Automatic endless belt type filter

Claim 1

In a continuous automatic filter apparatus for removing impurities from liquid; a filter housing including opposed upright side walls and having a dirty fluid inlet and a clean fluid outlet; extending side walls of said housing being provided each with opposite inwardly projecting guide flanges, each of said guide flanges extending in a continuous loop along said opposed side walls, a continuous rotatable filter assembly disposed in said housing for intermittent incremental movement along said guide flanges; power means including a pair of coaxial drive sprockets and a pair of drive chains trained around the drive sprockets, each of said drive chains being composed of a plurality of roller members interconnected by link members for movement of the chain along said guide flanges; securing means projecting inwardly from each of said chains for attachment of said continuous rotatable filter assembly thereto; first continuous sealing means between the opposed marginal edges of the continuous filter assembly and said guide flanges; said continuous rotatable filter assembly comprising an endless screen, a washing means disposed in said housing between said side walls including a fluid dispenser extending across said continuous rotatable filter assembly for ejection of pressurizied fluid therefrom against said filter assembly and; automatic control means for rotation of said drive sprocket in response to the degree of contamination of said filter mediums to rotate said filter assembly for movement of the contaminated filter mediums through said washing means; the improvement which comprises a plurality of individual filter mediums supported on said screen disposed adjacent each other along the entire length of said screen; means securing the plurality of individual filter mediums to said securing means projecting inwardly from said roller chains; a second continuous sealing means disposed in the bottom of said housing between said side walls; said sealing means extending through the housing along the lower return section of said filter assembly and partially into the upwardly inclined section of said filter assembly, said sealing means being in the form of a continuous loop attached to the inner surfaces of said opposed guide flanges to thereby close the gap between said guide flanges to prevent entrance of dirty fluid into said filter assembly from the bottom portion of said housing.