Centrifuge

Claim 1

A CENTRIFUGE FOR SEPARATING SOLID PARTICLES FROM A LIQUID SLURRY STOCK COMPRISING, A GENERALLY CONICAL ROTATABLE BASKET HAVING A CLOSED BOTTOM, A CONE HAVING AN OPEN BASE ROTATABLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID BASKET AND DEFINING THEREWITH AN ANNULAR PARTICLE SEPARATING ZONE, DRIVE MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID CONE AND BASKET AT A SPEED DIFFERENTIAL, SPIRAL STOCK FLIGHTING FIXED TO SAID CONE AND ITERPOSED IN SAID ZONE BETWEEN SAID CONE AND SAIDD BASKET TO CAUSE SAID STOCK TO TRAVEL TOWARD THE APEX OF SAID CONE IN RESPONSE TO RELATIVE ROTATION OF SAID CONE AND BASKET, STOCK INLET MEANS EXTENDING INTO THE INTERIOR OF SAID CONE FOR DELIVERY OF SAID STOCK FOR OUTWARD FLOW INTO SAID SEPARATING ZONE, MEANS IN SAID BASKET DEFINING A FIBER DISCHARGE OPENING ADJACENT THE APEX THEREOF, A PERFORATED SEPARATING SCREEN FIXED TO ROTATE WITH SAID CONE AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY WITHIN SAID BASKET AND TERMINATING IN AN OUTER PERIPHERY IN SPACED RELATION TO THE BASE OF SAID CONE AND TO THE ADJACENT SURFACE OF SAID BASKET DEFINING AN ANNULAR OPENING BETWEEN THE INTERIOR OF SAID CONE AND THE INTERIOR OF SAID BASKET, AND MEANS IN SAID BASKET BOTTOM DEFINING AN UNRESTRICTED LIQUID DISCHARGE OPENING POSITIONED RADIALLY INWARDLY IN RELATION AT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID SCREEN AND OPERABLE TO DEFINE A FLIQUID WALL IN RESPONSE TO THE ROTATION OF SAID CENTRIFUGE WHICH WALL INCLUDES AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID SCREEN.