Sheet material reprocessing apparatus for paper broke

Claim 1

FIBROUS SHEET REDUCING APPARATUS FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH A CONTINUOUSLY RUNNING SHEET-FORMING MACHINE COMPRISING A HOUSING, A ROTATABLE MEMBER MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND HAVING A MULTIPLICITY OF DULL TEETH SPACED ABOUT ITS PERIPHERY, A GUIDE PLATE HAVING A PORTION OPERATIVELY POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER, MEANS TO ADJUST THE POSITION OF SAID GUIDE PLATE RELATIVE TO SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER TO CONTROL THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID GUIDE PLATE AND SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER, SAID GUIDE PLATE BEING MOUNTED ON A SHAFT POSITIONED GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER, SAID ADJUSTING MEANS INCLUDING A PNEUMATICALLY CONTROLLED GUIDE PLATE POSITIONING MECHANISM, MEANS TO GUIDE A SHEET OF DRY FIBROUS MATERIAL OF INDETERMINATE LENGTH FROM SAID MACHINE INTO SAID HOUSING, AND ONTO SAID GUIDE PLATE INTO THE VICINITY OF SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER, AND MEANS TO DRIVE SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER SO THAT THE LINEAL SPEED OF SAID TEETH IS SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN THE FEED SPEED OF SAID MATERIAL, SAID PLATE OPERATIVELY BEING SPACED FROM SAID TEETH SO THAT SAID TEETH HIT SAID MATERIAL WHEN IT IS UNSUPPORTED BY SAID PLATE AND TEAR SAID MATERIAL INTO A MULTIPLICITY OF SMALL PATCHES SUCH THAT SAID PATCHES WILL EASILY ABSORB WATER DURING A SUBSEQUENT FIBER RECOVERY PROCESS.