IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FILTERS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Frederick Crease, of Eastney, in the County
of Southampton, Major in the Army, & Captain in the Royal Marine
Artillery, for the Invention of “IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF FILTERS."
Sealed the 6th October 1875, and dated the 2nd June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Frederick Crease
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 2nd June 1875.
I, JOHN FREDERICK CREASE, of Eastney, in the County of South-
ampton, Major in the Army, & Captain in the Royal Marine Artillery,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Improvements
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FILTERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the construction of
filters.
My improved filters are suitable for household use, army, and other
purposes. They are so constructed as that every part shall be accessible
to the user, and are specially designed to enable any person, however

page_text: The thickness of the bed of filtering material to be placed above the
perforated plate or false bottom, and the degree to which it should be
compressed, will depend upon the amount of impurity contained in the
water or liquid to be filtered. One of the great advantages of my
improved filters is, that the thickness of the bed or layer and the extent
of compression may be readily adjusted by any person by simply
removing the screwed handle or nut and perforated plate or slab,
reducing or increasing (as the case may be) the quantity of filtering
material, and then replacing the parts, screwing down the handle or nut
more or less tightly, according to requirement.
The top cover of the vessel may be made to fasten in position by bolts
or otherwise or not, according to circumstances.
The bottom of the vessel may be made in one piece with its lateral
portion, or may be made in like manner as the top; capable of removal.
It will be understood from the foregoing description that a filter con-
structed according to my Invention presents an upper chamber for
receiving unfiltered water. or liquid and a lower chamber for filtered
water or liquid, the two chambers being of variable sizes, according
to circumstances, and separated from each other by an adjustable space
containing the filtering material.
In some cases I attach my improved filters to mains leading either to
or from reservoir tanks, so that there may be a constant flow of unfiltered
water or liquid into the upper chamber and a constant discharge of
filtered water or liquid from the lower chamber. In this arrangement
the top cover is firmly secured in place by bolts or otherwise, and the
upper chamber may be provided with a cock or other suitable contrivance
for discharging air, to obviate impediment to the inflow of unfiltered
water or liquid, which might otherwise arise from the accumulation of
air under pressure in the upper chamber.
The upper chamber and perforated plate or slab may be cleansed by
passing a current of water from the inlet through the chamber, and out
by a cock provided for the purpose.
Filters constructed according to my Invention may be arranged to
work on the syphon principle, the water or liquid to be filtered being fed
in through the bottom or lower part of such filters and the filtered.

page_text: water or liquid drawn off from the upper part by a syphon pipe. Such
an arrangement may be placed within a tank or cistern of unfiltered
liquid.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Frederick Crease in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FREDERICK CREASE, of Eastney, in the County of Southampton,
Major in the Army, and Captain in the Royal Marine Artillery, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Frederick Crease, Her
special license that I, the said John Frederick Crease, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Frederick
Crease, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time.
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FILTERS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said John Frederick Crease, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Frederick Crease, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, and the Sheet of Drawings therein
referred to (that is to say) :-

page_text: Above the filtering material is placed a perforated plate or slab, the
holes in which may if necessary be of somewhat larger diameter than
those in the false bottom.
The upper end of the screwed rod passes through this perforated plate
or slab, above which the handle or nut is placed, and is screwed down on
to the perforated plate or slab so as to compress the filtering material
between it and the perforated plate or false bottom, as well as to secure
the filtering bed in its proper place in the vessel.
The thickness of the bed of filtering material to be placed above the
perforated plate or false bottom, and the degree to which it should be
compressed, will depend upon the amount of impurity contained in the
water or liquid to be filtered. One of the great advantages of my
improved filters is that the thickness of the bed or layer and the extent
of compression may be readily adjusted by any person by simply
removing the screwed handle or nut and perforated plate or slab, reducing
or increasing (as the case may be) the quantity of filtering material,
then replacing the parts and screwing down the handle or nut more or
less tightly according to requirement.
The top cover of the vessel- may be made to fasten in position by bolts
or otherwise, or not to fasten, according to circumstances.
Fig. 1 of the Drawings shews one of my filters in central vertical
section. a is the main vessel, which in this case is made of wrought
iron, with top and bottom flanges, to which the top and bottom covers
are respectively bolted. This vessel is lined with Roman, Portland, or
other like cement. 6 is an angle-iron ledge bolted (or it may be rivetted)
to the lateral part of the vessel to receive and support the perforated
plate or false bottom c, between which and the ledge is interposed if
found necessary a ring d of vulcanized india-rubber to form a tight
joint; e is a rod attached at its lower end, as shewn, to the bottom of
the vessel a, and passing up through the perforated plate or falsc
bottom c. The upper end of the rod is formed with a screw thread, on
to which is fitted a correspondingly screwed handle f; g is the filtering
material, above which is placed the upper perforated plate h, between
which and the boss of the handle f is interposed a strong metal cross f¹
to distribute over the plate the pressure of the handle.
The filter thus constructed according to my Invention presents an
upper chamber i for receiving unfiltered water or liquid, which may be

page_text: fed in by a pipe or main k regulated by a cock and a lower chamber m
for filtered water or liquid, which may flow out by a pipe n regulated by
a cock o, the two chambers i, m, being of variable sizes, according to
circumstances, and separated from each other by an adjustable space
containing the filtering material g.
My improved filter may be attached to mains leading either to or
from reservoir tanks, so that there may be a constant flow of unfiltered
water or liquid into the upper chamber and a constant discharge of
filtered water or liquid from the lower chamber. p is a cock for dis-
charging air to obviate impediment to the flow of unfiltered water or
liquid which might otherwise arise from the accumulation of air under
pressure in the upper chamber.
The upper chamber and perforated plate or slab may be cleansed by
passing a current of water from the inlet through the chamber, and out
through a hole stopped by a screwed plug or by a cock, which may be
provided at & for the purpose.
8
Fig. 2 shews a modification of the above filter arranged to be placed in
a tank of unfiltered water q. The unfiltered water can be made to flow
into this filter through holes in the top cover and upper lateral portion
of the main vessel immediately beneath the top flange, as shewn, or
through the cover only. The filtered water is withdrawn by a pipe on
the syphon principle, as shewn at r, or directly through the tank, as
shewn at t.
Fig. 3 shews another modification arranged to work on the syphon
principle, the water or liquid to be filtered being fed in through the
bottom cover, which is perforated for the purpose, and the filtered
water or liquid drawn off from the upper part by the syphon pipe r.
To obviate the carrying upward by currents of filtered water of the
granulated filtering material, which might be caused to pass out between
the periphery of the upper perforated compressing plate and the internal
surface of the vessel I apply the following arrangement:-To the per-
forated plate I fasten an angular ring, so placed as to leave an annular
space between its outer periphery and that of the perforated plate to
receive a packing ring w of india-rubber, which is pressed against the.
interior of the vessel by means of thumbscrews x carried by the angular
ring as shewn.

page_text: Fig. 4 shews my filter as constructed mainly of earthenware with a
loose cover a*. The main vessel a, with its bottom and the ledge b, are
all in one piece of earthenware. The channelled top part of the ledge
is filled with Portland or other like cement u to make a smooth surface
The top and bottom per-
8* is a cork packing and e¹
for the bottom perforated slab to rest upon.
forated slabs hand care of earthenware.
are projections formed with the head of the iron rod e. They enter
between projections a² formed on the bottom of the filter to prevent the
rod from turning, as shewn in Fig. 5. a² is an air pipe.
Having described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of
carrying it into practical effect, I desire it to be understood that I know
filters have been constructed with metal and earthenware bodies and
with perforated plates in various forms, and filters having such plates are
described in the Specification of a former Patent, granted to me the
Thirtieth day of November 1869 (No. 3470). I am also aware that the
use of charcoal as a filtering medium is old. I therefore lay no claim
to novelty in respect of these several features separately considered. I
claim as of my present Invention the several combinations of parts con-
stituting respectively the improved apparatus for filtering, constructed,
arranged, and operating as shewn in and described with reference to
Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 4 respectively of the Drawings accom-
panying this Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Frederick Crease, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy- 2
JOHN FREDERICK CREASE. (L.S.)