Screening apparatus

Claim 1

CONTRIFUGAL SCREENING APPARATUS COMPRISING AN INVERTED FRUSTO-CONICAL ROTATABLE BASKET HAVING A LOWER ARTICLE SUPPORT SURFACE, AN UPPER RING-LIKE MEMBER HAVING RODLOCATING AND GUIDING MEANS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED THEREON AT SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM CIRCUMFERENTIAL DISTANCES, SAID LOWER ARTICLE SUPPORT SURFACE HAVING A PLURALITY OF CIRCULARLY LOCATED AND SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY SPACED RODRECEIVING RECESSES, A PLURALITY OF SPACED SUPPORT RODS EACH ANCHORED AT ONE END IN SAID RECESSES AND AT THE OTHER END TO SAID RING-LIKE MEMBER FOR MAINTAINING FIXED SPACEING BETWEEN SAID LOWER ARTICLE SUPPORT SURFACE AND SAID RINGLIKE MEMBER, SAID ARTICLE SUPPORT SURFACE ALSO HAVING ADDITIONAL ROD-RECEIVING RECESSES SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY SPACED AND EACH LOCATED ALONG A CIRCULAR PATH THEREON, A SCREENING ROD LOOSELY SUPPORTED AT ONE END IN EACH OF THE LASTNAMED ROD-RECEIVING RECESSES AND AT THE OTHER END IN THE RING-LIKE MEMBER SO AS TO BE FREELY MOVABLE THEREIN FOR EACH OF LATERAL, RADIAL, AND LONGITUDIAL MOVEMENT, A CENTRAL SUPPORT FOR SAID LOWER ARTICLE SUPPORT SURFACE, SAID CENTRAL SUPPORT BEING ADAPTED TO BE TURNED FOR ROTATING SAID BASKET WHEREBY DUE TO CENTRIFUGAL FORCE MATERIAL LOADED WITHIN THE BASKET WITH ITS ROTATION IS MOVED OUTWARDLY AND THROUGH THE SPACE BETWEEN ADJACENT RODS WITH THE REMOVED PARTICLE SIZE INCREASING AS ARTICLES ARE EJECTED BETWEEN THE RODS IN A DIRECTION TOWARD THE RING-LIKE MEMBER.