CA1295263C

CA1295263C - Filter press

Info

Publication number: CA1295263C
Application number: CA000520212A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Tetsuya Kurita
Original assignee: Kurita Machinery Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Kurita Machinery Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 1985-12-03
Filing date: 1986-10-09
Publication date: 1992-02-04
Anticipated expiration: 2009-02-04
Also published as: CN1013924B; CN86106813A

Abstract

Abstract:
The invention relates to an improvement of the construction of filter plates which are mounted on a filter press. The filter plates comprise a frame, flat filtrate drainage guide means disposed in the frame, and supporting means for movably supporting the filtrate drainage guide means in the frame. The filtrate drainage guide means of such construction can be prevented from being broken if filtration pressure applied to one face of the filtrate drainage guide means of the filter plate is much different from that applied to the other face of the filtrate drainage guide means because the filtrate drainage guide means can be movably provided in the frame.

Description

Filter press The present invention relates to a filter press, and more particularly, to an improvement of filter plates for a filter press.
Filter plates used for filter presses having various structures are known in the art.~
A known structure is shown in one of the accompanying drawings, in which: ~
Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevational view showing the fundamental operation of a filter press accordlng to a first embodiment of the present invention, ' Fig. 2 is a front view showing the relationship between a filter plate and a filter cloth of a filter press according~to the firs~t~embodiment~
Fiq. 3 is a partially sectional view showing a plurality of filter plates disposed in a~ filter press according to the Eirst~embodlment~,~
Fig. 4 is a schematic,sectional view of the filter '::
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~5;~i3 cloth shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a side view showing three filter plates according to the first embodiment in which two filter plates located at the right side are closed and one filter plate at the left side is opened, Figs. 6 and 7 are, respectively, a front view and sectioned side elevational view showing the relationship between a filter plate and a filter cloth according to a modification of the first embodiment, Fig. 8 is a schematic side elevational view of a filter cloth according to a second modification of the first embodiment, Fig. 9 is a front view of the second modification showing the relationship between a filter plate and a filter cloth, Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of filter plates and filter frames according to the second modification which are closed, Fig. 11 is a side view of a filter press of a third ~0 modification of the first embodiment, Fig. 12 is a schematic sectional view of an essential portion of a filter press according to a second embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 13 is a view viewed in the direction of a line XIII-XIII in which the filter cloth is partially cut away, Fig. 14 (I) is a front view of members for maintaining the space between filter cloths and vibrating filter cloths, Fig. 14 (II) is a sectional view of the member taken along a line A - A in Fig. 14 (I), Fig. 14 (III) is a sectional view of tha member taken along a line B - B in FigO 14 (I), Fig. 15 is a front view of a first modification of the second embodiment in which a filter plate provided with a pressing diaphragm is covered with a filter cloth, Fig. 16 is a sectional view of filter plates and filter cloths according to the first modification shown in Fig. 15, Fig. 17 (I) is a front view of a member for maintain-ing space between filter cloths and vibrating Eilter cloths according to a modifiction of the second embodiment, Fig. 17 (II) is a sectional view of the member Eor maintaining space between filter cloths and vibrating cloths shown in Fig. 17 (I), Figs. 18 and 19 are, respectively, front views showing a member for maintaining space between filter cloths and vibrating cloths according to another modification, Fig. 20 is a schematic sectional view showing the essential portion of a filter press according to another modification of the second embodiment, Fig. 21 is a front view showing a framej a member or maintaining space between filter cloths and vibrating cloths, and a raw liquid feed plate shown in Fig. 20, Fig. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the member for maintaining space between filter cloths and vibrating filter cloths shown in Fig. 21, Fig. 23 is a sectional view showing another modifica-tion of the member for maintaining space between filter cloths and vibrating filter cloths, Fig. 24 is a top plan showing a further modification of the member for maintaining space between filter cloths 1~ and vibrating filter cloths, Fig. 25 is a sectional view of the modification taken along a line XXV - XXV in Fig. 24, Fig. 26 is a partially broken front view in which a filter plate of a third embodiment of the present inven-tion is covered with a filter cloth, Figs. 27 and 28 are a side elevational view and a sectional side elevational view of the two filter plates shown in Fig. 26, Fig. 29 is a front view of a filtrate collecting ~0 member provided with a space maintaining member shown in Fig. ~6, Fig. 30 is a sectional si~de elevational view of filtrate collecting member shown in Fig. 29, Fig. 31 is a front view of a filter cloth on which a filtrate collecting member according to a modification of the third embodiment i.s mounted, . " .
, .
,. : .

~2g~3 Fi~. 32 is a sectional side elevational view of the filter plate on which the filtrate collecting member and the filter cloth show in Fig. 31, Fig. 33 is a front view in which a space maintaining member of another modification of the third embodiment is mounted on a filtrate collecting member, Fig. 34 is a sectional side elevational view taken along a line XXXIV - XXXIV in Fig. 33, and Fig. 35 is a sectional side elevational view of a conventional filter plate.
Fig. 35 is one of the known filter plate structures in which a filtrate drainage guide member 60b or a filtrate floor, for receiving a filtrate passing through a filter cloth and subsequently guiding it downwards, is formed in integration with a rectagular frame 60a, and many recesses 60c, ..., 60c are formed on both faces of the filtrate drainage guide member 60b, whereby the filtrate which has passed through the filter cloth flows down smoothly.
According to the above-described structure, however, the filtrate drainage guide member is integrally fixed to the frame, and further, these members are all~rigid bodies, so that when a large difference in pressure arises between one face and the other face of each filter plate during a filtration operation, the filtrate drainaye guide member is liable to deform against the frame; which may lead to a breakage of the filtrate drainage guide member.

.' `. . ., !:" ' ' It is an object of the present invention to provide a ~ilter press in which a filtrate drainage guide member is prevented from being broken when pressure applied to one face of a filter plate is much different from that applied to the other face.
According to the invention there is provided a filter press having a plurality of filter plates; a plurality of pairs of filter cloths each pair being disposed between the neighboring plates; clamping means for clamping the filter plates in the direction in which the plates are arranged, wherein after a plurality of filter plates are clamped and a raw liquid is introduced between each pair of the filter cloths so as to filter the raw liquid and the filtrate passes through the filter cloths and flows downward along the filter plate, and filter residue is maintained between each pair of the filter cloths, char-acterizing in that each of the filter plates has: a frame forming a closed loop; a flat filtrate drainage guide means; and supporting means for movably supporting said ~0 filtrate drainage guide means in said frame.
Accordingly, in general terms, the invention provides a filter press which is so constructed that the frame is formed separately from the filtrate drainage guide member.
The advantages obtained by this construction are as follows: Firstly, the above~described construction permits the filtrate drainage guide means to move in the .. . ....
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~2~ 3 frame independently or in unison with a filter cloth even if the pressure applied to one face of the drainage guide means is much different from the pressure applied to the other face, thereby eliminating the possibility S of a breakage of the filtrate drainage guide means.
Furthermore, the construction facilitates a replace-ment of the filtrate drainage means within the frame.
Still further, the replacement of a filtrate drainage guide means with a filtrate drainage guide means of a 1~ different thickness can vary the dimension of the filter chamber formed between the filtrate drainage guide means, a filter plate and the filtrate drainage guide means, and a neighboring filter plate depending on the property of the raw liquid which is to be filtered, thus facilitating an adjustment of the percentage of water contained in a filter residue. Still further, the configuration and width provided with a filtrate drainage guide means can be varied by replacing the filtrate drainage guide means with a filtrate drainage guide means of a different configura-2~ tion and width depending on the property of a raw liquid which is to be filtered. Still further, the material which is used for the frame can be different:from that which is used for the filtrate drainage guide means, so that a highly rigid material can be selec~ed for the frame, while the material for the filtrate drainage guide means can be most appropriately selected for the raw liquid which is to be Eiltered. Still further, light filter plates can be provided and accordingly the energy which is generated by a filter plate-driving unit can be reduced by using a material lighter than that which is used for the frame. Still further, since ~he frame and filtrate drainage guide means can be separated, it is easy to carry the filter plates, and the filter press can be repaired by replacing only the filtrate drainage guide means if the filtrate drainage guide means becomes broken while the filter press is being assembled or a raw liquid is being filtered. Compared with this construction, since in a conventional plate in which a frame body is integra-ted with a filtrate guide means, the replacement work is troublesome; that is, when a filtrate drainage guide means or a frame is broken, it is necessary to replace an entire ilter plate instead of replacing ~ust the broken part.
Furthermore, the filtrate drainage guide means can be independently vibrated because the filtrate drainage guide means is separately provided, and since the vibration of ~0 the iltrate drainage guide means causes vibration of the filter cloth, ~ilter residue may be prevented from clogg-ing the ilter cloth.
A detailed description of the present invention is given in the following with reference to Figs~ 1 to 34 ~5 of the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings, Figs. 1 though 11 show the first :

~Z9~2~3 embodiment of the present invention. Figs. 12 through 25 show the second embodiment, and Figs. 26 through 34 show the third embodiment.
A filter press according to the present invention com-prises, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, side beams 12 and 12 provided between a front stand 30 and a rear stand 31; many Eilter plates 2, ..., 2 disposed between the front and rear stands 30 and 31 in such a way that the filter plates are slidably hung by the side beams 12 and 12 in the longitudi-nal direction thereof. Each of the filter plates comprises a frame 1 which forms a closed loop; flat filtrate drainage guide means 3, movably disposed in the frame 1; and support-ing means 5, for movably supporting the filtrate drainage guide means 3, in the frame 1. A pair of filter cloths 5 and 5 are disposed between neighboring filter plates. A
movable plate 36 is disposed between the rear stand 31 and the filter plate 2 positioned nearest the rear stand 31.
The movable plate 36 is advanced toward the front stand 30 by a driving unit 29 on the rear stand 31 so that the 2~ filter plates 2, ..., 2 may be clamped to each other.
Thereafter, a raw liquid is introduced, with pressure applied, into a filter chamber 13 for filtration. Then, the filtrate flows down through the filter cloth along the filter plate and filter residue is held between the pair of Eilter cloths 5 and 5. After the filtration is complete, the movable plate 36 is moved back so as to space the filter plates 2, ..., 2 from each other.

-In the first embodiment, the supporting ~eans is composedof the filter cloths 5 and 5d per se. Further~ as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the pair of filter cloths 5 and 5 are inter-posed between the neighboring filter plates 2 and 2. Each of the filter plates 2 is approximately square and the periphery of the filter plate 2 is provided with the square frame 1.
The ~rame 1 is provided with a filtrate drainage guide mem-ber 3 as the above-described filtrate drainage guide means therein separately formed. The filter cloth 5 is used as 1~ the supporting means.
The frame 1 of the filter plate 2 is composed of a metal, a synthetic resin or woodl and forms a closed rectangular loop and is provided with ears lb at both sides of the upper and lower portions thereof. Each ear lb has a filtrate col-lecting hole la which passes therethrough and a communicatingpassage lc which connects the filtrate collecting hole la to the surface of the filtrate drainage guide member 3. The frame 1 is provided with gripping hands 4 at both sides thereof at the middle in the vertical direction, and a curved protrusion ld is formed at the middle of the upper portion thereof. A sliding of the gripping hands 4 on a side beam 12 moves the filter~plate 2 along the side beam 12.
The lower end portions of a pair of arms 7 and 7 are pivo-tally connected to the respective gripping hands 4 at the end faces thereof by hinges 11. The upper portions of an arm 7 is pivotally connected by hinges 8 to the upper portion of an arm 7 pivotally connected to the gripping hand 4 of a .. . , . - .... ~ ,, ,', ...
.. ' .. ....

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~2~23 neighboring filter plate 2, thereby the space, between a pair of filter cloths 5 and S sandwiched between the filter plates 2 and 2, are spaced when the filter plates are spaced from each other and a filter residue 14 held between the filter cloths 5 and 5 can drop out.
The filtrate drainage guide member 3 of the filter plate ~ is composed of metal such as aluminum, iron, syn-thetic resin such as polypropylene, nylon, polystyrene or wood. The member 3 is a square plate which has a thickness of l to 5/l of that of the frame l. The contour of the member 3 is almost equal to that of the frame l. There may be a slight clearance between the outer periphery of the member 3 and that of the frame l. The member 3 is provided with many filter passa~es through holes 3b, ....
lS 3b and a protrusion ld at the upper portion provided with a raw liquid feed hole 3a which penetrated therethrough.
The construction of the filter cloths 5 and 5 are known in the art; that is, as shown in Fig. 4, the filters S and S are provided with raw liquid feed holes 5a and 5a at the respective upper portions thereof. The periphery oE the raw liquid feed holes 5a and 5a are sewn with the periphery of the cylindrical raw liquid feed communicating pieces 5b made of the same material as the filter cloth 5.
Attached to the respective upper portions of the filter cloth 5 are pockets 5c and 5c which are formed by sewing the folded upper portions thereof. A filter cloth-hanging ;2~3 bar h is inserted through the pockets 5c and 5c. The respective cloth filter hanging bars 6 are hung so as to swing around pins 9, through springs 10 and 10 serving as a means for vibrating filter cloths, whose both ends are penetrated into the respective upper portions of the pair of the arms 7 and 7. The cylindrical communicating pieces 5b of the filter cloth S is penetrated into the raw liquid feed hole 3a of the filtrate drainage guide member 3 so as to use the cylindrical communication pieces 5b as a con-necting member, whereby the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is supported by being hung from the filter cloth 5 and is parallel to the filter cloth 5. The lower portion of the eiltrate drainage guide member 3 is, as shown in Fig.
5, fixed by setscrews 15 and 15 detachably inserted into the lower portion of the frame L so ~hat the lower portion of the member 3 may not be swayed perpendicularly to the surface of the frame 1.
In the press filter having the above-described con-struction, the respective filter plates 2 are assembled ~0 as follo~s. One of the pair of filter cloths 5 and 5 is first rounded so as to penetrate it through the raw liquid feed hole 3a of the filtrate drainage guide member 3r and thereafter, it is unfolded so that both faces of the fil-trate drair.ge guide member 3 are covered with the filter cloths 5 and 5 and the cylindrical communication piece 5b oE the eilter cloth 5 is positioned inside the raw liquid Eeed hole 3a oE the Eiltrate drainage ~uide member 3.

. ' .

_~3~ 3 Thereafter, the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is hung by the filter cloths 5 and 5. Next, the frame 1 is supported by hanging it from side beam 12 by means of the respective gripping hand 4, and then, one of the filter cloths 5 is penetrated through the frame 1. Thereafter, the filtrate drainage guide member 3 supported by hanging from the filter cloths 5 and S is fitted in the frame 1. Next, the lower poxtion of the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is fixed to the frame 1 by the pins 15 and 15 so that the member 3 is not shaken against the frame 1. The respective filter cloth hanging bar 6 is inserted into the respective pockets 5c of the respective filter cloth 5, and then, both ends of the respective filter cloth hanging bars 6 are supported by hanging it from the arms 7 and 7 through the springs 10 and lS 10, with the result that the filter plate 2, in which the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is integrated with the frame 1, is assembled. Many filter plates thus formed are disposed inside the filter press. Thereafter, when the driving unit 29 is driven so that the movable plate 36 is ~0 advanced, and a pair of filter plates 2 and 2 at the right side in Fig. 5 are clamped to each other, a raw liquid is introduced from the respective raw llquid feed holes 3a into the filter chamber 13 formed ~between the pair of filter cloths 5 and 5 so as to filter the raw liquid in the filter chamber 13. The peripheral portions of the filter cloths 5 and 5 are sandwiched between the adjacent frames I and 1 and . . . ~

- 14 ~ 2~3 the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is connected to and supported by the filter cloths 5 and 5 located at the front and rear faces of the frame 1 through the cylindrical communicating piece 5b. Therefore, even if the filtrate guide member 3 is forced to move to one direction by the pressure of the raw liquid, the movement of the filtrate guide member 3 can be limited by the filter cloth 5. Thus, the movement of the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is very slight if any, so that the raw liquid is reliably filtered between the pair of the filter cloths 5 and 5 located between the neighboring filtrate drainage guide members 3 and 3~ When the movable plate 36 is moved back by the driving unit 29 so as to unclamp the filter plates 2 as shown in Fig. 5 in which two filter plates 2 and 2 at the right side are spaced, the pair of arms 7 and 7 disposed at both sides of the frame 1 are opened so as to space the pair of cloths 5 and 5, so that the filter residue 14 sandwiched between the filter cloths 5 and 5 are dropped. When a preparation work for a filtration is made, only the filtrate ~0 drainage guide member 3 is disassembled from the frame 1 and the filter cloths 5 and 5 as necessary, with the frame 1 supported by the side beams 12 and 12, so as to replace the disassembled filtrate drainage guide member 3 with a desired filtrate drainage guide member 3.
In the first embodiment, when the dimension of the filter chamber 13, formed between the filtrate drainage ..

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1s ~ 2~3 guide members 3 mounted on the filter plates 2 and 2 which are adjacent to each other, is changed depending on the property of a liquid which is to be filtered, the setscrew 15 and 15 are taken out of the frame 1 with the frame 1 secured to the filter press, and then, the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is disassembled from the frame 1, and subsequently the other filtrate drainage guide member 3, different in its thickness from that of the disassembled filtrate drainage guide member 3, is fitted in the frame body 1, and then, it is secured to the frame 1 by the ~setscrews 15 and 15, thereby the dimension of the filter chamber 13 being easily changed. Hence, a filtrate drainage guide member 3 is easily replaced. When it is desired to change the configuration or width of a filtrate flow passage lS groove; i.e., holes, 3b, ..., 3b depending on the property of a filtrate, a filtrate drainage guide member 3 having a different configuration or width in its filtrate flow passage groove is fitted in the frame 1, and then, the ~iltrate drainage guide member 3 is attached to the frame 1 ~0 by the setscrews 15 and 15. The material for the frame 1 ma~ be different from that of the filtrate drainage guide member 3, e.g., a highly rigid material can be used for the frame 1 and a material most suitable for the filtrate drainage guide member 3 can be selected depending on the ~5 property of a raw liquid. When the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is formed using a material lighter than that for - 16 - ~ 3 the frame 1, the filter plates are light as a whole, in which case, the driving power for driving the filter plates 2 can be reduced. Further, the filtrate drainage guide member 3 can be disassembled from the frame 1, so that it is easy to transport the filter plates 2. Furthermore, if the ~iltrate drainage guide member 3 is broken, a repair work can be done by replacing only the broken filtrate drainage guide member 3. Since the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is supported by the pair of filter cloths 5 and 5 forward 1~ and backward of the filtrate drainage guide member 3, it is difficult for the filtrate drainage guide member 3 to move in the direction perpendicular to the frame 1 even if a great force is applied to one of both faces of the filtrate drainage guide member 3, so that a raw liquid can be reliably filtered by the pair of the filter cloths 5 and 5 disposed between the filtrate drainage guide members 3 and 3. The filtrate drainage guide member 3 is not directly suppoxted by the frame 1, therefore, it is unnecessary to mount a member for supporting the filtrate drainage guide 3 ~a member on the frame 1 and the same filtrate drainage guide 3 member can be used by fitting it in the frame 1. Thus, the ~iltrate drainage guide means 3 can be utilized for various frame bodies.
The construction of an apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described first embodiment, but embodied in various manners. For - 17 - ~Z~2~

example, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the filter cloth-hanging bar 6 may be mounted on both ends of the upper portion of the frame 1 of the filter plate 2 instead of being mounted on the gripping hands 4. In detail, position adjusting bars 22 are protruded on both ends of the upper portion of the frame 1 and the filter cloth-hanging bars 6 are secured to the position adjusting bars 22 through the filter cloth-hanging bar fixing member 20, and a spring 21, serving as a vibrating means, is mounted between the filter cloth hanging fixing member 20 and the top ends of the frame 1.
As shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10, cloths Se and 5e are sewn with the corresponding filter cloths 27 and 27 at positions which confront wlth each other and a connecting member 5d such as a string and a~narrow wire is connected to lS the cloths 5e so as to connect the cloths Se and 5e. The frame 1 is provided with a raw liquid feed hole 3a at a corner thereof and a rectangular connecting-member inserting hole 3c is so mounted on the filtrate drainage guide member 3 as to penetrate thereinto and~ the connecting members 5d ~0 and 5d are inserted into the connecting-member inserting hole 3c so that the connecting members 5d ~and Sd are tied and the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is hung from the filter cloths ~27 and 27. A filter press of duplex type is constructed by disposing alternately the duplex filter plate 2 and a conventional filter plate 25. Numeral 23 in Fig. 9 shows a stopper for ad~justlng the force of the spring 21.

- 18 - ~ 3 The configurations of the filtrate drainage guide member 3 and the frame 1 are selected as desired for example as circular configurations. The filtrate drainage guide member 3 may be so constructed that it has a through hole 3b or a convex-concave groove or honeycomb configuration. In order to prevent the filtrate drainage guide member 3 from being shaken against the frame 1, the filtrate drainage guide member 3 may be fitted in the frame 1. When pressure applied to filter plates is as high as 2 to 15 kg/cm2 during a filtration, tappets may be inserted between neighboring filtrate drainage guide members 3 and 3, in which case, the tappets about with each other, so that the filtrate drainage guide member is cannot be easily dislodged out of the frame 1. The cylindrical communicating piece 5b or the filter connecting member 5d may be penetrated into the through hole 3b formed in the filtrate drainage guide member 3 so as to hang the filtrate drainage guide member 3 from the filter cloth 5. The filtrate drainage guide member 3 may be provided with protrusions which are connected to the ~0 connecting member 5d so that the filtrate drainage guide member 3 can be hung from the filter cloths 5 and 5.
In the foregoing description, the filtrate drainage guide member 3 is supported ~by the frame 1 through the filter cloth 5 and the filter cloth-hanging bar ~, however, ~5 the filtrate drainage guide member 3 may be supported by a supporting member for supporting filter cloth-llal-ging member ... .
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1 9 ~ ^3 33 movably supported on a rail 32 mounted on an upper portion between the front and rear stands 30 and 31. More specifically, the filter cloth-hanging bar 6 is supported by a spring 35 so as to swing the bar 6 around the spring 35 mounted on the supporting member 33 at the lower end thereof, whexeby the member 33 for supporting filter cl~th-hanging bar is moved along the rail 32 through a r~ller 34 in unison with a movement of the frame 1 along the side beam 12. Thus, the filter plates 2 can move close to or apart from each other.
~ filter press according to embodiment comprises the filtrate drainage guide means serving, as a member for maintaining spaces between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths, and filter cloths 40A and 40B
lS serving as a supporting means. As shown in Figs. 12 and 13, the filter plate 2 of the filter press comprises the square frame l from which sheet-shaped filter cloths 40A and 40B
are hung at the front and rear faces of the filter press; a member 41, for maintaining space between filter cloths as ~0 well as vibrating filter cloths, which is to be inserted into the frame 1 and supported by the filter cloths 40A and 40B; and the filter cloth 40 which serves as a means for supporting the member 41 in the frame 1.
The filter cloth 40 is large enough to cover any of the front or rear face of the frame 1 and has a raw liquid feed hole 40a provided at the center hereof. The raw liquid feed - 20 ~ 5~ ~

hole 40a is located at approximately the center o~ a space le which is surrounded by the frame body 1. The filter cloths 40A and 40B hung from the frame at the front and rear faces thereof are connected to each other by sewing the circumference of the raw liquid feed openings 40a and 40a which confront each other. The member 41, for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths is fixed to the raw liquid feed hole-connecting portion 40b fitting the member 41 over the member 40b formed by sewing as above. The outer peripheries of the filter cloths 40A and 40B hung from the frame 1 which confront each other are sandwiched by the neighboring frames 1 and 1 and brou~ht into close contact when the filter plates 2 and 2 are clamped, in which case, the filter chamber 13 is formed.
Since the construction of the frame 1 mounted on the filter plate 2 is approximately the same as the frame 1 of the first embodiment, the description of the same construction is omitted by designating like parts by like reference numerals and only the construc~ions different from ~0 the first embodiment are described herebelow. A spring supporting portion 8a is protrudingly formed, in the width direction of the filter press, from a hinge 8 mounted on an upper portion of each arm 7 of the frame 1 to connect the upper portion of the spring supporting portion 10. A filter cloth hanging plate 42 is connected to the spring supporting portion 8a disposed at a lower portion thereof. The filter cloth hanging plate 42 has a pair of small holes and with which the ends of the filter cloth han~ing bars 6 of the respective filter cloths 40 are engaged. The filter cloths 40A and 40B at the front and rear faces of the neighboring frames are hung by means of the different by hanging bars 6 and 6 which are neighboring hanging plate 42.
As shown in Fig. 14 (I) through (III), the member 41, for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths mounted on the filter plate 2 is 1~ composed of an approximately circular thin plate in which an inner circular portion 41a and an outer portion 41b are integrally formed by connecting members 41c, ..., 41c. The line which passes through the midpoints of the confronting portions S2 described later is at a right angle with the line which passes through the midpoints of the other confronting portions S2. Many ribs 41d, ..., 41d are formed on the surface of the member 41. The hole 4le at the center o~ the inner circular portion 41a is so formed that its diameter is approximately the same as that of a raw liquid feed hole 40a of the filter cloths 40A and 40B, and the inner circular portion 41a thus formed is fitted over the portion 40b for connecting the raw liquid feed hole. More particularly, one of the filter cloths 40A and 40B is rounded, and then, inserted into a hole 41e of the inner circular portion 41a. Thereafter, the member 41 is fitted over the connecting portion 40b located between the filter ~,'''' ' ' , ' &3 cloths 40A and 40B so as to hang the filter cloths 40A and 40B as described above, thereby supporting the member 41, for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths, at approximately the center of the S space le of the frame 1. As a result of supporting the member 41 on the filter cloths 40A and 40B, a space Sl is formed between the inner face of the frame 1 and the outer face of the outer circular portion 41b and space S2 is formed between the outer circular portion 4lb and the inner circular portion 41a, in which case, the spaces S1 and S2 form the flow-out portion of filtrate, with the result that the member 41, for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths supported in the frame 1 does not damage filtrate-drainage performance.
The filter plate 2, comprising the frame 1 and the member 41 for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths, and the filter cloths 40 is disposed in the space le in the frame 1 as shown in Fig. 12;
that is, the frame 1 is movably disposed between the front ~0 stand 30 and the movable plate 36. Next, a pair of filter cloths 40A an 40B are supported by means of the pair of arms 7, 7; 7, 7 through the spring 10 and 10, the filter cloth hanging plates 42 and 42, and the filter cloth-hanging bar 6. Then, the member 41, for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths is fitted over the connecting portion 40b for connecting the raw 52~.3 liquid feed hole of the filter cloths 40A and 40B located at the front and rear faces of the frame 1. In Fig. 12, numeral 31a designates a pipe, for introducing raw liquid under pressure into the filter chambers 13 through the raw liquid feed hole 4Oa.
According to the above-described construction, the movable plate 36 is moved toward the front stand 30 so as to clamp the filter plates 2, ..., 2 at a position near the front stand 30 (rear to Fig. 1). A raw liquid feed pump 1~ (not shown) is connected to the raw liquid introducing pipe 31a to feed a raw liquid under pressure to the respective filter chamber 13, and thereafter, the raw liquid under high pressure is introduced into the respective chamber 13 through the raw liquid feed hole 40a. As a result, the filter cloths, which are respectively sandwiched by the neighbouring frame 1, approach each other, however, the space therebetween is maintained by the member 41 for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths interposed between the filter cloths 40A and 40B~ By virtue of this construction, the filtrate flows out of the filter chamber 13 and passes through the filter cloths 40A and 40B to the spaces S1 and S2 in the frame 1, and thereafter, flows down to the lower portion of the frame 1, and then flows through a communicating hole lc into a filtrate collecting hole la. The filter residue 14 remains between the pair of cloths 40 and 40.

~'~.' '` ~ ' : ' After a raw liquid is filtered, the movable plate 36 is moved back to space the filter plates 2, ..., 2, resulting that the filter residue 14 dropps through an outlet of the lower portions of the filter chamber 13. At this time, since the filter cloths 40A and 40B are supported by the spxings 10, the filter cloths 40A and 40B are easily vibrated when the filter plates are away from each other and the filter cloths 40A and 40B which are vibrating in contact with the member 41, so that the filter residue 14 which has 1~ adhered to the mesh of the filter cloths 40 is dropped.
Following advantages are obtained according to the above described second embodiment. The frame 1 is simple in its construction, namely, approximately square, so that a light filter press can be constructed and manufacturing cost is low. Since the space between the filter cloths 40A and 40B is maintained by the member 41 for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths, a contact of the filter cloths 40A and 40B can be prevented.
Since the member 41 is supported by hanging from the filter 2~ cloths 40A and 40B, the filter resldue 14 which has been clogged in the mesh of the filter cloth 40 can be dropped owing to a contact of the filter cloth 40 with the member 41, caused by a vibration of the filter cIoth 40, thus clogging of the filter residue in the filter cloth 40 can be ~5 prevented. The member 41 for maintaining space between filter cloths as weIl as vibrating filter cloths 40A and 40B

2~3 can be easily directly mounted on the member 40b for connecting the raw li.quid feed hole mounted on the filter cloth 40. Therefore, it is easy to assemble a filter press and the assembly of the filter press requires few number of parts. Furthermore, owing to the provision of the member 41, the filtering performance of the filter cloths 40A and 40B are more preferable than the filtering per~ormance obtained by the provision of a member for maintaining space between filter cloths.
1~ The second embodiment is not limited to the above-described construction. For example, the second embodiment can be preferably applied to a filter plate of compressing type. As shown in Figs. 15 and 16, the pressing diaphragms 43, composed of an elastic material such as lS rubber, on which many irregularities are formed, is piled on the inner side of the filter cloths 40A and 40B which sandwich the frame l and the respective upper, and lower ends of a pair of the diaphragms 43 mounted at the front and rear sides of the frame 1 are easily fixed by bolts 44, ....
44; 44, ..., 44. The respective raw liquid feed hole 43a of a pair of the diaphragms 43 and 43 are connected to each other, and the member 41 for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths 40A and 40B
is fitted over the connecting portions to support the raw liquid feed holes 43a~. In F1g. 15, numeral lf designates a fluid flow hole formed at the~ear lb mounted on the frame 1, .

,, ~,, .

- 26 ~ 3 whereby fluid which expands the compressing diaphragms 43 is introduced, with pressure applied, between the confronting compressing diaphragms 43 and 43 through a cornmunicating hole lg. Filtrate take-out holes 43b and 43b, formed in the diaphragm 43, connect the surface of the diaphragm to a communicating hole lc. Numeral lh indicating a cleaning fluid-flowing hole formed at the ear lb disposed at the upper portion of the frame body 1 communicates the communicating hole li formed on the frame 1 to the communicating hole 43c formed in the diaphragm 43. After a raw liquid is filtered, cleaning fluid is ejected to the diaphragm surface and the underside of the filter cloths 40A
and 40B through the fluid-flow hole lh and a communicating hole li, an d43c. In the above-described embodiment, the member 41 for maintaining space between filter cloths as well as vibratlng diaphragms 43 and 43, so that the diaphragms never contact with each other and compressing fluid is easily supplied. Further, the ~ilter residue 14 is compressed by tlle compressing dia~hragm 43 through the ~0 filter cloth 40, and the compressing diaphragm 43 serves as a means for vibrating the filter cloth 40 when the filter plates are spaced for filtrate drainage.
The member 41 for maintaining space between cloths as well as vibrating filter cloths 40A and 40B may be mounted ~5 between the filter clo=hs 40A ard 40B~ and the ~ompressing : ~
,,, -- : - - :

~ ' -- 27 ~ ~2~ 3 diaphragm 43 so that the member 91 may act directly on the filter cloth 40.
As shown in Fig. 17 (I) and (II), many protrusions 41f provided on the both surfaces of the member 41 form a fluid guiding groove which guides the filtrate to flow. Further, the protrusions 41f can act as a rib, which reinforces the member 41. In addition, clogging of filter residue can be prevented owing to vibration, transmitted from the filter cloth 40, caused by the contact of the protrusion 41f with the filter cloth 40. Figs. 18 and 19 show modifications of the member 41. The member 41 shown in Fig~ 18 is so constructed that the outer periphery of a supporting plate 41g in horse-shoe shape is connected to outer plates 41h, ~lh, and 41h by elastic pins 41i, ..., 41i. In the member 41 shown in Fig. 19, the outer periphery of a circular plate 41j is connected to outer plates 41k, 41k, and 41k by pins 41i, ..., 41i. The above-descxibed members 41 can impart a tapping vibration to the filter cloth 40 at the back side thereof.
~0 As a modification of the member 41, the member 41 may be mounted on a filter cloth through a raw liquld feed plate instead of hanging it from the fiIter cloths 40A and 40B.
More specifically, as shown in Figs. 20 and 21, the frame 1 is covered with a large filter sheet 48 so as to hang filtering portions, namely, fllter cloths 48a and 4~a from the frame 1 at the front and rear faces thereof and a raw 28 ~ 2~3 liquid feed plate 49 is mounted on a raw liquid feed hole 48b and the member 41 is mounted on the raw liquid feed hole 48b of the filter plate 49.
Through holes lk, lk, lm, lm are mounted on the ears lb, ... lb disposed at the upper and lower portions of the frame 1. The respective through holes lm provided at the lower portion of the frame 1 is communicated to one end of a con~unicating hole ln provided at the lower portion thereof 1~ and the other end of the communicating hole ln is communicated to a lower corner of a space le surrounded by the frame 1 so as to form a hole for ejecting cleaning liquid as well as releasing liquid and respective upper through holes lk are communicated to an end of an upper communicating hole 11 and the other end of the con~unicating hole 11 is communicated to an upper corner of the space le of the frame 1 so as to form a hole for ejecting cleaning liquid as well as releasing liquid.
~s shown in Fig. 20, the filter cloth sheet 48, which ~a is long in the lateral direction thereof has raw liquid feed holes 48b and 48b at approximately the center of the filter cloths 48a and 48 a hanging from both faces of the frame l.
The filter cloth 48 is hung from the frame 1 in such a manner that the top end face 48c of the filter sheet 48 ~5 strides over the upper face lo of the frame 1 and covers the outer perlphery of the f ame 1 and the raw liquid feed holes . . .

'~~` 29 ~ 2~S~3 48b and 48b are positioned at approximately the center of the,space le in the frame body 1.
As shown in Figs. 21 and 22, the member 41 comprises a portion 411 for maintaining space between filters which is composed of a rectangular thick frame, and a pair of thin spring-like diaphragms 4lm and 4lm whose both ends are connected to the middle of the upper and lower portions of t~le portion 411 so that the diaphragms 41m and 41m pass through the centers of the spaces surrounded by the portion 1~ ~11. The members 41 are inserted into the filter cloths 48a and 48a positioned at the front and rear faces of the frame 1 and disposed in parallel with the filter cloths 48a. The confronting ends of the diaphragms 41m and 41m are disposed at the inner side of the raw liquid feed holes 48b and 48b and circular raw liquid feed plates 49 and 49 are brought into contact with the outer1side of the raw liquid feed holes 48b and 48b. The raw liquid feed plates 49, the rilter cloths 48a, and the diaphragm 48m are clamped by setscrews 50, ..., 50. Thus, the member 41 is fixed to the ~ilter cloths 48a and 48a through the raw liquid feed plates 49 and 49 so as to be assembled to the frame 1.
In a filter press in which many filter plates 2 having such a construction as described above are assembled, a raw liquid under high pressure is filled in the respective filtering chamber 13 through the holes 49a of the respective raw liquid feed plates 49 wher, the raw liquid is fed to the , ~LZ~ 3 raw liquid introducing tube 30a by the raw liquid feed pump (not shown). As a result, the filter cloths 48a and 98a sandwiching the frame 1 approach each other in the frame 1.
However, space between the filter cloths 48a an~ 48a is m~intained by the space maintaining element 411 of the membex 41 disposed at the center of the space le in the frame 1. According to this construction, raw liquid flows from the filtering chamber 13 through the filter cloths 48a and 48a disposed at both sides of the frame body 1, and flows into the space S3 formed between the inner periphery of the frame 1 and the outer periphery of the member 41 and the space S4 formed between tha filter space-maintaining member 411 and the raw liquid feed plate 49, and then, flows into the filtrate releasing ~loles ln and ln which are opened at corners of the lower portion of the inner periphery of the frame 1 and collected ~y the through holes 1M and lm provided at the lower portion o~ the frame 1.
After a filtration is completed, the frame 1 is moved so as to widen the space between frame 1 and 1, and thereafter, filter residue lS released. Since the diaphragm 41m of the member 41 is composed of a resilient thin plate, the diaphragm 41m easily vibrates when the frame 1 is moved or the filter residue 1 is removed from the filter cloths ~5 48a and 48a with the result that the filter cloths 48a and 48a located at both sides of the frame 1 are vibrated and ' .. ,'', ; ~, .

- 31 ~ 2~3 the filter cloths 48a and ~8a a~ut the member 41, which causes the filter residue 14 which has stayed in the mesh of the filter cloths 48a and 48a to fall. Filter cloths are cleaned by introducing cleaning liquid into either a through hole disposed at an upper portion or at a lower portion and also to the space between the filter cloths 48a and 48a.
The following advantages are obtained according to the above-described modified construction. A filter press is light and manufacturing cost is low because the configuration of the frame is simple, namely, substantially rectangular. Since the space between the filter cloths 48a is maintained by the member 41, contact of the filter cloths 48a can be reliably prevented. Further, as the member 41 is provided with the flat spring 41m, the member 41m is easily 1~ vibrated. The filter residue 14 which has stayed in the mesh of the filter cloth 48a can be removed by vibrating the filter cloth 48a and bringing the member 41 into contact with the filter cloth 48a, thereby the residue 14 being prevented from being clogged in the mesh in the filter cloth ~a 4~a. Moreover, the member 41, which is inserted between the filter cloths 48a and 48a, and the raw liquid plates 49 and 49 can be integrated, thus facilitating an assembly work.
Another modification is shown in Fig. 23, i.e., the cross section of outer frame of the member 41 may be so 2~ formed that the cross section thereof is triangle. The member 41 may be made of synthetic resin. As when in Flgs.

. " . . . . .

~2~ 3 24 and 25, the raw liquid feed hole connecting portion 41n is U-shaped. Diaphragms 41p are respectively connected to the outer periphery of the raw liquid feed hole connecting portion 41n by means of the corresponding arms 41p so as to flow raw liquid downwards preferably. Further, a sufficiently wide space between neighboring filter cloths 48a and 48a can be provided by the raw liquid feed hole connecting portion 41n.
Furthermore, the filter cloths 48a and 48a may be vibrated owing to the vibration caused by the diaphragms 410, ....
410.
In the second embodiment, the raw liquid feed holes 40a, 48b provided at the filter cloths 40 and 48a are respectively, located at substantially the center of the framel. However the holes 40a, 48b can be also applied to a filter press of top feed type (refer to Fig. 2) in which a raw liquid feed hole is formed at an upper portion of the frame 1 as well as a filter press of a bottom feed type in which a raw liquid feed hole is formed at a lower portion of 2~ the frame 1. The method for supporting the filter cloths ~0 and 48a by hanging them from the frame 1 is not limited to the above-described methods. The filter cloths 40 and 48a may be supported by a member other than the frame 1 as shown in Fig. 11. The frame 1 may be formed in any desired configuration such as circular, polygon or the like.

-~2~52~3 In a filter press in the third embodiment, the filtrate drainage guide means serves as a filtrate collecting member and a filter cloth 53 movably supported in the frame body 1 acts as the supporting means. More specifically, a filter plate 2 of a filter press in the third embodiment 3 is, as shown in Figs. 26, 2~, and 28, provided with a frame 1, a ~iltrate collecting member 52 disposed in the frame l, and filter cloths 53 and 53, serving as the supporting means, so disposed at both faces of the frame 1 as to surround a l~ space le in the frame 1 in the direction perpendicular to the front and back thereof. During a filtration, a pair of filter cloths 53 and 53 are sandwiched between the neighboring frames 1 and 1, and raw liquid under pressure is introduced into the filtering chamber 13 between the filter lS cloths 53 and 53 so as to filter the raw liquid, and thereafter, a cake is maintained in the filtrating chamber 13 located between the filter cloths 53 and 53. Filtrate is stored in the space le in the respective frame l through ~ilter cloths 53, and thereafter, the collected filtrate is 2a allowed to flow through filtrate collecting member 52 to the lower portion of the frame l so as to be collected.
The configuration of the above-described frame 1 is pentagon in its horizontal section and vertical section as shown in Fig. 28. The frame 1 has inclined inner faces lp, lp inclining from the middle toward both sides in the direction perpendicular to the front and back of the frame - ' '' ' -, : ' .

_ 34 _ ~2~ 3 body 1. Ears lb and lb are formed at each lower portior, of the side faces of the frame 1, and a filtrate co~lecting hole la, which penetrates in the direction perpendicular to the ears lb and lb, is formed at the ears lb and lb. A
communicating hole lc which communicates the space le, formed inside the frame 1 to the filtrate collecting hole la r is formed at each corner at the lower portion of the fxame 1.
The filter cloths 53 are disposed at both sides of the frame 1 so as to sandwich the space le formed inside the framel. The upper and lower portions of a pair of the filter cloths 53 and 53 are clamped by means of bolts 54 to be supported by the frame 1. Each filter cloths 53 has a circular raw liquid feed hole 53 located at a position corresponding the center of the frame 1. l'he periphery of the raw liquid feed hole 53a of the filter cloths 53 and 53 are sewn with each other.
As shown in Fig. 29, the filtrate collecting member 52 made of cloth is disposed in the space le inside the frame ~a 1. The front and rear faces of the member 52 are covered with the filter cloths 53 and 53, respectively. A through hole 52a which communicates the raw liquid feed hole 53 formed on the filter cloth 53 is formed at the center of the filtrate collecting member 52. The periphery edge of the through hole 52a is sewn with the periphery end of the raw liquid feed hole 53a and the filtrate collecting member 52 _ 35 ~ 2~3 is hung by the filter cloth 53 so as to move the raw liquid collecting member 52 freely together with the filter cloth 53. It is to be noted that a sewing of the filtrate collecting member 52 with the filter cloth 53 differentiates 5 the dimension of the mesh of the filter cloth 53 at the portion where it is sewn, from the dimension of the mesh of other portions, in which case, filtering efficiency is reduced, however, such efficiency reduction can be avoided by sewing the raw li~uid feed hole 53a of the filter cloth ith the through hole 52a of the raw liquid collecting member 52 as described above. Such a sewing does not make the dimension of the mesh uniforrn throughout the filter cloth 53, and filtering efficiency is not reduced. It is ~referable that a hard material is used for the filtrate collecting member 52. The member 52 can be positioned vertically in the frame 1 by supporting the periphery edge of the through hole 52a without supporting the upper portion oE the member 52~ Material for the filtrate collecting member 52 can be selected from light natural material, synthetic resin, metal and the like. The member 52 can be so formed as to have mesh when~ synthetic resin or metal is used as the material therefor. The configuration of the raw liguid collecting member 52 shown in the drawings is square in the front view, however, the configuration of the member 52 is arbitrary, e.g., circular or triangle. A certain space is-formed between the outer perlphery edge of the filtrate collecting member 52 and the inner face lp of the frame 1.
As shown in Fiqs. 29 and 30, the raw liquid collecting element 52 is provided with a space maintaining member 55 above the through hole 52a so as to maintain a certain space between the filter cloths 53 and 53, which allows filtrate to be introduced to the frame 1 easily. The convex 55b of one division element 55a is inserted through a hole 52b of the filtrate collecting member 52 and fitted in a hole 55d 1~ of the other element 55c. Thus, the space maintaining member 55 is mounted on the filtrate collecting member 52.
A filtration according to the above-described construction is as follows: Many filter plates 2, ..., 2 positioned between the front stand 30 and the rear stand 31 (refer to Fig. 1) are supported by the side beams 12 and 12 provided, between both stands 30 and 31, at both sides of the filter press so that the filter plates 2, ..., 2 can be moved forward and backward. The movable plate 36 is advanced to clamp filter plates 2, ..., 2 at a place where ~0 the front stand 30 stops. Thereafter, raw liquid under pressure is introduced from the raw liquid feed hole 53a, formed on the filter cloth 53 disposed between the filter plates, to the filter chamber 13 formed between a pair of the confronting filter cloths 53 and 53 so as to separate the filter residue 14 from filtrate after filtering the raw liquid by the filter i2~

cloths 53. The filter residue 1~ is maintained in the filter chamber 13 located between a pair of filter cloths 53 and 53, while the filtrate passes through the filter cloths 53 into the frame l. Thereafter, the filtrate collecting member 52 guides the filtrate downward in the frame 1, and then, the filtrate flows through the communicating hole lc into the filtrate collecting hole la so as to be collected.
As described in the third embodiment, a filtrate drainage guide member is not formed in the frame 1 of the ~ilter plate, but a cloth which serves as a filtrate collecting member 52 is supported by hanging from the filter cloth 53~ Therefore, a filter press according to this embodiment can be lighter than a conventional one in which a filtrate drainage guide member is provided. Further, since the filtrate collecting member 52 is supported in the frame between the filter cloths 53 and 53, filtrate which has passed through the filter cloth 53 into the frame 1 can be reliably collected by allowing the filtrate to flow through the filtrate collecting member 52 to the lower portion of ?O the frame l, hence the filtrate being smoothly collected.
In addition, the filtrate collecting member 52 is so supported that the filter cloth 53 can move in unison with the member 52. l'herefore, if there arises a big filtration pressure difference between both sides of the filtrate collecting member 52, the filtration pressure difference can be absorbed by mo~ing the member 52, so that~the member 52 . .

52~i3 is not damaged. Meanwhile it is to be noted that in a conventional filter plate in which a filtrate drainage guide member is provided, if a big filtration pressure difference is generated, the filtrate drainage guide member is damaged because the filtrate drainage guide member is rigid. In a~dition to the above advantage of the invention, since the filtrate collecting member 52 made of a cloth undergoes an elastic deformation, which can absorb a filtration pressure difference.
The third embodiment is not limited to the above-described construction, but many modifications are possible. For example, the thickness of the filtrate collacting member 52 may be selected as desired. 'rhe configuration of the member 52 is not restricted to the one, shown in Fig. 26, in which a certain space is provided batween the inner face lp of the frame 1 and the periphery adge of the filtrate collecting member 52. The member 52 which is so wide as to reach the inner face lp of the frame 1 as shown in Fig. 31 and the one which is so great as to ~0 sp~ead be~ond the inner face lp of the frame body 1 may be also used. The member 52 can be constructed using more than two sheets as shown ln Fig.~32 which is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 31. The~provision of a plurality of the member 52 allows an easy generation of clearance between the confronting filter cloths in the space le in the frame 1, so that filtrate can be collected more easily. The member 52 may be mounted on the filter cloth 53 at desired points such as shown in Fig. 31, wherein the member 52 is sewn at four corners of the filter cloth 53.
The member 52 may be mounted on the filter cloth 53 by 5 sewing the member 52 with a cloth sewn on the filter cloth 53~ The member 52 in which an elastic material is used can correct a filtration pressure difference which is generated between both faces of the member 52. Even a solid body used as the material for the member 52 can correct a pressure difference generated between both sides of the member 52 if the solid body is movably mounted on the filter cloth 53 or the frame l. A sheet having no mesh to allow filtrate to pass therethrough can be used as a material for the member 52.
The space maintaining member 55 may not be provided depending on quality of material, property of a raw liquid, and the like. The member 55 may be formed in an arbitrary configuration and the number of members can be selected and positioned as desired. As shown in Figs. 33 and 34, the ~0 member 55 may be mounted on the filtrate collecting member 52 by means of bolts 57, ..., 57 after a pair of circular plates 56e and 56e are disposed at the clrcumference of the through hole 52a of the filtrate collecting member 52. The plates 56e comprise C-shaped plates 56c and 56d. A raw liquid feed concave portion 56b and an abutting convex portion 56a are alternately formed on the surface of the - 40 ~ 3 plates 56c and 56d. ~hen many frame 1, ..., 1 are clamped by a movable plate at a position near one of the two stands.
The convex portions 56a of t~e space maintaining member 56 are brought into contact with each other and the pair of S concave portions 56b and 56b confront each other so as to form a space, so that a raw liquid is fed from the space into the filter chamber 13.
As shown in Fig. 20, the frame 1 may be covered with a large filter cloth 53 so as to cover the front and rear 1~ faces of the frame 1. The filter cloth 53 may be supported by hanging it from members (refer to Fig. 11) other than the frame 1. The place where the raw liquid feed hole 53a provided on the filter cloth is disposed is not limited to a filtering face in the frame, but it may be a so-called top feed type or bottom feed type in which a raw liquid feed hole is disposed outside a filtering face.
The configuration of the frame 1 is not limited to a square, but also circular or any shape as desired.
In the above-described embodiments and modifications, a filter cloth is used as a supporting means, however, it is possible to use other supporting means such as an elastic string so as to movably support a filtrate drainage guide means in the frame 1. In the embodiments and their modifications, li~e parts are designated by the like ~5 numerals for the sake of brevity.

.

- 41 ~ 3 All of the embodiments and their modifications described above can fully attain the object of the invention.

.~ ~

Claims

1. A filter press having a plurality of filter plates;
a plurality of pairs of filter cloths each pair being disposed between the neighboring plates; clamping means for clamping the filter plates in the direction in which the plates are arranged, wherein after a plurality of filter plates are clamped and a raw liquid is introduced between each pair of the filter cloths so as to filter the raw liquid and the filtrate passes through the filter cloths and flows downward along the filter plate, and filter residue is maintained between each pair of the filter cloths, characterizing in that each of the fil-ter plates has: a frame forming a closed loop; a flat filtrate drainage guide means; and supporting means for movable supporting said filtrate drainage guide means in said frame.

2. A filter press as claimed in Claim 1, wherein each filtrate drainage guide means is supported by a pair of filter cloths disposed at both sides of each filter plate.

3. A filter press as claimed in Claim 2, wherein a pair of filter cloths which sandwich said frame have a raw liquid feed hole at a portion where said filter cloths confront each other, a cylindrical raw liquid-feed com-municating portion for connecting the confronting raw liquid holes are arranged, and said filtrate drainage guide means is supported by said communicating portion.

4. A filter press as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said pair of filter cloths which sandwich said frame have raw liquid feed holes at confronting portions in said frame and the circumference edges of confronting raw liquid feed holes are sewn to each other and said filtrate drainge guide means are supported by the portions where said raw liquid feed holes are sewn to each other.

5. A filter press as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said filter cloths have raw liquid holes at confronting por-tions in said frame cylindrical raw liquid feed plate, interposed between the pair of filter cloths, which are located at both sides of the filter plates, and mounted on circumference edges of said raw liquid feed hole, and said filtrate drainage guide means is supported by said raw liquid feed plate.

6. A filter press as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means is supported by being hung from said frame through filter cloth vibrating means.

7. A filter press as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means are composed of plate-shaped members.

8. A filter press as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means is fitted in said frame.

9. A filter press as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means comprises an annular inner plate, an annular outer plate and connecting members for connecting said outer and inner plates, and a space is formed between the outer face of said outer plate and the inner face of said frame, and a space is formed between said outer plate and said inner plate.

10. A filter press as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said pair of filter cloths which sandwich said frame have, respectively, raw liquid feed holes which confront each other in said frame, and a cylindrical raw liquid feed plate is mounted on said filter cloths at said raw liquid feed hole and said filtrate drainage guide means comprises a connecting spring portion, which connects the other frame to said raw liquid feed plate and a space is formed between the other face of said outer frame and the inner face of said frame body, and a space is formed between said outer frame and said raw liquid feed plate.

11. A filter press as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means is composed of an elastic material.

12. A filter press as claimed in Claim 11, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means is composed of a cloth.

13. A filter press as claimed in Claim 11, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means is composed of a net material.

14. A filter press as claimed in Claim 11, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means has a space maintaining member which forms a space between said filtrate drainage guide means and the filter cloths.

15. A filter press as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the both sides of said filter plates are, respectively, covered with corresponding compressing diaphragms.

16. A filter press as claimed in Claim 15, wherein said filtrate drainage guide means is supported by being hung from a pair of compressing diaphragm which cover confronting filter cloths.

17. A filter press as claimed in Claim 15, wherein said compressing diaphragms have, respectively, raw liquid feed holes and the circumference edges of said raw liquid feed holes are connected to each other, and said filtrate drainage guide means is supported by being hung by said connecting portion of said compressing diaphragms.