Apparatus for separating objects having a tendency to hitch to each other

An apparatus for separating entangled objects from each other, such as springs or other objects having a tendency to hitch to each other, said apparatus comprising an upstanding receptacle which is generally symmetrical about a substantially vertical axis and contains a separation chamber of annular cross-section formed between a generally cylindrical outer wall and an inner wall located radially inside the outer wall and in coaxial relationship thereto, and means for generating a generally helical flow of air along the inner side of the outer wall in order to move objects, fed into the receptacle, from the lower portion of the separation chamber to a discharge opening located at a higher level, the outer wall being arranged to have a braking or disturbing effect on the objects carried by said air flow when they contact said wall, a reception chamber for objects fed into the receptacle extending radially inside the inner wall from an entrance opening for said objects provided at the upper end of the receptacle and along substantially the entire vertical height of the receptacle to a position near the lower end of the separation chamber, where the reception chamber is connected to the surrounding separation chamber by means of a circumferentially extending opening formed between the lower end of the inner wall and the bottom of the receptacle and adapted to permit objects received in the reception chamber to pass from said chamber to the separation chamber through said opening.