Chlorinator including means to feed an electrolyte of predetermined density and means to withdraw chlorine against a varying back pressure

Claim 2

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to deliver chlorine to water comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing brine into small quantities of chlorine gas and other products, said cell having an anode and a cathode chamber separated by a diaphragm, an anode disposed in said anode chamber, a cathode disposed in said cathode chamber, means providing three columns above said cell, said first column communicating with said cathode chamber and having an overflow at its upper end which is vented to the atmosphere and forms an output for discharging the liquid products formed in said cell, the vertical distance between the electrochemically active parts of said cell and said overflow being greater in terms of liquid column pressure than the maximum back pressure to be encountered at the point of delivery of chlorine gas into the water, said second and third columns communicating with said anode chamber and having their top ends at a higher level than said overflow, said second column connected to the point of delivery of chlorine gas into the water, said third column being vented to the atmosphere and forming a brine input to the cell, a power source for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine for said cell including mixing vessel means for receiving solid salt crystals in a quantity sufficient for extended operation and means for providing a supply of water to said vessel to form an aqueous salt solution in contact with said solid salt crystals, means for receiving the output of said mixing vessel and for forwarding brine of a predetermined concentration to said electrolytic cell and metering means in the line of flow between said supply of water and said brine input to the cell for causing small rate of flow of brine to said cell.

Claim 3

A chlorinator as in claim 1 further including means to limit the rate of supply of water to said mixing vessel responsive to a liquid level such that said liquid level is kept roughly constant.

Claim 4

A chlorinator as in claim 2, said limiting means consisting of a float valve.

Claim 5

A chlorinator as in claim 3 wherein the float valve is arranged to discharge into the mixing vessel and to keep constant the liquid level in said mixing vessel.

Claim 6

A chlorinator as in claim 2 wherein a separate water vessel is arranged in the path from the water supply to the mixing vessel, said means responsive to a liquid level being located in said water vessel to supply fresh water to this vessel at constant water level.

Claim 7

A chlorinator as in claim 5 wherein the metering means are connected between said water vessel and the mixing vessel supplied from it.

Claim 8

A chlorinator as in claim 5 wherein the Water vessel is connected to discharge into the mixing vessel through such a passage having a restriction so that salt water cannot penetrate back to the water vessel in appreciable quantities, said metering means being connected between the mixing vessel and the brine input of the electrolytic cell.

Claim 9

A combination of a chlorinator as in claim 5 and a circulating water system including a pump to circulate water from and back to the volume of water to be chlorinated, a by-pass line being connected to the output side of said pump to divert water to said vessel, a spillway to maintain constant water level and a return line to carry the water from the spillway back to said volume of water.

Claim 10

A combination as in claim 8 wherein the chlorine output from the electrolytic cell is connected to discharge into said return line.

Claim 11

A chlorinator as in claim 1 wherein means for receiving the output of said mixing vessel and forwarding brine of a predetermined concentration to said electrolytic cell comprises a separate brine vessel in addition to the mixing vessel, means connecting said brine vessel to receive brine from the mixing vessel and to deliver it to the brine input of the electrolytic cell via said metering means, and means responsive to the liquid level in said brine vessel for controlling the water supplied to said mixing vessel.

Claim 12

A chlorinator as in claim 1 wherein said metering means consists of a scoop, means for moving said scoop on a path intersecting a constant liquid level so that liquid is periodically scooped therefrom and conveyed towards the electrolytic cell.

Claim 13

A chlorinator as in claim 1 in which said metering means comprises a vented receptacle having an input and output, a container adapted to have a substantially constant free liquid level at the input side of said receptacle, and means causing said receptacle to alternately communicate its input side with said container and its output with the electrolytic cell so that said receptacle periodically and at a predetermined frequency can receive liquid from said container and deliver it by gravity towards the electrolytic cell.

Claim 14

A chlorinator as in claim 12 wherein said receptacle consists of a scoop, means for moving said scoop on a path intersecting said constant liquid level so that the liquid is periodically scooped therefrom and conveyed towards said electrolytic cell.

Claim 15

A chlorinator as in claim 1, wherein said means for forwarding brine of a predetermined concentration includes additional metering means inserted between said supply of water and said electrolytic cell so as to add water at a predetermined rate to said metered output of the mixing vessel and so that the total flow of brine to the cell is defined by the combined flow through the two metering means.

Claim 16

A chlorinator as in claim 14 where said two metering means include mechanically movable receptacles having a common prime mover.

Claim 17

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to a volume of water such as a swimming pool comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing brine into small quantities of chlorine gas and other products, said cell having an anode and a cathode chamber separated by a diaphragm, an anode disposed in said anode chamber, a cathode disposed in said cathode chamber, first and second liquid columns above said cell and communicating with its anode chamber, one of said columns forming a first output for discharging free chlorine gas into said volume of water under varying back pressure and the other one forming a brine input to the cell and extending to a height sufficient when filled with brine to balance the maximum value of said gas pressure, a third liquid column above said cell communicating with its cathode chamber and forming an output for discharging the liquid products formed in said cell, a power supply for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine including means forming a mixing vessel for receiving solid salt crystals and for maintaining a supply Of water in contact with said solid salt crystals to form an aqueous salt solution having a salt density gradient, means for conveying salt solution of preselected density to the input column of said electrolytic cell, means submerged in the salt solution of the mixing vessel and responsive to the density variations thereof for conveying salt solution of preselected density from the mixing vessel for use in said electrolytic cell, and metering means for causing small rates of flow of brine to said cell.

Claim 18

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to a volume of water such as a swimming pool comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing brine into small quantities of chlorine gas and other products, said cell having an anode and a cathode chamber separated by a diaphragm, an anode disposed in said anode chamber, a cathode disposed in said cathode chamber, first and second liquid columns above said cell and communicating with its anode chamber, one of said columns forming a first output for discharging free chlorine gas into said volume of water under varying back pressure and the other one forming a brine input to the cell and extending to a height sufficient when filled with brine to balance the maximum value of said gas pressure, a third liquid column above said cell communicating with its cathode chamber and forming an output for discharging the liquid products formed in said cell, a power supply for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine including means forming a mixing vessel for receiving solid salt crystals and for maintaining a supply Of water in contact with said solid salt crystals to form an aqueous salt solution having a salt density gradient, means for conveying salt solution of preselected density to the input column of said electrolytic cell, means submerged in the salt solution of the mixing vessel and responsive to the density variations thereof for conveying salt solution of preselected density from the mixing vessel for use in said electrolytic cell, and metering means for causing small rates of flow of brine to said cell.

Claim 19

A chlorinator as in claim 16 wherein said means for conveying salt solution of a preselected density includes a flexible conduit and a float connected to the end of said conduit, said float having a ratio of weight to displacement ratio equal to said preselected value of density.

Claim 20

A chlorinator as in claim 17 wherein said float has a weight to displacement ratio corresponding to that of a salt solution containing from about 10 to 24 grams sodium chloride per 100 grams of solution.

Claim 21

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to a pool of water such as a swimming pool comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing brine into chlorine gas and other products, said cell including means forming an input for receiving brine and means forming a first output for discharging free chlorine gas to said pool of water and another output for discharging the other products formed in said cell, a power supply for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine including means forming a mixing vessel for receiving solid salt crystals and for maintaining a supply of water in contact with said solid salt crystals to form an aqueous salt solution having a salt density gradient, means submerged in said salt solution and responsive to the density variations thereof for conveying salt solution of predetermined density to the input of said electrolytic cell, metering means for causing small quantities of brine to be slowly delivered to said cell, said metering means having a full flow section to minimize clogging.

Claim 22

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to a pool of water such as a swimming pool comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing brine into chlorine gas and other products, said cell including means forming an input for receiving brine and means forming a first output for discharging free chlorine gas to said pool of water and another output for discharging the other products formed in said cell, a power supply for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine including means forming a mixing vessel for receiving solid salt crystals and for maintaining a supply of water in contact with said solid salt crystals to form an aqueous salt solution having a salt density gradient, means submerged in said salt solution and responsive to the density variations thereof for conveying salt solution of predetermined density to the input of said electrolytic cell, metering means for causing small quantities of brine to be slowly delivered to said cell, said metering means having a full flow section to minimize clogging.

Claim 23

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to a volume of water comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing unsaturated brine of preselected density into small quantities of chlorine gas and other products, said cell having an anode and a cathode chamber separated by a diaphragm, an anode disposed in said anode chamber, a cathode disposed in said cathode chamber, means providing first and second liquid columns above said cell and communicating with its anode chamber, the first column forming a first output for discharging free chlorine gas into said volume of water against varying back pressure and the second one forming a brine intput to the cell and extending to a height sufficient when filled with brine to balanace the maximum value of said back pressure, said height being greater than the largest vertical distance between electrolytically active parts of said anode and cathode, means providing a third liquid column above said cell communicating with its cathode chamber and forming an output for discharging the liquid products formed in said cell, a power source for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine connected to said brine input to the cell, consisting of means forming a mixing vessel for receiving solid salt crystals in a quantity sufficient for more than one month of operation, means for maintaining a supply of water from a separate water vessel to said mixing vessel to form an aqueous salt solution in contact with said solid salt crystals, and to cause brine to flow from the mixing vessel to the cell, means for maintaining a roughly constant water level in said water vessel, and metering means responsive to this liquid level for causing a small rate of flow of said supply of water to the mixing vessel.

Claim 24

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to a volume of water comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing unsaturated brine of preselected density into small quantities of chlorine gas and other products, said cell having an anode and a cathode chamber separated by a diaphragm, an anode disposed in said anode chamber, a cathode disposed in said cathode chamber, means providing first and second liquid columns above said cell and communicating with its anode chamber, the first column forming a first output for discharging free chlorine gas into said volume of water against varying back pressure and the second one forming a brine intput to the cell and extending to a height sufficient when filled with brine to balanace the maximum value of said back pressure, said height being greater than the largest vertical distance between electrolytically active parts of said anode and cathode, means providing a third liquid column above said cell communicating with its cathode chamber and forming an output for discharging the liquid products formed in said cell, a power source for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine connected to said brine input to the cell, consisting of means forming a mixing vessel for receiving solid salt crystals in a quantity sufficient for more than one month of operation, means for maintaining a supply of water from a separate water vessel to said mixing vessel to form an aqueous salt solution in contact with said solid salt crystals, and to cause brine to flow from the mixing vessel to the cell, means for maintaining a roughly constant water level in said water vessel, and metering means responsive to this liquid level for causing a small rate of flow of said supply of water to the mixing vessel.

Claim 25

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to deliver chlorine to water comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing unsaturated brine into small quantities of chlorine gas and other products, said Cell having an anode and a cathode chamber separated by a diaphragm, an anode disposed in said anode chamber, a cathode disposed in said cathode chamber, means providing three columns above said cell, said first column communicating with said cathode chamber and having an overflow at its upper end which is vented to the atmosphere and forms an output for discharging the liquid products formed in said cell, the vertical distance between the electrochemically active parts of said cell and said overflow being greater in terms of liquid column pressure than the maximum back pressure to be encountered at the point of delivery of chlorine gas into the water, said second and third columns communicating with said anode chamber and having their top ends at a higher level than said overflow, said second column connected to the point of delivery of chlorine gas into the water, said third column being vented to the atmosphere and forming a brine input to the cell, a power source for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine for said cell including mixing vessel means for receiving solid salt crystals in a quantity sufficient for extended operation and means for providing a supply of water to said vessel to form an aqueous salt solution in contact with said solid salt crystals, a conduit leading from the bottom of said vessel to said input of the cell to receive saturated brine from said vessel and forward it towards the cell, first metering means responsive to a substantially constant liquid level inserted in the line of flow from said supply of water to said input of the cell for causing a predetermined small rate of flow of saturated brine towards the cell, second metering means inserted between said supply of water and said cell for causing predetermined small rate of flow of water to be added to said flow of saturated brine to dilute it, the components of said chlorinator being at such levels relative to each other that the flow of liquid from said supply of water to said output is substantially independent of water pressure.

Claim 26

A chlorinator adapted to be connected to deliver chlorine to water comprising an electrolytic cell for decomposing unsaturated brine into small quantities of chlorine gas and other products, said Cell having an anode and a cathode chamber separated by a diaphragm, an anode disposed in said anode chamber, a cathode disposed in said cathode chamber, means providing three columns above said cell, said first column communicating with said cathode chamber and having an overflow at its upper end which is vented to the atmosphere and forms an output for discharging the liquid products formed in said cell, the vertical distance between the electrochemically active parts of said cell and said overflow being greater in terms of liquid column pressure than the maximum back pressure to be encountered at the point of delivery of chlorine gas into the water, said second and third columns communicating with said anode chamber and having their top ends at a higher level than said overflow, said second column connected to the point of delivery of chlorine gas into the water, said third column being vented to the atmosphere and forming a brine input to the cell, a power source for supplying electricity to drive said cell, a source of brine for said cell including mixing vessel means for receiving solid salt crystals in a quantity sufficient for extended operation and means for providing a supply of water to said vessel to form an aqueous salt solution in contact with said solid salt crystals, a conduit leading from the bottom of said vessel to said input of the cell to receive saturated brine from said vessel and forward it towards the cell, first metering means responsive to a substantially constant liquid level inserted in the line of flow from said supply of water to said input of the cell for causing a predetermined small rate of flow of saturated brine towards the cell, second metering means inserted between said supply of water and said cell for causing predetermined small rate of flow of water to be added to said flow of saturated brine to dilute it, the components of said chlorinator being at such levels relative to each other that the flow of liquid from said supply of water to said output is substantially independent of water pressure.

Claim 27

A chlorinator as in claim 21 wherein the input to both said metering means is a water vessel arranged to be fed from said water supply in such a way that its water level is kept substantially constant.