Year: 1885

page_text: I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the county of Middlesex,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention (A communication from
W. A. Ogden Hegeman of New York, United States of America, Counsellor at
Law) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention relates to the purification of bodies of water or other fluid.
The object is readily, and at comparatively small cost, to purify or defecate
water or any other liquid or fluid, standing or contained in any basin, pond, pool,
tank, cistern, cess-pool, or other receptacle or reservoir, and thus practically to
cleanse, purify and freshen it or such reservoir.
And the invention consists in purifying a liquid or other fluid in its appropriate
receptacle, or reservoir, without the necessity of permanently removing it or
running it off and supplying its place with other liquid or fluid, by a circulatory
system, in which the liquid is taken from its receptacle, filtered or otherwise
purified, and, if desired, aerated, or charged, and then returned; the operation to
be repeated or continued, if requisite, and the procedure resembling the circulatory
function of the animal economy, the reservoir representing the veins, the instru-
mentality for withdrawing and returning the liquid, representing the heart; the
instrumentality for separating out the noxious matter representing the kidneys;
the instrumentality for removing the noxious matter representing an excretory
function; the purified liquid duct to the reservoir representing the arteries; and
the instrumentality for aeration of the liquid representing the lungs or gills and
the capillaries.
In the accompanying diagrams.
Figure 1 is in general, an elevation showing the circulatory apparatus upon a
level with, or above the surface of the reservoir.
Figure 2, is a plan view of the lower part of the suction pipe.
Figure 3, is a view similar to figure 1, showing the circulatory apparatus above
the reservoir.
The means which are show to illustrate a mode of carrying this invention into
effect consist of an aggroupement of apparatus which may be portable, and air

page_text: tight or not, for removing and filtering the liquid either mechanically or chemically,
and re-delivering it to the source whence it was taken, or discharging it elsewhere,
as into another reservoir to be purified, and, if desired, previous to its re-delivery
or discharge, aerating the same by introduction of compressed air or gas in its
transit from the pump to the discharge, or by spraying it or throwing it through
the air in the form of a fountain, or the like. To secure chemical as well as
mechanical action in filtration, the filter may be heated or charged with steam,
chemical substances, antiseptic vapor, or the like.
The invention effects the thorough purification and cleansing of impure polluted
or stagnant water, or other foul fluid, such as sewage, as well as of oils, sugar
liquids, worts, beers in vats, gas &c.
Referring to the Diagrams :-
A represents a lake, pond, pool, reservoir, cistern, cess-pool, tank, vat, or other
receptacle, either natural or artificial, containing water or any liquid to be
purified.
a, is a pipe or conduit of any suitable material or shape, leading from the
reservoir, preferably, from its bottom, and as shown in Figure 1, to a pump B.
The mouth of the pipe a may be of ordinary construction, or be flaring, and may
be provided with a suitable screen or strainer. It is preferred that the mouth of
the suction-pipe should consist of several branches b, capable of drawing sediment
from any or all parts of the receptacle. From the pump B, a pipe c, leads to the filter C,
and from the filter, a pipe or conduit d, of any suitable shape or material, leads
either immediately back into the reservoir, or to a fountain or spraying device D, of
any desirable kind, as fixed, or rotary. Instead of the fountain there may be a
compressor to inject air or suitable gas, before discharge and anywhere in the
circulation between the induction and eduction ends.
This forms a complete circulation, and would of itself suffice, it being understood
that the filter C is of a construction to permit the removal of accumulated
sedimentary matter which may be thereafter be employed for fertilizing purposes,
or be treated and disinfected, according to another invention for which I intend to
make application for a patent.
But in some cases it is deemed desirable to employ an additional tank E, which
may serve as a settling tank for the liquid, from which it is to be taken off into
the filter; or the tank may receive the liquid as filtered and cleansed and serve to
store it as long as desired. From. the tank, the liquid may be returned to the
reservoir by the pump, by syphon, or otherwise.
The pipes leading to and from the tank E are marked e, f, and, as before
indicated, this tank may be entirely dispensed with, or may be cut out of the
circulation by closing the cocks g, g².
It will be understood that when the tank E, is used as a settling tank, means
will be provided for removing sediment from time to time.
In the arrangement shown in Figure 3, the filter is interposed between the pump
and the tank. In this case the pump draws the water through the filter, instead of
forcing it through the same, as in the other examples. The tank is shown as
interposed between the filter and the pump. It will be seen that the tank may be
readily cut out of the circulation by closing the cock g, in pipe c, or both this
cock and the cock g¹ in the pipe f.
As illustrated diagrammatically, in Fig. 1. the tank is arranged to act as a settling
tank, that is as a tank to receive the water before it is filtered; while in Fig. 3 it is
arranged as a storage tank that is as a tank to receive the water after it is filtered;
but it is obvious that the tank night also readily be arranged as a storage tank in
Fig. 1, for example by connecting the pipe e, with the discharge end of the filter
and pipe f, with the pipe d, and likewise obvious that it might be arranged as a
settling tank in Fig. 3. by placing it between the pump and the reservoir in the
line of pipe d, (cutting it out by pipe e leading from the pump into pipe d, beyond
the tank the pipes being provided with suitable cocks, and the filter and the
pump being directly connected.

page_text: It will be apparent that by this procedure, artificial lakes, basins, pools, tanks,
or other receptacles in which water is confined, may be kept pure and wholesome,
without the necessity of flushing, or of having entirely to remove the water, to
scrape the bottom, and supply the receptacle with fresh liquid.
In some cases it is desirable to locate the circulatory apparatus upon a boat or
suitable float, it being understood that this presents convenient means for supporting
the apparatus in larger bodies of water, and for adjusting the depth to which it
may be desirable to dip the pipes.
The principle involved in this invention, and that which really constitutes its
substance, is the removal of any foul fluid from its receptacle and returning it to
the same purified, and it is clear therefore that removal of liquid, as by means of
buckets, or other instrumentalities, and the purification of the same and its return,
would fall within the scope of this invention, and it is also obvious, that the liquid
or other fluid need not be immediately returned.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
1. In combination with a reservoir, basin, or cistern an apparatus consisting of a
pump or forcing, or suction device, or suction or withdrawing device, an eduction
pipe, a suitable filter or cleansing apparatus, and an induction pipe, substantially
as set forth.
2. The circulatory apparatus, substantially as heretofore described, consisting of
an eduction pipe a, a pump B, a filter or cleansing apparatus C, and a return pipe
or conduit d, connected and arranged as specified.
3. In combination with a pipe a, the pump B, the cleansing apparatus C, and
the pipe d, suitably connected, the tank E, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
4. In combination with the pipe a, the pump B, the cleansing apparatus C, the
pipe d, and the tank E, the pipes e, f, provided with suitable cocks, whereby the
tank E may be cut out of circulation at pleasure, substantially as described.
5. In combination with a reservoir, basin, or cistern, the pipe a, the pump B, the
cleansing apparatus C, the pipe d, and the tank E, suitably connected and arranged
for the purposes described.
6. The combination of an eduction pipe a, a pump B, a filter or cleansing
apparatus C, a return pipe or conduit d, and an aerating device, substantially as
described.