Treating apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR FLUID TREATMENT OF MATERIAL COMPRISING: AN ENCLOSED CHAMBER DEFINED BY A ROTARY DRUM, SAID DRUM BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT A LONGITUDINAL AXIS THROUGH ITS CENTER, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DRUM AROUND SAID AXIS, A FIRST ROTARY VALVE MEMBER COAXIAL WITH SAID AXIS, FIXED TO AND ROTATING WITH SAID DRUM, SAID MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF PORTS ANGULARLY SPACED AROUND SAID AXIS AND IN THE SAME PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO SAID AXIS, A PLURALITY OF FLUID PASSAGES FIXED IN SAID DRUM, ONE FOR EACH OF SAID PORTS, EACH PASSAGE CONNECTING THE RESPECTIVE PORT WITH SAID CHAMBER AT A CERTAIN ANGULAR POSITION AROUND SAID AXIS AND ON SAID DRUM, THE RESPECTIVE POSITIONS BEING SPACED ANGULARLY AROUND SAID AXIS, A SECONDARY ROTARY VALVE MEMBER COACTING WITH SAID FIRST ROTARY VALVE MEMBER, COAXIAL THEREWITH, AND HAVING A VALVE PORT, SAID VALVE MEMBERS HAVING COACTING SPHERICAL SURFACES, AND MEANS RESILIENTLY URGING SAID SPHERICAL SURFACES TOGETHER, WHEREBY SAID VALVE MEMBERS MAINTAIN RESILIENT CONTACT DURING VIBRATION AND AXIAL MISALIGNMENTS THEREBETWEEN, MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID SECONDARY ROTARY VALVE MEMBER IN FIXED POSITION WITH ITS VALVE PORT AXIALLY ABREAST SAID PLURALITY OF PORTS FOR SEQUENTIAL CONNECTION THEREWITH WHEN SAID DRUM ROTATES, AND A FLUID PASSAGE FOR CONNECTING THE VALVE PORT OF SAID SECONDARY ROTART VALVE MEMBER WITH AN EXTERNAL FLUID MOVING MEANS, WHEREBY AS SAID DRUM ROTATES SAID EXTERNAL FLUID MOVING MEANS WILL BE CONNECTED SEQUENTIALLY WITH SAID CHAMBER AT THE SUCCESSIVE ANGULAR POSITIONS OF SAID DRUM, WHICH POSITIONS CORRESPOND IN SUCCESSION WITH A PORTION OF SAID CHAMBER WHICH IS ANGULARLY FIXED WITH RESPECT TO SAID VALVE PORT.