IMPROVEMENTS IN ADDADAMUS DAD DILERING LIQUIDS" AND APPARATUS POD TILEDING LIQUIDS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Roberts, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ADDADAMUS DAD DILERING LIQUIDS"
AND APPARATUS POD TILEDING LIQUIDS"
Sealed the 13th February 1872, and dated the 14th August 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Roberts at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th August 1871.
I, THOMAS ROBERTS, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “Im-
PROVEMENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR FILTERING LIQUIDS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates partly to improvements upon an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted to William Henry Clemesha and
myself, on the Twenty-second day of March One thousand eight
hundred and seventy, Number 842, for Improvements in Self-cleansing
High-pressure Filters for the Purification of Water," and partly to
improvements in the method of and application for treating liquids for
manufacturing purposes in order to separate and remove the impurities
contained therein, and consists in a novel form of plug cock through the

page_text: plug of which six passages are formed communicating with pipes joined
to the body of such cock, which is by preference of a sexagonal form.
This arrangement of cock being designed to admit of a communication
being opened self-actingly and at stated periods with a supply of filtered
water to be used for cleansing the filtering material contained within the
filtering vessel instead of passing unfiltered water therethrough for the
purpose, as hitherto practised; and instead of using a plug cock I
sometimes employ a valve chest having passages formed therein com-
municating with the top and bottom of the filtering vessel for the same
purpose as the plug cock, and opened and closed by an ordinary slide
valve.
This Invention further consists in the use and application of self-
acting mechanism for actuating the plug cock or slide valve, so as
to render the filtering apparatus self-cleansing, which is accomplished
by gearing such plug cock or slide valve to a train of toothed or
ratchet wheelwork actuated by any motive power, so that after a
requisite number of revolutions of such wheelwork the plug of the
cock may be turned round or the slide valve moved so as to admit the
water for cleansing the contents of the filtering vessel, and then to
turn back again to readmit the water to be filtered.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Roberts in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ROBERTS, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Roberts, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Roberts, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Roberts, 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

page_text: 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND APPARATUS FOR FILTERING LIQUIDS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Roberts, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 Thomas Roberts, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to bo
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:—
This Invention relates partly to improvements upon an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted to William Henry Clemesha and
myself, on the Twenty-second day of March One thousand eight hundred
and seventy, No. 842, for Improvements in Self-cleaning High-pressure
Filters for the Purification of Water," and partly to improvements in the
method of and apparatus for treating liquids for manufacturing pur-
poses in order to separate and remove the impurities contained therein,
and consists in a novel form of plug cock through the plug of which
six passages are formed communicating with pipes joined to the body of
such cock, which is by preference of a hexagonal form. This arrange-
ment of cock being designed to admit of a communication being opened
self-actingly and at stated periods with a supply of filtered water to be
used for cleansing the filtering material contained within the filtering
vessel, instead of passing unfiltered water therethrough for the purpose
as hitherto practised; and instead of using a plug cock I sometimes
employ a valve chest having passages formed therein, communicating
with the top and bottom of the filtering vessel for the same purpose as
the plug cock, and opened and colosed by an ordinary side valve.
This Invention further consists in the use and application of self-
acting mechanism for actuating the plug cock or slide valve, so as to
render the filtering apparatus self-cleansing, which is accomplished
by gearing such plug cock valve to a train of toothed or ratchet
wheelwork actuated by any motive power, so that after a requisite

page_text: number of revolutions of such wheelwork the plug of the cock may
be turned round or the slide valve moved so as to admit the water for
cleansing the contents of the filtering vessel, and then to turn back
again to readmit the water to be filtered.
In order that my said Invention may be the more readily seen and
understood I have hereunto annexed two Sheets of Drawings illustrative
of my improvements in apparatus for filtering liquids.
Fig. 1 represents a front view, Fig. 2 a side view, and Fig. 3 a plan
of a filtering apparatus constructed according to this Invention, drawn
to a scale of about one inch and an half to the foot. Similar letters
marked on the several views are used to denote similar parts.
A to the filtering vessel, having a branch pipe B at the top and a
branch pipe D at the bottom, both of which are in communication with
the plug cock C. E is a pipe by which the unfiltered water is supplied
to be filtered; F, a pipe to convey the filtered water from the filtering
vessel to the boiler or other receptacle; G, a pipe leading to the
cisternt, shewn broken off in Fig. 1, but complete in Fig. 4, containing
the filtered water for cleansing the filter; and H is a waste pipe to
allow the sediment or other impuritics to escape whilst the filter is
being cleansed. I represents a segment of a toothed wheel mounted
upon the plug of the cock C and gearing into the pinion J keyed upon
the horizontal shaft K, which revolves in bearings L affixed to the
branch pipe B. This shaft carries the self-acting changing mechanism
for actuating the plug of the cock C, which mechanism consists of a
lever M mounted upon the pedestal N rising from the top of the branch
pipe B; to which lever an oscillating motion is communicated by con-
necting the book O at its extremity to a cam or eccentric upon the
shaft of a steam engine or any other prime mover. P is a plate hanging
from the stud Q fixed in the lever M, which plate P has a elongated
hole formed in it for the shaft K to pass through. Upon this plate
the two catches R and S are mounted depending from the studs P
and connected together by the connecting link U. These catches are
designed to turn the shaft K by catching in the teeth of the ratchet
wheel V, hercin-after called the main ratchet wheel) affixed upon the
shaft K, and thus to alter the position of the plug of the cock as
herein-after explained. Two pawls a and b are also mounted upon the
lever M upon the stud W, the first of such pawls a actuating the first

page_text: ratchet wheel X, and the other b actuating the second ratchet wheel Y,
and both of which ratchet wheels revolve loosely upon the shafts K
but are kept up to their work by the friction clamps c, which are
prevented turning by coming in contact with two fixed studs under the
branch pipe B; these ratchet wheels are shewn upon an enlarged scale
in Figs. 5 and 6 (Sheet 2), which represent respectively a front and
side view. It should be observed that the second pawl 6 rests upon the
disc plate d of the first ratchet wheel ✗, as seen in Fig. 5, until it has
made a complete revolution, when such pawl falls into the notch e
formed in the disc plate d, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6, and so moves the
second ratchet wheel Y one tooth forward and then rises on to the
periphery of the disc plate d, again to await another complete revolution
of the first ratchet wheel X, when the same operation is repeated. fis
an endless chain carried by the main ratchet wheel V, and having a
block affixed at its rear side to fit between the teeth of the main
ratchet wheel V, and thus to stop the action of the catches R and S
when the pinion J arrives at cach end of the segment I. g is a lever
mounted upon a stud at the back of the pedestal N, having at its
extremity two studs i and j. The stud rests upon the smooth
periphery K of the second ratchet wheel Y, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6,
until it has made a complete revolution, when such stud i is raised upon
the projection to the position marked m in Fig. 5, whilst at the same
time the stud j coming in contact with a projection at the back of the
catch R raises such catch and thus brings its fellow catch S into play
upon the main ratchet wheel V, so causing the shaft K to revolve until
the block upon the endless chain has been carried round to the
opposite side, when the action of the catch S is stopped. The first
ratchet wheel ✗ meanwhile continues to revolve until the second ratchet
wheel Y is moved one tooth, when the lever g falls with its stud i on to
the smooth periphery of the second ratchet wheel Y and allows the
catch R to move the main ratchet wheel V until the block stops its
further progress.
The internal construction of the plug cock C, which forms an essential
feature in this Invention, may be learnt by reference to Sheet 2, in which
Fig. 7 is a sectional plan and Fig. 8 a side sectional view of the body
of the cock (which is of an hexagonal form), shewing the plug in the
position for filtering, the section of the plug in Fig. 8 being taken
through the line a― - b, on Fig. 7. The body of the cock is divided into six
chambers, five of which have side openings into the plug, and the sixth

page_text: marked n communicating with the interior of the plug at the back, as
seen more clearly in Fig. 8. The plug of the cock has two chambers
formed in it (as seen in section in Fig. 8 and also in Fig. 9, which is taken
through the line c―d, in Fig. 7, and in Fig. 10 which is taken through
the line e-f, in Fig. 7), the front chamber marked O having three side
openings, and the rear chamber O¹ having two side openings, which
openings correspond in certain positions with the openings into the
chambers formed round the body. Fig. 11 is a sectional plan of the cock
shewing the plug in the position for cleansing the filter. Fig. 12 shews
the plug in position for allowing unfiltered water to pass from its source
direct through the cock into the boiler or other receptacle without
entering the filter, and Fig. 13 the plug in the position for emptying the
cistern.
The action of this filtering apparatus may be thus described :—The
water to be filtered is forced by means of sufficient head or other pressure
through the pipe E into the front chamber ○ of the plug of the cock
through the opening p, from whence it escapes through the opening q
into the pipe D leading to the bottom of the filtering vessel A, through
which it passes, leaving its impurities in the pores of the animal charcoal
or other filtering medium contained therein, and then descends down the
pipe B and enters the rear chamber O' of the plug cock at the bottom, as
seen by the arrows in Fig. 8, from whence it finally escapes through the
opening into the pipe F, which conveys it to the steam boiler or other
receptacle, from which pipe a branch pipe s is carried up to the cisternt,
in order that a portion of the filtered water may be forced into such
cistern through the back pressure valve u and ball cock v until such ball
cock closes in consequence of the cistern becoming filled with filtered
water. After a given number of strokes of the reciprocating lever M the
segment wheel I will be set in motion and reverses the plug to the
position seen in Fig. 11, when the large valve W and cistern T will open
and allow the contents to descend by gravitation for cleansing the filter.
A locking bar x is mounted upon the face of the segment wheel I, as
illustrated, to facilatitate the turning of the plug of the cock by hand,
which is effected by means of the winch handle y when the catches R
and S and pawls are lifted out of gear, the extremity of such bar taking
into the holes formed in the cap z¹ mounted upon the plug. In certain
positions where sufficient head pressure cannot be obtained for cleansing
or filtering I employ a force pump (with an air vessel and relief valve)
for forcing the liquid through the filtering vessel, and in cases where the

page_text: water is used at or about the same level as the filter I apply a three-way
tap which can divert the course of the water passing from the filter into
a cistern, receiver, or accumulator, in order to get the pressure for
cleansing. In other cases I take a portion of the filtered water from the
cistern and force it through the filtering vessel by means of a force
pump, as herein-before mentioned, in which case it is necessary to apply a
three-way tap 1 between the pump and the supply, one branch 2 of such
tap being connected with the filtered water cistern t. This three-way
cock is actuated by self-acting mechanism consisting of a lever 3 (a side
view of which is shewn alongside), to which a reciprocating motion may
be communicated by a crank or eccentric worked by a steam engine or
other motive power, and geared up to the lever M by the chain 4 passing
over the pulleys 5 and 6, so that such levers will recipirocate together.
The lever 3 carries at its extremity a carrier 7, which has two pins 8
passing through it, one at either side. 9 is a weighted lever working upon
a fixed centre 10 and held in contact with the weight 11 depending from
the chain 12, the other extremity of which chain is connected to the
arm 13 of the lever 9 (shewn dotted in Fig. 1). This weighted lever 9
has an arm 14 depending from it which is forked upwards at its lower
extremity in order to support a double hooked bar 15 upon a T headed
stud 16, the lower hooks 17 of which bar are designed to actuate tho
plug of the cock 1 by catching on one of the studs 18 projecting from
the cross bar 19 affixed to such plug. The lever 9 is caused to assume
an angular position by the weight 11 being raised or depressed whereby
the hooked bar 15 is placed ready to be caught by one of the pins 8 of
the reciprocating lever 7. The point of suspension is thus removed from
off the T headed stud 16, and the hooked bar 15 assumes an oblique
direction, so catching the corresponding stud on the plug of the three-way
cock, when such hooked bar 15 is carried upwards by the reciprocating
lever which reverses the plug of such cock. Fig. 14 represents a front
view of a projection 20 on the second ratchet wheel Y suitable for
actuating this three-way tap, the stud i of the lever g being first raised
half-way on to the projection 20 as illustrated in order to raise the
weight 11 by the chain 12. The next movement of such ratchet wheel
places the stud i upon the top of the projection 20, which is equivalent
to the action of the smaller projection in Fig. 5 for reversing the six-way
tap. The third movement of the second ratchet wheel allows the stud i
to fall into the recess 21, thus causing the weight 11 on the lever 9 to
fall and to reverse the plug of the three-way tap 1 by the hooked bar 15

page_text: catching on its opposite stud. The fourth motion of this second ratchet
wheel raises the stud i on to its smooth periphery, and allows the recipro-
cating lever 3 to deposit the T headed stud 16 on the hooked bar 15 in
the fork on the arm 14, and to oscillate up and down afterwards without
again catching it. This self-acting mechanism is equally useful for
working the last-mentioned modification with a three-way cock. In
some positions the water flowing from the filter may be used for actuating
the self-acting mechanism.
It will be readily apparent that an ordinary steam engine slide valve
may be employed for diverting the course of the water from the top to
the bottom of the filtering vessel, and vice versa, or I can use two three-
way taps instead of such slide valve.
Having thus described my improvements, and the best methods with
which I am acquainted for carrying the same into practical effect, I wish
it to be understood that I claim,-
First. The use and application to filtering apparatus of a cistern into
which a portion of the filtered water is passed for cleansing the filter as
herein-before described.
Second. The peculiar construction of hexagonal plug cock internally
divided as herein-before described and illustrated on the accompanying
Drawing.
Third. The general construction and arrangement of the self-acting
mechanism for actuating the plug of such cock or of a three-way cock
as and for the purposes described and illustrated on the accompanying
Drawings.
Fourth. The use and application of a slide valve for opening a com-
munication with the top and bottom of the filtering vessel as and for
the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Roberts, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
THOMAS PORED TO