IMPROVEMENTS IN CAPILLARY FILTERS to be as follows:- 1
Year: 1885

page_text: I JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN of 169 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow
of the Institute of Patent Agents do hereby declare the nature of the said
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CAPILLARY FILTERS to be as follows:-
1
"
The object of this invention is to provide a practicable filter that shall utilize
the property of capillary attraction for filtering purposes. It is a well known fact
that a wick draws up only the liquid in which it is partially immersed, leaving behind
it the foreign matters contained therein, and all such impurities as are not readily
subject to capillary attraction. In order to render this capillary action available
for practical purposes I arrange a number of wick-tubes to pass through the bottom
of a vessel and extend up into the same, and I place wicks in these tubes, causing
them to hang over the top ends of the tubes and dip into the liquid in the vessel,
and their other ends to extend downward through the tubes to a lower level, in
order that the wicks shall act as syphons to draw the liquid up to the tops of the
tubes, and cause it to pass down through the tubes, where it drips from the lower
ends of the wicks, into some other vessel placed to collect the filtered liquid. In
order to further purify the liquid I arrange a series of such vessels one above
another, in such manner that the liquid shall be filtered several times successively.
The accompanying drawings illustrate a filter embodying my invention. Figure 1
is a side elevation, and Figure 2 is a vertical mid-section. Figure 3 is a plan of
one of the separable filtering vessels, and Figure 4 is a side elevation thereof.
Figure 5 is a plan, and Figure 6 is a transverse section of a modification.
The construction shown in Figures 1 to 4 consists of several cylindrical filtering
vessels A, A fitting together, one above another, and the lowest one fitting over a
receiving vessel B.
Each vessel A has a number of wick-tubes a, a passing vertically through its
bottom b, and fastened thereto by solder or otherwise, and in each tube is a wick C
of suitable absorbent material, as cotton wicking, its upper portion extending
beyond the upper end of the tube and hanging down to the bottom b, while its
lower end extends down in the tube to below the bottom b, and terminates
preferably at or below the lower end of the tube. Each vessel A is formed with

page_text: a flange c extending below its bottom b and fitting into the top of the vessel
beneath it, and each is provided by preference with handles d, d by which to
lift it. The three (more or less) vessels A, A are all alike except that the upper
one (lettered A¹) extends higher than the lower ones (A2 and A³) to give it sufficient
capacity, and upon it is placed a cover D having a depressed central orifice e covered
by a raised shield f. The liquid to be filtered is poured on to the cover D, and
runs down into the vessel A¹. The receiving vessel B for the filtered liquid is
provided with a faucet E and with a glass gauge F to shew the level of liquid.
As many filtering vessels should be arranged one above another as are necessary
to thoroughly filter the liquid. My improved filter is especially adapted to the
filtration of oils, to separate them from impurities and foreign inatters that may
have become mixed with them, and is also well adapted to the filtration of various
other liquids.
Instead of round tubes with round wicks, flat tubes with flat wicks may be
used, as shown in Figure 5, where the vessel is shown as rectangular instead of
circular in plan. It is not essential that the wick-tubes a, a be extended beneath
the bottom b, as they may terminate at the bottom, as shown in Figure 6.
DJ of Wahunan 100%

page_text: Improvements in Capillary Filters.
I JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN, of 169 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow
of the Institute of Patent Agents 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:-
The object of this invention is to provide a practicable filter that shall utilize the
property of capillary attraction.for filtering purposes. It is a well known fact that
a wick draws up only the liquid in which it is partially immersed, leaving behind
it the foreign matters contained therein and all such impurities as are not readily
subject to capillary attraction. In order to render this capillary action available for
practical purposes, I arrange a number of wick-tubes to pass through the bottom of
a vessel and extend up into the same, and I place wicks in these tubes, causing
them to hang over the top ends of the tubes and dip into the liquid in the vessel
and their other ends to extend downward through the tubes to a lower level, in
order that the wicks shall act as syphons to draw the liquid up to the tops of the
tubes and permit it to pass down through the tubes where it drips from the lower
ends of the wicks into some other vessel placed to collect the filtered liquid.
In order to further purify the liquid, I arrange a series of such vessels one above
another in such manner that the liquid shall be filtered several times successively.
The accompanying drawings illustrate one form of filter embodying this
invention.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 a vertical mid-section. Figure 3 is a
plan of one of the separable filtering-vessels, and Figure 4 is a side elevation
thereof. Figure 5 is a plan, and Figure 6 is a transverse section, of a modification.
The construction shown in Figures 1 to 4, consists of several cylindrical filtering-
vessels, A, A fitting together one above another, and the lowest one fitting over a
receiving-vessel B. Each vessel A has a number of wick tubes a, a passing
vertically through its bottom b, and fastened thereto by solder or otherwise, and
in each tube is a wick, C, of suitable absorbent material-as cotton wicking-its
upper portion extending beyond the upper end of the tube and hanging down to
the bottom b, while its lower end extends down in the tube to below the bottom b,
and terminates, preferably, at or below the lower end of the tube. Each vessel A
is formed with a flange c, extending below its bottom b, and fitting into the top of
the vessel beneath it, and each is provided by preference with handles d, d by
which to lift it. The three (more or less) vessels A, A are all alike, except that the
upper one (lettered A¹) extends higher than the lower ones, (A2 and A³) to give it
sufficient capacity, and upon it is placed a cover, D, having a depressed central
orifice, e, covered by a raised shield, f. The liquid to be filtered is poured on to
the cover D, and runs down into the vessel A¹. The receiving vessel B for the
filtered liquid is provided with a faucet, E, and with a glass gauge, F, to show the
level of liquid. The liquid in the upper vessel, A¹, is drawn up by the several
wicks, carried over the upper ends of the tubes and down through the tubes, and
from their lower ends it falls in drops into the vessel A². Here the same operation

page_text: is repeated, the liquid being carried over gradually into the vessel A³, and there
the operation is again repeated, finally depositing the filtered liquid in the vessel B.
The wicks in each vessel draw up only the liquid, leaving behind all sediment and
solid matters that may have become intermixed therewith, and also leaving behind
more or less of any denser liquid impurities, which are not so readily drawn up
by the wicks as the pure liquid. As many filtering vessels should be arranged one
above another as are necessary to thoroughly filter the liquid.
The improved filter is especially adapted to the filtration of oils, to separate them
from impurities and foreign matters that may have become mixed with them, and
is also well adapted to the filtration of various other liquids.
Instead of round tubes with round wicks, flat tubes with flat wicks may be
used, as shown in Figure 5, where the vessel is shown as rectangular instead of
circular in plan.
It is not essential that the wick tubes a, a be extended beneath the bottom b,.
as they may terminate at the bottom, as shown in Figure 6.
I make no broad claim to a filter employing capillary syphons as the filtering
medium, since I am well aware that wicks have been hung on the edge of a vessel
containing a liquid to be filtered, hanging partly down the outside and partly into
the vessel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
ine, I declare that what I claim is
1. A filter consisting of the combination of a filtering-vessel provided with a
series of wick-tubes projecting into it upward and through its bottom, a series of
wicks in said tubes, their upper ends hanging over the tops of the tubes and their
lower ends extending down within the tubes sufficiently far to cause the wicks to
act as capillary syphons, and a receiving-vessel for the filtered liquid arranged
beneath the bottom of the said vessel and receiving the drip from said wicks,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. The combination, to form a capillary filter, of two or more filtering-vessels
constructed to fit one above another, and each provided with wick-tubes inclosed
within it extending upward from its bottom, with a closed receiving-vessel for the
filtered liquid arranged beneath and fitting the lowermost filtering-vessel, sub-
stantially as set forth, whereby the liquid in the upper vessel is subjected to
successive capillary filtrations, and the wicks are concealed and protected.