Truncated conical disc separator

Claim 1

A separator for separating solid particles from liquids comprising a truncated conical disc having an inwardly extending flange at one end of said disc, and outwardly entending flange at the other end of said disc, a plurality of spaced projections on said outward and inward flanges, a plurality of curved ribs located on the surface of said disc shaped such that when viewed as a projection thereof on a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said disc produces a plurality of helical curves, each said curve having a pitch such that an angle alpha at any point along said rib that is greater than the angle of friction of the solids as such solids slide along the truncated surface of the disc, said angle alpha being measured between the tangent to any point in the plane of each said rib from the side of the direction of the flow of the liquid being clarified and the vector of the velocity of the flow of the liquid being clarified, said vector directionally coinciding with the movement of the solids being disposed of, said angle alpha being between 30 and 60 deg., the height of said ribs measured in a section normal to the truncated conical surface of the disc and said rib being between 0.2 and 0.5 the height of said projections, and said rib having an upstanding edge which meets head-on the flow of said liquid being clarified and forms an angle approximately 90 deg. with the surface of said disc.