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US 4,035,288 AGranted
Fluidized bed seed separator
OwnerFrancois Gibert, Gerard Champetinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bed of fluidized material is used to separate seeds on the basis of specific gravity. The bed may be a rotating annulus and it may have one or more layers of micro-balls at the bottom. Means for rotating the annulus and various discharge means are disclosed.
Claims18
A device for sorting bodies of different densities by floating said bodies in a fluidized bed of solid particles, comprising:
- a diffuser including an enclosure having a horizontal porous bottom which serves to support thereon a fluidized bed constituted by a mattress of calibrated micro-balls contained within said enclosure;
- at least one paddle wheel which rotates about suitable horizontal axis means disposed above said fluidized bed so as to permit the paddles of said paddle wheel to dip into said particles of said fluidized bed;
- said diffuser being provided with suitable moving means to cause said diffuser to move forward in longitudinal direction to pass under said paddle wheel;
- the lower paddles of said paddle wheel being constituted by a comb;
- said comb having teeth which are spaced greater than the average size of said particles of said fluidized bed and smaller than the average size of the grade of said bodies to be separated.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.