bernard

Claim 1

IN A CRUSHING APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PARTICLES OF PREDETERMINED UNIFORM SIZE FROM BULK MATERIAL HAVING ELEMENTS OF VARYING SIZE WITHOUT ELECTROSTATICALLY CHARGING THE PARTICLES PRODUCED, THE COMBINATION OF A HOUSING, A CONTAINER HAVING AN OPENING THROUGH WHICH PARTICLES OF VARYING SIZE FLOW, A PLURALITY OF ALIGNED COOPERATING PAIRS OF ROLLERS POSITIONED WITHIN THE HOUSING AND BELOW THE OPENING, EACH PAIR OF ROLLERS HAVING A SPACING THEREBETWEEN CORRESPONDING TO THE SIZE OF PARTICLES TO BE CRUSHED, A DISTRIBUTING ROLLER POSITIONED ADJACENT THE OPENING IN SAID CONTAINER FOR FEEDING THE PARTICLES OF VARYING SIZE TO A FIRST PAIR OF THE COOPERATING ROLLERS, A FLOW REGULATING PLATE RIGIDLY MOUNTED UPON SAID HOUSING AND HAVING A BOTTOM EDGE POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID DISTRIBUTING ROLLER NEAR THE OPENING, THE BOTTOM EDGE OF SAID PLATES BEING PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF SPACED APERTURES IN ORDER TO FEED THE PARTICLES TO SAID FIRST PAIR OF ROLLERS AT A PRESELECTED RATE, THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID FIRST PAIR OF ROLLERS BEIG MUCH LARGER THAN THE PREDETERMINED SIZE PARTICLES TO BE PRODUCED SO THAT ONLY THE LARGEST OF THE VARYING SIZE PARTICLES ARE COMMINUTED BY THE FIRST PAIR OF ROLLERS WHEREAS ALL THE PARTICLES EXCEPT THE LARGE ONES PASS THROUGH THE SPACE WITHOUT COMMINUTION SUCCESSIVELY TO THE OTHER PAIRS OF ROLLERS, EACH OF THE SPACINGS BETWEEN THE PAIRS OF ROLLERS BEING SUCCESSIVELY SMALLER THAN THE SPACING BETWEEN THE FIRST PAIR OF ROLLERS SO THAT EACH PAIR OF ROLLERS COMMINUTES ONLY THOSE PARTICLES LARGER THAN THE SPACING THEREBETWEEN, THE LAST PAIR OF ROLLERS THROUGH WHICH THE PARTICLES PASS BEING SPACED APART A DISTANCE EQUAL TO THE PREDETERMINED SIZED PARTICLES WHEREBY ALL THE APRTICLES BELOW THE PREDETERMINED SIZE PASS WITHOUT COMMINUTION AND ALL THE PARTICLES ABOVE THE PREDETERMINED SIZE ARE REDUCED TO THE PREDETERMINED SIZE, AND A COLLECTING MEANS INTO WHICH ALL OF THE PARTICLES FLOW AFTER PASSING THROUGH THE FINAL PAIR OF ROLLERS, THE SPACING BETWEEN EACH OF THE PAIRS OF ROLLERS PERMITTING THE PASSAGE OF ALL PARTICLES IN THE CONTAINER BLOW THE PREDETERMINED SIZE TO PASS DIRECTLY FROM THE CONTAINER THROUGH THE ROLLERS TO THE COLLECTOR WITHOUT COMMINUTION.