Year: 1887

page_text: I, BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS carrying on business under the firm or style
of Harris and Mills of 23 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent 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 improved filter which is the object of the present application offers all the
advantages of filtering through a bag as simplicity and rapidity in the operations :
it has also the following advantages.
1. There can be placed under a small volume a very extended filtering surface.
2. The filtering operation can be effected under pressure either by a direct body of
liquid above the filter or by the pressure from a conduit.
•
3. The filtration takes place in a vase or chamber closed to the outside air.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing which represents a filter for liquors
or chemical products serves to explain the principle of the invention.
In the interior of a conical chamber A pierced with a great number of holes
is placed a bag B made of filtering fabric the nature of which may vary according to
that of the liquid.
The upper edge of the conical chamber is rounded forming a curved rim R standing
out on the exterior and the turned over edges of the bag are firmly tied underneath
this edge or rin.
The filter thus formed is placed in an envelope composed of a conical part C a little
larger than the basket or chamber A and surmounted by a cylindrical reservoir D.
The joint of these two parts forms a kind of conical seat E upon which the edge
or rim R covered with fabric, rests.
The apparatus is completed by a draw off tap F at the bottom of the cone C and by
an air tube G causing the conical chamber to communicate with the atmosphere
by said tube passing up to the top of the upper reservoir D. This tube G although

page_text: not shown in the drawings (except at Figure 1.) exists in the following apparatus
except those shown at Figures 8 and 9.
If a liquid to be filtered is poured into such an apparatus it will fill the filtering bag
and the upper reservoir D but cannot penetrate into the conical chamber C, the edge
or rim of the filter forming upon the circular seat E a joint which is more perfect in
proportion as the filtering matter is pressed upon it by the charge of the liquid,
the conical chamber will therefore only receive the filtered liquid which will
pass through the fabric B, the open work basket A and will run away by the tap F.
It will be well understood that there will be placed in the reservoir D ordinary
filtering matters such as charcoal, paper pulp etc.
The above described filter is made of metal.
Figure 2 represents a filter of the same kind of which all the parts are made
of pottery and which is suitable for water, different kinds of vinegar and all
liquids which attack metals. The reservoir is in this case cylindrical and carries
on the interior a circular ledge E which serves as a seat for the curved edge or rim of
the filter, formed of a basket A of pottery perforated as in the preceding case, and
of the bag B, covering the said curved edge or rim under which it is tied.
These two examples show that the new or improved filter is composed essentially
of a bag of filtering fabric placed inside an openwork basket the upper edge or rim of
which projecting on the exterior is covered by the edge of the fabric so as to form a
pad which by making joint with a conical seat placed on the interior of a container
separates the same into two parts communicating only through the filtering fabric.
The upper part of this container receives the liquid to be filtered which can thus
be raised higher than the filter and the lower part collects the filtered water.
The bags, baskets and containers can be made in any appropriate form and
be composed of any material which will be suitable for the different uses of the filter.
The baskets notably can be made according to requirements of perforated sheet metal,
wire gauze, pottery, wood or wicker work etc.
Each bag tied to its basket constitutes a filtering element and any number of
these elements may be conbined in one container to form more powerful filters
than those above described.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 show an example of this figure 3 is a vertical section drawn
on line a figure 4 is a plan and figure 5 is a vertical section.drawn on line y-y of
figure 3. In this case the baskets A A are of an elongated rectangular form so that
they can be placed in the smallest possible space. In figure 5 seen on the face they
present the form of a trapezium with the smallest base at the lower part; their
transverse section figure 3, may be either rectangular or trapezoidal as desired. They
are always provided with a round edge or rim in the form of a roll under which
the turned over edge of the bag is attached.
In order to maintain this ligature on the long sides of the rectangle, it passes round
hooks or projections H, figures 5 and 6 which pass through the fabric in openings
arranged for this purpose. There will be a sufficient number of these hooks or
projections to maintain the ligature throughout its entire length.
Filters thus formed rest by their rims upon rectangular seats formed on their long
sides by bars E fixed transversely to the container C and on their short sides by
small bars E¹ of the same form carried on their inclined sides of the container..
A filter thus constructed operates in a similar manner to those before described,
doing an amount of work in proportion to its filtering surface. It can be
advantageously used for filtering wines. It will be furnished ordinarily with a
cover Pand with a perforated board O which is used in order to prevent the filtering
materials contained in the bags from being disturbed by the pouring in of the liquid
when the filter is supplied with liquid to be filtered.
The filter for liquors represented in figure 1, may be modified according to
the same principle. It is only necessary to replace the circular basket A by two
or several rectangular baskets similar to the preceding and of appropriate dimensions;
the circular seat E is replaced by a plate or seat E² see figure 7, in which two

page_text: rectangular openings receive the filters, the conical part E of the container will
receive a suitable form to contain them.
In the foregoing description the pressure upon the filter has been due to a
direct body of liquid but it is clear that by closing hermetically the covers of
the apparatus above described it is possible to cause the liquid to enter the filter with
greater force and only limited by the strength of the apparatus, the filtering fabric
sustained by the basket being able to resist, as much as the latter."
A very simple apparatus can be thus constructed for filtering town water as shown
in figure 8. A conical basket A furnished with its bag B is placed in a cylinder C
and is supported in the mouth of the cylinder itself which is widenod out for this
purpose and closed by a watertight cover D. The water under pressure arrives by
the pipe M. in the centre of the lid or cover and the filtered water is drawn off
when needed by the tap N.
By adding to this apparatus a second perforated basket A' placed on the interior of
the filtering fabric as represented in figure 9, the filtration will be obtained whichever
way the water passes which will permit of the filter being automatically cleaned
by reversing from time to time the direction of the current.
The apparatus shown in figures 8 and 9 can be made of a rectangular form in order
to have a very large filtering surface by increasing the number of seats as shown
in figures 3 and 4.
Figure 10 represents a very simple form of the improved filter which can be used
for various purposes and can be constructed in all sizes.
The container C is a simple vase in the form of a truncated cone into which
is introduced a circular filtering element such as that shown at figure 1, the curved
edge or rim of this filter makes joint directly against the inner side of the vase,
into which it forces itself like a wedge. This arrangement is especially favorable for
apparatus intended for exportation by enabling the containers to be packed the one in
the other as also the baskets which reduces the bulk of the packages.
This last model might in place of being of a circular form receive a square or
polygonal form.
The examples which precede suffice to establish the generality of the applications of
the new system and I would observe that I do not confine myself to the forms,
dimensions and materials employed in the construction of the apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
A new or improved filter in which one or several bags of filtering material or fabric
supported in the interior of one or several perforated containers form joint in
any suitable manner with the sides of a vase or chamber serving as a container
in such manner as to divide this vase or chamber into two parts communicating with
each other only through the filtering fabric; the upper open or closed part receiving
the liquid to be filtered and the lower part receiving the clear liquid substantially as
herein shown and described.