Live-bottom bin

Claim 1

A LIVE-BOTTOM BIN FOR STORING, CLASSIFYING, AND DISPENSING DESIRED QUANTITIES OF BRIDGEABLE PARTICULATE MATERIAL HAVING VARYING SHAPES AND SIZES, COMPRISING: (A) A CONTAINER HAVING A BOTTOM DISCHARGE OPENING WHOSE CROSS SECTION IS AT LEAST EQUAL IN AREA TO ITS TOP CROSS SECTION AND WALL MEANS FOR RETAINING BRIDGEABLE MATERIAL OVER THE ENTIRE BOTTOM AREA, (B) A PLURALITY OF ROTATABLE CYLINDRICAL ROLLS WHICH ARE ALIGNED SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY, IN MUTUALLY PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP, AND SPACED APPRECIABLY APART TO DEFINE ELONGATED SLOTS THEREBETWEEN, SAID ROLLS SUBSTANTIALLY OCCUPYING SAID BOTTOM DISCHARGE OPENING AND SUPPORTING THE BRIDGEABLE MATERIAL IN THE CONTAINER, (C) ROWS OF CLEATS AFFIXED TO SAID ROLLS WHICH ARE AXIALLY ALIGNED IN MUTUALLY PARALLEL ROWS AND WHICH EXTEND RADIALLY FROM THE SURFACE OF ANY ROLL FOR RAKING AND AGITATING THE BRIDGEABLE MATERIAL WHEN THE ROLLS ARE ROTATING, THE ROWS OF CLEATS ON ANY ROLL BEING SO POSITIONED AS TO BE OUT OF PHASE WITH THE ROWS OF CLEATS ON THE ADJACENT ROLLS TO EITHER SIDE, (D) POWER MEANS OPERABLE TO ROTATE THE ROLLS SO THAT THE UPPER SURFACES OF SAID ROLLS MOVE ALL IN THE SAME DIRECTION TOWARD A SIDE OF THE BIN, WHEREBY AS THE ROLLS ARE SO ROTATED BRIDGEABLE MATERIAL TOO LARGE TO PASS THROUGH THE SLOTS BETWEEN THE ROLLS IS CONVEYED ACROSS THE TOP OF THE ROLLS TOWARD SAID SIDE OF THE BIN, WHILE THE REMAINDER OF THE BRIDGEABLE MATERIAL PASSES DOWNWARD THROUGH THE SLOTS BETWEEN THE ROLLS, AND (E) REJECT CLASSIFICATION MEANS AT SAID SIDE OF THE BIN: (1) WHICH ARE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXES OF THE ROLLS, (2) TOWARD WHICH THE UPPER SURFACES OF THE ROTATING ROLLS MOVE WHEN ROTATED, (3) AND AGAINST WHICH THE BRIDGEABLE MATERIAL IN THE BIN IS URGED BY THE ROTATING ROLLS TO CREATE WITHIN THE BIN A PILE HAVING A SURFACE OF REPOSE SLOPING AWAY FROM SAID SIDE OF THE BIN, SAID REJECT CLASSIFICATION MEANS BEING AN ELONGATED OPENING WHICH IS LOCATED ABOVE AN OUTERMOST ROLL AND HAVING THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID OUTERMOST ROLL AS A LOWER BOUNDARY THEREOF, SAID ELONGATED OPENING BEING OF GREATER WIDTH THAN ANY SLOT BETWEEN THE ROLLS YET SUFFICIENTLY NARROW TO SUPPORT A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL CURTAIN OF BRIDGEABLE MATERIAL WITHIN THE BIN IN FRONT OF SAID ELONGATED OPENING, SAID CURTAIN HAVING CONSIDERABLE STRENGTH TO RESIST RUPTURE AND DEFORMATION, WHEREBY RELATIVELY LARGE AND SOLID OBJECTS POSSESSING SUFFICIENT MOMENTUM ARE PASSED THROUGH SAID CURTAIN AND ARE THEN EJECTED FROM THE BIN THROUGH THE REJECT CLASSIFICATION MEANS, WHILE MATERIAL SMALL ENOUGH TO BE DOWNWARDLY DISPENSED BETWEEN THE ROTATING ROLLS IS SUBSTANTIALLY PREVENTED BY SAID CURTAIN FROM BEING EJECTED FROM THE BIN.