Improvements in or Connected with Apparatus for Purifying Water.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improvements in or Connected with Apparatus for Purifying Water.
I, ANDREW HOWATSON, of Cronberry, Belle Vue Road, Upper Tooting, Surrey,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to certain construction or arrangement of apparatus in which
impure water can be treated by Lime in solution in proportionate quantity for
purifying said water, the Lime and impurities afterwards precipitating themselves in a
tank and all flocculent matter kept back by a filtering medium, through which the
water, clear and purified, passes for use.
The invention is based upon my previous Patents Nos. 16705 and 16706 of the
year 1884; No. 6351 of the year 1885 and No: 907 of the year 1886.
According to my present invention, I arrange a tank or a couple of tanks, into
which water to be purified is permitted to flow, said tank or tanks having the required
number of outlet taps for passing the water in stipulated quantity to a receiver, into
which lime solution from another tank is allowed to flow for commingling with the
impure water. The admixture passes from this receiver into a pipe which leads to
near the bottom of a third tank, up which the liquor flows to a filtering medium,
through which the liquor in passing becomes clarified ready for use.
The third tank is of a large capacity compared with the first or second tanks
consequently the liquor spreads in said third tank and is not only retarded in its flow
which gives time for the solid or lime treated impurities to precipitate themselves but
it allows the lime held in suspension to settle, the flocculent matter which has a
tendency to pass off being filtered by a screen of filtering material arranged at the
upper part of the tank, so that nothing but clarified and purified water passes off..
Any number of tanks may be associated in the same structure for ensuring an
unbroken operation.
It may be observed that the internal plates set at an angle or angled plates in the
separation tank are dispensed with in my present invention.

page_text: The settling tank may have any number of sludge pipes and taps, or all the sludge
pipes can be connected to a branch common to a single draw off tap.
Dated this 11th day of July 1888.
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Andrew Howatson.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Connected with Apparatus for Purifying Water.
I, ANDREW HOWATSON, of Cronberry, Belle Vue Road, Upper Tooting, Surrey,
Civil 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 :-
This invention relates to certain construction or arrangement of apparatus in which
impure water can be treated by Lime in solution in proportionato quantity for
purifying said water, the Lime and impurities afterwards precipitating themselves in a
tank and all flocculent matter kept back by a filtering medium, through which the
water, clear and purified, passes for use.
The invention is based upon my previous Patents Nos. 16705 and 16706 of the
year 1884, No. 6351 of the year 1885 and No. 907 of the year 1886.
According to my present invention, which I show on the annexed drawings,
Figure 1 is an end elevation, Figure 2 a part sectional elevation and Figure 3 a plan.
1 arrange a tank A, or a couple of tanks into which, water to be purified, is permitted
to flow by the pipe B, said tank A or tanks having the required number of outlet
taps C, C, for passing the water in stipulated quantity into a receiver D this being
divided so that one portion holding Lime solution, or other purifying agent is provided
with a tap E corresponding to a tap F, the two waters falling into a receptacle G
common to both where the commingling takes place, the admixture passing down a
pipe H which leads to near the bottom of a third tank I up which the liquor flows to a
filtering medium J through which the liquor in passing becomes clarified ready for
use when drawn off by the outlet K.
The third tank I is of a large capacity compared with the first or second tanks,
consequently the liquor spreads in said third tank I and is not only retarded in its
flow which gives time for the solid, or Lime treated impurities to precipitate
themselves but it allows the Lime held in suspension to settle, the flocculent matter
which has a tendency to pass off, being filtered by the screen of filtering material

page_text: arranged at the upper part of the tank I, so that nothing but clarified and purified
water passes off.
Any number of tanks may be associated in the same structure for ensuring an
unbroken operation.
It may be observed that the internal plates set at an angle or angled plates in the
separation tank, described in my previous Patents aforesaid, are dispensed with in my
present invention.
The settling tank I may have any number of sludge pipes L and taps, or all the
sludge pipes can be connected to a branch common to a single draw off tap M.
If the water requires only a small quantity of softening or purifying agent an
additional quantity can be drawn from the tank A by the pipe N which water would
fall into the receptacle G simultaneously with the water and the solution from the
pipes E, F.
P, P, are pipes by which the tank D can be emptied when required, said pipes P, P,
leading to a drain.
To enable the upper tanks A, D, to be readily got at by an attendant for recharging
with Lime or other agent, I arrange a ladder and staging R for that purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1 claim is :-
The construction of apparatus hereinbefore described and substantially as shown in
the accompanying drawings, in which impure water can be passed from a tank into
other tanks and from thence drawn off with the softening and purifying agent in
stipulated quantities into a receptacle and from thence flow down a pipe into a larger
tank for slow flow and precipitation of the solids, said larger tank having a filtering
medium at its upper part for keeping back any flocculent bodies held in suspense in
said water after precipitation of the solids, as set forth.
PF4
1000 day to fan warr
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Andrew Howatson.