AN IMPROVED FILTER OR PRESS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED FILTER OR PRESS."-A communication from
abroad by Louis Pierre Robert de Massy and Louis Robert de Massy,
of Rue St. Sebastien, Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 28th March 1865, and dated the 9th November 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th November 1864.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED FILTER OR PRESS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel apparatus, which may be made to serve
either as a filter, or a press, or both combined, and which is applicable to all
industrial purposes where these agencies are required.
These filters or presses consist simply of two cones, or two pyramids, or
any other forms approaching more or less the form of the cone or pyramid.
The two cones fit perfectly one into the other. It will only be necessary to
raise the interior one or lower the exterior one to a greater or less distance
according to the quantity of material to be operated upon, and to fill the interval

page_text: between these two cones with the substance to be either filtered or pressed,
or by one operation to filter first and press afterwards. For this purpose the
cones are to be forced into contact by any suitable means, such as hydraulic
pressure, a screw, or by impact. The apparatus must be pierced with holes
set at suitable distances apart to allow the filtered material to pass through.
It will be often advantageous to apply wire gauze to the surface of the cone
which is to serve as a filter, and to cover the wire gauze with some fabric, the
substance to be operated upon being placed between the wire gauze and the
uncovered cone. For treating certain matters it might even be necessary to
substitute for this second fabric a plate of metal perforated like a skimmer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance.of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, excrcise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "AN IMPROVED FILTER OR PRESS," being a communication from Louis
Pierre Robert de Massy and Louis Robert de Massy, of 45, Rue St. Sebas-
tien, Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention, as communicated. to me by my foreign correspondents,
relates to a peculiar construction or arrangement of apparatus, which they
call a "filter press," and which may be employed either as a filter or as
a press, or as both combined, being applicable to many industrial purposes
where those agencies are required.
The apparatus is composed of two cones or pyramids placed one inside tho
other, so as to leave between them an annular space, which is intended to
receive the substance to be filtered or pressed. These cones on being worked
or pressed together vertically, that is to say, in the direction of their axis, will
gradually contract the annular space between them, so as to exert a strong
pressure on the substance enclosed between them, the liquid portions of which
will escape through perforations made for that purpose in the cones. This
liquid portion will not, however, pass through these perforations without first
passing through a peculiar kind of packing, with which the interior surfaces
of the cones are provided. In order to render the working of the apparatus
.continuous, and thus avoid loss of time, it is proposed to employ two sets of
.cones, one of which is submitted to pressure, while the other is being prepared
'to receive it, and vice versa.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents in elevation an apparatus
constructed according to this Invention, and having two sets of cones, as above
described; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same, taken through the middle
of the cones; Fig. 3 is a detached view of the packing, with which the
operating parts of the cones are covered.
The apparatus consists of a hollow cone A set within another hollow
cone A',. which forms the casing. These cones are provided at their upper
and lower extremities with cylindrical parts a and a¹ for the purpose of guiding
them in their upward or downward movement. The outer cone A¹ has
lugs M cast on it, which rest upon the carriages P, these latter running upon
rails M mounted upon columns C, Fig. 1, for the purpose of bringing the
cones under an hydraulic press L, by which they are operated in a vertical
direction, as will be hereafter described, in order to produce the required
pressure. The outer cone rests at its lower.extremity upon the plate or
table H' of the ram H, which works in the body L' of the bydraulic press.
The pillars N, Fig. 2, serve to keep in its place the table L, the lower face of

page_text: which is in contact with the upper part of the cone A. The position shewn
at Fig. 2 is that which the cones must assume in order to submit the:pulpy
'mass to pressure in the narrow annular space between the cones. The sub-
stance to be operated upon is supplied thereto by being forced through a pipe
fitted on to the tubular projection G, Fig. 1. Packings F consisting of 'cords
formed of some vegetable material are adapted to the cylindrical part of the
cones, as shewn at Fig. 2, in order to prevent any escape of liquid in that
direction.
On water being pumped into the body of the hydraulic press, the outer
cone A¹ is forced upwards by the pressure of the plate H³, by which means
the annular space d between the two cones is gradually contracted, and the
liquid portions of the pulp thereby forced to pass through the holes o in the
cones, and through one or more layers of the filtering material e, which is
shewn detached, and drawn upon an enlarged scale at Fig. 3. The surfaces
of the cones are shewn covered first with wire gauze c, over this some
vegetable fabric, and lastly, a finely perforated sheet of metal e. The
expressed fluid flows from the interior of the central cone A, and the outside
of the cone A¹ into an annular trough R in the plate H', whence it runs off
through the pipe I (Fig. 1), into any suitable receptacle. When the required
pressure has been exerted upon the pulpy mass, the cones are withdrawn from:
the press by means of the carriages P, until they assume the position shewn
at A". The inner cone A is then first loosened by means of wedges T (shewn
in red lines), driven in between it and the plate H¹, after which it may be
easily raised by means of a chain and pulley P¹, which admits of the ready
removal of the contents of the press.
In order to avoid loss of time, two sets of cones are combined, as shewn at
Fig. 1, and also the detached view, Fig. 4, by means of the carriages P,
which are adapted under the lugs M, in order to facilitate the replacement of
the exterior cone, the inclined planes i obliging the cone to resume its position.
Whilst one set of cones is under the action of the hydraulic press the other
is either at A" or A", in order that the working may be continuous.
Having now described this Invention of an improved filter or press, as
communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and having explained the
'manner of carrying the same into effect, I desire it to be understood that I
do not confine myself rigidly to the form and arrangement of parts above
shown and described, nor to any special dimensions, as these may be varied
without departing from the nature and object of the Invention; but that
which I desire to claim under the above in part recited Letters Patent is, the
construction of filter press, above shewn and described, or any mere modifi-

page_text: cation thereof, consisting of two hollow cones or pyramids set one inside the
other in such a manner as to leave a space between them for the reception of
the substance to be operated upon, and which is gradually compressed by
pressing together the sides of the cones or pyramids.
I also claim the combination of two sets of cones, which allows of the
working being continuous, as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (LS.)