Centrifugal separator

Claim 1

IN A DEVICE FOR TREATING SLURRIES, A STATIONARY, ELONGATED, SOLELY CYLINDRICAL HOUSING; A CONICAL MEMBER POSITIONED AXIALLY OF SAID HOUSING WITH ITS APEX UPWARDLY DISPOSED AND MOUNTED FOR ROTATION WITHIN SAID HOUSING ABOUT ITS OWN AXIS AND THE HOUSING AXIS, SAID MEMBER EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY INTO SAID HOUSING FROM ONE END THEREOF FOR A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE BUT TERMINATING SHORT OF THE OPPOSIT END THEREOF, SAID ONE END OF SAID HOUSING BEING OPEN, TO ENABLE HIGH SPECIFIC GRAVITY MATERIAL TO PASS OUT OF THE HOUSING BY WAY OF SAID OPEN END; MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY VARYING THE POSITION OF SAID MEMBER ALONG THE HOUSING AXIS, THEREBY TO VARY THE ANNULAR SPACE BETWEN THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID MEMBER AND THE INNER WALL OF SAID HOUSING, AT SAID ONE END THEREOF; MEANS FOR INJECTING UNTREATED SLURRY INTO SAID OPPOSITE END OF SAID HOUSING IN A SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIAL DIRECTION AND AT A HIGH VELOCITY; MEANS UTILIZING THE FLOW OF SLURRY INTO SAID OPPOSITE END OF SAID HOUSING FOR CAUSING ROTATION OF SAID MEMBER ABOUT ITS AXIS AT A HIGH ANGULAR VELOCITY; AND MEANS FOR ABSTRACTING LOW SPECIFIC GRAVITY MATERIAL FROM THE AXIAL REGION OF SAID HOUSING, AT SAID OPPOSITE END THEREOF.