IMPROVEMENTS IN FILTERS AND THE FITTINGS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Russell, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FILTERS AND THE
FITTINGS CONNECTED THEREWITH.”
Sealed the 16th June 1871, and dated the 19th December 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Russell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th December 1870.
I, ROBERT RUSSELL, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FILTERS AND THE FITTINGS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows (that is
to say):-
The object of this Invention is a simple and efficaccous filter, portable,
readily applied to town mains, or other high pressure supply pipes, and
from which sediment lodging therein can be immediately withdrawn
without disturbing the apparatus.
A filter constructed according to this Invention for (say) applying
to a town water main may consist of a two-inch cylinder tube of, say,
two or three inches, to the top of which is screwed, or soldered, ar

page_text: otherwise attached a hollow cap, the crown of which is tapped so as
to screw on to a collar brazed or otherwise attached to or formed on the.
nozzle of an ordinary water supply tap. A vertical tube or pipe extends
downwards from the under side of the cover to the bottom of the
cylinder, where it opens out into a small chamber formed by an inverted
dome-shaped cap, which closes the bottom of the cylinder, and which in
the centre (the lowest point) is fitted with a draw off cock. The lower
cap with its draw off or flushing tap it is preferred to connect by a
screwed collar, so that it may be readily removed and replaced for insert-
ing, withdrawing, and renewing the filtering media; the upper cap or
cover is fitted on one side with a small discharge pipe through which
the filtered liquid is delivered. On the interior of the upper cap, or
immediately below it an annular ring or a series of projections arc
formed, which act as a stop for a perforated disc of metal which fits the
cylindrical portion of the vessel, the vertical tube passing through a hole
made in the centre of the disc. The under side of this plate is packed
with several thicknesses of woolen, felt, or other suitable material, below
which is a stratum of animal charcoal supported upon, say, two or three
thicknesses of felt, then comes a second perforated disc, then a layer of
sponge, then a third perforated plate; the whole is held in position by
locking nuts which encompass the lower end of the pendand inlet pipc.
By attaching the apparatus to the tap of the supply pipe it is ready for
use.
The action of the filter is thus :-Close the draw off or flushing tap at
the bottom, then turn on the supply tap, when water or other liquid
descending the pendent pipe in the centre of the filter enters the cavity
formed in the lower cap, when it ascends through the filter beds, enters
the small chamber at the top, and then makes its exit out through the
discharge pipe in the side of the chamber. When it is desired to
draw off unfiltered water or other fluid or to flush the apparatus it will
be simply necessary to open the lower tap and the supply cock, when
the water or other fluid will pass through without percolating through
the filter beds.
In some cases it is proposed to attach the filter to the supply pipe
by means of an india-rubber collar, which is made fast to the neck
of the filter by a wire service, or in any other convenient way, and to
the nozzle of the supply tap by a metal garter and thumbscrew or its
mechanical equivelent. Or the filter may be connected directly to the

page_text: supply main by a union joint, in which case it will be required to have
a tap on the outlet pipe at the top of the filter. The filter may be
placed in any part of the supply pipe, in which case all the water or
other liquid will be filtered and the apparatus may be readily flushed by
simply opening the tap at the bottom of the filter.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Russell in the Great Scal Patent Office on
on the 19th June 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
RUSSELL, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Robert Russell, Her special licence, that I,
the said Robert Russell, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Robert Russell, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and on others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term 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 FILTERS AND THE
FITTINGS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Robert Russell, my executors or administrators, 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 Robert Russell, do hereby declare
he nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
ollowing statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying

page_text: Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:-
The object of this my said Invention is a simple and efficacious filter,
portable, and readily applied to town mains or other high pressure supply
pipes, and from which sediment lodging therein can be immediately
withdrawn without disturbing the apparatus.
A filter constructed according to this my said Invention for (say)
applying to a town water main may consist of (say) a two-inch metal
cylinder or tube of (say) 2 or 3 inches in length, to the top of which
I screw, solder, or otherwise attach a hollow cap, the crown of which
is tapped so as to screw on to a collar brazed or otherwise attached to
or formed on the nozle of an ordinary water supply tap. A vertical
tube or pipe extends downwards from the under side of the cover to
the bottom of the cylinder, where it opens out into a small chamber
formed by an inverted dome-shaped cup, which I use to close the bottom
of the cylinder, and which in the centre (the lowest point) is fitted
with a draw off cock. The lower cap with its draw off or flushing tap
I prefer to connect by a screwed collar so that it may be readily removed
and replaced for inserting, withdrawing, and renewing the filtering
media. The upper cup or cover is fitted on one side with a small
This
discharge pipe through which the filtered liquid is delivered.
delivery pipe may or may not be fitted with a tap. On the interior of
the upper cap or immediately below it I place or form an annular ring
or a series of projections, which act as a stop for a perforated disc of
metal fitting the cylindrical portion of the vessel, the vertical tube
passing through a hole made in the centre of the disc. The under side
of this plate I pack with several thicknesses of woollen, felt, or other
suitable material, below which I place a stratum of animal charcoal
supported upon (say) two or three thicknesses of felt on a second
perforated disc, below which I place a layer of sponge, then a third
perforated plate, the whole being held together and in position by a
locking nut which encompasses the lower end of the pendent inlet pipe.
By attaching the apparatus to the supply tap it is ready for use.
The action of the filter is thus:-On closing the draw off or flushing
tap at the bottom of the vessel and turning on the supply tap the water
or other liquid descends the pendent pipe in the centre of the filter
enters the cavity formed in the lower cap, when it ascends through the
filter beds into the small chamber at the top, when it is discharged through

page_text: the delivery pipe on the side of the chamber.
When it is desired to
draw off unfiltered water or other liquid or to flush the apparatus it is
simply necessary to open the lower tap and the supply valve, when the
fluid will pass through the body of the filter without perculating through
the filtering media.
In some cases I attach the filter to the supply pipe by means of an
india-rubber collar which is made fast to the neck of the filter by a wire
service or in any other convenient manner, and to the supply tap nozle
by a metal garter and thumbscrew or its mechanical equivalent. Or the
filter may be connected directly to the supply main by a union joint, in
which case it will be requisite to have a tap on the outlet pipe at the
top of the filter. The filter may be placed in any part of the supply
pipe, in which case all the water or other liquid will be filtered, and the
apparatus can be flushed by simply opening the tap at the bottom of
the filter.
That this my said Invention may be the more readily seen and under-
stood I have hereunto annexed Drawings of so much of several modifi-
cations as will be requisite to illustrate the practical application of the
same. Like letters and figures marked thereon are used to denote similar
parts.
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional clevation of one of my improved
filters; and Figure 2 is another modification of the same, in which as
well as those shown by Figures 3, 4, and 5, I have dispensed with the
felt and sponge, using only animal charcoal, but of course they may be
packed in the same manner as shown by Figure 1.
Figure 3 is another modification having the supply inlet pipe at the
bottom.
Figure 4 is another design for the same which is adapted for appli-
cation to any part of the length of the supply pipe; and Figure 5 is
O another vertical sectional elevation of one of my improved filters adapted
for a cistern or a ship's water tank.
A, supply pipe; B, pendent pipe through which the supply passes
as indicated by the arrows; C, screwed cap covering the top of D,
cylinder; E, screwed caps closing the bottoms of the cylinders; and F
5 (Figure 4) is an inverted hollow dome cover attached to the bottom of the
cylinder by a flanch joint and screws; G, discharge or flushing tap; H,
discharge for the filtered liquid; I (Figure 1) woollen felt; J, charcoal;

page_text: K, sponge; L, perforated plates holding the filtering media in position,
and are secured to the vertical pipe by M, locking nuts; N (Figure 2),
is a pendent rod supporting the filter bed.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my
said Invention, and the best means I am acquainted with for carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details, relative proportions, or dimensions
of the several parts of the apparatus, as it will be readily seen that the
same may be considerably varied without departing from the Invention;
but what I claim is,―
Firstly. The pendent pipe B in combination with the lower chamber
for catching sediment and the flushing tap below constructed and
operated substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before-
described and set forth.
Secondly. The use of the india-rubber connection with metal ring
and thumbscrew for connecting filters to the taps on supply mains, sub-
stantially in the manner herein-before described and set forth.
And, lastly, the general construction, arrangement, and combination
of the several parts of the apparatus operated substantially in the
manner and for the purposes herein-before fully described, illustrated,
and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Russell, have hereunto
set my hand and affixed my seal, this Seventeenth day of June,
in the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and
seventy-one.
Witness,
WILLIAM WALKER,
of 44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
ROBERT (L.S.) RUSSELL.