CER- TAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FILTERING OF WATER FOR STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE-PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NICHOLAS
HARVEY, of Hoyle Foundry; in the Parish of Saint Earth, in the County of
Cornwall, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Third day of September, One
thousand eight hundred and forty-six, in the year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and assigns, give and grant unto me, the said Nicholas
Harvey, Her special licence, that I, the said Nicholas Harvey, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Nicholas Harvey, my,
exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein'
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CER-
TAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FILTERING OF WATER FOR STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS;"
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the
said Nicholas Harvey, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar.
months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,:
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Nicholas Harvey, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascertained
by the Drawing annexed to these presents and the words following, that is to
say:
These improvements consist in so making and constructing of filtering
apparatus for steam engines and boilers that the water will be freed of all
matter, such as mud, &c., that will in any way injure the boiler, and prevent
the necessity of what is commonly termed blowing off.
In order to shew more fully the parts now to be described, I have attached
to these presents one Sheet of Drawing, shewing the various modes of con-
struction, and have marked the same with letters of reference.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a single filtering apparatus complete,
shewing the situation of the filtering substance, which is (sponge or any other
suitable material). Figure 2 is a plan of the same.
Figure 3 represents two filtering cylinders combined, and so arranged that
either may be used while the other is cleaned or examined, so that one set
of sponges may be taken out while the other is in operation. Figure 4 is a
plan of the same, shewing the arrangement of the ingress and egress pipes,
and the mode of changing the current or flow of the water from one cylinder
to the other by the means of two two-way cocks.
Figure 5 is an elevation, shewing a mode of. applying the same principle
directly to the hot well of an engine so as to filter the water before it enters
the feed pumps. Figure 6 is a plan of the same.
Figure 1 and 2 represents my first mode of construction. (a), (a), (a), the
external casing of the apparatus; (b), a fixed or stationary perforated plate or
grating for holding the filtering substance; (c), (c), the filtering substances,
which may be of sponge or any other suitable material; (d), a moveable
perforated plate or grating resting upon and confining the sponges or filtering
substance in a mass, which constantly receives a light pressure by the weights
(e, e,) and moveable rod (f); (g) is an inverted conical diaphram, which is
placed below the ingress pipe (h), which has a hole in its centre marked (i),
for the purpose of letting the mud down into the lower chamber (5), and also
to prevent it from being disturbed by the action of the water from the feed
pump, which enters the apparatus through the apeture (h); (k), a pipe to
convey the filtered feed water to the boiler; (2), à pipe for conveying the
accumulated mud to the sea or common drain; (m), an opening or door for
changing the sponges; (n), a cock, with funnel attached, for the purpose of
letting oil into the boiler, or for admitting water to wash the said sponges or

page_text: other substance. When the feed water is forced by the force pump into the
space between the perforated plate (b) and the inverted conical plate (9), that,
the sponges (c) will arrest the mud in its progress, the water will then pass
into the boiler free of all dirty matter, while the mud will fall. through the hole*
(i) into the chamber (5) below, and will be let, off through the pipe (?) to the.
sea or common drain. It will be readily seen, that, as the water passes through
the sponges under a pressure from the force pump, not at all times equal, that-
the moveable plate (d), being acted upon by the weights (e, e, e,) which is
attached to and communicated by the spindle (6), that the sponges or filtering
substance always receives a pressure equivalent to the pressure and quantity of
water from the force pump, and by the combined action of the movable plate
(d), and the unequal action of the water caused by the motion of the force
pump plunger, the sponges retain their filtering properties, and are seldom.
liable to choke up. In case the water is very dirty, and that any difficulty.
might arise by the choking of the sponges, I propose constructing a double.
cylinder apparatus, as represented in Figs. 3 & 4, so that if one set of sponges
get choked, that by turning the two-way cocks (A and B), the currents will
be changed from the one filtering cylinder into the other, so that one set of
sponges may be taken out and cleaned while the other is in operation.
Figure 5 and 6 shews the mode of applying the same principle directly to
the hot well of an engine, so as to filter the water before it enters the feed
pumps. (B) is the hot well, (C) the air vessel, and (D) the delivering pipe;
(E) the pipe leading to the force pumps. The only difference in the action
of this and the one previously described is, that in this the force pumps draw
the water through the sponges, while in the former the force pump forces it
through; in both cases the sponges receive a similar action from the moveable
plate (d) and weights (e).
Having thus described the nature and action of my improved filtering.
apparatus, I claim as of my Invention,
First, the manner of placing the inverted conical diaphram (9, 9, 9.) and the'
stationary perforated plate (b; b,) having the ingress pipe between.
Also in
having a chamber (j.j.) below for the reception of the mud or sediment, and
the manner of carrying the mud off by the pipe (1, 1). Also the manner of
placing the sponge or filtering material between the stationary perforated.plate
(6,6,) and the movable plate (d, d), being acted upon by the weight's (e, e,)
and spindle (f, f,) as shewn in Figures 1 and 2.
Second, the manner of combining two filtering cylinders together, and so
arranging the ingress and egress pipes that the water may be passed through