TRUVIDIONAL DIBUIDICATION,
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Apr., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 24th Jan., 1895-Accepted, 24th Apr., 1895
TRUVIDIONAL DIBUIDICATION,
Improvements in or relating to Filter-presses.
I, HARRINGTON FARMER, of the Excelsior Works, Castle Gresley, near
Burton-on-Trent, in the County of Derby, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows :-
This invention relates to improvements in filter-presses, such as are used for
instance by potters and others.
Hitherto this class of filter-press has been made either of wood or iron with
ribbed or corrugated trays to allow the water to pass behind the cloths to outlets,
or from the corrugations to outlets. In either case the trays are heavy and
cumbersome and in presses made of wood the operation of fixing the cloths and
connecting the tray with the main feed pipe had to be repeated for each operation.
Whilst, when iron trays are used they are arranged to let the cake of clay drop out
underneath.
Now the object of this invention is to obviate these difficulties and to provide a
light yet substantial, perfect equilibrium press requiring less manual labour in its
operation and at the same time producing better, cleaner, and an increased amount
of work.
According to this invention the filter-press may be constructed partly of wood,
iron, steel, brass, copper, or other suitable metal, and it consists of a stationary
head and a cross-piece kept at suitable distances apart by means of any desired
number of suitable tension bars or stretchers. Between the fixed press head and
cross-piece is mounted so as to slide freely on the side tension bars a movable head.
The movable head is arranged to run on rollers on the tension bars. The said
rollers are fixed near the inner edge of the head so that when it is drawn or noved
away from the trays its top will fall or lean back into an angular position for the
removal of any cake adhering to its face. After the cake has been removed the
movable head may be run back to the cross-piece for allowing the trays to be
separated or otherwise operated. The said heads may be made of any suitable
metal, such as for instance cast iron or steel, and they are recessed on their inner
faces to receive a sheet of woven wire webbing or of perforated metal plate (such
as brass, copper, zinc, or the like) of a pliable nature not liable to break, of any
suitable thickness and gauge. When wire webbing is employed it may be of brass,
copper, iron, or steel, plain or galvanized. The said sheets of wire webbing or
perforated plates may or may not be corrugated, and they are placed in the recesses
of the said heads and retained in position by means of strips or frames of wood or
other suitable material being screwed on their outer edges.
Between the movable head and one of the fixed heads are inserted any desired
number of trays provided with a suitable feed inlet and any desired number of
outlets. They are also armed with suitable pins or studs to which the filter cloths
are fixed, or the said cloths may be fixed thereto as hereafter described.
The trays may be constructed of any suitable material such as for instance wood,
iron, steel or other suitable metal or of one or more of these combined, but they are
preferably formed of wood in the form of a frame of or about the same size as the
press heads, and provided with a groove or recess on their inner faces or edges for
the reception of a sheet of woven wire webbing or perforated metal plate which may

page_text: The
be retained in the groove or recess by any suitable and convenient means.
trays are securely held together with a metal handle at each end arranged to form.
corner plates on their top and bottom sides which are firmly secured thereto by any
convenient means.
The underside of the handles rest upon the upper surface of the tension rods
which are in a line with the centre of the trays so as to facilitate the turning of the
trays into a horizontal position whenever it is required to remove the cakes of clay
or other material operated upon.
In addition to these corner pieces the trays may be provided with any desired
number (say for instance four) of bolts which are passed through the trays from top
to bottom for preventing them expanding when internal pressure is applied. On
the top ends of these bolts may be formed studs or pins for retaining the filter-cloths
in position.
The press may be closed up by means of a toggle lever (consisting of two arms
jointed to a fixing attached by a tightening screw to a stretcher) on each side
thereof which may or may not be jointed to the cross-piece and raised or lowered
into position by hand and then tightened by means of a screw or screws.
For heavy or large presses any desired number of longitudinal bolts may be
employed for making it additionally secure.
The usual arrangement of feed-pump, air-vessel, and valve may be mounted on
suitable framework attached to or combined with the press, and the said pump may
be driven by any suitable motive power.
Dated the Twenty-third day of April 1894
HARRINGTON FARMER,
By W. Fairburn-Hart,
Agent.
I, HARRINGTON FARMER, of the Excelsior Works, Castle Gresley, near Burton-
on-Trent, in the County of Derby, 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 to improvements in filter-presses, such as are used for
instance by potters and others, in which the clay having been mixed to, say, the
consistency of cream, is pumped from its reservoir on to the filter trays, where the
water is allowed to escape whilst the clay is allowed to collect or be deposited on
the filter-cloths and form what is termed "a cake," weighing from two to three
quarters of a
hundred-weight. The cake is rolled up when it is required to be
removed from the tray.
Hitherto this class of filter-press, as used in England has been made either
of wood or iron with ribbed or corrugated trays (each about three inches thick, and
frequently weighs two hundred-weight without the "cake") to allow the water to
pass behind the cloths to outlets, or from the corrugations to outlets. In either
case the trays are heavy and cumbersome and in presses ordinarily made of wood
the operation of fixing the cloths and connecting the tray with the main feed pipe
had to be repeated for each operation. Whilst, when iron trays are used they are
arranged to let the "cake" of clay drop out underneath.
Now the object of this invention is to obviate these difficulties and to provide a
light yet substantial, perfect equilibrium press requiring less manual labour in
its operation and at the same time producing better, cleaner, and an increased
amount of work,

page_text: n which:-
Fig. 1 is a part side and part sectional elevation of a filter press constructed
according to this invention.
Fig. 2 a part sectional elevation of the pump and part end elevation of the
press.
Fig. 3 a plan looking at the top.
Fig. 4 a part plan showing the press and its filter trays partly open and partly
closed.
Fig. 5 and Fig. 5ª are respectively a plan and sectional elevation of one of the
filter trays with the cloth removed.
Fig. 6 a part sectional elevation of the trays showing the feed inlet.
Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a part front elevation and a side elevation of the
end plate.
Fig. 9 a sectional elevation showing the method of forming aud securing parts of
filtering trays in position.
Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively a part front elevation and a section of a portion
of the wire webbing forming centre of the tray, and the feed inlet.
Figs. 94, 10 and 11 are respectively a part sectional plan, a part frout
elevation, and a part end and sectional elevation of a tray with a wooden centre.
Figs. 12 to 19 are elevations and sections of parts of the feed in detail.
Like parts in all the views are marked with similar letters of reference.
According to this invention the filter-press may be constructed partly of wood,
iron, steel, brass, copper, or other suitable metal, and it consists of a stationary
head A and a cross-piece B both of which are made of metal and they are kept
at suitable distances apart by means of any desired number of suitable wrought iron
tension bars or stretchers C, two of these stretchers are shown in the drawings.
Between the fixed press head A and cross-piece B is mounted so as to slide freely
on the side tension bars C a movable head D also made of metal. The movable
head D is arranged to run on rollers D¹, see Figs. 7 and 8, on the tension bars.
The rollers are mounted in bearings D, below the handles D³, capable of being
operated by the hand lever D near the inner edge of the head so that when it is
drawn or moved away by the hand lever D' from the trays E its top will fall or lean
back into an angular position or the position shown at Fig. 4 for the removal of
any "cake" adhering to its face.
After the "cake" has been removed the movable head D may be run back to the
cross-piece B for allowing the trays E to be separated and similarly operated.
The said heads may be made of any suitable metal, such as for instance cast iron or
steel, and the heads A and D are recessed on their inner faces as at d see Fig. 8 to
receive a sheet of woven wire webbing or of perforated metal plate F of a pliable
nature, not liable to break, of any suitable thickness and gauge. When wire
webbing F is employed it may be of brass, copper, iron, or steel, plain or galvanized.
The said sheets of wire webbing or perforated plates, such as zinc, may or may not
be corrugated, but they are preferably corrugated, and they are placed in the
recesses d of the heads A and D and retained in position by means of strips G or
frames of wood or other suitable material being screwed on their outer edges.
Distance pieces F' are provided on one or both sides, say alternately, of the wire
webbing F and are of such a thickness as to be level with the frame G or E.
Over the face of the wire webbing F is placed one or more layers of canvas and
filter cloth as will be hereafter described for the tray's E. It will be readily
understood that practically the woven wire webbing F, the canvas, and filter cloth
when fixed to the press heads as described forms about one half of a tray E.
Outlets G are provided in the strip G for the escape of the water after it
has passed through the filtering medium.
Between the movable head D and the fixed head A are inserted any desired
number of trays E-forty-one of these trays are shown in the drawings but their

page_text: number may be increased or diminished as circumstances require. The trays E are
all constructed alike, and as follows:-
convenient
They may be constructed of any suitable material such as for instance wood,
iron, steel or other suitable metal or of one or more of these combined, but they are
preferably formed of wood in the form of a frame E of or about the same size as
the press-heads A and D and provided with a groove d or recess on their inner
faces or edges for the reception of a sheet of woven wire webbing or perforated
metal plate F which may be retained in the groove or recess by any suitable and
means. On the wire webbing F is also arranged any desired
number of distance pieces F* say five for each tray. These distance pieces are
fixed by screws, alternately on each side of the webbing F. These distance
pieces are made to be level with the frame E and when the trays are in
position in the press are employed for strengthening the wire webbing and
preventing it from bulging. Or in some cases and when preferred instead
of using wire webbing F I employ a centre of wood FX provided with vertical
grooves and armed with distance pieces F. The centre F* is let into
a wooden frame Exx all as shown at Figs. 94, 104 and 11ª. I would have it
understood that where wire webbing is described as being used, it may when
required be replaced by a vertically grooved wooden centre F*. The frames of the
trays are securely held together with a metal handle H at each end arranged to
form corner plates on their top and bottom sides which are firmly secured thereto
by any convenient means, such as by bolts H¹. The underside of the handles H
are arranged to rest upon the upper surface of the tension rods C which are in a line
with the centre of the trays but nearer to their inner or face edges so as to facilitate
the turning of the trays into a horizontal position (see Fig. 4) whenever it is
required to remove the "cakes" of clay, or other material operated upon,
therefrom.
In addition to these handled corner pieces H the trays E may be provided with
any desired number (say for instance four) of bolts I which are passed through the
trays from top to bottom for preventing them expanding when internal pressure is
applied from the pump. On the top ends of these bolts I and the bolts H¹ may be
formed studs or pins (see Fig. 5) for retaining the filter cloths K in position.
The wire webbing F may, for strengthening purposes, be corrugated say either
vertically or horizontally, -see Fig. 9-and in any suitable position; say for
instance in one corner of the wire webbing, as at Fig. 5, or in the framework E, as
at Fig. 6, is provided the service inlet J arranged as follows:-
When the service inlet J is formed in the frame E as at Fig. 6, that portion of
the frame is preferably made wider than the other portions. A hole is made in the
frame into which is inserted the socket Ex made in two portions screwed or other-
wise fixed together.
The flanges of the socket are preferably arranged to be within the frames, and
suitable openings communicating with grooves E** are provided in the frame for
the passage of the water and clay on to the filter cloths. But I prefer to arrange
the service inlet J in the wire webbing itself as shown at Fig. 5.
When so
arranged it is constructed as follows:-
A socket E, Figs. 9, 12, 13, is armed with a flange e and on its periphery are
two or more inclined projections e arranged to form a portion of a wedge or part
of a screw thread. On the face of the flange e are provided say two or more
distance pieces e². On the periphery of the barrel portion of the socket is placed
the ring or nut E³, see Figs. 15 to 18, provided with a flange e and armed on its
inner periphery with two or more inclined projections arranged to engage or
mesh with the projections e on the socket. The opening J, see Fig. 10, in the
wire webbing F is surrounded and strengthened with a metal ring or eyelet F
(see Figs. 9 to 11) which encloses the "raw" edges of the wire webbing within its
flanges F.
The socket E¹ is arranged to pass through the filtering medium said filtering

page_text: medium consisting of the cloth K and hemp or jute sheet commonly termed a
"Harding sheet " L, which may be sewn round the orifice through which the
socket passes, and it is secured in position by the ring or nut E.
The filter cloth K and sheet L are also provided at or about their centre,
transversely, with a number of eyeletted holes through which the pins i pass. The
cloth K and sheet L are thrown over the top of the frame E of the tray (see Fig. 5A)
with the pins through their eyeletted holes. The barrel of the socket E' is then
threaded through the openings in the two portions of the cloth K and of the sheet L,
and of the wire webbing F with the latter between the two layers of the cloth and
sheet, as at Fig. 9. The ring E' is then passed on to the barrel of the socket E¹,
the projections e passing through the recess e* of the nut and it is then partially
rotated for bringing the faces of the inclined projections el e in contact with each
other aud as it were screwing the cloth K, sheet L, and wire webbing F together
and locking them in position.
'
The inlet service J is connected by pipe J with the feed pump consisting of a
pump plunger O working in the barrel O. The pump barrel O₁ is bolted to the
head A, and a reciprocating motion is imparted to the plunger O from any suitable
source of power through driving pulley P mounted on shaft P, gear wheels QQ'—
mounted respectively on shafts P, Q, carried in pedestals on the framework R
fixed to the head A-and connecting rod S attached at one end to the plunger O
and pin Q fixed to the wheel Q
The press may be closed up by means of a toggle lever (consisting of two arms M, M³,
jointed to a fixing M attached by a tightening screw M³ to a stretcher M') on each
side of the press which may or may not be jointed to the cross-piece B and raised
or lowered into position as at Fig. 1 by hand and then tightened by means of a
screw or screws. The toggles and parts connected therewith in dotted lines at
Fig. 1 shows them raised from their work for opening the press.
For heavy or large presses any desired number of longitudinal bolts N may be
employed for making it additionally secure.
The herein described press may also be used for filtering water and other liquids.
The action of the press is as follows:-
The trays E having been covered with the filter cloths K and sheets L, and the
sockets Ex or E' fixed in position as described, the trays are then placed in the
press between the head A and cross-piece B, as at Fig. 1, with the lower portion
of their handles H resting upon the tension bars C and the frames E, distance
pieces F, and projections on socket E' in contact with the respective pieces of
each tray. The loose head D is then brought up to the trays and secured in
position by the toggles M M. The belt is then thrown on to the driving pulley P
and by means of the shafts, gear-wheels, and connecting rod the plunger O is
caused to reciprocate, when the prepared clay will be drawn through pipe O' and
along pipe J'in the inlet service J; and distributed to the trays. The projections e¹
on the sockets by their contact with the unflanged end of the preceeding socket
forms an opening for the prepared clay to pass to the filter cloths. The clay in
solution is deposited upon the cloth K whilst the water will pass through it and
escape through the openings G. When the filtering operation has been sufficiently
performed the pump is stopped, the toggles thrown back, and the loose head D ard
trays are successively drawn back, tilted on to their sides, as at Fig. 4 and the
"cake" relled up for removal purposes. Should the pressure during the filtering
operation become too great or should it be desired to immediately relieve the
pressure the valve O' will or may be raised..
The press by the arrangement herein described ouly takes about half an hour,
instead of one and a half to two hours to empty and connect it after being emptied.
The press also possesses the following advantages namely
-
(a) By the application of woven wire web For corrugated or perforated metal
of a pliable nature to filter press the trays are not so liable to break and the
whole is placed in equilibrium. (6) By being able to turn down the trays E on
the tension or side rods C, the emptying of the press is both easier and quicker than

page_text: the wooden press, and easier and cleaner than the iron press. (c) By being able
to turn back the movable head D for the purpose of removing the "cake" there-
from, the danger of the "cake" falling is obviated. (d) The trays are only about
one fourth the weight of those of the same capacity in wood and iron presses, but
they are arranged to have ample strength owing to the principle of construction.
(e) The studs or pegs i fix and retain the cloths K and sheets L in their proper
position. (f) By the application of the toggle levers for tightening up of filter
presses, a great saving of time is effected.
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
1. A press for filtering clay, water or other liquids, such as described having a
series of trays constructed as described, mounted between a fixed head and a movable
head, said trays and the movable head capable of being turned into a horizontal
position for the removal of the "cake" as set forth.
2. The combination, in a press for filtering clay, water or other liquids such as
herein described, of the half trays fixed to the faces of the fixed and movable press
heads, said half trays consisting of a frame G fixed to the face of said press heads
and provided with outlets G', centre F as described mounted in said frames in
front of the faces of the press beads, and armed with distance pieces F2 and the
pins fixed to the said heads for holding the eyeletted filter cloths K and sheets L
in position in front of the centre F substantially as herein set forth and illustrated.
3. In a filter press such as herein described and illustrated the combination of
the fixed and movable heads A and D having half trays fixed to their faces, and
armed with pins for retaining the eyeletted filter cloths and sheets in position, said
movable head being armed with handles and rollers arranged near the face of the
head and forming pivots upon which it may be tilted into an angular position for
the removal of the "cake as set forth.
4. In a filter press such as described, the combination of the fixed head A, cross
piece B connected to said head by tension bars C, and having a series of filter
trays E and a movable head D interposed between the fixed head A and_cross
piece B and arranged to be supported on said tension bars C by handles H and
rollers D' as set forth.
5. In a filter press such as described, a filter tray having a light frame E
provided with outlets G and also armed with corner pieces forming the handles H
for supporting it on the tension bar of the press, a perforated or other centre F
mounted in grooves in the said frame, and armed with distance pieces F, the said
frame being stayed with bolts I armed with pins i for retaining the eyeletted filter
cloth and sheet in position over the face of the wire webbing as set forth.
6. In a filter press substantially as herein described, the combination of the fixed
head A, cross piece 13, connected to said head by tension bars C, the movable
head D, said fixed and movable heads having half trays fixed to their faces, trays E
constructed as described provided with outlets G' and armed with pins i said trays
being interposed between said fixed and movable heads and suspended from the
tension bars C by the handles H forming part of the corner pieces and the pivot
upon which they may be turned into a horizontal position for the removal of the
"cake," and the service inlet J formed in each tray as described substantially as
herein set forth.
7. In a filter press substantially such as described the service inlet composed of
the socket E' armed with the flange e, screw inclines e', on the external periphery
of the socket, and projections e the barrel portions of said socket being arranged
to pass through the eyelet F of the wire webbing F, and the flanged ring E' armed
ou its internal periphery with screw inclined projections e arranged to engage with
said projections el for securely locking the filter cloths and sheets in position over
the face of the wire webbing, as set forth.
8. The combination in a filter press such as described of the toggles composed of

page_text: the arms M. M¹ jointed to the screw block M³, and the stretch M* arranged to rest
upon the upper faces of the said arms and connected to the block M' by a screw M'
with the movable and fixed heads of the press, tension bars, and cross-piece as
set forth.
9. The combination in a filter press as described of the fixed head A and cross
piece B connected together by tension bars C, movable head D and trays E.
constructed as described interposed between the said fixed head and cross-piece and
suspended from the tension bars by the rollers and handles, the pump, and mechanisni
as described for actuating said pump attached to said fixed press head and connected.
to the service inlet as and for the purposes described.
Dated this Twenty-second day of January 1895.
HARRINGTON FARMER,
By W. Fairburn-Hart,
Agent.