CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FILTERING WATER AND OTHER FLUIDS
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY STUCKEY, of Guildford Street, in the County of Middlesex, Esquire,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Third day of December, in the sixth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Henry Stuckey, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Henry Stuckey, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said William Henry Stuckey,
my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within that part of Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and also in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,
my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FILTERING WATER AND OTHER
FLUIDS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that I, the

page_text: said William Henry Stuckey, shall cause a particular description of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, under my
hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Henry Stuckey, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following Specification thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed; that is to say :-
Figure 1 of the said Drawings is an elevation of a machine, embodying
my said Improvements in Filtering Water and other Fluids. A, A, A,A, is an
open framework of wood, or any other suitable material. B, a water-tight case
of wood, metal, or any other suitable material, open at top and bottom, which
is suspended freely within the framework A, A, A, A, by means of two bands
or straps D, D, passed round the drums E, F, at the top of the machine, and
guided in its ascent and descent by two pins or studs F, F, which move in the
grooves G, G, of the framework A, A, A, A. H is a filtering frame, which
fits into the case B, and rests on ledges on the inside thereof. An elevation
and plan of this frame are given separately in Figures 2 and 3. a¹, a³, are
two horizontal plates of iron, or any other suitable material, with interstices
b, b, b, b, either circular or longitudinal, or partly the one and partly the other.
c is a centre bolt, the upper end of which is screwed, and works through a
female screw in the top plate a¹, while the lower end is firmly secured to the
bottom plate a. d is a horned nut, which fits on to the top of the centre
bolt c, by turning which the top plate a¹ can be lowered or raised at pleasure.
The filtering material which I employ is sponge, and with this I pack the
open space between the plates a', a³, of the frame H. I then, by turning the
horned nut d, compress the sponge to about one fourth, less or more, of its
original bulk. M, M, Figure 1, are two spur wheels attached to the axes b, b,
of the drums E, E; and N, N, two pinions which work into these
spur wheels.
O, O, are two crank handles, by applying which to the axes of the pinions N, N,
and turning the same round simultaneously, the case B, which is connected
as aforesaid with the drums E, E, can be raised or lowered. P, P, are two
ratchet wheels for making the pinions N, N, fast when the case B has had its
proper degree of elevation given to it. When the filter is to be made use of
the case B is to be lowered by the means aforesaid, till it protrudes at bottom

page_text: a little way beyond the external frame A, A, A, A. The entire machine is
then immersed in the water intended to be filtered to nearly the height of the
top of the case B, as indicated by the line e, f, Figure 1, or it may be placed
in an empty reservoir, and the water admitted to it till it reaches that height.
The water of necessity forces its way up the inside of the machine to a level
with that on the outside, and as it passes through the sponge frame H becomes
purified and clarified to a very high degree. The clear water may be drawn
off as fast as it collects from the space above the sponge frame by means of
a syphon, or any other suitable means. Should the water to be filtered be
of a very foul or putrescent description, a layer of charcoal may be interposed
with advantage between the pieces of sponge. When the sponge becomes
foul it may, in general, be readily cleansed by lifting the entire machine out of
the water, when the clear water which has collected above the sponge frame H
will rush down through it and carry off more or less of the impurities collected.
Should the bottom of the sponge not be sufficiently cleansed by this means,
then the sponge frame H should be slackened a little, by giving a turn or
two in reverse to the horned nut d, which will allow the sponge to expand
proportionally; after which the case B should be turned upside down by
turning round the pinions N, N, and when this has been done, the machine
should be again immersed to the extent aforesaid in the water, when the water
rushing up from below through the sponge will carry to the top most of the
remaining impurities. The case B is then to be once more capsized by the
means aforesaid, when the foul water which has collected at top will be poured
over into the cistern or reservoir. The supply cock to the cistern or reservoir
in which the filter is placed may then be shut off, and the cistern or reservoir
emptied of its impure contents before recommencing operations, or these
contents be left to settle at the bottom.
And having now described my said Invention, and the manner in which
is the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my said invented
improvements is,
First, the employment of compressed sponge as the filtering material; and,
second, the means provided as aforesaid for cleansing the sponge from time to
time without removing it from the machine.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Third
day of June, One thousand eight hundred and forty-three
WILLIAM HENRY (L.s.) STUCKEY.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Third day of June, in the year
of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid William Henry Stuckey came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Third day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-three.