Waste disposer

Claim 1

A COMMINUTING APPARATUS COMPRISING, A FLARED UPPER HOUSING HAVING AN OUTER ANNULAR RIM WITH A V-SHAPED PROJECTION DEPENDING THEREFROM; A LOWER HOUSING HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE WITH A CORRESPONDING ANNULAR V-SHAPED NOTCH TO RECEIVE SAID PROJECTION WHEREBY THE FLARED UPPER HOUSING AND THE LOWER HOUSING ARE ALIGNED AND SEALED TOGETHER; A MOTOR DRIVEN ROTOR ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID LOWER HOUSING AND DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID LOWER HOUSING AND SAID UPPER HOUSING; SAID UPPER HOUSING BEING PROVIDED WITH A FEED CHAMBER AND AN ANNULAR LEDGE OVERLYING THE PERIPHERY OF SAID ROTOR; SAID LEDGE BEING PROVIDED WITH A FRUSTO-CONICAL SURFACE FACING SAID ROTOR AND SUBTENDING AN ANGLE OF SUBSTANTIALLY 15 DEGREES FROM A PLANE TRANSVERSE TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID ROTOR; A SIZING RING RELEASABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID LEDGE AND SAID LOWER HOUSING, SAID SIZING RING BEING PROVIDED WITH BETWEEN 116 AND 200 FRUSTOCONICAL SHAPED PERFORATIONS, THE DIAMETER OF EACH PERFORATION AT THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID SIZING RING BEING WITHIN THE RANGE OF ONE-QUARTER INCH TO THREE EIGHTS INCH AND THE DIAMETER OF EACH PERFORATION AT THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID SIZING RING BEING GREATER THAN SAID DIAMETER AT SAID INNER SURFACE; SAID SIZING RING BEING PROVIDED WITH A MULTIPLICITY OF LUGS PROJECTING INWARDLY FROM SAID INNER SURFACE AT LEAST 0.05 OF AN INCH, SAID LUGS HAVING A WIDTH CORRESPONDING TO THE LENGTH OF AN ARC ALONG SAID INNER SURFACE SUBTENDING AN ANGLE OF APPROXIMATELY FIVE DEGREES AROUND THE AXIS OF SAID ROTOR, SAID LUGS BEING FURTHER ARRANGED SO THAT THERE IS NO MORE THAN ONE EIGHTH OF AN INCH OF VERTICAL CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE ADJACENT TOP AND BOTTOM PORTIONS OF SUCCESSIVE LUGS, SAID SIZING RING, SAID UPPER HOUSING, AND SAID LOWER HOUSING DEFINING AN ANNULAR DRAIN PASSAGE SURROUNDING SAID SIZING RING, SAID LOWER HOUSING BEING PROVIDED WITH A WASTE OUTLET FROM SAID DRAIN PASSAGE AND A WATER INLET; AND MEANS FOR DIRECTING A JET OF WATER FROM SAID WATER INLET INTO SAID DRAIN PASSAGE TANGENTIALLY OF SAID SIZING RING TO FLUSH WASTE MATERIAL FROM SAID APERTURES AND SAID DRAIN PASSAGE INTO SAID WASTE OUTLET; SAID SIZING RING HAVING A HEIGHT TO INTERNAL DIAMETER RATIO IN THE RANGE OF FROM 0.33 TO 1 TO 0.60 TO 1.