Apparatus for separating liquid from a mixture of granular material and liquid

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING LIQUID FROM MIXTURES OF GRANULAR MATERIAL AND LIQUID, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A TROUGH, MEANS RESILIENTLY SUPPORTING THE TROUGH, SAID TROUGH HAVING AN INLET, SAID TROUGH COMPRISING TWO SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SIDE WALLS, A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL FRONT WALL, A CURVED BOTTOM WALL, SAID FRONT WALL MERGING INTO SAID BOTTOM WALL, A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT REAR WALL MERGING WITH SAID BOTTOM WALL AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID FRONT WALL HAVING A PORTION PROVIDED WITH APERTURES THEREIN ADJACENT THE INLET TO ALLOW LIQUID DISCHARGE THERETHROUGH, SAID BOTTOM AND REAR WALLS BEING IMPERFORATE, MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INLET TO GUIDE AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE MIXTURE ONTO THE PORTION OF THE FRONT WALL HAVING THE APERTURES WHEREBY SOME OF THE LIUQID IS DISCHARGED THROUGH THE APERTURES, SAID REAR WALL HAVING A CURVED EXTREMITY REMOTE FROM SAID BOTTOM WALL FORMING AN OUTLET, MEANS ADJACENT SAID OUTLET FOR SEPARATELY DISCHARGING GRANULAR MATERIAL WHILE ALLOWING THE LIQUID TO FLOW OVER SAID CURVED EXTREMITY, A TUBE SHAPED MEMBER EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THROUGH SAID TROUGH SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID TUBE SHAPED MEMBER TOGETHER WITH SAID WALLS OF THE TROUGH DEFINING A NONLINEAR PASSAGEWAY WITH A DESCENDING INLET ZONE AND AN ASCENDING OUTLET ZONE, SAID OUTLET BEING DISPOSED AT A LOWER LEVEL THAN SAID INLET, SAID APPARATUS FURTHER COMPRISING A VIBRATOR OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID TROUGH AND ADAPTED TO GENERATE VIBRATIONS WITH AT LEAST A COMPONENT WHICH IS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FRONT WALL.