Manufacture of pellets of discrete bodies formed from extruded clay and similar material

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR SUBJECTING DISCRETE BODIES OF SOFT AND KNEADABLE MATERIAL TO A KNEADING AND FORMING OPERATION TO PRODUCE BODIES OF ROUGHLY SPHERICAL SHAPE, COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE VERTICALLY DISPOSED CHAMBER OF GENERALLY CIRCULAR HORIZONTAL CROSS SECTION, AT LEAST ONE INLET DUCT LEADING INTO THE UPPER PART OF SAID CHAMBER AND DISPOSED WITH ITS AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIAL WITH THE CHAMBER WALL, SAID CHAMBER INCLUDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED DEFLECTING SURFACE ELEMENTS EACH OF CURVED FORM AND DISPOSED WITH ONE EDGE NEAREST TO THE INLET DUCT SUBSTANTIALLY LEVEL WITH THE CHAMBER WALL AND AN OPPOSITE EDGE SPACED RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM SAID WALL, THE INTERVENING INNER SURFACE BEING OF CONCAVE FORM, THE CHAMBER HAVING AN AIR OUTLET CONNECTION TO ITS UPPER END AND SUCTION MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING AIR THROUGH SAID OUTLET CONNECTION, THE ARRANGEMENT BEING SUCH THAT BODIES FED TO SAID INLET DUCT ARE PROPELLED BY AN AIR STREAM PRODUCED IN SAID DUCT BY THE SUCTION MEANS AND FOLLOW ARCUATE PATHS IN ROLLING CONTACT WITH THE CONCAVE DEFLECTING SURFACES FOLLOWED BY OUTWARDLY DIRECTED IMPACTS UPON THE CHAMBER WALL.