Blending apparatus

Claim 1

BLENDING APPARATUS COMPRISING A HOLLOW CHAMBER HAVING SIDE WALLS, AN UPPER END, A LOWER END, A LONGITUDINAL AXIS, AND A PLURALTIY 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 OF SAID UPPER END, EACH OF SAID COMPARTMENTS HAVING A HOPPER COMMUNICATING WITH THE LOWER PART, A HOLLOW RISER MEMBER, SAID RISER MEMBER 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 PLURALITY OF DISCHARGE LINES, EACH OF SAID DISCHARGE LINES HAVING A STAR FEEDER TYPE VALVE COUPLED ACROSS IT, ONE OF SAID DISCHARGE LINES BEING COUPLED BETWEEN EACH OF SAID HOPPERS AND SAID RISER PIPE AT A POINT BELOW SAID HOPPERS, VALVED CONDUIT MEANS SEQUENTIALLY APPLYING GAS UNDER PRESSURE INTO THE PART OF SAID RISER MEMBER WHICH IS BELOW WHERE THE DISCHARGE LINES ARE COUPLED TO IT IN ONE DIRECTION AND FOR WITHDRAWING MATERIAL FROM SAID CHAMBER THROUGH THE PART OF SAID RISER MEMBER WHICH LIES BELOW WHERE THE DISCHARGE LINES ENTER IT, 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.