A filter apparatus for pressure filtering fluid slurry materials containing liquid and solid materials in a plurality of stacked filtration chambers and for creating a substantially dry filter cake of said solid materials in each of said chambers, said apparatus having mechanical means for simultaneously opening and closing each of said filter chambers including means for maintaining said chambers closed and under pressure during filtering operations and for opening said chambers after filtering has been completed, characterized by:
- means establishing each of said filter chambers, each chamber including an upper plate member and a lower plate member, said upper and lower plate members having recessed portions and peripheral sidewalls defining respective chamber areas, said upper and lower plates being relatively movable toward and away from each other to engage said peripheral sidewalls of said upper and lower plate members under pressure and to form one of said plurality of said filter chambers by mating said recessed portions, said lower plate and said upper plate of adjacent stacked chambers being joined to move as a unit during closing and opening of said filter chambers,
- mechanical means for producing relative movement of said upper and lower plate members with respect to each other to engage and separate said peripheral sidewalls to form said filter chamber and for maintaining a mechanical pressure engagement of said peripheral walls when said peripheral walls are engaged, said mechanical means including means for simultaneously opening and closing each of said stacked filter chambers by producing separate relative movement between said upper and lower plate members forming each chamber while moving each upper plate member proportionately different distances with respect to adjacent upper plate members,
- entry port means into each of said upper plate members for passage of fluid material including said fluid slurry material into said recessed portion of said upper plate member in each of said stacked filter chambers,
- exit port means from each of said lower plate members for passage of fluid materials from said recessed portion of said lower plate member in each of said stacked filter chambers,
- a grate member within said recessed portion of each of said lower plate members,
- a porous belt filter medium positioned between said upper and lower plate members in each of said stacked filter chambers and contacting said grate within said lower plate members, said belt filter medium having lateral dimensions at least as large as the largest lateral dimensions of said peripheral sidewalls of said upper and lower plate members, said belt filter medium being positioned and aligned to be pressed between said pressure engaged sidewalls of said upper and lower plate members and on said grate when said upper and lower plates mate to form said stacked filter chambers,
- belt drive means for positioning and removing said belt filter medium from between said upper and lower plate members of each of said stacked filter chambers when said upper and lower plates are separated,
- means for passing fluids including said fluid slurry material into said entry port means of each of said upper plate members in said stacked filter chambers,
- and control means
- a) for controlling said belt filter medium belt drive means,
- b) for controlling said mechanical means for producing relative movement of said upper and lower plate members to cause said simultaneous movement of said upper and lower plate members in said stacked filter chambers,
- c) for maintaining said mechanical engagement of said upper and lower plate members under pressure, and
- d) for controlling passing of fluids including said fluid slurry material into said entry port means,
- whereby said fluid slurry materials enter said entry port means for each of said chambers of said stacked filter chambers and liquids from said slurry materials pass through said belt filter medium in each of said stacked filter chambers and exit through said exit port means from each of said stacked filter chambers while solids in said fluid slurry material are retained in said each chamber on said belt filter medium until said upper and lower plate members are simultaneously separated, said solids being formed as a substantially dry filter cake and being removed simultaneously from each of said stacked filter chambers with said belt filter medium after said plate members are separated, and said substantially dry filter cake being removed from said belt filter medium after said belt filter medium is removed from between said upper and lower plate members in each of said stacked filter chambers.