Imc-agrico Co.

John Alexander

Miguel A DeJesus

William A Marrone

The present invention features a filtration plate for use in a filter pan comprising a corrugated sheet having a series of alternately upwardly and downwardly opening channels and a reinforcing material bonded to surfaces of the downwardly opening channels. The reinforcing material is effective for strengthening the sheet and retaining heat in a manner effective to slow cooling of the filtration plate during washing and to reduce heat losses from the filtration plate during filtering. According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the corrugated sheet is a monolithic sheet of structural metal having a smooth upper filtration surface. The invention also provides a filter pan configured for use in filtration of a filtrate from solid particles. The filter pan comprises a filtration plate including a corrugated, monolithic sheet of structural metal having a series of alternately upwardly and downwardly opening channels. The filtration plate has an upper filtration surface that is smooth and unbroken by welds or joints, and the upwardly opening channels thereof have a width effective for channeling liquid. The invention also provides a method for making a filtration plate for use in a filter pan, comprising the steps of stamping a sheet of a structural metal to form it into a corrugated sheet having a series of alternately upwardly and downwardly opening channels. The upwardly opening channels have a width effective for channeling a filtrate and the downwardly opening channels include a reinforcing material bonded thereto for strengthening the sheet. The reinforcing material is effective for retaining heat in a manner effective to slow cooling of the filtration plate during washing and for reducing heat losses from the filtration plate during filtering.

Growing community of inventors

Valrico, FL, United States of America

John Alexander