Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
285 words
A device for the wet treating of seed material, such as grains, comprising a substantially rotation-symmetrical treating chamber including an inwardly sloping annular bottom wall, a central discharge opening surrounded by said bottom wall, an upper wall concentrically arranged above said bottom wall and sloping towards the periphery of the latter, said upper wall having an outer rim being spaced apart from the peirphery of the bottom wall to form therewith an annular gap for passing the seed material into the treating chamber; spraying means arranged in the treating chamber and being connected to a source of treating liquid; a gravity pipe having a downward outlet opening arranged concentrically above said upper wall to feed the seed material onto the latter; a dosing pipe surrounding said gravity pipe and being supported for limited coaxial displacement relative to the latter, said dosing pipe having an internal expansion of increased internal diameter including an internal annular bottom surface and a discharge opening disposed coaxially downstream of said outlet opening and having a diameter being at most slightly larger than said outlet opening; a deflecting surface disposed concentrically at a distance below said discharge opening; resilient energy storing means for urging said dosing pipe against the force of gravity into a rest position in which an annular clearance of predetermined breadth is established between said discharge opening and said deflecting surface; said energy storing means and the dimensions of said expansion being adjusted such that in operation the seed material loading said dosing pipe and its internal expansion automatically adjusts the breadth of said annular clearance to provide a constant weight flow rate of the seed material substantially independent of properties and density of the treated seed material.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
285 words
A device for the wet treating of seed material, such as grains, comprising a substantially rotation-symmetrical treating chamber including an inwardly sloping annular bottom wall, a central discharge opening surrounded by said bottom wall, an upper wall concentrically arranged above said bottom wall and sloping towards the periphery of the latter, said upper wall having an outer rim being spaced apart from the peirphery of the bottom wall to form therewith an annular gap for passing the seed material into the treating chamber; spraying means arranged in the treating chamber and being connected to a source of treating liquid; a gravity pipe having a downward outlet opening arranged concentrically above said upper wall to feed the seed material onto the latter; a dosing pipe surrounding said gravity pipe and being supported for limited coaxial displacement relative to the latter, said dosing pipe having an internal expansion of increased internal diameter including an internal annular bottom surface and a discharge opening disposed coaxially downstream of said outlet opening and having a diameter being at most slightly larger than said outlet opening; a deflecting surface disposed concentrically at a distance below said discharge opening; resilient energy storing means for urging said dosing pipe against the force of gravity into a rest position in which an annular clearance of predetermined breadth is established between said discharge opening and said deflecting surface; said energy storing means and the dimensions of said expansion being adjusted such that in operation the seed material loading said dosing pipe and its internal expansion automatically adjusts the breadth of said annular clearance to provide a constant weight flow rate of the seed material substantially independent of properties and density of the treated seed material.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
A device as defined in claim 1 wherein an upper end of said gravity pipe is connected to a charging container for said seed material and is provided with a slide gate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said resilient energy storing means includes a supporting ring secured to said gravity pipe and being adjustable in position relative to the latter; and at least one biasing spring suspended between said supporting ring and said dosing pipe.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
A device as defined in claim 1, further comprising adjusting means for manually adjusting in said rest position the breadth of said annular clearance between said deflecting surface and the discharge opening of said dosing pipe.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
A device as defined in claim 1, and further including dampening means connected to said dosing pipe to dampen vibrations of the latter during the flow of said steel material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
47 words
A device as defined in claim 1, further comprising measuring means for measuring the breadth of said annular clearance, and means for regulating the supply of said treating liquid to said spraying means depending on the actual breadth of said annular clearance measured by said measuring means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said upper wall of the treating chamber has a conical configuration and said deflecting surface is formed by a central portion of said conical upper wall.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
A device as defined in claim 1, further comprising means for producing vertically directed vibrations of at least the bottom wall of said treating chamber.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
36 words
A device as defined in claim 1, wherein a lower portion of said gravity pipe is formed with a plurality of axially directed cutouts of a substantially rhomboic or trapezoidal configuration defining complementary wall segments therebetween.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
40 words
A device as defined in claim 1, comprising a deflecting member separate from the upper wall of the treating chamber, said deflecting member being disposed concentrically downstream said discharge opening and connected by a supporting member to said gravity pipe.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
55 words
A device as defined in claim 10, wherein said deflecting member is rigidly fixed to the inner wall of said gravity pipe by a support bar provided with at least one deflecting element arranged above the annular bottom surface of said expansion for deflecting seed material flowing down through said gravity pipe into said expansion.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
A device as defined in claim 11 further comprising an auxiliary deflecting member mounted on said support rod to deflect part of the seed material on said annular bottom surface.