Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 14th June, 1887.
Specification Accepted, 15th July, 1887.
I, JOHN WESLEY HYATT, of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States of
America, 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 :-
The object of this invention is to furnish a filter in which the filtering surfaces may
be continuously operated in the highest state of efficiency.
This object is effected through the cleansing of the surfaces by the abrading action
of granular material, agitated with the unfiltered fluid in contact with the filtering
agents..
The abrading material may be of sand, coke, pumice stone or other analogous
substance, and the filtering agent is formed of a porous substance solid enough to
endure the abrading action of the granular material, and of such fine porous character
as to separate the impurities from the water in the desired degree.
The filter agent may therefore consist in round tubes or flat plates made of natural
or artificial stone, or of porous earthenware baked into any suitable form.
Porous tubes formed of artificial stone are shown herein, and porous earthenware
cups, such as are used in galvanic batteries, merely to illustrate the scope of my
invention; and means are shown herein for agitating the filtering material by
discharging a current of water upward through it, by drawing it from the lower part
of the filter casing and restoring it to the upper, and by rotating the filter casing so
that the abrading material would fall successively into contact with the various surfaces
of the filter agents.
In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a rotary cylindrical filter casing
containing three series of porous cups cemented to circular plates, the parts being
shown in section where hatched; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same on line a, c,
in Fig. 1; Fig. 2 an elevation of the right hand end: Fig. 3 is an elevation partly in
section where hatched, of a vertical cylindrical filter with a pump for circulating water
through the abrading material; Fig. 4 is a section of the filter casing on liner, in
Fig. 3 Fig. 5 is a view partly in section of one of the filter tubes enlarged; and Fig. 6

page_text: is an elevation partly in section where hatched, of a vertical filter with a sand pump
for circulating the abrading material within the casing. Fig. 7 a sectional view of
the arm n².
In Figs. 1 and 2, a is the filter casing rotated upon trunnions c¹ in bearings c³, and
having a pipe y fixed in its center to sustain three circular disks carrying three series
of porous filter cups e.
Each disk e¹ is formed of two plates secured together with a water space between
them, and having the open mouths of the filter cups cemented to the outer sides of the
plates.
Holes are formed through the plates into the interior of each cup, and the cups
are secured upon the plates with hydraulic cement, by laying the plate horizontally,
placing the cups with their mouths upon the plate over the holes e², and pouring the
fluid hydraulic cement upon the surface of the plate, where it is retained by a marginal
flange e, until hardened.
and
The plates are formed with hubs and are clamped upon the pipe g by nuts
holes through the pipe communicate with the water spaces inside the disks e¹, and thus
lead the filtered water through one of the trunnions to a swivel g¹ where the pipe is
connected with a stationary outlet g² provided with a cock g³.
² is a stationary inlet, d¹ a union connecting it with a pipe d which supplies
unfiltered water through the other trunnion, and delivers it by apertures c within the
casing where it penetrates the substance of the cups e in the filtering operation.
The impurities deposited upon the filter cups would soon impair their efficiency
unless removed; and I remove such impurities by the abrading action of loose granular
material.
The sand or other abrading material a² is placed in the lower half of the casing, and
a wheel h is applied to one of the trunnions to rotate the casing so that the sand may
successively abrade the surfaces of all the filter cups.
The wheel may be actuated by a moving belt, or be provided with teeth and rotated
by suitable gearing, and the operation, to keep the filter in the highest state of
efficiency, should be practiced continuously during the filtering operation; but may
be effected at intervals if preferred. The impurities removed from the filtering surfaces
are periodically discharged from the filter casing by means of a pipe and cock j
applied to one side of the casing, and arranged to discharge the fluid into a trough k
by turning the casing with the cock uppermost.
When such cock is open the water entering the pipe d would pass out through the
waste pipe i carrying with it the impurities suspended in the contained fluid. ¨ Any
other means of discharging the impurities from the casing may be used.
It is obvious that, if preferred, the casing may be held stationary, and the filter
cups be rotated among the abrading material by turning the shaft g; and that flat
disks of porous material may be substituted for the filter cups, and applied to the
hollow shaft to operate in either a stationary or movable casing the same as
the cups.
In Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the filter agent consists in a coating of porous composition or
artificial stone applied over perforated metallic tubes which are first covered with
wire cloth f¹.
A large number of such tubes are suitably sustained within the casing, and the
water penetrating such tubes passes thence through branches out of the casing to a
headerm is a waste cock applied near the top of the filter, o³ is an inlet pipo
conveying the water through a step n to a rotating arm n², to distribute the inlet fluid
over the bottom of the casing, a³ a mass of abrading material surrounding the filter
.tubes, n' a strainer pipe above the top of the sand a³, and o a pump having its
suction pipe o' connected with the strainer n', and its outlet o discharging into the
arni n.
The strainer pipe n' is connected with the suction of by a pipe o³ which is provided
with a cock o' and a pressure reducing valve o*.
The suction o¹ is also connected with a water supply pipe p having a cock. The
urm is provided with outlets and spring seated valves upon its lower side as shown

page_text: in Fig. 7, and is fixed upon a hub which is fitted water tight to the step n, and is
provided with a vertical shaft extended to the top of the filter to turn the arm slowly
around within the bottom of the casing.
The water rises through the abrading material at any point where the arm is turned,
and the material in different parts of the casing is thus successively agitated in the
most effective manner, and operates to cleanse the filter tubes as desired."
In addition to the water introduced into the casing to be filtered, it is preferable
to increase the inflowing current by drawing a proportion of the fluid from the upper
part of the casing, and restoring it to the bottom, for which reason the pump is
connected to the strainer n' as well as the supply pipe p.
The water may be drawn from the supply pipe or strainer, or from both together in
a given proportion, by regulating the cocks o' and p¹.
By the use of the reducing valve o³, the pump may also operate to maintain a
considerable pressure within the filter casing, to increase the percolation of the fluid
through the filter tubes ; the reducing valve being adjusted to reduce the fluid
pressure transmitted through the pipe n' as low as that in the supply pipe p; so that
the suction of the pump may draw from each in proportion to the opening of their
respective cocks. By thus circulating some of the fluid already within the casing,
through the pump, I am enabled to more violently agitate the abrading material.
A cock q is inserted in the pipe o³ above the pipe n', and serves when opened to
admit air in any desired proportion with the fluid drawn from the strainer.
When the cock q is open, the pump forces the mingled air and water from the
openings in the armi n', and the air in rising through the abrading material serves to
agitate it with the same effect as an equal volume of water; while it causes a much
smaller resistance to the working of the pump. The impurities removed from the
filter agents may be discharged continuously from the abrading material and from the
fluid within the filter, by a slight opening of the waste cock m², during the filtering
operation.
An open casing may be used by extending the sides upward to secure the
desired head or pressure upon the filter tubes, or by applying a suction pump to the
header.
In Fig. 6, a similar casing r is shown with conical bottom, and containing filter
tubes surrounded by a mass of abrading material a*.
t is an inlet cock for the water to be filtered, and t¹an outlet cock for the filtered
fluid, and u is a waste cock to discharge the impurities from the casing.
The abrading material is moved over the surfaces of the filter tubes by a sand
pump which draws the material from the bottom of the casing through pipe w, and
lischarges it into the top of the casing by pipe c¹.
The material being wholly immersed in water is readily moved by such means, and
operates to continuously cleanse the filtering surfaces without disturbing the filtration
of the fluid which is forced into the casing by the pipe and cock t, and is discharged
from the filtering agents by the cock t¹.
Any other means of agitating the abrading material and the filtering surfaces in
relation to one another may be used to carry out my invention.
I am aware that brushes and scrapers have been used to cleanse a filtering surface,
but my abrading material is much more effective and can be agitated with far less
mechanism than such mechanical agents.
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 :-
1st. In a filter in which the filtration is performed by filter agents of solid
material, the combination, with such filter agents, of loose particles of abrading material
arranged movably in the unfiltered fluid in contact with the filtering surfaces and
agitated against such filtering surfaces to remove the impurities therefrom.
2nd. In a filter, the combination, with the filter agents, of loose particles of abrading
material in contact with the filtering surfaces, and means for agitating the filter agents
in contact with such loose particles.

page_text: Brd. In a filter, the combination, with the filter agents, of loose particles of abrading
material in contact with the filtering surfaces, and agitated against the same to remove
the impurities therefrom, by means of the current of inflowing fluid.
4th. In a filter, the combination, with a casing containing filter agents of solid
substance, of abrading material within the casing about such agents, and the pump
arranged and operated as in Fig. 6, to draw the abrading material from the bottom of
the casing and deliver it again to the top. for the purpose set forth.
5th. In a filter, the combination, with a casing containing filter agents surrounded
by granular abrading material in the unfiltered fluid, of a rotating arm, as n², arranged
and operated as shown in Fig. 1, to distribute the inlet fluid beneath different portions
of the abrading material, to agitate the same successively.
6th. In a filter, the combination, with a casing containing filter agents surrounded
by granular abrading material in the unfiltered fluid, of means, as the strainer pipe n',
for withdrawing the fluid from the upper part of the casing, and a pump, as o, con-
nected with such strainer pipe and with an inlet at the bottom of the casing, and
operated to circulate the fluid through the casing: to agitate the abrading material
against the filtering surfaces.
7th: In a filter, the combination, with a casing containing filter agents surrounded
by granular abrading material in the unfiltered fluid, of a pump having its suction
connected by a pipe, as o, with the fluid in the upper part of the casing, and also
with a water supply pipe as p, and having a reducing valve o inserted in the pipe o
and having its outlet o connected with the bottom of the filter, the whole being
operated for the pump to draw the water from the supply pipe p or from the top of
the filter at pleasure, and to force the fluid beneath the abrading material in the casing
to agitate the same in the desired manner.
8th. The particular construction for the filter agents, consisting in the porous
cups e having their mouths cemented to one side of a plate and connected through
suitable openings to a water channel or passage upon the opposite side of the plate,
and the unfiltered fluid being pressed upon the exterior of the cups and delivered
through the apertures in the plate, substantially as set forth.
9th. The filter shown in Figs. 1 and 2, consisting in the rotary casing u, containing
one or more series of porous cups attached by their open mouths to hollow metallic
plates, and surrounded by the unfiltered fluid containing granular abrading mutorial,
the fluid being received and discharged through the trunnions of the casing a, and
the abrading material being agitated against the surfaces of the porous cups by the
rotation of the casing.