Improved Apparatus for Treating Water by Heat.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Dec., 1899-Accepted, 17th Mar., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Treating Water by Heat.
I, DAVID ANDERSON, Consulting Engineer, of "St. Helen's," Holders Hill,
Hendon, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
My invention relates to an improved apparatus for treating water by heat,
and has for its objects (1) to sterilise same and partially soften it by the removal
of the temporary hardness, (2) to soften the water in any required degree by
the addition of suitable reagents for the reduction or removal of the permanent
hardness and (3) to supply boiled water, either hot or cold, in comparatively
large quantity. The apparatus may be designed in sundry forms as hereinafter
appears and by its use am able to ensure that the water delivered has been
actually boiled for a certain time, thereby obtaining all the advantages that
treatment by boiling assures. The water so treated may be delivered either hot
or cold and it may be filtered or not in the apparatus as required. In carrying
out my invention I provide a boiler proper adapted to be heated by a furnace or
by live or exhaust steam or both, according to circumstances. The flue from the
furnace is arranged to enclose a suitable area of the heating surface of the boiler
before entering the chimney. For steam heating I provide a number of internal
stean coils, chambers or the like all connected to a common condensed water pipe
and receiver. Within the boiler I provide a number of fixed steam-containing
disc like baffling chambers, each mutilated in regard to one section or part and
also a rotary spindle passing through said fixed steam discs and carrying similar
but rotatable mutilated discs so constructed and arranged that by turning same a
continuous passage below all the said discs is formed whereby the boiler can br
blown or cleaned out. The arrangement of these baffling chambers and discs is
such that the feed-water entering the boiler from the furnace end is obliged to
pass up and down, over and under the same and so be continually circulated under
exposure the whole time to the surfaces heated by the external flue and by the
steam discs, or by either or both as employed.
The boiled water may if desired be passed through a filter and may then be
drawn off and used hot at the forward end of the boiler, or it may be led through
a pipe to a cooling coil contained in a casing through which cold water is
pumped or fed by gravity from an elevated tank."
This cooling water being raised in temperature by the hot coil may with
advantage be used for feed to the boiler. I will describe two arrangements of
my apparatus in reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a
longitudinal section, partly in elevation, Fig. 2 is an end elevation showing
furnace in section. Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the boiler showing one fixed
steam-containing baffling chamber, Fig. 4 is the same view of one of the rotatable
discs. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of a modified arrangement hereinafter
referred to.
Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the figures.
Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, I have shown at A a water tube

page_text: type of boiler comprising a pair of lower receivers a a connected to the upper
receiver or boiler proper B by small tubes T T the fire grate G being placed
centrally beneath the boiler B and between the side tubes T T. F is the flue from
the furnace G arranged to enclose as shown in Fig. 2 the greater part of the barrel
of the boiler B and leading into the uptake or chimney W. The course of the
hot water within the boiler B is determined by the baffle discs 1) D' under and
over which it alternately passes as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. The disc-
like chain bers D D are made of two plates d d separated by a ring din con-
tact with the boiler shell except at its lowest part 2 which is cut away as shown
in Figs. 1 and 3. The intermediate discs D D which may be made of one
plate or two as shown are of the form in elevation shown in Fig. 4 and they are
mounted fast on a rotary spindle S passing centrally through the barrel of
boiler B and provided with bearings 61 b and a stuffing box where it passes
out of the end of the boiler. S¹ is a hand wheel for rotating the spindle S when
required.
For heating by live or exhaust steam in addition to or independently of the
furnace I provide coils E E Figs. and 2 in the boiler B extending from a
chamber B₁ formed in the front end thereof into the steam chamber of the first
disc D. For supplying steam to the chamber B' and coils E E and to the
discs DDI provide a steam pipe P connected to same respectively by branches
PP. The condensed water escapes from the coils E E and the fixed steam
chambers D D by pipes p² 2 leading to waste pipes P¹ P. K shows an internal
filter fixed in the barrel B from which the outlet pipe O issues. The filter may
however be dispensed with if desired.
If a supply of hot water is required it may be drawn off through the cock q
but in order to cool it when required I lead the outlet pipe 0 through a coil H
enclosed in a casing H¹ through which cold water is pumped or gravitated
through pipe from a suitably elevated tank (not shown on the drawing). This
cooling water being slightly raised in temperature on leaving the casing H' may
with advantage be used for feeding the boiler through pipe h either by gravity
or force in accordance with the internal pressure to be overcome. The tempera-
ture necessary for sterilisation of water is not high but a safety valve is provided
to ensure immunity from accidents, and it is convenient to provide a thermostat
such as indicated diagrammatically at M connected to an electric bell to give
warning in case of too high or too low temperature. By this arrangement the
water is raised to required temperature and kept at same for any period and
can be drawn off as wanted with the assurance that it has been boiled and con-
sequently in some degree softened, but certainly sterilised. Should it be required
to further soften the hot water, suitable reagents may be introduced by force or
gravity from the mixing tank R. To clean out the boiler it is only necessary
to rotate the spindle S until all the movable discs D¹ present their mutilated
parts to the bottom of the shell, when an unobstructed passage is formed and
the boiler may be blown out through front and rear blow off cocks u or by
removing mud-hole covers N provided in the end plates cleaning tools may be
introduced.
The front end plate 3 is or may be secured by bolts, and the joints of the
pipes will be arranged so as to be screwed in and made tight from the out-
side, so that by disconnecting the pipes pp¹² and said end plates b³ all the
internal parts may be removed for cleaning or repairs.
P
.
Fig. 5 shows a modification of the invention in which the steam heating coils
and hollow discs are omitted and boiler B is disposed vertically above the furnace
and tubular part T, the said tubular part in this case being formed of one group
of curved tubes passing upward to the boiler, whilst the heating gases pass
through or around the group of tubes and then around the boiler B by flue Fas
before and escape at uptake W. The arrangement of mutilated and fixed
discs DD is as before described and the hand-wheel S is at the top. The hot
water is taken from a tap q at the top of the boiler and the cooled water from a

page_text: tap q' at the bottom of the branch pipe O after it has passed through the cooling
casing H', the water from the latter passing to feed the lower water drum a
as before. This modified arrangement is specially suitable for apparatus of
small dimensions such as is required for military and such like purposes.
The apparatus is especially adapted for use in hospitals and other places where
great purity of treated water is necessary, and it is also well adapted for a feed-
water heater for supplying steam boilers since, according to the quality of the
crude feed water, softening reagents can be introduced or not or in any degree
required.
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 :-
1. An apparatus for treating water by heat comprising in combination a
furnace or source of heat, a boiler having internal fixed and rotatable baffling
chambers and discs for determining the flow of water, and internal coils, and
chambers or the like for heating the water by steam when required, all arranged
substantially as described and illustrated in the drawings.
2. In an apparatus such as above referred to the use and arrangement of a
series of fixed internal steam-containing baffles connected to a steam supply and
intermediate rotatable baffling discs, for directing the flow of the water and heat-
ing same; and also for allowing of cleaning out the barrel, in the manner
specified, all substantially as set forth.
3. The arrangement in combination with the herein before described apparatus
of a water cooling device such as specified, connected arranged and adapted for
use, substantially as described.
4. The improved apparatus for treating water by heat and supplying boiled
water, substantially as described and illustrated by the drawings.
1000
For the Applicant,
J. C. CHAPMAN & Co.,
Chartered Patent Agents, 70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.