Improvements in Filtering Apparatus.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 5th June, 1895-Accepted, 27th July, 1895
Improvements in Filtering Apparatus.
I, PHILIP ELIOT HODGKIN, of 63 Queen Victoria Street, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates more especially to apparatus for filtering oil or mixtures
of oil and water, such as the waste oil from steam engines and other machinery for
example; but the improvements are also applicable to filtering apparatus used for
other purposes.
The apparatus cousists of any required number of separate units or elements so
combined together that any one or more of such units or elements can be shut off
from the rest for the purposes of cleansing or repair. Each of the said units or
elements consists of the following arrangements: A cylindrical or other suitably
shaped vessel, which may be closed at one end, is provided at the other end with
an easily removable cover of a dome or other suitable shape capable of being
jointed air and liquid tight to the said end. Inside the said vessel is placed a
perforated tube, of copper or other suitable metal, one end of which opens through
a partition in the vessel into the aforesaid cover and the perforations in which open
into the vessel on the other side of the partition. An inlet valve is bolted to the
side of the aforesaid vessel and communicates on the one hand with a pocket which
opens into the aforesaid cover, that is to say into the space communicating with the
interior of the perforated tube. The inlet valve communicates on the other hand
with a general inlet pipe. An outlet valve is bolted to the side of the aforesaid
vessel and communicates on the one hand with the space between the inner wall of
the said vessel and the outside of the perforated inner tube and on the other hand
with a general outlet pipe. The filter cloth or other filtering material is placed
inside the aforesaid perforated tube. It will now be understood that the liquid to
be filtered, being admitted through the inlet valve, flows into the interior of the
perforated tube through the filtering material and through the perforations of the
tube into the space surrounding the latter, and passes off from such space through
the outlet pipe. Any dirt collecting at the bottom of the aforesaid space can
readily be removed through a suitable opening provided for that purpose, and any
oil that may float up on the surface of the water into the dome cover can be
drawn off through an opening provided for that purpose at or near the top of such
cover.
Any required number of the above described units or elements may be connected
to one inlet and one outlet pipe and any one or more of such units or elements can
be shut off from such inlet and outlet pipes by merely closing the inlet and outlet
valves, and the cover or covers can then be removed for the purpose of changing or
cleaning the filtering material and other parts of such unit. By suitable arrange-
ments of pipes and valves the filters can be washed by reversing the direction of
the current in the mauner now well understood in connection with filtering
apparatus.
Filtering apparatus constructed as above described is extremely simple; the
changing of the filtering material in any unit or element can be easily and quickly
effected without disturbing the working of the rest of the apparatus; the available
filtering surface in a small space is relatively very great; the size of the apparatus
can be increased at pleasure by merely adding the required number of units or

page_text: elements; there is no necessity to break any of the joints of the feed pipe when
any part of the apparatus is to be cleaned; there are only small surfaces subjected
to pressure, which is a great advantage where high pressures are used; any
separated oil can be drawn off and used over again; and if necessary all the units
or elements can be shut off from the inlet and outlet pipes and the liquid be passed
direct through those pipes without going through the filter.
Dated this 5th day of September 1894.
I PHILIP ELIOT HODGKIN of 63 Queen Victoria Street in the City of London,
Engineer, 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 more especially to apparatus for filtering oil or mixtures
of oil or water, such as the waste oil from steam engines, and other machinery for
example; but the improvements are also applicable to filtering apparatus used for
other purposes.
The apparatus consists of any required number of separate filter units or elements
so combined together that any one or more of such units or elements can be shut off
from the rest for the purposes of cleansing or repair; and in order that the invention
may be understood I will now proceed to describe the same with the aid of the
accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Figure is a sectional elevation of a filter unit or element constructed in
accordance with the invention, Figure 2 a plan of same with the cover removed,
Figure 3 an elevation, to a smaller scale than Figures 1 and 2, showing five such
filter units or elements combined together to form a single apparatus, and Figure 4
a plan of same.
Each of the aforesaid filter units or elements consists of a cylindrical or other
suitably shaped vessel A, which may be closed at one end, and is provided at
the other end with an easily removable cover B of a dome or other suitable shape,
capable of being jointed air and liquid tight to the said end. Inside the vessel A
is placed a perforated tube C of copper or other suitable metal, one end of which
opens through a partition or diaphragm D in the vessel A into the aforesaid
cover B, and the perforations in which open into the vessel A on the other side of
the partition or diaphragm D. An inlet valve or cock E is bolted to the side of
the vessel A, and communicates on the one hand with a pocket F which opens
into the cover B, that is to say into the space communicating with the interior of
the perforated tube C. The inlet valve or cock E communicates on the other hand
with a general inlet pipe G. An outlet valve or cock H is also bolted to the side
of the vessel A, and communicates on the one hand with the space between the
inner wall of the said vessel A and the outside of the perforated inner tube C, and
on the other hand with a general outlet pipe 1. The filter cloth or other filtering
material is placed inside the perforated tube C.
It will now be understood that the liquid to be filtered being admitted through
the inlet valve or cock E flows into the interior of the perforated tube C, through
the filtering material, and through the perforations of the tube C into the space
surrounding the latter, and passes off from such space through the outlet valve or
cock H and outlet pipe I. Any dirt collecting at the bottom of the aforesaid
space can be readily removed through a valve or cock K provided for that purpose,

page_text: and any oil that may float up on the surface of the water into the dome cover B
can be drawn off through a valve or cock M provided for that purpose at or near
the top of such cover.
Any required number of the above described separate and independent filter
units or elements may be connected to one inlet pipe G and one outlet pipe I, and
any one or more of such units or elements can be shut off from such inlet and outlet
pipes by merely closing the inlet and outlet valves or cocks E and H belonging to
that or those particular units or elements. The cover or covers B can then be
removed for the purpose of changing or cleaning the filtering material and the
other parts of such unit or units. By suitable arrangements of pipes and valves
the filters can be washed by reversing the direction of the current, in the manner
now well understood in connection with filtering apparatus.
Filtering apparatus constructed as above described is extremely simple; the
changing of the filtering material in any filter unit or element can be easily and
quickly effected without disturbing the working of the rest of the apparatus; the
available filtering surface in a small space is relatively very great; the size of the
apparatus can be increased at pleasure by merely adding the required number of
filter units or elements; there is no necessity to break any of the joints of the
inlet or outlet pipes when any part of the apparatus is to be cleaned; there are
only small surfaces subjected to pressure, which is a great advantage where high
pressures are used; any separated oil can be drawn off and used over again; and
if necessary all the units or elements can be shut off from the inlet and outlet pipes.
and the liquid be passed direct from the inlet pipe G through a bye-pass pipe N
and valve P direct to the outlet pipe I without going through the filters.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what !
claim is :-
First. The improvement in filtering apparatus which consists in dividing the
apparatus into any required number of separate units or elements each unit or
element comprising in itself a separate and independent filter connected by suitable
valves or cocks to inlet and outlet pipes common to all the filter units or elements
composing the apparatus, substantially as described.
Second. In filtering apparatus a filter unit or element composed of an outer
vessel provided with a removable cover, an inner perforated tube, a partition or
diaphragm and inlet and outlet valves or cocks, combined and arranged substantially
as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Third. The improved filtering apparatus constructed, arranged and operating
substantially as described.
Dated this 5th day of June 1895.