Cleansing Filtering Surfaces.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 8th July, 1891-Accepted, 15th Aug,,
1891
Cleansing Filtering Surfaces.
A communication from abroad by THE AUTOMATIC FILTER COMPANY, a
Corporation authorized under the laws of the State of West Virginia, and
having its principal place of business in Washington, DC., United States of
America.
I, PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County.
of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, 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 relates to certain improvements in filters and more especially in the
method and means hereinafter set forth for removing from the filtering surfaces the
impurities that are taken from the water and deposited upon such surfaces, which
removal is effected by means of a solid body of sand descending slowly in contact
with said surfaces and automatically maintained. in circulation as fully set forth
hereinafter, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a duplex filter embodying the invention.
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation enlarged of the said filter.
1
Fig. 3 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4, Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation showing an illustrative form of filter.
Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation showing another form of single tube filter.
Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation showing a multiple tube filter.
Fig. 8 is a cross section on the line 8-8, Fig. 7.
Heretofore efforts have been made to cleanse the surfaces of filtering mediums
by the rapid movement of currents of water carrying particles of sand. This is not
effective because the separated particles cannot be thus moved with sufficient force
to remove the slimy deposits that accumulate in a filter.
The main feature of this improvement consists in removing the deposit from the
filtering surface by means of a solid body of sand which moves slowly with a
scraping action over said surface, and in order to maintain the body in connection
with the filtering surface particles of the sand are withdrawn from the bottom of
the body and carried up and deposited upon the top. Another important feature
consists in creating occasionally an inside pressure greater than the outside pressure
so as to force the impurities outward from the filtering surface whereby they can
readily be scraped off by the sand. These improvements may be embodied in
different constructions shown in the drawings.
Fig. 5 shows the simplest form, 3 being a filtering tube of earthenware enclosed
in the case A, having an outside circulating pipe 4, 5, and in the case is a body of
sand Y. The water is admitted through an injector tube 6 creating a current in the
channel 7 in tube 4, that carries particles of sand from the bottom of the body Y
of sand to the top.
The filtered water passes into the chamber in the tube 3 and may be drawn out
through a cock at the end of a tube 9. A pump I may be used for creating an
internal pressure in the tube 3 to force outward the particles that enter the
interstices of the tube 3, and this pressure should be applied while the sand is
moving over the tube 3, and while the water is flowing inward through the tube 6,
and outward through a tube 8, carrying away the impurities scraped by the sand
from the tube 3.
In the more complete construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 the inlet water passes
upward through the nozzle 18, and is thence deflected downward by striking the

page_text: deflector 19, laps the sand that passes downward around the ring 10 to the space
below the latter aud, ascends through a tube 4, and carries with it particles of the
sand and strikes against a deflector plate 31 and moves outward through openings
when the said particles will fall on to the body of sand below, while the water will
pass through openings t, t, into the discharge pipe, 16, the body, of sand moving
downward and cleaning the filtering surface.
When the water pursues the same course through, both filters the above described,
operation will be the same in each, and when the outlet passages are closed the
pressure of the water in each filter will cause it to pass through the cylinder 3, by
which the impurities are removed.
Different means may be employed for causing occasionally a preponderance of
pressure on the filtered side of the filtering medium such as will cause the filtered.
water to flow outward through the filtering medium at intervals to expel the
impurities that have accumulated in the smaller interstices from which they cannot
be removed by the abrading action of the sand, but in the construction above.
described the desired result may be effected by manipulating the cocks. Thus
supposing that the cock 20 is. turned so that the discharge water passes outward
only through the channel y there will be but little pressure from the outside.
inward through the cylinder 3 of the left-hand filter, through which the unfiltered
water is passing freely, and in which the body of sand is operating to cleanse the
filtering surface, while the pressure in the right hand filter will be that of the head
of water passing inward to the space through the cylinder 3, and from the g
space v
through the passage g into the space v behind the other left hand filtering cylinder;
so that there is an outward current through the filtering medium of the left hand
filter during the cleansing action of the sand, and the two operate together to
thoroughly and effectively remove from the filtering medium, all the particles on
the surface or within the body of the game that obstructs, its filtering action.
When the opposite filter is to be cleansed it is only necessary to turn the cock 20, to
open the passage y, and close the passage y'. When the filtered water is to be
withdrawn a cock 23 is turned to open the communication between either or both
filter chambers.v and a tube 22..
9.
Fig. 6.shows, a single tube filter in which the cock 20 is closed when the water is
to be filtered, the water passing in through a nozzle 18. and through the filtering..
tube 3 into the chamber and out through the tube When the filter is to be
cleaned, the cock 20 is open when the water will pass through the nozzle 18, and be
deflected downward by the deflector 19, lap up the particles of sand and carry
them up until they strike the deflector 31, when they will fall on to the main
body Y, and the water and impurities will pass out through the pipe 16. A funnel Q.
provided with a cock serves to supply the filter with sand when, necessary...
In the construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8, six filter tubes are suspended from a
hollow ring, frame R, and each communicates therewith and the filtered water flows
from the hollow frame tlirough a tube y... The sand is around the, whole group of
filtering tubes and is carried upward by the current that passes through, the
nozzle 18, and is deflected downward and laps up particles of the sand which are.
fed by, the inclined bottom, of the casing to the chamber around the nozzle, after.
which the action is the same, as before. An outside pipe, S provided with cocks.
communicates with the inlet and outlet tubes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained, the nature, of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The within, described improvement in cleansing the surface, of filtering,
mediums, the same consisting in maintaining a body of sand in contact with the
entire filtering surface and moving it at intervals as a solid body over said surface,
substantially, as set forth.,
2. The within described improvement in cleansing the,, surface of filtering
mediums consisting in maintaining a body of sand with the water, to be filtered

page_text: against the filtering surface, withdrawing particles of sand at intervals from the
said body at one end and carrying them away from the filtering surface to the
opposite end, thereby moving the entire body as a solid mass against the filtering
surface, substantially as set forth.
3. The within described improvement in cleansing filtering mediums the same
consisting in subjecting the outside of said medium to the action of an abrading
material, and simultaneously increasing the internal pressure, substantially as set.
forth.
4. The combination in a filter, of receptacles for filtered and unfiltered water
separated by a filtering medium, a body of sand in the unfiltered water receptacle
lying in contact with the filtering surface, a water channel extending from below
to the top of said body and means for creating an upward circulating current
through said channel to convey the particles of sand from the bottom to the top of
the body away from contact with the filtering surface, substantially as set forth.
5. The combination in a filter, of chambers separated by a filtering medium, a
body of sand lying against the filtering surface in one of the chambers, and an
independent channel communicating with the top and bottom of the sand chamber,
and a nozzle for directing a current of water upward through said channel,
substantially as set forth.
6. A filter provided with chambers for the filtered and unfiltered water separated
by a filtering medium means for acting upon the filtering surface to cleanse the
same, and means for creating a preponderating pressure at desired intervals upon
the opposite side of the filtering medium, substantially as set forth.
7. The combination with the casing, filtering medium and body of sand in
contact with the filtering surface, of an independent channel for the passage of the
upward current of the water and a nozzle below said channel, substantially as set
forth.
8. The combination of the filtering medium, surrounding body of sand, channel,
and means for elevating successive portions of the sand with water through the
channel, of a deflector above the channel, substantially as set forth.
9. The combination of the casing, filtering medium, sand chamber and
independent channel for elevating the sand communicating with the sand chamber
above and below the filtering medium; substantially as set forth.
10. The combination with the casing, filtering oylinder and tube 4, of a ring
supporting the said cylinder and tube and an inlet nozzle below said tube,
substantially as set forth.
11. The combination with the casing, filtering medium, sand chamber and
vertical water channel, of a nozzle below said channel and a surrounding receptacle
for the admission of sand, substantially as set forth.
12. The combination with the casing, filtering medium, sand chamber, water
channel and nozzle, of a deflector above said nozzle for the purpose set forth.
13. The combination of the casing, filtering medium, chamber for the filtered
water, sand chamber and means for moving a body of sand over the filtering
surface, of an outlet for unfiltered water and a second chamber containing filtered
water under pressure communicating with the filtered water chamber of the filter,
substantially as set forth.
14. The combination with the filtering medium, means for cleansing the filtering
surface of the latter and filtered water chamber of a filter, of a second water
chamber communicating with the first and containing filtered water under pressure
for the purpose set forth.
15. The combination of two or more filters, each having a casing, filtering medium,
filtered water chamber and outlet for unfiltered water, a channel connecting the
two filtered water chambers and means whereby the outlet of each filter may be
opened and closed, substantially as set forth.
16. The combination of two filters having their filtered water chamber in
communication and provided with means for cleansing the filtered surfaces, of means
for closing the outlets of the two filters whereby the filtering pressure in the filtered

page_text: water chamber of one is the means of exerting a back pressure in the other,
substantially as set forth.
17. The combination of two filters, each having a filtering medium with a filtered
water chamber upon one side, a body of sand upon the other and means for moving
the sand to cleanse the filtering surface and a cominunication between the two
chambers and means for drawing the unfiltered water independently from the two
filters, substantially as set forth.
18. The combination of two filters, each having a filtering medium, a filtered
water chamber in cominunication with that of the other chamber and' means for
cleansing the filtering surface automatically, a single supply pipe and a single
discharge pipe to both filters with three way cocks in said pipes, substantially as
Bet forth.
19. The combination of two filters, a single base supporting the same, a single
supply pipe and a single discharge pipe communicating with both filters, a
communication between the filtered water chambers of the two filters, and means
for closing the channels to and from each filter independently, substantially as set
forth.
20. The within set forth improvement in the details of a filter severally and as
combined substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 9th dow of Iul 1901
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.