Pulverizer

Claim 1

A PULVERIZER COMPRISING A CASING INCLUDING OPPOSED SIDE WALLS, A ROTOR EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS AND HAVING SPACED APART HAMMERS PROJECTING FROM ITS PERIPHERY, A PULVERIZER ELEMENT POSITIONED ADJACENT THE ROTOR AND EXTENDING BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS, THE SIDE WALLS WITH THE PULVERIZED ELEMENT AND THE PERIPHERY OF THE ROTOR TOGETHER DEFINING A PASSAGE WHICH CONVERGES DOWNSTREAM RELATIVE TO THE DIRECTION OF ROTOR ROTATION, MEANS TO INDUCE A FLOW OF AIR THROUGH THE PASSAGE, THE PULVERIZER ELEMENT INCLUDING STEPPED CRUSHER PLATES HAVING DISCONTINUITIES IN THEIR SURFACES AND ALSO INCLUDING A PLATE WHICH IS HINGED ON AN AXIS PARALLEL WITH THE ROTOR AXIS AND ADJACENT THE DOWNSTREAM EDGE OF THE CRUSHER PLATES FOR LIMITED PIVOTAL MOVEMENT SO THAT THE EFFECTIVE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE HINGED PLATE AND THE PERIPHERY OF THE ROTOR MAY BE VARIED, SPACED APART TEETH PROJECTING FROM THE HINGED PLATE, THE HAMMERS OF THE ROTATING ROTOR MESHING IN THE SPACES BETWEEN THE TEETH AND THE TEETH CORRESPONINGLY MESHING IN THE SPACES BETWEEN THE HAMMERS, A SERIES OF CLASSIFIER PLATES ARRANGED SIDE BY SIDE ADJACENT THE DOWNSTREAM EDGE OF THE HINGED PLATE AND BEING HINGED ON AXIS WHICH ARE PARALLEL TO THE ROTOR AXIS SO THAT THEIR