Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application; 1st Mar.; 1889
Complete Specification Left, 18th Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 27th Apr., 1889
1, JAMES ARTHUR DRAKE, of Maidstone in the County of Kent, Mechanical Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to the construction, combination and arrangement of machinery
and parts constituting a Filter Press.
The present filtering mediums used are Jute cloths, Coir fibre &c. in several forms,
such as Mats, Matting, and Rope with sand rubbed over the surface, and secured to
the face on both sides of cast and wrought iron plates, these cloths or mats &c. are
placed between the joints of the rings or plates, which when screwed up as tight as
possible, are always liable to leakage and rapid decay being a source of great incon-
venience also having to be cleared by hand there is much loss of time and labour.
Now the object of my invention, is to obviate these inconveniences and for this
purpose, I employ what are commonly known as filter beds placed in a horizontal
position consisting of sand, ashes, gravel, broken brick, charcoal, or the like, either
alone or in combination &c. put into suitably shaped metal trays with slots or channels
formed in their sides to allow the substance being filtered to pass into them (these
trays may be perforated at the bottom, if found necessary), any number of trays are
placed upon a hollow or fluted vertical spindle or shaft and provided with a boss at the
centre, so that each tray or filter bed rests upon the boss of the next one and kept apart
according to the thickness of the cake or filtered substance required.
Each tray is provided with outlets through the boss in the centre to allow the
filtrate to pass down the hollow or fluted part of the spindle or shaft into an outlet
pipe at the bottom of the filter Press. These filter beds are enclosed by a casing, cap,
or cylinder, which is raised or lowered by means of a chain coiled round a drum,
a rack and pinion, worm and w.eel,, or a screw, whichever may be found most
convenient.
In order to clear off the cakes or filtered substance from the surface of the filter
beds in a convenient and rapid manner after the casing has been lifted, the hollow or
fluted spindle or shaft with the filter beds and trays can be rotated. I provide an

page_text: upright shaft with arms fitted on and set at a distance apart corresponding to the
opening between each filter bed, these arms can be moved by hand about one fourth
of the circle into position between each filter bed, and by rotating the filter beds
slowly the cakes or filtered substance will be instantly removed off the surface by
contact with the arms above described, or these arms can be made to revolve in the
opposite direction to the filter beds rotated by spur gearing or any other mechanical
means driven by hand or power.
After the filter beds have been cleared as above
described the casing. cap, or cylinder, is again lowered and secured to the base plate
with bolts, wedges, or levers &c. for a fresh filtering.
Dated this 1st day of March 1980

page_text: Figure 4 a part sectional plan.
This machine or Filter Press consists of a number of trays a Figure 3, enclosed in
a casing or cylinder and mounted on a hollow or fluted spindle or shaft c, said trays
being filled with sand or like material forming filter beds d Figure 4; (it may,
be
found necessary to have wire netting or matting embeded to bind the sand or like
material together). The trays are provided with channels-e-through the boss in
communication with hollow (or fluted parts) of the said spindle or shaft c which
flutings pass through the base plate into the channel or outlet pipe g.
h is a step
cast or bolted on to said outlet pipe g. The base plate is also provided with an inlet
pipe i through which the substance or liquid to be filtered will pass into a circular
channel j formed in the base plate; from thence it will pass up the sides and through
the slots k, see Figure 4, formed in the sides of the trays.
When it becomes necessary to remove the filtered substance off the surface of the
trays and filter beds, they are exposed by lifting the casing or cylinder & from the
base plate by means of a chain coiled round the drums 1,., see Figure 3, when
actuated by a cog wheel m and pinion n, Figures 1 and 2.
The arms o Figures 1 and 4 fixed on the upright shaft p Figure 1 are then rotated
and caused to pass between the said trays or filter beds d while they rotate by means
of the cog wheel 7 Figure 3, worked by a worm Figure 2, these being actuated by
the spindle s. The cog wheel Figure 1 fixed to the shaft c gives motion through
the wheels u and v to the shaft p which carrying round the arms o for clearing off the
cakes or filtered substance from the filter beds.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The arrangement of horizontally placed trays having channels or slots formed in
the sides of the said trays for the reception of the liquid to be filtered and with other

page_text: channels formed through the boss and corresponding with the hollow or fluted parts
of the shaft as outlets for the filtrate as described with reference to the annexed
drawings.
2. The employment of arms upon a separate shaft for clearing the filtered substance
off the surface of said trays substantially in the manner herein described and whether
said arms are rotatable or not.
3. The general construction of Filter Press, as a machine for the purpose of carrying
out the several objects, viz., rotating the superposed filter beds with the hollow or
fluted shaft and rotating the arms for clearing the said filter beds all as indicated in
the annexed drawings.