Apparatus and method for separating nuts of different buoyancy in a liquid
OwnerMohammad NAKHEI-NEJADinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for separating nuts of different buoyancy in a liquid. The apparatus has a tank, a support frame, and a particle collecting device. The particle collecting device has a shell that is attached to and wraps circumferentially around an auger shaft that is rotatably mounted to the support frame. As the auger shaft is rotated about its axis, the attached shell is rotated in the liquid in the tank and its spiral shape directs nuts onto the auger shaft, and the auger surface advances the nuts towards an end opening of the shell disposed outside of the tank.
Claims20
A device for sorting nuts based on buoyancy in a liquid, the device comprising:
- (a) a collection tank for the liquid, and having a lower collection trough;
- (b) a first rotating scoop positioned to scoop nuts at a first depth in the tank;
- (c) a second rotating scoop positioned to scoop nuts at a second depth in the tank;
- (d) a conveyor for removing nuts which sink to the lower collection trough;
- (e) a first lateral conveyor disposed within the first scoop for removing nuts scooped by the first scoop;
- and
- (f) a second lateral conveyor disposed within the second scoop for removing nuts scooped by the second scoop.
A method of sorting nuts based on buoyancy in a liquid, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) Depositing nuts in a collection tank filled with a liquid;
- (b) Collecting floating nuts with a first rotating scoop positioned to scoop nuts at a first depth in the tank;
- (c) Collecting nuts with an intermediate buoyancy with a second rotating scoop positioned to scoop nuts at a second depth in the tank;
- and
- (d) Collecting nuts which do not float with a conveyor positioned at the bottom of the tank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.