Improvements in Apparatus for Softening Water.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 8th May, 1895
Complete Specification Left 17th Feb. 1896 Accepted 21st Mar
1896
Improvements in Apparatus for Softening Water.
I, CHARLES EDWARD GITTINS, of 113 Iverson Road, West Hampstead in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention consists of an apparatus by which the proportion of lime-water
or other reagents to be added to hard water for the purpose of softening it can
be accurately adjusted and mixed with the hard water.
According to this invention I make the lime-water in a vessel or cistern which
is placed above the cistern or tank that receives the water to be softened, the
two vessels are of the same depth but the areas are made to differ in accordance
with the relative quantities of lime-water & hard water that are to be delivered to
the lower cistern.
The pipes leading to the tanks are fitted with cocks, I prefer a three-way cock
placed where the branch pipe leads into the lower cistern, so that when it is turned
in one direction the water can flow into the lower cistern, and in another direction
it will stop the flow to the lower cistern and open the pipe that leads into the
lime-water vessel that the water may flow into the same where lime can be
introduced for the purpose of making lime-water. Any suitable airangement of
cocks can be used that will shut one cistern or the other cistern or both cisterns
from the supply pipe. I provide ball-cocks to the supply pipes in the cisterns
that they may be self-closing.
Lime-water having been prepared in the upper cistern the supply is closed to
it and opened to the lower cistern, a pipe provided with a cock leads from the
bottom of the lime-water vessel to a point close to the inlet of the lower cistern,
this cock is also opened so that while the cistern is filling with hard water from
the main the lime-water from the upper cistern is also flowing in and being
intimately mixed with it.
In the event of the lower cistern being partially full of softened water and
it is desired to fill the remainder of it with hard water, and lime-water for the
purpose of softening it, I provide the following arrangement to adjust the supply
of lime-water so that only the relative quantity may flow in and intermingle with
the hard water. The outlet pipe from the lime-water vessel is not fixed in the
bottom of the vessel but slides through an opening fitted with a stuffing box,
and is of such length that when the lower end is touching the surface of the
water in the lower cistern the upper end is the same distance from the top of the
lime-water vessel as there is space in the lower vessel remaining to be filled with
hard water; the consequence is, only a corresponding depth of lime-water can be
drawn from the top cistern, to the depth of hard water required to fill the space in
the lower cistern.
In place of regulating the relative quantities of lime-water and hard water
delivered to the lower cistern as above described, it may be done by means of a
syphon, the long arm consisting of a fixed pipe passing through the bottom of the
lime-water vessel the upper end rising just above the level of the lime-water, the
short arm is made by dropping a larger pipe closed at it's upper end over the fixed
pipe, the syphon can be started by means of a branch pipe one end of which is
connected with the bottom of the lime-water tank, and the other end with the long
arm, a cock is fixed in this branch pipe which can be turned on until enough water

page_text: has passed to start the syphon when it should be turned off, or any other suitable
means may be used to start the sy phon.
To regulate the syphon so that only the depth of water required is allowed to
pass to the lower cistern, I move the short arm of the syphon preferably by a cord
passing over a pulley to which the pipe is suspended, to the other end of this cord
is attached a balance weight and from this balance weight a second cord passes
over a second pulley to the end of which is attached a weight or rod or any other
suitable thing hanging in the softening cistern, this weight or rod is moved until
the end is just touching the level of the water, this movement causes an opposite
movement in the balance weight which is conveyed to and reversed in the upper
syphon pipe, the cords are so adjusted that the lower end of the upper syphon pipe
is always in a relative position in the lime-water cistern to the weight or rod in the
lower cistern, by this means I obtain a similar result to that obtained with the
sliding pipe before mentioned.
It is obvious that the apparatus is suitable for other reagents besides lime, and
also that more than one vessel for reagents can be used if necessary.
Dated this 18th day of May 1895.
Improvements in Apparatus for Softening Water.
I, CHARLES EDWARD GITTINS of 113 Iverson Road, West Hampstead, in the
County of 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 :-
My invention consists of an apparatus by which the proportion of lime-water or
other reagents to be added to hard water for the purpose of softening it can be
accurately adjusted and mixed with the haid water."
According to this invention I make the lime-water in a vessel or cistern which is
placed above the cistein or tank that receives the water to be softened, the two
vessels are of the same depth but the areas are made to differ in accordance with
the relative quantities of lime-water and hard water that are to be delivered to the
lower cistern.
Two forms of apparatus for effecting this object are shown in the accompanying
drawings. In these drawings the same reference letters are used to mark the same
or like parts wherever they are repeated.
A is a pipe leading to the tanks L and W, I is a stop-cock, B is a three way
cock which if turned in one direction will cause the water to flow into the tank W
and in another direction will stop the flow into W and cause the water to flow into
the tank L where lime can be introduced for the purpose of making lime-water.
H and H are ball-valves to close the supply pipes when the cisterns are full.
In Fig. I lime-water having been prepared in the tank L the supply is closed
to L and opened to W, at the same time the cock V in the pipe T is opened so
that while the hard water is flowing from H lime-water is flowing from T and
being intimately mixed with the hard water. The tank L is the same depth as
the tank W but is made to differ in its area according to the nature of the water it
is required to soften (for instance should the hard water require one part of lime-
water to every eight parts of hard water to soften it, then the tank W should have
nine times the area of tank L. It is obvious that while the tank W is filling
with hard water from H and lime water from the tank L when full it will
contain a mixture of eight parts of hard water and one part of lime water) but
should the tank W be partially full of softened water and it is desired to fill the

page_text: remainder of it with hard water and lime-water for the purpose of softening it;
I provide the following adjustment for the supply of lime-water so that only the
relative quantity may flow in, the outlet pipe S. T. U. is made to slide through a
stuffing box X in the bottom of the tank L. SU. is of such length that when U
is touching the surface of the water in W the upper end S is the same distance
from the top of the vessel L as there is space in W remaining to be filled, the
consequence is only a corresponding depth of lime-water can be drawn from L to
the depth of water required to fill the space in W. I prefer to close the pipe at U
and make a branch pipe T deliver the lime-water near the point H.
In Fig. II the regulating pipe (S. T. U. Fig. 1) is replaced by the syphon DE.
D is the long arm and consists of a fixed pipe passing through the bottom
of the vessel L. E is the short arm of the syphon and consists of a larger
pipe than D it is closed at its upper end and is suspended over the pipe D by the
cord J. A small pipe D' with a cock C connects the bottom of the vessel L with
the long arm of the syphon D, the cock C is for the purpose of starting the syphon
when it is desired to do so, it is turned on until enough water has passed into the
long arm D to start it syphoning, when C should be closed. Any other suitable
means may be used to start the byphon.
To regulate the syphon should the tank W be partially full of softened water so
that the correct proportion of lime-water shall be delivered to the water required
to fill the remainder of the tank W. I make the short arm E movable, it is
Buspended by the cord J which passes over the pulley P, to the other end of J is
attached a balance weight K, from K a second cord J passes over a pulley P¹ and
terminates in the disc R. The cords J & J' are so adjusted that the lower end of
the syphon pipe E is always in a relative position in the cistern L to the disc R in
the cistern W. so that by placing R at the surface of the softened water in the
tank W I obtain a similar result to that obtained with the sliding pipe STU in
Fig. 1. Instead of the syphon pipes DEI may use one made of flexible tube or
other suitable contrivance.
In Figs. I & II. O is the outlet for the softened water, and F & G are outlets
fitted with stop-cochs or valves for the removal of the sludge from the tanks L
and W.
It is evident that the apparatus is suitable for other reagents besides lime,
and that more than one vessel for reagents can be used if necessary, also that
the principle is not confined to tanks & cisterns but can be applied on a large
scale to reservoirs &c.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inveu-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The means of supplying softening solutions in proper proportions to hard
waters by vessels or reservoirs of the same depth but of different areas sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The means of regulating the supply of softening solutions to hard waters
by adjustable tubes, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. The means of regulating the supply of softening solutions to hard waters
by adjustable syphons, substantially as hereiubefore described.
4. The arrangement substantially as described and shown in Fig. I.
5. The arrangement substantially as described and shown in Fig. II.
Doted this 17th day of February 1896.
CHARLES EDWARD GITTINS.