Material treating apparatus

Claim 1

MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS COMPRISING A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL ELONGATED WORMS ROTATABLY ARRANGED IN A SURROUNDING CASING CORRESPONDING IN SHAPE TO THE PERIPHERAL SHAPES OF SAID WORMS, SAID WORMS HAVING FLIGHTS AND INTERVENING FLIGHT SPACES WHICH ARE CORRESPONDINGLY ARRANGED, SAID FLIGHTS HAVING CONSTANT PERIPHERAL WIDTH AND BEING ARRANGED WITH SAID FLIGHT SPACES IN SUCCESSIVE SECTIONS DISPLACED LONGITUDINALLY ALONG SAID WORMS, ONE SUCH SECTION BEING A NON-POSITIVE FORWARDING SECTION WHEREIN THE FLIGHTS OF EACH WORM ARE LONGITUDINALLY SPACED FROM AND HAVE SUBSTANTIAL CLEARANCE WITH RESPECT TO THE CORRESPONDING FLIGHTS OF THE OTHER WORM, PROVIDING IN SUCH SECTION A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIMPEDED SLIPPAGE BETWEEN THE WORM FLIGHTS AND THE MATERIAL, AND ANOTHER SECTION BEING LOCATED TO RECEIVE THE MATERIAL PROCESSED BY SAID NONPOSITIVE FORWARDING SECTION AND COMPRISING A MORE POSITIVE FORWARDING SECTION WHEREIN THE FLIGHTS OF EACH OF SAID WORMS ARE FORWARDLY INCLINED AND PENETRATE INTO THE FLIGHT SPACES OF THE ADJACENT WORM AT THE AREA OF CLOSEST APPROACH, AND WHEREIN SUCH FLIGHTS ARE REDUCED IN PITCH AND HAVE MUCH LESS CLEARANCE WITH RESPECT TO SAID FLIGHT SPACES, PROVIDING BETWEEN THE WORM FLIGHTS AND THE MATERIAL A SLIPPAGE WHICH IS MUCH LESS THAN THE SLIPPAGE IN SAID NON-POSITIVE FORWARDING SECTION THE INLET END OF SAID POSITIVE FORWARDING SECTION BEING LOCATED IMMEDIATELY AT THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID NON-POSITIVE FORWARDING SECTION.