda crystals, a caustic, or other water softening agent, over which
the water from the service pipe c is caused to flow after percolating down from a
screen d. These jars are of pottery ware and only partially glazed preferably in
zigzag or V stripes, so that portions are left in a porous state for the softening
agent to be saturated and give off its quantities gradually, this being economically
effected by the quantity of water retained in the tray before flowing over the edge
or through perforations in the angled ends and sides into the tank.

page_text: The action of the softening agent and the intermittent supply to the tank leaves
sufficient time for a softening of the water and a precipitation of the solids to take
place in the tray, the flow over and down the jars being as a rule so gentle that the
sludge in the tray is not disturbed.
To ensure the water flowing down the jars, I perforate the screen only where
the jars are placed and by making a raised lip round each jar a kind of well is
formed for the water to first trickle into and then to flow over the edge in a thin
sheet all round.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. In a water purifying and softening apparatus, the employment of regular or
irregular shaped pieces of material suspended in the carrying or precipitating tank,
the number of pieces being jumbled up among themselves to prevent a direct
upflow of the water, as described and substantially as shown by the annexed
drawings.
2. Combining several tanks substantially in the manner shown at Figure 1 of
the drawings in or from which highly impregnated impure water can be pumped up
and be mixed with other impure water from which the pump is operated, and the
two be thoroughly mixed in a partitioned tank and afterwards agitated in a vessel
prior to passing into and through the precipitating and clarifying tank in which
suspended obstructions to direct upflow and a filtering media are arranged all in
the manner and for the purposes set forth.
3. The manufacture of jars with part glazed and part unglazed exterior, and
their use in trays suspended in a tank with a water purifying and softening agent
for acting on the water passing from main supply to cistern, as set forth and
substantially as shown at Figure 4 of the drawings.
The 3rd day of October 1909
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Cecil Henry Fitzmaurice.
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Cecil Henry Fitzmaurice.