Improvements in Filters for Water and other Liquids.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Apr., 1898--Accepted, 6th Aug., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
.Improvements in Filters for Water and other Liquids.
I, ISIDORE FOKCHANER, of 20, Rue Auguste Orts, Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, Commission 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 :-
This invention has relation to improvements in filters for water, and to a manner
of cleaning them, the object of the invention being to furnish a system of purifying
water, by which the organic and inorganic matters in solution in the water are
eliminated, leaving the water clear of all impurities which may render it improper
for use.
The invention has, besides, for its object, to furnish, in combination with
the filter properly so-called, a system of pipes; permitting, through the operation of
certain valves, to pass the water through the filter and the filtering material, either
upwards or downwards, all the harmful deposits being thus expelled by an emtying
pipe connected to the top of the filter.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a view of the filter, half in elevation and half in section;
Fig. 2 is a view of the filter showing a modification in the valves for the cleaning
of the filter;
Fig. 3 is a horizontal view of the filter, the cover being removed;
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line x x Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 represents a distributing plate, forcing the water to spread on all sides of
the filter; and
Fig. 6 is a filtering block of animal charcoal.
A is a vessel or reservoir in which the matters suspended in the water are
separated therefrom, so that the water will be purified. It consists of a lower
part a with a tubular portion or neck a¹, having an outlet or opening a². The
upper part a of the reservoir has an annular flange a³ pierced with holes. To
arrange the filter for use, the cover at is removed. Above the end of a pipe d,
which enters by the opening a² of the neck a', in which it is fixed with a water-
tight joint by means of a nut a, is placed a filtering block c, composed of
animal charcoal pulverized and compressed, and having a hollow part c¹. The end
of the tube d is fixed in the hollow c¹ of the block c by means of a cork c², Fig. 1.
A hollow cylinder or box, of tin, e, open at the bottom, is placed over the block c.
The cylindrical box e is pierced with suitable holes e. Through an opening in
the top of the box e, is introduced the tube of a funnel, and the space between the
box and the filtering block c is filled with carbon relatively large. The funnel is
then removed, and on the hole in the top of the box e is placed a rubber washer g,
after which the opening is closed by a cork or bung f. Next,-about three-quarters
of the part remaining of a is filled with pulverized charcoal, and on the charcoal is
placed a sheet of woven asbestos h. Then, a second layer of charcoal, and finally,
at the centre of the upper surface of the layer of charcoal, is placed a distributor i,
Fig. 5.
In the cover a is placed a sheet of woven asbestos h¹; then a layer of asbestos
ibre h2; and on this, a thin layer of animal charcoal in pieces. The cover is then

page_text: nut 12.
turned over quickly, and is rapidly placed in position on the flange a³ of the part a
of the reservoir A, and is bolted thereto by bolts and nuts b. The edge h³ of the
woven asbestos h¹ is placed and fixed between the flange on the part a and the
flange on the cover, so as to produce a perfectly watertight joint. "In the top of
the reservoir A passes the water inlet pipe l with a stop cock or valve l¹, and this
pipe is fixed to the cover, which is in the form of a dome, by means of a suitable
From the bottom of the vessel A. extends the outlet pipe d, furnished
preferably with a nozzle d', and a stop-cock or valve d². Thus, when it is desired
to filter water, the cock or valve of the pipe l, and the cock or valve d² of the
pipe d, are opened. The water can then run in the direction of the arrows y by the
pipe, to enter the filtering vessel A. It will fall from the inlet pipe on the dis-
tributor i, traverse the filtering or cleaning material, and finally the filtering block c,
and will pass out by the pipe d in a clear and pure state, without disagreeable
odour or taste, whilst the impurities will be retained in the filtering material in the
vessel A.
To clean the filter, and remove from time to time all impurities which may be
deposited on the filtering block, or on the thin filtering layers, a three-way cock (³
is placed on the pipe ; the cock is replaced by a three-way cock; and the
pipes and d are connected with an intermediate pipe o; whilst to the three-way
cock 3 is attached a discharge pipe p.
In operating, then, as may be desired, the valves or cocks (3 and d², the direction
of travel of the water is changed, and it will pass by the pipe o into the pipe d, in
which it will mount so as to enter the filtering block c, and be finally driven through
the filtering material into the pipe connected with the cover of the vessel A, and it
will escape by the pipe p, carrying with it all the impurities, as indicated by the
arrows 2.
As soon as the water passing out by the pipe p becomes clear, the cocks 13 and d²
are operated again, and the water of the pipe can again pass into the filter at the
top, to pass out by the pipe d at bottom.
Instead of placing the two three-way cocks 3 and d² in the pipes and d
.respectively, a valve 14 can be placed in the pipe l, a valve o' in the pipe o, and
a valve p¹ in the pipe p (see Fig. 2).
When the valve is opened and the valve o¹ and p¹ closed, the water will run in
at the top of the filtering vessel A; and, vice versa, on closing the valves 14 and d²
and opening the valves o¹ and p¹ the water will pass into the vessel A at the
bottom, where it will be driven through the filtering material, and finally
discharged from the pipe p, carrying with it all the impurities and deposits to be
found in the filter.
In this description, water alone has been referred to as the body to be filtered,
but it will be evident that the invention can be applied to other liquids.
One of the distinctive characteristics, the most essential and the most important
of the present invention, is the general interior arrangement of the parts of the
filter, that is to say, the arrangement of the different layers of charcoal of
the filtering block c and of the box e, which in themselves are known, but the
combination of which with the layers of asbestos h¹ and h², is new.
Another important point is the addition of the intermediate pipe o to the system
of pipes, and the pipe p, the whole connected to the filtering vessel, and the
different valves interspersed in the system of pipes, which permits of passing the
current of water through the filter either upwards or downwards, as may be
desired, or, in other words, reversing the current.
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 :-
1. The filter above described, comprising a body a, a cover in the form of a
dome, means for attaching the cover to said body, a box e in the body, having
perforations e¹, a filtering block c, a filtering material between said box and block,

page_text: &
a filtering material surrounding the box, a sheet of woven asbestos h, supporting
layer of filtering material, a distributor spreader on this filtering material, and in
the aforesaid cover, a sheet of asbestos h¹, fixed on the latter, to prevent its
displacement, a layer of asbestos fibre h2, and a layer of filtering material in pieces
or lumps, the whole arranged conformably to the description, and for the purpose
specified.
2. The filter as above described, in which is comprised a body a, a cover in the
form of a dome upon it, means for fixing the cover on the body a, a box e in the
latter, which box is pierced with holes e¹, a filtering block c, a filtering material
between the box and the block c, a filtering material around the box, a sheet of
woven asbestos h, supporting a layer of filtering material, a distributor spreader on
this material and in the said cover, a sheet of woven asbestos h¹, a layer of asbestos
fibre 2, and a layer of filtering material in pieces or lumps, in combination with a
pipe connected to the cover, a pipe & connected with the bottom of the body a, a
pipe o connected with the pipes and d, a pipe p connected to the pipe l, and stop
cocks or valves in the pipes and d, conformably to the description, and for the
purpose specified.
Dated this 26th dow of Anil 1000