Patent ID: 7811088
Filing Date: 2010-10-12
Classification: B03C,C02F

Abstract:
1. A dental office separator for removing amalgam and gold from dental waste water, the dental office separator comprising: an inlet to admit dental wastewater containing suspended nonmagnetic particles smaller than about 150 microns into the dental office separator, wherein the suspended particles comprise gold and amalgam; a dental wastewater suction hose connected to the inlet and to transfer the dental wastewater from a patient's mouth to the inlet, wherein the dental wastewater suction hose comprises a portion of a dental vacuum system; a first set of baffles to separate an inlet settling chamber from a second settling chamber to slow the dental wastewater; a second set of baffles to separate the second settling chamber from a transfer settling chamber to further slow the dental wastewater; and at least one magnetically assisted sluice to receive the further slowed dental wastewater from the transfer settling chamber and through which the dental wastewater flows gravitationally downward to allow the suspended nonmagnetic particles to settle by gravity, wherein the settled suspended nonmagnetic particles are provided to a subsequent magnetically assisted sluice among the at least one magnetically assisted sluice so that the suspended nonmagnetic particles are removed from the dental wastewater, wherein the at least one magnetically assisted sluice comprises: a magnetic base member having a plurality of spaced apart magnets, and an adsorbing matrix of magnetically susceptible particles wherein the matrix is aligned by the magnets to form transverse rows of the magnetically susceptible particles in order to remove the suspended nonmagnetic particles from the dental wastewater.