Apparatus for and method of blending dry materials

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF BLENDING SEPARATE METERED QUANTITIES OF AT LEAST TWO DIFFERENT DRY PARTICULATE MATERIALS, EACH OF WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED AS HAVING A PARTICLE WEIGHT AND FINENESS RANGE DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER, SAID METHOD COMPRISING: PROVIDING AT LEAST TWO RECEIVER ELEMENTS, ONE ABOVE THE OTHER, AND ENCLOSING THE SAME IN A HOUSING; PLACING SAID SEPARATE METERED QUANTITIES OF MATERIALS IN THE UPPER RECEIVER ELEMENT AND CONFINING SAID SEPARATE METERED QUANTITIES OF MATERIALS TEMPORARILY IN SAID UPPER RECEIVER ELEMENT; DISCHARGING SAID SEPARATE METERED QUANTITIES OF MATERIALS BY GRAVITY FROM SAID UPPER RECEIVER ELEMENT IN THE FORM OF A FLOW STREAM; PROVIDING AIR PRESSURE IN SAID UPPER RECEIVER ELEMENT AND A PARTIAL VACUUM IN THE LOWER RECEIVER ELEMENT TO ASSIST IN THE FLOW OF MATERIALS FROM THE UPPER TO THE LOWER RECEIVER ELEMENT; DEFLECTING THE SAID FLOW STREAM TO AT LEAST PARTIALLY BLEND SAID MATERIALS AS THE FLOW STREAM FALLS BY GRAVITY FROM SAID UPPER RECEIVER ELEMENT;