IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FILTERING OR PURIFYING WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George White, of 7, Pancras Lane, in the City
of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
FILTERING OR PURIFYING WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS."-A communication
from abroad by Mr. Jean Antoine Victor Burg, Doctor of Medicine, of
Paris.
Sealed the 14th March 1862, and dated the 18th September 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George White at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
September 1861.
I, GEORGE WHITE, of 7, Pancras Lane, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
FILTERING OR PURIFYING WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS," it has been communicated
to me from abroad by Mr. Jean Antoine Victor Burg, Doctor of Medicine, of
Paris, to be as follows:-
The Invention relates to an improved system of apparatus for filtering
either large or small quantities of water, acids, or other liquids, and the same
consists in making use of extensive thin filtering surfaces, viz., diaphragms
formed of thin slabs of either natural or artificial porous stone, which slabs or
diaphragms, in order that they may resist the pressure exerted on them, are
held by proper grates or frames, which latter when large quantities of water

page_text: are to be filtered have their openings turned towards the outside. and are
arranged in such manner as to form a series of inclined planes, over which the
water runs or trickles down in small streamlets in order to become properly
aerated and cooled, this cooling and aerating effect being if required increased
by suitable fan blowers or ventilating apparatus; each slab or porous diaphragm
is lnted to its grate, so as to make each of them form a separate filtering
surface. which latter are connected together in such manner as to form a
vessel. two, three, or more of which vessels being connected in series, and by
means of proper pipes and cocks communicated between each other: and with
proper inlet and outlet pipes. in such manner that if required ench series of
vessels may be made use of either separately, or several or all of them simul-
taneously. When water is to be filtered one or more of these filtering vessels
may contain charcoal or other suitable purifying medium. The filtration in
these vessels takes place from the inside towards the outside.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said George White in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I. GEORGE
WHITE, of 7, Pancras Lane, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George White, Her special licence that I, the said George White. my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others ns I, the said George
White, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use. exercise. and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man. an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
FILTERING OR PURIFYING WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS," it has been communicated
to me from abroad by Mr. Jean Antoine Victor Burg, Doctor of Medicine, of
Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that I. the said George White,
my executors or administrators. by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to

page_text: be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent:
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George White, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The Invention consists in making use for the filtering or purifying of water,
or of solutions of acids, alkaline, or other substances of thin porous filtering
partitions formed of any suitable mineral, vegetable, or animal substance, or a
combination of them, according to the nature of the liquid to be filtered, which
partitions may, for instance, be thin slabs of natural or artificial filtering stone
with or without carbon in its composition, a thin layer of a felted, woven, or
any other suitable fabric or product, which slabs or layers by their thinness
would not offer sufficient resistance to the pressure exerted on them by the
liquid if they were not, according to my Invention, carried or supported and
cemented on proper frames, grates, or railings forming casing for the appa-
ratus, the said slabs being further together edgewise in such manner that each
filtering partition acts independantly of the adjoining one, and may be thus
caused to cease its filtration, or be altogether removed and replaced by another
one, without interfering with the working of the remainder of the apparatus,
whilst the said frames or grates are held together so as to constitute a strong
casing for each apparatus, and make this latter form a polyhedral vessel, pre-
senting a large amount of filtering surface comparatively to its bulk, the out-
side or casing of each apparatus offering either an open or a closed surface
with suitable exit openings for the filtered liquid, according as required.
In order to make the nature of the Invention more fully understood I will
in this description refer to the annexed Drawings, in the various Figures of
which corresponding parts are indicated by the same letters of reference.
The Figs. 1 and 2 respectively show a perspective view, partly cut off, and
an elevation view, of two arrangements of apparatus for filtering water. In
Fig. 2 the filtering slabs or partitions are not represented, in order better to
show the arrangement of the grates forming the outer casing, against the inner
surface of the cross bars of which are cemented the said slabs or filtering
partitions.
The apparatus is composed of a series of superposed recipients A, A', A²,
each of which consists of a casing or grate of cast iron, stoneware, or other
suitable solid material not acted upon by the liquid to be filtered, which casing
or grate is divided into compartments either by cross bars e (as in Fig. 2), or

page_text: by cross blades a (as in Fig. 1), inclined towards the outside and overhanging
each other, against the inner ribs of which cross bars e, the inner edge of
which blades a are cemented to the filtering slabs b in such manner as to make
each slab form a separate filtering part independant of the adjoining ones,
while the entire forms a set of filtering vessels A, A', A³, communicating
together, and which in respect to the effect produced may be compared to the
porous vessels called alcazazas, made use of in Spain and other countries for
cooling water. C is the entrance, and D the exit opening for the water.
which latter in having filtered through the slabs or other filtering material.
will fall in drops or in small streams from the blades a or the cross bars con
the platforms, and thereby become impregnated with air. A valve opening
towards the inside must be provided at the top of the apparatus for allowing
the free entrance of the air therein in case the supply of water in the interior
should fall short; and a 'manhole h must be provided for allowing, if required,
to enter the apparatus.
For filtering very large quantities of water, such, for instance, as are
required for the supply of cities, as London or Paris, a sufficient number of
my apparatus formed into separate series, each series provided with a charcoal
filter for entirely disinfecting the water, are provided 'round a spacious open
gallery the exit pipe of each series has a stop-cock and communicates with
a main exit pipe. whilst the water that has filtered through the apparatuses is
conducted in a large vault or reservoir, on the top of which is kept a thick
layer of water in order to keep the water in the vault cool. In order that the
filtering slabs should remain clean, the water must enter the apparatus under
a heavy pressure, and more water ought to enter therein than is allowed to
filter through it, which will cause this surplus water to pass in a strong current
or draught through the inside of the apparatus, and thereby clean the surface
of the filtering slabs from any impurities that otherwise would collect thereon,
after which this surplus water may run into the street sewers or serve for
other purposes.
In order that the water filtered through the apparatus may become pro-
perly acrated a strong draught of air must exist in the gallery, or be obtained
by means of fan blowers, whilst in case of frost the gallery may be covered with
straw mattrasses or other means.
For filtering solutions requiring to be kept as much as possible out of
contact with the air, or which do not require a special aeration, the outside of
the casing must not offer an open surface, but a closed one, whilst the inner
surface is provided with proper flutings or gutters for conducting the filtered
liquid to proper exit openings, the orifices of which may be shut when in case

page_text: of repair or otherwise it should be required to prevent the filtering from con-
tinuing through the slab corresponding with that compartment of the casing
to which the said exit opening belongs.
Fig. 3 shows an outside view of one of the sides of a casing arranged in this
manner, while the Figs. 4 and 5 respectively represent section thereof taken
over the lines X, X', and Y, Y', of Fig. 3. E is the casing, the inner surface
of which is provided with gutters d formed by the partitions i and i', on which
latter are cemented the edges of the filtering slabs b; K are the exit openings
for the filtered liquid, which may be allowed to run off by the gutters i, pro-
'vided, if required, at the outside of the apparatus; by shutting consequently
one or more of the exit openings K the filtration will cease in the slabs corre-
sponding with those openings, whilst the same will continue in the remainder
of the apparatus. For obtaining a similar result in the apparatus represented
in the Figs. 1 & 2, the casings of which are open at the outside, that part of
these latter corresponding with those filtering slabs as are wished to be put
instantaneously out of action, are only to be shut up during the time required
by any suitable means, for instance, by applying thereto a layer of clay or any
suitable cement, or other means, which will then allow the removal, for
instance, of the said slabs, and replacing the same by others or filling up any
holes, or performing any repairs required, without interrupting the filtration of
the remainder of the apparatus.
Having thus described and particularly ascertained the nature of the Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be put into effect, I wish it
to be understood that I do not claim as my Invention the use of natural or
artificial stones or slabs, felted or other fabrics or materials, for the filtering of
water or other liquids, but what I consider to be novel and original, and there-
fore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, is,-
i
I
1
1st, making subservient for the filtering or purifying of water or other
liquids, natural or artificial filtering slabs or other suitable porous bodies, or
filtering partitions, much thinner than those hitherto made use of for that
purpose, by applying and, if required, cementing the said thin slabs or filtering
partitions on suitable frames, casings, grates, or railings arranged and connected
together in such manner as to make the whole form a filtering apparatus,
presenting a large amount of filtering surface in a comparatively small com-
pass, the outside of which apparatus may either offer large open spaces or
other arrangements for obtaining a suitable division and aeration, or a cooling
f the filtered liquid, or be shut and provided only with the necessary means
or allowing the exit of the filtered liquid.
:
1

page_text: 2nd, when filtering slabs or other similar filtering partitions of small re-
sisting power are made use of, the suitable subdivision of the filtering in the
apparatus by means of suitably cementing, in order to isolate between each
other and render independant in their effect the said filtering slabs or partitions,
on the corresponding portions of the supporting grates or railings, with the
object of allowing to obviate easily any damage that should have occurred in
the apparatus, either by replacing the damaged slab or filtering partitions, or
by closing the corresponding portion of the grate or railing.
In witness whereof, I, the said George White, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
GEO. WHITE. (S.)