Patent ID: 7341154
Filing Date: 2008-03-11
Classification: B03B

Abstract:
1. A water bath separator, comprising: a tank for receiving a volume of water for forming a water bath having a top water surface; and a light material conveyor path extending from the tank such that an upstream end of the light material conveyor path is closely below the top water surface for engaging floating material when the tank is in filled operating condition; wherein the light material conveyor path comprises a sorting conveyor comprising a row of rotatable, driven shafts mutually spaced in a conveying direction and each extending transversally to said conveying direction, said shafts each carrying a row of radially extending impellers for intermittently urging material on the sorting conveyor upward and in conveying direction, the impellers of each of said rows being mutually spaced in longitudinal direction of the respective shaft, said sorting conveyor having an upstream portion located in the tank such that an upstream end of the sorting conveyor is immersed in the water bath when the tank is in filled operating “condition” wherein at least some of the impellers carried by a most upstream one of said shafts are positioned to be fully immersed in the water bath when the tank is in filled operation condition.