IMPROVED METHODS FOR FILTRATING WATER AND VARIOUS OTHER LIQUIDS
Year: 1828

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BELL, of Lucas Street, Commercial Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
did, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Fourth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and twenty-eight, in the ninth year of His reign, give and grant unto
me, the said William Bell, His especial licence that I, the said William Bell,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said
William Bell, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVED METHODS FOR FILTRATING WATER AND VARIOUS OTHER
LIQUIDS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that I, the
said William Bell, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in
His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at.
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Bell, do hereby declare that my said Invention consists in a certain

page_text: arrangement of apparatus and materials so formed, combined, and put together
as to answer the purpose of cleansing or filtering water and various other
fluids, and it likewise possesses the property by means of its construction of
being cleansed or freed from any impurities that the said water or other fluids
may deposit by means of the reversed action of the same.
Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a vessel of stoneware or any other suitable
material which is impervious to water, and may be made to any required
dimensions, and of various forms, either ornamental or not on the outer side.
a is a perforated plate or bottom of similar materials, fixed or cemented upon
an internal ledge of the exterior vessel, so as to leave an empty space below,
into which a cock or tap must be inserted. A piece of fine haircloth is
placed over this perforated plate or bottom, and above that a filtering medium,
composed of a stratum of coarsely pounded and sifted coke or cinders,
gradually increasing in fineness upwards, covered by a stratum of sifted sand,
increasing in coarseness upwards. And c is another perforated plate or
bottom, which is placed upon the said filtering medium, another piece of finc
haircloth having been previously introduced to cover the said medium. This
second plate or bottom is pressed upon the said filtering medium, and then
cemented round, to prevent any of the said medium from escaping. e is a
third perforated plate or bottom at a little distance above c, and is supported
in its proper place by a perforated tube or foot z, so as to leave a hollow
space between the said two plates, and into this space another cock or tap is
inserted, as shown in the said Figure. Another haircloth is placed upon this
said plate or bottom, and then there is another filtering medium, composed
first of an under stratum of coarsely pounded and sifted coke or cinders,
gradually increasing in fineness upwards, then a stratum of charcoal, pounded,
and above that a stratum of pounded coke or cinders finely sifted, and then a
stratum of sifted sand, increasing in coarseness as it proceeds upwards, to
prevent the escape of any of the charcoal or finely pounded coke. This is
again covered by another fine haircloth, and a perforated plate or bottom
is placed upon it and cemented round as aforesaid. Lastly, another plate i is
introduced above the last, and supported by another perforated tube or foot
at k, leaving an empty or hollow space, as at 2; but this upper plate is not
perforated, and is rendered impervious to water, by being cemented round its
edges, so that no water can pass through this top plate, except at the orifice j,
which is so formed that it can be closely stopped by a bung or stopper when
required. A third cock or tap is inserted under the top plate i, and the
vessel is covered by a lid to keep it clean. An air pipe t, t, rises from the
lower chamber as hight at the top of the external vessel, and a similar

page_text: pipe v, v, proceeds in like manner from the second chamber in order to free
these chambers of air as the water falls into them or to supply air whenever
it is drawn off. C is the water cask or reservoir, from which a regulated
quantity of the water to be filtered is let off through a nose or pipe into the
under part of the filter at a, and it filters upwards into the empty space d, d,
from whence it may be drawn off at the second or middle tap or cock if the
water be of such a quality as not to require purifying as well as clarifying;
but if it should require purifying, the middle tap or cock is kept closed, and it
then passes through the upper medium, and must be drawn from the upper
tap or cock. When the filter gets foul or requires cleansing, the water is
allowed to rise into the tube k of the upper chamber till the air is excluded;
the bung or stopper is then fixed, and the rose is removed to the middle tap
or cock, and all the force being let on from the water cask or reservoir, the
mud will be forced down through the lower tap or cock, and the machine will
completely cleanse itself. The hose is furnished, with what are called union
screws, by means of which it is easily removed to any of the cocks or taps
when required, or leaden pipes may be fixed to each tap, communications
with the main pipe as shewn by the dotted lines. The above-described filter
may be very much simplified, altho' at the expence of a part of its perfection,
by omitting the lower filtering medium, and making use of the upper one
only, as shewn in Fig. 2. It will then require but two taps or cocks, but it
still filters upwards, and is cleansed by forcing the mud downwards, as already
described. A principle peculiar to its construction is, that it filters down-
wards in as perfect a manner as upwards, by inverting the construction and
stratification of the mediums, only in that case the stopper is kept fixed;
therefore, with my apparatus, either mode of filtering may be adopted at
pleasure. Fig. 3 shews a different form and all construction of a filter, in
which the filtering medium is stone or other porous material in the form of an
egg; it is made of two picces, hollowed, and cemented or joined together,
and I prefer the egg-like form or figure, which is largest at the upper end.
A hole is made at the lowest extremity to admit a pipe of about two inches
bore, having a shoulder to support the filter, and this pipe is fixed into the
said hole in a water-tight manner by cement, putty, or otherwise. A small
air tube is also inserted in the centre of the upper extremity of the filter,
which can be closed by a screw, cap, or stopper. The filter so constructed is
to be fixed in any suitable water-tight vessel, deep enough to permit the
whole filter to be covered with water, and it is to be supported in such vessel
upon a false water-tight bottom, so fixed in the said external vessel as to
leave an empty space between it and the real bottom of the said vessel, as

page_text: will be clearly seen by reference to Fig. 3, in which F is the egg-shaped filter,
supported upon the shouldered pipe f, which is fixed in the middle of the
false bottom G of the external vessel B, B, so as to leave a hollow space a
below it. E is the pipe that conveys the water to be filtered, and this
divides into two branches e and j, each of which passes through the external
vessel B, B, and each has a stop-cock for closing it. The branch pipe j
terminates near the outside of the filter, but that at e passes into it through
a hole made obliquely in its upper part, so as to direct the water it delivers
upon the inside surface of the filter instead of into the middle of its
open cavity. If the cock j is kept closed and e opened, the filter and the
hollow space a below it will be filled with water; the air pipe g must then
be opened until they are filled, and as the confined water will then have
no means of escaping except through the pores of the filter F, it will pass
through it into the space b, b, of the external vessel with a velocity pro-
portionate to the height of the reservoir of supply or the opening of the
cock e, and is drawn off by the cock i, or it may be suffered to run
over at the spout d into any vessel prepared to receive it. When the
water passes through the pipe e, its circular motion round the inside of the
filter will cause the heavier particles or turbid matter to incline towards the
centre, and by this spiral motion and the greater specific gravity of the said
turbid matter it will be continually dispositing itself through the tube f into the
lower chamber a. When the cock h is opened, it not only empties the whole
filter, but it gives such an additional impetus to the water from e as will
effectually wash out and cleanse the whole inside of the filter.
the removal of any deposit from the pores of the filter, its action must be
reversed by closing the cock e and opening that at j, so as to fill the whole
of the external vessel B, B, in which case the water will pass from the out-
side to the inside of the filter, and will then fill the under chamber a with
filtered water, which must be drawn off by the cock h, or it may be permitted
to run into any vessel placed to receive it. The pipej has such a direction
as also to cause circular motion in the water, whereby the outside of the filter
is washed, and the sediment will then be deposited upon the false bottom G,
to be drawn off by the cock i, in which case a cock must be applied at d
instead of an open spout. It will likewise be evident that by alternately using
this apparatus to filter from within and from without, and by occasionally per-
mitting a full stream of water to run through it in both directions, the filter-
ing medium will be prevented from clogging or getting filled up, and that it
will therefore remain perfect for a much greater length of time than any con-
struction of a filter hither in use. If a dwelling be supplied by water from
But to ensure

page_text: the main pipe of any waterworks, or in such a manner that the water is
generally running iu, it will be evident that any of the above-described filters
can be attached immediately to the service pipe without providing a reservoir
to contain the water to be filtered; it may then filter into any vessel from
which it is to be drawn, but as this is not often the case, Fig. 4 shews the
manner by which one of my first-described machines may be introduced within
a cistern, which receives its supply of water in the usual way, and which will
be found generally convenient, and will afford a sufficient quantity of filtered
water without materially interfering with the supply of water in an unfiltered
state for common household purposes. In this Fig., A is a cistern, such as is
commonly fixed over a sink D, and B is an additional cistern for receiving
the water as it filters, or it may be conveyed by a pipe into any other vessel in
order to be drawn off when wanted. a is the supply cock and pipe, and a a
cock at the lower chamber of the filter C, E, to supply the cistern B, or other
recipient with filtered water. In this case the upper medium of the filter is
formed as the lower medium of the filter, Fig. 1, would be when inverted,
and the under medium the same as the upper medium of the said filter, Fig. 1,
but also inverted, and with this difference, its construction is similar. No
particular description of this apparatus will be necessary after what has been
before observed, except only to observe that the water passes into the filter
through holes in its sides, which holes are made in a direction slanting upwards,
and placed in a row directly under the lid that covers it; those holes conduct
it into a space above the upper filtering medium C, from which it passes
into a hollow space or chamber g, and from thence through the lower filtering
medium E into the lower chamber and thence by the cock a into the cistern
B, and i, i, is the air-pipe for the transmission of air as aforesaid. The means
which I adopt for cleansing this filter are as follows:-A leaden pipe 1, 2,
is soldered to the pipe of supply behind the cock a, and this pipe terminates
in the lowest chamber f of the filter to which it is connected, and it likewise
joins to the middle chamber 9 by another stop-cock d; consequently, if the
supply cock a is shut, and the cock d is alone opened, the water, instead of
going directly into the cistern A, will be directed to the middle chamber g, and
by being thus forced through the upper filtering medium C it will be effec-
tually cleansed, and in like manner, by opening the lower cock e, and shutting
d or not at pleasure, the lower medium E may be cleansed, which, however,
will seldom be necessary. If the cock a is out of reach, it may casily be
opened by attaching a lever with a spring to it as at k, the use of the spring
being to keep the said cock always open, and to close it, it will only be neces
sary to pull the cord or wire 3, 4, and hitch its end on a pin c, by which

page_text: means the water may be made to wash through the filter whenever required.
This kind of apparatus may be made of various forms (oblong, for instance),
in which case it may occupy the entire end of the cistern; it then has a
convex lid, on the top of which is an air hole, and holes are made for the
entrance of the water slanting upwards through the upper part of the sides,
as before described, to allow some of the turbid matter to pass over and fall
to the bottom of the cistern A, instead of going into the filter.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Second day of March, in the year of our Lord One