Abstract: A method of valuation of raw fines materials, comprising selectively screening, biotreatment or composting of raw fines materials or selection as fillers in composites. The method comprises screening the raw fines materials to Grade 1 comprising fines materials of a size of at most about 5 mm and Grade 2 comprising fines materials of a size larger than about 5 mm; and at least one of: A) bio-oxydating organic contaminants of the Grade 1; by adding and mixing organic amendment under controlled temperature, nutrients content and water content conditions and monitoring a content of organic contaminants until the content of organic contaminants stops decreasing; and B) composting the Grade 1; by adding and mixing organic amendment under controlled temperature, nutrients content and water content conditions, and monitoring pathogens content and respiration rate; and stopping the addition of organic amendment upon detection of absence of pathogens at a predetermined respiration rate.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a separator for separating harvested berries from other plant matter. The invention particularly relates to a separator that can be fitted to, positioned above, or integrated with, a collection bin and as such allows for material harvested by an automatic berry harvester to be process prior to deposition of the berries in the collection bin. In particular the berry harvester can be a grape harvester.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for managing salvage shipments in a transportation network. The system includes a transportation planner coupled with one or more entities in the transportation network. The transportation planner determines an optimized transportation plan for delivery and pick-up of shipments throughout the transportation network.

Abstract: The present disclosure involves a system and methods for eliminating rinse and dewatering rescreens while cooling coarse aggregates, including in one embodiment a perforated wet belt conveyance system. According to another embodiment disclosed herein, a system and method for cooling cement is also provided.

Abstract: A material removal system for removing oversized materials from a material stream. This material removal system comprises a first transfer system that is used to transport a material stream, a pulley separator, and a gap that is at least as small as the length of the oversized materials that are to be removed from the material stream. Moreover, the pulley separator comprises a rotatable outer shell that has a tubular width and circular cross-section. The pulley separator is located at a discharge end of the first transfer system to create a gap that is at least as small as the length of the oversized materials to be removed.

Abstract: A material separation system includes a separation screen and an air directing device positioned above the separation screen. The separation screen has at least one rotating shaft, wherein the separation screen transports the relatively rigid material and relatively flexible material to the rotating shaft. The air directing device directs air towards the separation screen such that the relatively flexible material is blown beneath the rotating shaft in a first material stream, wherein the relatively rigid material continues on the separation screen past the rotating shaft in a second material stream.

Abstract: A rotatable container holder for recyclable materials, such as plastic bottles and aluminum cans, having a container holder frame support and a container holder frame attached rotatably to the container holder frame support. The recyclable materials can be inspected, sorted, and transferred by a single user by placing a holding container with recyclables into the container holder frame and rotating the container holder frame so that the user can reach into the holding container and remove items, while allowing the recyclable materials to pour into a receiving container. A cover can also be placed on the container so that the container and container cover can be rotated from a vertical position towards a horizontal position or rotated yet further towards an inverted vertical position, allowing the recyclable materials to tumble back and forth, causing debris among the materials, or liquids within the materials, to fall through openings in the container and container cover.

Abstract: This invention relates to the conveying of scrap material along a conveyor, such that when the material reaches the top of its transfer conveyor, as rising up from the shredder, most of the scrap material shredded will be of smaller size, and fall directly into a chute, bin, or onto another conveyor for transit. But, larger scrap material, such as rebars, pipe, and the like, that has not been substantially reduced in size by the shredder or crusher, needs to be separated, and conveyed elsewhere for collection. To achieve such, a transfer roller is provided spacedly from the upper end of the initial scrap conveyor, and that particular transfer roller catches the longer material coming off of the initial conveyor, and sends it further along into another chute, or to another conveyor, for separate collection.

Abstract: A machine for removing articles such as debris and the like deposited on a tract of ground, comprising a wheel unit; a support frame mounted on said wheel unit, having means for advancing said machine along said tract of ground; a endless conveyor mounted on said support frame, having a plurality of tines projecting from an outer side thereof and a flight extending from a front end adjacent ground level, upwardly and inwardly to an elevated rear end; a receptacle mounted on said support frame, positioned to receive articles removed by said tines and carried upwardly and rearwardly on said conveyor and discharged into said receptacle, and having a set of tines cooperable with said conveyor tines to dislodge articles carried by said conveyor tines; and means mounted on said support frame for driving said conveyor.

Abstract: A separator system for separating first material from second material, in one aspect for separating gumbo from drilling fluid, a combination of the first material and second material introducible to the separator system, the separator system having a screen conveyor having a plurality of spaced-apart rods or shafts, a plurality of wires, for each pair of adjacent rods or shafts of the plurality of spaced-apart rods or shafts a wire of the plurality of wires wrapped partially, once, or more around the rods of the pairs of spaced-apart rods, and portions of the rods and portions of the wires defining openings through which the first material is passable and through which the second material is not passable so that the screen conveyor separates the first material from the second material.

Abstract: An in-shell nut sorting and debris removal assembly for removing debris including empty shells and sorting out unacceptable in-shell nuts includes multiple spaced belt sorting assemblies to removed materials having desired size characteristics and send them into a collision chamber where the materials are subjected to air current to promote collisions between the materials. An inclined or angled separator screen mesh permits the upward air flow and sorts the materials by density as the collisions occur within the collision chamber. Upper and lower openings are used to remove the density sorted materials from the collision chamber. The lower opening is further divided to sort excessively dense materials such as rock from materials having the desired density characteristics.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a large stationary, aggregate processing screening tower by fabricating weldment modules and preassembling them with aggregate processing equipment internal within the weldment modules, transporting the preassembled weldment modules to a field work site where the tower is to be erected on a foundation, aligning the modules and stacking the modules in layers and then bolting adjacent modules together. A large stationary, aggregate processing screening tower has weldment modules preassembled with aggregate processing equipment internal within the modules. The preassembled modules are stacked up on one another and secured together and can receive aggregate product at the top module and the product is processed by screening and sizing as it moves downwardly by gravity through the modules and their processing equipment for final clarification and collection of the product.

Abstract: Process and apparatus for separating compressed material containing paper fibers where the apparatus includes at least three hammer rollers arranged essentially in a same plane and each hammer roller includes rotatable hammers. The process includes rotating the rotatable hammers, transporting the material over the at least three hammer rollers in a transport direction essentially parallel to the plane and transverse to the axes of the rollers, breaking up the material into fine material and non-fine material, and separating the fine material from the non-fine material by allowing the fine material to pass through gaps formed between the hammer rollers. The apparatus includes a machine frame and a plurality of rotors arranged next to one another in the machine frame. Axes of the driven rotors are arranged to lie in at least one plane, and the rotors are positioned to form free gaps between the driven rotors.

Abstract: A system for processing wastewood. The system may be mounted on a towable chassis. The wastewood is received at one end of the system and metal contaminants are removed from the wastewood. The wastewood is then separated according to size wherein a first size of wastewood is further processed by the system and a second size is removed from the system for subsequent re-processing. Unwanted paper and plastic contaminants are removed from the wastewood, and the wastewood of the first size is subjected to a further separating step wherein it is again separated according to size into usable end products.

Abstract: A process and apparatus are presented for mixed recyclable separation, storage and debris removal via gravitational and vibrational forces, three dimensional screening, negative sortation and positive ergonomically designed human sortation.Mixed recyclables placed within a tube are propelled upward for ergonomically advantageous manual sortation. Material not removed by the first sorter is negatively sorted onto vibrating parallel bars. Desirable materials pass through the bars into a vibrating concave funnel shaped screen. Dirt, debris and any materials smaller in size than the smallest desired recyclable are removed by vibrational and gravitational forces within the three dimensional screen. This results in removal of dirt and debris by outward movement through vertically and horizontally oriented screen voids, in contrast to existing systems in which two dimensional, horizontally mounted screens are employed.

Abstract: A loop-like material sorting device includes a comb-like member arranged with an inclination in a supply path supplied with materials to be sorted and formed in a row at a pitch corresponding to the shape or size of loop-like materials, and a vibrating device connected to the comb-like member and for applying the mechanical vibration to the comb-like member, wherein the loop-like materials contained in the materials to be sorted are caught by the comb-like member and then guided to the free end by the inclination of the comb-like member and the vibration applied to the comb-like member by the vibrating device to enable the sorting of the loop-like materials.

Abstract: A machine for sorting refuse comprises a rotatable drum (1) having several succeeding processing stations (5, 6, 7) located between an inlet (3) and an outlet (4) and each including one or more rotatable shafts (8) the circumferential surfaces of which are equipped with goods-processing projections and which are mounted at openings in the wall of the drum, the processing projections being adapted to cooperate with the edge portions of the drum wall defining the openings, so as to bring about a processing action on goods fed from the inlet towards the outlet. The processing projections of the shafts (8) in a first station (5) most adjacent the inlet (3) are smaller than the corresponding processing projections in the following station (6) in order, in said first station, to separate fine goods, while allowing coarser goods, during the feed of the goods from the inlet towards the outlet along the bottom of the drum, to pass on for separation in a succeeding station or stations.

Abstract: An improved method of recovering recyclable materials from commingled recyclables is described as well as apparatuses for doing same. Ferrous materials recovery is achieved using the unique combination of a magnetic belt and a vibratory conveyor. Other materials are then separated with a light/heavy separator which uses finger screen, air knife, and vibratory means to separate glass from plastics and aluminum prior to conventional handsorting operations. Excess glass unsuitable for recovery is introduced into a trommel processing loop wherein contaminates are removed and the glass reduced to a particulate useful in the production of glasphalt and aggregate. Air emanating from the air knife is filtered in an improved gravity separator for reintroduction to the light/heavy separator.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a screening method and apparatus for sorting wood chips into three categories, namely, accept chips, overthick and/or overlong chips requiring further processing and reject fines. The chips are fed onto a disc screen. A major portion of fines and a portion of accepts fall by gravity through clearances between the discs (1) of the disc screen and a portion of the chips travels over the disc screen. Screening of chips on the disc screen is cut short before all accept chips have fallen through the disc screen. Chips travelling over the discharge end of the disc screen are routed onto a roller screen (10), whereby the remaining portion of accepts can fall by gravity through the roller screen while overthick and/or overlong chunky chips are conveyed over the discharge end of the roller screen.

Abstract: A system for processing wastewood. The system may be mounted on a towable chassis. The wastewood is received at one end of the system and metal contaminants are removed from the wastewood. The wastewood is then separated according to size wherein a first size of wastewood is further processed by the system and a second size is removed from the system for subsequent re-processing. Unwanted paper and plastic contaminants are removed from the wastewood, and the wastewood of the first size is subjected to a further separating step wherein it is again separated according to size into usable end products.

Abstract: A flatware separating apparatus comprising a track having a top surface for receiving and delivering different items of flatware along a selected path; a mechanism for contacting selected items of the flatware at a selected point along the path of the track and pushing the selected items off the surface of the track and allowing other selected items of the flatware to remain on the surface; and a mechanism for further separating the selected items of flatware pushed off the surface of the track.

Abstract: An apparatus for sorting recyclable materials including an inlet conveyor with a magnetic pulleys that directs magnetic objects out of the flow of recyclable materials. A vacuum inlet is positioned adjacent a stepped region of the conveyor so as to pull lighter weight materials out of the material flow. A size sorting conveyor separates larger objects from the smaller lighter weight objects, and heavier objects such as glass are conveyed to still another collecting region.

Abstract: A trough-like vibrating conveyor is used to sort and separate two differently shaped components in a mixture of materials of value. The mixture is separated into generally cylindrically shaped parts, such as hollow parts, and generally flat-shaped parts. The conveyor includes at least two unbalanced motors each arranged on an opposite side of the conveyor extending in the conveying direction. Further, the motors are offset relative to one another in the conveying direction. The vibrating conveyor affords a simple operation for separating the differently shaped components of the mixture as the mixture moves between the inlet and outlet ends of the conveyor and particularly for separating any glass particles. The conveyor requires little in the way of technical or personnel expenditure.

Abstract: An article or can sorting apparatus for separating articles having a recycle value from articles having no recycle value is defined by an annular article supporting surface positioned at about 45 degrees to horizontal, a cylindrical wall positioned in relation to the surface to define an article processing chamber, a feed hopper into which a plurality of the articles are deposited for feeding into the chamber, and an article conveying disc or wheel positioned in parallel relation to the surface and having a plurality of outwardly extending article pusher arms for separating the articles, such as discarded beverage cans, from the plurality of articles and conveying the articles one at a time about the annular surface to a material discriminator and a weight scale and toward an accept door or a reject door. The material discriminator or metal detector, the scale, and the accept and reject doors form segments of the article conveying surface.

Abstract: An article selection apparatus is disclosed having a first conveying device for conveying an article along a path and a second conveying device for receiving the article at an entrance end spaced apart by a predetermined distance from a conveying end of the first conveying device and for conveying the received article, wherein the first conveying device has a gap extending along the conveying path to the conveying end thereof, and a width of the gap is made smaller than the predetermined distance from the conveying end of the first conveying device to the entrance of the second conveying device.

Abstract: Apparatus for sorting items according to size wherein the items are dropped between a pair of opposed sorting discs having facing sides with the spacing between the sides varying radially of the discs, with withdrawing elements being interposed at various radial locations between the facing sides of the discs for separately receiving the items in accordance with the size thereof.

Abstract: Small live insects are separated from green coffee beans or similar sized agricultural commodities by vibrating a screen on which the beans are placed at a frequency of at least 60 cycles per second. The insects are inactivated by the vibrations and fall through a multiplicity of apertures in the screen sized smaller than the beans but larger than the insects. The vibrating screen is usually capable of removing substantially all of the small live insects from the beans. The insects separated from the beans can then be suitable disposed of.

Abstract: An improved sorting apparatus for separating loose debris, rocks and clods of dirt from root crops such as potatoes includes a channelizing conveyor, a take-away conveyor having an inlet end positioned below the discharge end of the channelizing conveyor, and a plurality of diverter paddles aligned with the channels of the channelizing conveyor. The channelizing conveyor includes an endless series of segments, each segment comprising a bar having hook portions at the ends thereof and an elastomeric molding formed thereon. Each molding includes several uniformly spaced, wedge-shaped projections, and the projections are longitudinally aligned to form channels for the potatoes, rocks and clods. The segments are interconnected with the hook portions thereof being engaged upon the trailing segment.

Abstract: In order to sort a quantity of hard gelatin capsules of the type having at least a top and bottom and being filled with powdery contents, and to remove therefrom defective capsules which do not have a top or which may be cut or deformed in some way, the apparatus includes a first member with apertures for the capsules and a second member with similar apertures which are aligned with the first apertures in a first relative position of the two members. By applying suction to the top of the second member, intact capsules are urged into the second member while defective or deformed capsules are retained in the calibrated bore of the lower member. The two members undergo a relative displacement subsequent to which a discharge device moves rods into the individual orifice causing the discharge of intact capsules and defective capsules into different receiver chutes.

Abstract: The apparatus serves the purpose of separating trash from less heavy firm articles in a flow of liquid. It has a casing wherein a horizontal revolving screen is located with members which impart motion to trash. Accomodated in the casing coaxially with the revolving screen is a contrivance for the separation, feeding and discharging of trash which is attached to the revolving screen at the end thereof where the flow of liquid carrying the uncleaned firm articles enters the revolving screen. The contrivance consists of an outward cylinder and an inward cylinder. The outward cylinder is provided with ports through which the outflow of liquid and the smaller particles of trash from the revolving screen are fed. Ports provided in the inward cylinder serve to admit the greater particles of trash and discharge all the trash separated. Partitions subdivide the space between the cylinders into passages extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the contrivance.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for harvesting worms from their natural habitat. The apparatus includes a frame and an elongated screen movably coupled thereto. As the screen is vibrated the worms are separated from their bedding material which includes earth, peat moss, worm eggs and castings. The smaller worms, together with the worm eggs and castings, filter through a plurality of perforations in the screen, while the larger lumps of earth, together with the larger worms, are cascaded over the width of moving conveyor. The conveyor moves along an axis of motion which is generally transverse to a longitudinal axis of motion defined by the elongated frame. Since the lumps of earth will continue to roll down the slope of the width of the conveyor, they will be separated from the worms which cling to the conveyor.

Abstract: An apparatus for sorting and separating discrete articles such as railroad track material according to shape and size, including an oscillating conveyor, a plurality of spaced parallel bars extending longitudinally along a trough of a sorting end of the conveyor and having leading edges projecting beyond an edge of the trough so that a separating zone is defined, means positioned a spaced distance from the separating zone for receiving a first group of material from the top surface of the parallel bars, and means positioned beneath the separating zone for receiving a second group of smaller-sized material after it falls over the trough edge. The apparatus of the invention also preferably include a hopper, a feeder positioned adjacent the hopper whereby flow of material from the hopper to the oscillating conveyor is regulated, a belt conveyor for transporting the first group of material away from the first receiving means, and an elevating conveyor adjacent the belt conveyor.

Abstract: Self-rotating and travelling tendency of a circular tablet in its erect posture along an inclined transferring path and an impeding effect upon the tendency which occurs when the tablet is defective one having a breakage or a speckle, are advantageously utilized by the present invention for detecting flaws in tablets and for discriminating the defective tablets from normal ones.Transferring path bridging equipment in a tablet processing line, is usually composed of a parallel but spaced pair of rails having shoulders on right opposed faces thereof and upper side plates above said shoulders. The shoulders are capable of carrying the tablets thereon or therein between and having an inclination sufficient for giving the normal tablet a self-rotating and travelling tendency along the path in a given direction. The upper side plates are capable of permitting unobstructed passage of the tablet in its erect posture but make it stagnate on the path in a reclined posture.