Apparatus for separating particles according to size

Claim 1

IN A PARTICLE SEPARATION APPRATUS FOR SEPARATING A MIXTURE OF LIQUID SUSPENDED APRTICLES ACCORDING TO SIZE, WHEREIN A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL SCREENING DECKS, EACH HAVING THE SHAPE OF A SEGMENT OF A CYLINDRICALLY CURVED SURFACE, ARE EMPLOYED TO ACCOMPLISH THE DESIRED SEPARATING, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING ARRANGING SAID SCREENING DECKS WITH ADJACENT ENDS IN CLOSELY SPACED PARIS ON THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF A CYLINDER CONCENTRIC WITH THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SUCH CYLINDER, SAID SCREENING DECKS BEING NON-COINCIDENT WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID CYLINDER, FEED MEANS FOR AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CLOSELY SPACED PAIRS OF SCREENING DECKS FOR FEEDING THE MIXTURE OF PARTICLES AND A SUSPENDING LIQUID AT SAID ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID SCREENING DECKS AND OVER THE FULL WIDTH OF THE ASSOCIATED SCREENING DECKS SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIALLY ONTO THE CONCAVE SIDES THEREOF IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO THE GENERATRICES OF SAID CYLINDRICALLY CURVED SCREENING DECKS, SAID FEED MEANS BEING FIXEDLY DISPOSED IN ADJACENT RELATION TO ONE OF SAID SPACED PARIS OF SCREENING DECKS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A VERTICAL PLANE, SAID FEED MEANS BEING SO FORMED THAT IN EACH OP-