Filtering and drying apparatus

A filtering and drying apparatus adapted for use in filtration of slurry liquids and in drying of cakes produced through the filtration of rotary liquids, comprising a vertically disposed casing, a bottom plate detachably carried at the bottom of said casing and supporting a filter plate thereon, a valve chamber provided at the central portion of said bottom plate and adapted for discharging the cakes, and an upright rotary shaft disposed in the center of said casing for vertical movement along its own axis and for forward and reverse rotations about its own axis, said rotary shaft being provided at the lowermost end thereof with at least a pair of rotary arms extending at right angles to said rotary shaft and having a plurality of scraping members secured to one of said rotary arms and a plurality of flattening members secured to the other of said rotary arms, said scraping member having an inwardly facing surface effective to move the cakes toward said valve chamber during forward rotation of said rotary shaft and an outwardly facing surface effective to move the cakes outwardly during reverse rotation of said rotary shaft, said flattening member having a stirring plate and a flattening bar secured to the lower end of said stirring plate, said stirring plate having an outwardly facing surface effective to move the cakes outwardly during forward rotation of said rotary shaft, said flattening bar being effective to flatten the cake surfaces, said valve chamber having a discharge valve carried therein for vertical movement and an exhaust valve carried thereon for alternately sealing and releasing said valve chamber.