Nov- 16, 1943- G. w. RATHJENS 2,334,217 SEPARATING MATERIAL, SEGREGATING MATERIAL AND CONTACTING MATERIAL Filed Oct. 4, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l 7 (-3. H7199 THJE/Ms, Nov. 16, 1943. 5. w, RATHJENS Y 2,334,21 7 SEPARATING MATERIAL, SEGREGATING MATERIAL AND CONTACTING MATERIAL .Filed Oct. 4, 1940 , 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 (Ittorncg Nov. 16, 1943. ' G.‘ w. RATHJENS 2,334,217 SEPARATING MATERIAL, SEGREGATING ‘MATERIAL AND CONTACTING MATERIAL Filed Oct. 4, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 16, 1943. G, w. RATHJENS 2,334,217 ' SEPARATING MATERIAL, SEGREGATING MATERIAL AND CONTACTING MATERIAL Filed 001:. 4, 1940 4 Sheets-She'et 4 uNmhwmI 3 6. H4164 THJE/Vs, Patented Nov. 16, 1,943 v " " 2,334,217 ' UNITED 'MsTArEjs ‘ SEPAKATING ‘2,334,211 ‘MATERIALS,'*SEGREGATING' ~ MATERIALS,‘ AND CON'IACTINGE"I‘MATERI-'v ALS. . ‘ ' ‘ George w, Rathjens,‘ SaltlLake City‘, Utah ‘1 Application‘october 4, 1940, SerialrNo'. 359,783 *8 chains. ‘('01. ans-1a)‘; This invention‘relates to’a method and appara- ‘ tus ‘for separatin‘gmaterials, segregating‘ mate‘ rials and contacting non-coherent ‘materials'ca pable of being dispersed in a‘?uid. Forces are de By this means aplane of shear is developed with— #'in ‘the-material mass, the location of- this plane of ' shear being'determined ‘by vari'ou's’factors‘. , ' ‘"The‘motion of the said surfaces is reciprocative and develops the signi?cant shear-‘intermittently, not continuously, that‘is to‘say, only‘on the back ward‘stroke.‘ ~Thede‘gre'e of change in packing of th‘eTpar'ticles immediately in front of the auxiliary, surface; orith‘e'number of particles being: brought rials are utilized, is novel. " I ' a’ ' In separating different‘ materials from one an 10' :into‘contact with saidrauxili'ary surface, is great other, such for example, as precious metals ‘from I er during that unit of time in which shear is ef fected in the mass, than during the portion oftime alluvial sands or gravel's, I have discovered that Veloped whose underlying principles are'similar in some respects to‘tho'se disclosed in my‘United States Patent No. ‘2,097,422, but the manner ‘in which the force or forces acting upon the mate: the nature or degree of packing between ‘and ‘ among the different“ particles of which the mass is composed,'plays an important part. By close-i ly. controlling the tenden'cyto pack, new "results in the various . separating, segregating‘ and ‘contact ing operations are attained‘. The invention‘con templates the employment of a nu'mber'of inter- ‘ ‘when such shear is not being developed. ‘ ’ l In‘theadrawings,» Ur ' " " ‘ . ‘Fig.1 is a‘ diagram representing in vertical sec :tion takenlalongthe line‘ of action, approximately ' ‘a dispersion of. material“ particles ratjthe beginning ofa cycle‘of reciprocative motiony‘ ' ' ' "I ‘t Fig. 2,.a v'diagramsimilar tovFig.‘ 1, but repre-Y' related vibratory forces among which,'~'“at-least e20 senting approximately the further dispersion of one force stands’ characteristically apart, since it ‘ can be de?nitely controlled. This characteristic force-has a vertical component which acts in a di- ' rection counter to the force of gravity. .1 » i The material to be operatedupon‘is advanta geously caused to advance along‘ a‘main or “pri mary surface because of ‘the vibratory =motion thereof, until at‘the properpoint, at least aipor ‘ tion ofthe advancing materialisintercepted by , ~ anwauxiliary or secondary surface which‘isain- 'r clined. relatively to the vertical, ‘and slopes uD- ‘ wardly and forwardly with respect to the advanc the particles after the motion cycle has reached a 'point‘ a-frac'tiomlessithan"one-half ‘a motion; . . Fig.4, a diagram similar toFigs; 1 andf2,l?but ‘ ‘representing‘approximately the packing of parti cles‘in a'triangular zone of action after ‘a fraca tional cyclic motion‘v greater than one-half a cycle ,has occurred; material.‘v ‘ v ' ' ' > > ‘ The material has'impressed upon‘its constitu ent'particles, “a :certainv directional forcevwhich ; causes the particles to move along and‘ over the main surface, and in so doingto meet and contact the auxiliary surface or surfaces. J Because‘of the resistance oifered by. the auxiliary surface or ‘sur faces to the moving particles, the material is com- . pacted. In consequence. of all the‘forces acting upon them, the particles immediately in front of an auxiliary surfacebecome packed to a greater or lesser degree. The fact of this packing; how . i, i w s _‘ ' ‘i i“ ‘ Fig.15, ‘an elevation, partly in l0ngitudinal,.ver ticaLsection taken on- theline _5-‘-5, Fig. 6. through a machinesuitable for practicing the process; I, , ig.~_6, a'plan, partlyjinhorizontal-section, tak enontheline6-¢-6inFig.5; . 1;“ V Fig. '7, a fragmentary‘horizontal‘sectioi1,tak— en on theline 14-1, Fig. 5, drawn to anenlarged scale; ~ . Fig, ,8,’ a vertical section taken on the line 87-8, 9, ‘a’vertical section taken on the line 9+9, ever, does not mean that the particles are entirely . -: Fig. 15,idrawnmto approximately the same scale as deprived of mobility. but on the contrary, the tend ency to pack in reality assists ina continual‘re ‘Figs. 7‘ and _8, the screen and parts intheback assortment of the frontal particles of the material mass, and also in a corresponding consolidation of. other portions of the material. » Such consolida- u ,groundbeing omitted; ' . Fig‘. ‘10, a longitudinaLvertical sectionsimilar f to Fig. 5, but showing a machine of 2 somewhat different ‘construction; I, tion is brought about by moving the material along Fig.- )ll, agplan of an individual the ‘main surface. and bringing itv into » contact with the‘ auxiliary surface which has , its , sig .,Fi_g,_10, drawnjto an enlarged scale; . ni?cant motion in a directionacountert to the. di-. reotion of motion ‘of the material in a half ,cyclai. V particles, and showingalso, a- compound auxiliary @surface instead of the simple auxiliary'surface ‘of -Figs.>1to,3;. ing ; in vertical ‘section; represent .ing ;a disposition ‘off-forces, acting‘ upon: certain . - Fig.4; a diagram v ‘ pan of - v F‘figs. 12>and 13, ,verticalsections takenrespec tively on the lines »l_-2—-l2qand l3e—'l‘3;in' Fig-.ll; > 2 2,334,217 Fig. 14, another construction of the ri?ie pan in the portion enclosed 'by the broken line I4 in Fig. 12, drawn to an enlarged scale. over the main surface, the line of Ireciprocative 7 Referring to the drawings, the line 20-20 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, represents a datum plane. The ' numeral 2| denotes a main or deck surface which 0 force must have a horizontal component, and the direction of travel of the material over the main _' surface, must be towards the acute angle formed by the intersection of the line of action of the is preferably substantially plane and is disposed reciprocative force with its horizontal component, the said acuteangle being located above the to move upand down, in suitable relation .to. thev horizontal component. datum pane N advantageously: ' in 1 rarallellismi with“. . . -. In’ actual Practice the auxiliary surface 22 is .10 limited inv its upward extent, and its upper edge . . In Fig. 1, the main surface 2| is shown in cor, incidence with the datum plane 20-40. naturally transverse to the line of reciproca tion. In being reciprocated, the said transverse In Fig. 2. the main surface slicwncazftet" _ vupper edgemoves along the line of reciprocation, has descended from the datum"planev .a; :distance? thereby genera-ting a surface that may con corresponding to less than one-half a cycle of 15 veniently be called a surface of “shear.” If the motion. said transverse upper edge is substantially InvFig. 3, the main surface is shown ‘in’ a posi- ' tion where it has completed moreithanloneehalf a cycleof motion and where it is on itsway back to the initial position in the datum plane. ‘ " /'Ihc.mainsuriace 2.1! vinterscctc-ri; bran auxii iary nine-surmise; 22; which. disposed. :in. other straight‘, the‘ surface of shear is plane, and may , be..-'cal?ed: a. “shear plane.” In Figs. 1 to 3, the line 24 indicates the trace of such a shear plane. Theterm “shear” is derived from the fact that the upper edgecf the auxiliary surface, because of the inertia of the. mass, of material, shears than a vertical: :pcsiticn, but so. .thatrit slopes through the particles in- Which-‘it is submerged. I . upwardly in the direction’ iii-motion of material II1§BParatineand;/Qr segregating-materials. the particles. trawling; ‘.cmer' at e: main surface and 52.5 sheanplane. auxiliary surface, and: the main. sur forms an obtuse-angled riilicepoclsetmirhe ‘main faceintFies. '1: to 3.-tcgether, usually- de?ne; a and; auxiliary surfaces arclavreferably?xed ‘ire-la ‘ tively to ‘each; other andmovc-a's‘a ,un'it; ‘mus unitis. necipmeated along a line-whichais located archer angular relationship to: =both; themain surfaceandthe The main surface auxiliary ,21 at zero2 surface. hour- coincides 1 I . with the datum;plane-2.0-..—;2.0 invFig. I1‘. AtJzem hour plus a fraction of‘ a cycle less-‘than. oneeha'lf of ‘prismatic zone of triangular acl‘QSB-S??tioll, and; it is__,in this ‘zone, that the- principal characteristic actions are manifested. . _ ‘ . . ' , In using; the invention. ‘for contacting purposes, such as passingecld particles, including very ?ne 5.615;: overamalgam plates, the amalgam plates are advantageously placed so. that the-planes thercef. are substantially coincident or parallel, said ‘cycle, the main surface @M: twill-{have .ria?with the line‘ of; action of the. appliedforce. In descended’ in: a backward ‘stroke-townie position may, the gold: is; caused to merely skim over shown-in '2: "Sincejthe- auxiliary: surface; 22 ' the-amalgam: surface; and yet to effectively con is normally ?xed inre'lation to-iihem-ain: surface, tact theecme, accomplishing- perfect amal... the auxiliary. surface, a-backwand strioke-v ‘will carnation-slime .eoldwzithout causing the mercury have moved’ from the‘ position Fig'. 1"to 1 40 te-l‘f?euri’ ' position ZZ'Yin'Fig. 2'. ' I » '7 - , r * , . p I ~. hiss, 51th 14. illustrate apparatus for carrying auxiliary The unit; surface moves.in along a downstroke ‘the’ 'lfbrwheneby' is caused‘ to - cut through amassof material particles 21~Ialong invention: into practica'a certain construc- . I‘ tion'hcingshown in Figs. 5. andr?, andanother in Fig. 10. t The one in Figsklii and 6' comprises .» thesrline Z4‘. Inethisportionof zt'hegcycle, materials the reciprocating cxmtainer'or sluice-30 Whose immediately above-the main surfaoearetdescend- ‘ “bottom. 32!; *1 provides the- main surface 2=I'--l. ‘snarled apart from one-another along the main surfacearefa pluralityv of ri?ies which provide .ing, many. ofthem verticallyr- The action of the auxiliary surface in its downward and backward movementis to. interceptithose particles in its zonev of: influence rsoaas ‘to pack‘ "the-"material ' ,closer- and‘. at the same time 'to1sub;i'ect"theipar theauxiliary' surfaces 22-4. 7' . ~ .ifI‘heis-luice is. mounted for reciprocation along the line .ofaction “as indicated by the ‘double pointed :ai'row'l?; and‘ is supported on the flex‘ ible vibrators 35 and 35, the vibrators being in tnrnisupported. on the ‘base members-31'.“ Recip > ' The vertical arrows? 28in Fig} 4' represent'ithe 5.5 nocator-y-motion maybe imparted to thersluice ticles which are being ‘brought intoicontact‘with such auxiliary surfaces, to the action or the forces represented ‘by lines=2=5-and~25—-l' inFig. 4.1 resultants o-fiall- forcesacting/vertically: on the ' particles'during that vportion ‘of-the‘ cycle- ln~ which the forces~25 and 25l—..l;~-also‘aot ‘on tthe"!"s‘ajlrie particles. 1 I g *1‘; ~ I I‘ ‘In'Fig. 3 are- represented the positions of the main surface and ‘the auxiliary’ surface éitfthe any'suitabl'e ‘means, for example, a centrii.L 7' ‘ fugally actuated‘, reciprocatory motivating unitv !3B.%,".of"'which there are several Well known and commercially available ‘types in everyday use. The-particular'unit illustrated‘ in Figs. 5 and 6 comprises; centrifugal weights 39 and 40 disposed ' time/in ‘the-cycle which is equalrto zero hounplus ‘to revolve ‘around theirespective centers H and a fraction of a cycle greater ‘than one-haflff‘ It will be noted that during'this'portion of the cycle, other. while thehuxiliar‘y- surface is again jinovipg-u-p ward and forward; the forces; 25' and v‘25-4 in Fig. 4, are not being developed with respect ‘to the partieleimniedia-tely adjacent or contacting ‘ the auxiliary surface. ' The forces 25 and 25-__|-,1actei“gj on‘ the particle because of the obstructing nature of “the auxiliary or barrier surface ?lk'canbereducedto zero; or - they» can, be‘ increased at will- from the zero value, < until their5'di-reetion- is horizontal. In order to cause material ‘particles to move 42,: the Weights. 'being?intergeared. with each . '- I ' H ' The mechanism ‘of- the reciprocatory- motivat ing‘unilt3 is'usually enclosed in- a ‘casing #3, which in turnimay belrigidly mounted on the sluice 30, las-lindci':a'rted at“, and receive-its power from a ' byiqneans- of the respective pulleys if! andi'il?gland the belts 49. f The motor may be rigidlymountéd on a stationary frame 53 ex ?tending‘upwardly- from the base-*mem-bers 3-1. It isadvantageous‘that a line 5|‘ which connects the-“centersoff the» motor and‘ the reciprocatory' motivating unit- to? "one another, should make _ 3 2,334,217 shortarc about, the ‘axis of. the motor shaft ‘52, The .b'acks‘1B‘-l ofv the ri?lepan‘s may slope upwardly‘as required, and be provided with ad justable and removable .riiiles ‘l9, adjustment be this’ are is substantially"equivalent'to ‘a short , ing effected for example, by ‘r‘neansof. bolts 11 substantially a right angle with the line‘ ‘of. ac- > tion 32 so that, while the center'M‘describes a tangent described by the point ref-‘intersection v5 in‘conjunction with slots 8|, In the event that the inclination of ri?le;faces,~which constitute between lines. 32 and 51".; The belts may betené sioned by means .of a spring takerup 53,; The length of a-stroke of, the reciprocating auxiliary surfaces, as hereinbefore referred to, 1 ‘should require to be changed, wedge-shaped bars sluice is governed. by the total weight of the sluice. may be used. Wedges, such as theone at.88 of 10 different angular. magnitudes may be ‘ supplied, including itsliveload, relative to'the centrifugal weights of the reciprocatory.motivating..unit. and a great variety of slopes be therebybbtained» Each wedge may provide ‘two different slopes, one when the small part of the wedge is. at the This means that in‘ designing.a,machine,qthei dead and live Weights of thersl‘uice, the rate of speed of the reciprocation, and the effect of-the bottom as indicated‘in Fig. 14, and'another when centrifugal weights must all be ‘correlated with 15 the same wedge is inverted ‘(not shown). onea'nothenf. ..~ ‘ I ". ‘ Referring »to Figs. 6 and 9,, the purpose of lon- . gitudinal partitions such as the one at 62, which . The sluice in the present instance is'designed for. handling placer sands ‘and gravels, and to divides the sluice into separate. compartments, is to provide for‘ emergencies occurring. at times such as water, indicated at 54, which submerges‘ 20 when‘ a sluice is used in conjunction withplacer mining dredges. 'Such dredges' are‘ frequently the rif?es- including the, auxiliary surfaces 22--l‘. subject .to considerable listing, ‘and when that The. depth of'the water may be regulated by an adjustable over?ow device 56, which is provided ~ takes place, the liquid tends all to run to one side this end forms a co'ntainerfor a suitable. liquid 1 of the sluice. - By providing the longitudinal par with adjustable side-plates 57 and a cover .58. The overflow device discharges into a trough 25 titions, the liquid is kept from running to the 59 which conveys the. overflowing matter to any one side,‘ since it builds up .‘i‘neach compartment suitable point of disposal (not shown)'. somewhatjas indicated. by the broken lines '90. While only one partition 62 is shown‘, it is to be ' " > Optional features of the sluice ‘include .the understood that in a sluice of considerable width, screen or other perforated grid 60, 'andcne or more longitudinally extendingpartitions B2, vby 30 it may be advantageous to use two or more longi-‘ means of which latter the sluice is divided into a tudinal partitions. ‘- . , > ..,An important consideration in the invention, is that the speed of operation shall be extremely ments 63, the‘jpurpose of the partitionappearing rapid, since otherwise, the‘ auxiliary surfaces In operation, the material to be separated may 35 hereinbefore described,‘ cannotfunction properly. I ?x-the minimum speed of reciprocation at a be brought to the. machine by‘means of a con rate such that in a down-stroke, the liquid in" the veyor indicated ‘in broken lines' at 64.‘ The con container must descend 'at least faster thanwould veyor may ‘discharge .intofa hopper K55,v from be its fall in'the same ‘down-‘stroke because'of which the material is discharged upon the screen 6i] along ‘which, in the‘present instance, the rela -4,0 the action of gravity alone.‘ ‘ In other words, the distancethat the liquid, and therefore the auxil- ‘ tively coarse material is propelled in the direc iary or‘ packing surfaces also,‘ falls in a down tion of the arrow‘, 61, "while the ?ner material stroke, must‘be at'least ‘equal ‘to '1/2gt2. passes through the screen and drops into the‘ plurality of longitudinally extending compart presently. ‘ ' l body of liquid 54). ‘ i , 1 ‘ It is also important in the invention, thattall - undue vibration be eliminated, and to this end -, 1 Because. of the peculiar. vibratory motion and a high rate of reciprocation ‘imparted to 'the I have evolved a'high speed reciprocatory system sluice, as more fully explained. hereinafter, cer- ‘ in which the formation of moments or couples tain portions of the material beingtreated, ac cumulate in fro-ntoffthe auxiliary surfaces 22-! is practically overcome; This system is described ' in accordance“ with the principles explained. in ' connection with Figs, 1 to 4, andcertain other portions ‘of the material pass overthe ri?les and emerge at the point 68, being there joined‘by such portions as pass over the'screen‘ 60. From the point 68 the rejected‘portions'are discharged ‘ from the sluice at the point 69. . _ , ‘Make-up water may’advantageouslybe sup~ plied from a.‘ tank '10 and'be fed to the sluice through the pipe 'H controlled for example, by a valve 12 having its discharge at ‘13. .After the machine has been running‘ a certain length, of time ‘sui?cientj to collect the desired product in “ front of the auxiliary surfaces 22—|, this prod uct may be flushed out through the stop-cocks seywhich discharge‘into the trough 59,_‘and be recovered at a suitable point.- ‘ ' - _ ‘ The apparatus shown in FigsQlO to 14, intro duces various differences in details of construc tion. In this case;'the‘bottom 14‘ of the vibra tory sluice 15', is substantially‘level instead of sloping as in the'case ‘of the ‘sluice in Fig. 5, and is provided‘vwith removable rif?e pans 76, these being rigidly fastened in the‘sluice‘by means of bolts 18 which extend‘through the‘bottom of ‘the sluice. ‘ “ " . ‘ “ in an‘ application for U. S. "patent whose ?ling date is even with that of the‘ present application. The fundamental consideration in this recipro catory system is that the center of gravity of ‘the ‘ dead ‘load of the sluice, is calculated separately from the center of‘ gravity of the live] load there of, and that the resultant center of gravity ‘of both the dead and live loads, shall be located in the ‘line of action of the appliedlmotive force. ‘An important consideration of the invention is to give the proper value to the gravity eifectof to the live load during ‘its reciprocation.v;I have ‘ discovered that . when high speeds of reciproca tion, are attained, such as those necessary. to 'cause the liquid medium to descend in a down stroke a distance greater than 1/2gt2,'the live load during reciprocation exerts only a fractional part of its actual weightupon the container. There fore, inlocating ‘the center of gravity of the‘live- , loadmasafl have‘ found‘that it is necessary‘to re‘gardj ‘thisjmass as‘ being held in‘fsuspension, ‘ therebyreducin‘g its weight ‘effect to ‘as little as‘ one-'third,"or even less, of the weighteffect of the normally static'live-loaclweight. This procedure makes a veryperceptible change in the location of the dynamic or liveiloadcenter of gravity from that'of‘the‘ static live-loadcenter of gravity. ‘ 4 25334317 :The' location'offthe live-load- center oifgravity may‘ be: arrived. at empirical'ly,rthat isto say, by said' deck‘ surface ‘so ‘as-to undercut advancing materials and form ' an< obtuse-angled rime cut-‘andetry procedure, * and highly ‘satisfactory rcsults'obtainedi _' - Barriers 9f, Figs.~ 5 and 6',- extending .trans- f‘. versely of the" screen or 'p'erforate'd'surface 66, may advantageouslybe provided for packing at given points, they advancing material} particles larger than“ the openings in the screen‘ or perfo surface, makingv an acute angle with said deck surface, the said‘mat‘erialsbeing thereby caused rated surface, the packing being‘ intermittently changedbecause of; the reciprocating motion al ready‘ described herein. ‘ to advance across ‘said deck surface againstzthe f ‘acute angle and, upward slope of said.‘ auxiliary ‘ ' ' - A removable cover 92 for: the sluice is desirable ri?ie-surface, and the upper 'edge of said auxih iary ri?e-surface being-thereby caused to gener; ate-‘a shear plane through the said materials at for'con?ning the outward splashtof the contents thereof during operation. - 1 Brie?y summarizing the method of the inven tion, amaterialr capable of being dispersed in a liquid, is 'fed .onto‘a main surface‘ or deck" sub,~ merged by the liquid. The material is advanced in serrated paths along the submerged surface‘ to a given point, and during its advancing-travel is subjected-to. certain separative and/or segregative in?uences, because of the peculiar reciproc'ative motion‘ imparted to the submerged surface. The each down-stroke of the container,‘ along a line having both a vertical and a hori zontal component at least so rapidly that‘ the _ ' ' '2‘. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the said means‘ for reciprocating the containerjis effective to move the container so rapidly that the liquid medium contained thereby descends in a down-stroke a distance at least equal to‘, 1@9132. ‘ 3. Apparatus‘ according to claim 1, wherein the ~ formation of'the serrated paths- is‘ fully set forth = in U. 8-. Patent No. ‘21,097,422; -The peculiar" mo tion: is the result of reciprocatnigtth'e surface‘ pocket; ‘means-for reciprocatingvth'e container in. tip-strokes and down-strokes, alternating one with another, and‘ along'a line having a vertical component ~and a- horizontal component'gand which slopesupwardly-in the same direction‘ as the upward slope of the said auxiliary riliie-1 line of action of the said means for reciprocating the container passes substantially through the combined centers of gravity of the dead load and . > of the livev load, inclusive of’ thev said liquidv medium. . 4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vertical is equal to the aforesaid 1/29't2. Arriving ,30 said auxiliary rif?e-surface is substantially par allel with the line of ‘at the given point, certain desired portions of the material are intermittently packed against a bar rier or auxiliary surface which intersects the main surface and is inclined upwardly‘ in the direction'of advance of. the material. The aux‘- ‘ iliary surface is also subject to the said peculiar reciprocative motion. ' ‘ -~ ‘ The reciprocating motion causes a continual change in; packing of. the material, the expression force. action of the applied motive 5. Apparatus for separating; segregating, and 1 contacting materials capable of being dispersed , within a liquid medium, .including in combina tion, a container adapted to con?ne a liquid me: dium and having a deck surface disposed to be ' submerged by the" said liquid medium; means for reciprocating the container in up-strokes' and “change in packing” .being used to denote. a 40 down-strokes, alternating one with another, and ' along a line havingla vertical component and a change in the number of solid units in unit vol horizontal component, and which makes an acute ume of material, either plus or minus-snore open angle with the said deck surface, the said mate-, packing if mi-nus-~-'closerv packing if plus. ~The rials being thereby caused to advance'across said zone of packing action is bounded at-le'ast‘ par deck surface in the direction of the upward slope tially by an imaginary shearing surface; and a of said line‘ of reciprocation, the said line of ac surface of maximum packing. The novel pack ing result is _accomplished because the tendency of the different material particles is to ascend the inclined, auxiliarysurface in characteristically different degrees. ' ' ' In the instance of Fig. 10;‘ the motivating unit 88 is somewhat di?'erent from the one shown in Fig. 5, but effects a similar result, being rigidly mounted at ill on the sluice 15; This motivating unit includes the centrifugal weightslli and. 83-, and may be driven from a stationary motor‘ M. ‘Thetlevelrof- the l'iquidilSv may be maintained substantially _'constant by providing the overflow opening 86. . - _ I tion of the said means for reciprocating the con tainer passing substantially throughthe com bined centers of gravity‘ of the dead load and of the live load, inclusive of the'said liquid medium. 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the center of gravity‘ of the live' load is considered from the standpoint of the effective weight of the live load duringrates of reciprocation such in Cl ‘ that the liquid medium descends in a down-stroke a distance greater than 1(quiz. _'7. Apparatus for separating, segregating, and contacting materials capable of being dispersed within a liquid medium, including in combina tion, a container adapted to con?nea liquid me 'lg'he line of action 81 of the motivatingforce is 60 dium and having a'deck surface disposed to be substantially perpendicular‘ to the line 89 which submerged by the said liquid medium; an auxil- ‘ joins the centers of the ‘motivating unit and iai'y ri?le-surface which intersects the said deck motor in ‘its mean position. Having fully described my‘inv'ention what I claim vis: ' ‘ r _ ‘ ‘ 1"; Apparatus for separating,‘segregating, and contacting materials capable ‘of being dispersed withina liquid medium, including in combination, a container adapted to con?ne aliquid medium andh’aving a deck surface disposed to be sub mergedf‘by the said liquid medium; an auxiliary rif?e-surface whi'ch‘int'ersects the said, deck sur ' I face, intermediate the boundary edges thereof, in an acute ‘angle and ‘slopes upwardly relative“ to 4' surface, intermediate the boundary edges thereof, in an acute angle and slopes upwardly relative to said deck surface so as to undercut advancing materials and form an obtusevangled ri?le pocket; means for reciprocating the container in up? _ strokes and down-strokes, valternating one with another, and alongaline having a vertical com- » ponent' and a horizontal component and, which slopes upwardly in the same direction as the upward slope of the said auxiliary ri?l'e-surface, _ making an acute angle with saiddeck surface, the said'materials being thereby caused toad-7' 2,334,217 vance across said deck surface against‘the acute angle and upward slope of said‘auxiliary ri?le surface, and the upper edge of said auxiliary ri?le-surface being thereby caused to gener ate a shear plane through the said mate rials at each down-stroke of the container, 5 , live load being considered from the standpoint of > the e?ective weight of‘ the live load during rates of ‘reciprocation such that the liquid medium de scends in a down-stroke a distance greater than 1/2gt2. the line of action of the said means for 8. Apparatus according to claim '7, wherein the said auxiliary ri?e-surface is substantially par reciprocating the container passing substantially allel with the line of action of the applied motive force. through the combined centers of gravity of the dead load and of the live‘load, inclusive of the 10 said liquid medium, the center of gravity of the GEORGE W. RATHJENS. ‘
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