Refining apparatus

Claim 1

IN A MATERIAL REFINING SYSTEM INCLUDING MEANS FOR SHREDDING UNREFINED MATERIAL TO PRODUCE A MASS OF INDIVIDUAL PIECES THEREFROM, AND MEANS FOR SEPARATING THE MORE FERROUS FROM THE LESS FERROUS BEARING PIECES, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING MEANS FOR DENSIFYING THE INDIVIDUAL FERROUS BEARING PIECES WHILE MAINTAINING THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE PIECES AND THE FLUENCY OF THE MASS, SAID LAST NAMED INCLUDING A HOUSING HAVING A ROTATABLE HAMMER UNIT POSITIONED THEREIN, SAID HAMMER UNIT HAVING AT LEAST ONE RELATIVELY BLUNT ENDED HAMMER MOUNTED THEREON FOR MOVEMENT ALONG A HAMMER CIRCLE IN SAID HOUSING, AND A PLURALITY OF SPACED INDIVIDUAL GRATE BARS POSITIONED ADJACENT TO THE HAMMER CIRCLE UNDER THE HAMMER UNIT, EACH OF SAID GRATE BARS HAVING A WORK ENGAGING SURFACE FACING THE HAMMER CIRCLE AND SET AT AN ANGLE RELATIVELY TO THE HAMMER CIRCLE TO PRESENT A CONTINUOUSLY NARROWING SPACE TO THE HAMMER AS THE HAMMER MOVES PAST WHEREBY SAID HAMMER PRODUCES A PLURALITY OF SUCCEEDING WEDGING AND ROLLING UP ACTIONS ON INDIVIDUAL PIECES POSITIONED ON THE GRATE BARS EACH TIME THE HAMMER MOVES PAST THE GRATE BARS, SAID WEDGING AND ROLLING UP ACTIONS INCREASING THE DENSITY AND REDUCING THE SIZES OF THE PIECES UNTIL THE PIECES ARE SMALL ENOUGH TO PASS BETWEEN ADJACENT SPACED GRATE BARS.