Centrifugal jig pulsing system

A centrifugal jig, comprising:

• a rotor movably mounted for rotation about a reference axis, the rotor including a perforated screen and a surrounding hollow hutch, wherein the screen includes coaxial inner and outer surfaces centered about the reference axis and the hutch has an interior space normally filled with fluid during operation of the jig, the interior space of the hutch extending radially outward from the screen to a series of peripheral hutch outlets;
• feed means for directing incoming slurry to the inner surface of the screen;
• a stationary shroud having an interior space enclosing the rotor;
• a plurality of fluid nozzles arranged equiangularly about the reference axis, the fluid nozzles each being adapted to be in communication with a source of continuously flowing pressurized fluid, the fluid nozzles each having an open outlet defined by a surrounding solid wall arranged in a first arcuate path that is centered about the reference axis, the outlets of the fluid nozzles being located within the interior space of the shroud;
• a plurality of pulse blocks mounted to the rotor, the pulse blocks each having an outlet in open communication with the interior space of the hutch, the pulse blocks each further having an open inlet in communication with its outlet, the pulse block inlets each being defined by a surrounding solid wall arranged along a second arcuate path centered about the reference axis and being adapted to periodically overlap the fluid nozzle outlets to place them in open communication with one another during rotation of the rotor, the solid wall surrounding each pulse block inlet that overlaps a fluid nozzle outlet at any time during rotation of the rotor having an area that is substantially less than the area of the fluid nozzle outlet;
• whereby continuously flowing pressurized fluid supplied to the fluid nozzles can be alternately directed either to the interior space of the hutch through the pulse blocks or to the interior space of the shroud to thereby periodically direct fluid pulses to the interior space of the hutch without ever completely obstructing flow of fluid through the fluid nozzle outlets while the rotor is rotated about the reference axis.

A centrifugal jig, comprising:

• a rotor movably mounted for rotation about a reference axis, the rotor including a perforated screen and a surrounding hollow hutch, wherein the screen includes coaxial inner and outer surfaces centered about the reference axis and the hutch has an interior space normally filled with fluid during operation of the jig, the interior space of the hutch extending radially outward from the screen to a series of peripheral hutch outlets;
• feed means for directing incoming slurry to the inner surface of the screen;
• and
• pulse means for periodically directing fluid pulses to the interior space of the hutch during rotation of the rotor;
• the hutch including annular inner wall surfaces that converge radially and axially toward facing annular surfaces;
• the facing annular surfaces of the hutch being axially spaced from one another by equiangularly spaced wedges that define the hutch outlets.

A method of separating materials on a centrifugal jig having a rotor including a perforated screen with coaxial inner and outer surfaces centered about a reference axis and a surrounding hollow hutch enclosing an interior space extending radially outward from the screen to a series of peripheral hutch outlets, comprising the following steps:

• rotating the rotor about the reference axis;
• directing incoming slurry to the rotating inner surface of the screen;
• and
• periodically directing continuously flowing pressurized fluid into the interior space of the hutch during rotation of the rotor without ever completely obstructing the flow of fluid, the continuously flowing pressurized fluid being alternately diverted into a shroud enclosing the rotor when not being directed into the interior space of the hutch.