Apparatus for separating particulate solids from liquids

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR THE SEPARATION OF PARTICULATE SOLIDS FROM A LIQUID, THE APPARATUS COMPRISING A BOX, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING VERTICAL PARTITION WITHIN THE BOX PROVIDING FIRST AND SECOND CHAMBERS SIDE BY SIDE WITHIN THE BOX, FIRST AND SECOND LIQUID DRAINING SCREENS DIVIDING THE FIRST AND SECOND CHAMBERS RESPECTIVELY INTO UPPER AND LOWER COMPARTMENTS, SAID SCREENS HAVING LONGITUDINALLY SPACED ENTRY AND EXIT ENDS ADJACENT THE ENDS OF SAID VERTICAL PARTITION, SAID SCREENS BEING LATERALLY DISPOSED SUCH THAT THE ENTRY OF THE FIRST SCREEN IS LATERALLY ADJACENT THE EXIT END OF THE SECOND SCREEN BUT SEPARATED THEREFROM BY SAID VERTICAL PARTITION, MEANS FOR FEEDING A MIXTURE OF PARTICULATE SOLIDS AND LIQUID ONTO THE ENTRY END OF THE FIRST SCREEN FOR MOVEMENT TO THE EXIT END, A FIRST WEIR FORMED BY A PART OF THE VERTICAL PARTITION OF REDUCE HEIGHT DISPOSED AT THE EXIT END OF THE FIRST SCREEN AND PROJECTING ABOVE THE FIRST SCREEN FOR ALLOWING THE CONTROLLED PASSAGE OF THE SOLIDS TRANSVERSELY THEREOVER FROM THE EXIT ENND OF THE FIRST SCREEN ONTO THE ENTRY END OF THE SECOND SCREEN, A SECOND WEIR DISPOSED AT THE EXIT END OF, AND PROJECTING ABOVE, THE SECOND SCREEN FOR ALLLOWING CONTROLLED PASSAGE OF THE SOLIDS THEREOVER MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING LIQUID FROM THE LOWER COMPARTMENTS OF THE CHAMBERS AFTER PASSAGE THROUGH THE SCREENS, MEANS FOR VIBRATING THE BOX SO AS TO CAUSE GENERALLY LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF SOLIDS ALONG THE FIRST SCREEN TO THE EXIT END THEREOF AND THEN TRANSVERSELY OVER THE FIRST WEIR, ALONG THE SECOND SCREEN AND OVER THE SECOND WEIR, AND OUTLET MEANS FOR THE SOLIDS WHICH PASS OVER THE SECOND WEIR.