Blending apparatus

Claim 1

BLENDING APPARATUS COMPRISING A HOLLOW CHAMBER HAVING SIDE WALLS, AN UPPER END, A LOWER END, A LONGITUDINAL AXIS, AND A PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS THEREIN, SAID COMPARTMENTS BEING SEPARATED ONE FROM ANOTHER BY A PLURALITY OF PARTITIONS, SAID PARTITIONS BEING GENERALLY PARALLEL WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID CHAMBER, THE PARTITIONS EXTENDING FROM THE LOWER END OF SAID CHAMBER A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THE WAY TO SAID UPPER END, EACH OF SAID COMPARTMENTS HAVING A HOPPER COMMUNICATING WITH THE LOWER PART, A HOLLOW RISER PIPE, SAID RISER PIPE BEING DISPOSED GENERALLY PARALLEL WITH AND ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID CHAMBER AND EXTENDING THROUGH THE LOWER END OF SAID CHAMBER AND ALSO AT LEAST NEARLY TO THE UPPER END PART OF SAID PARTITIONS, A CONSTRICTED PIPE SECTION HAVING AN UPPER END AND A LOWER END, SAID CONSTRICTED PIPE SECTION BEING COUPLED TO AND ALIGNED WITH SAID RISER PIPE BELOW SAID HOPPERS, A PLURALITY OF DISCHARGE LINES, ONE OF SAID DISCHARGE LINES BEING COUPLED BETWEEN EACH OF SAID HOPPERS AND SAID RISER PIPE AT THE UPPER END OF SAID CONSTRICTED PART, THE COUPLING OF THE DISCHARGE LINES TO THE RISER PIPE BEING SYMMETRICAL WITH RESPECT TO A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID CHAMBER, VALVED CONDUIT MEANS COUPLED TO THE LOWER END OF SAID CONSTRICTED PART FOR SEQUENTIALLY APPLYING GAS UNDER PRESSURE THROUGH SAID CONSTRICTED PART IN ONE DIRECTION AND FOR WITHDRAWING MATERIAL FROM SAID CHAMBER THROUGH SAID CONSTRICTED PART IN ANOTHER DIRECTION, MEANS FOR FEEDING PARTICULATED MATERIALS INTO SAID COMPARTMENTS FROM THE UPPER END OF SAID CHAMBER, AND MEANS FOR RANDOMLY DISPERSING INTO SAID COMPARTMENTS PARTICULATED MATERIALS WHICH ARE BLOWN FROM SAID RISER PIPE AS GAS IS APPLIED UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID CONSTRICTED PART.