Rotary adjustable dirt/sand/rock separator

Abstract

Aggregate mixtures such as dirt, sand, rock, concrete, etc. are separated into piles according to size by continuous agitation of the mixture and by gravitational and centrifugal forces exerted thereon. A container for the material, such as the bucket of a backhoe, has the bottom thereof at least partially open. An adjustable, hydraulically-driven rotating disk attaches to and covers the open portion of the bottom of the container, the combination having a gap, or a selected spaced-apart relationship, between the stationary container and the rotating disk. The mixture is agitated by the rotating disk and by contact with the other particles in the container. Particles smaller than the selected gap distance are thrown out through the gap between the disk and the open portion of the container by centrifugal force. Material larger than the selected gap size remains in the container.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.