Patent ID: 8297446

Claim:
An apparatus for sorting ammunition casings and adapted to be mounted on a vibrating base, the apparatus comprising: an input hopper adapted to receive ammunition casings; at least one sorting track in communication with the input hopper, at least some of the at least one sorting track having a graduated opening with a rectangular step-profile precisely defined along at least a section of a bottom of the track such that the diameter of the graduated opening increases as the opening extends away from the hopper; and a plurality of sorting compartments arranged under the at least one sorting track, wherein vibrations generated by the vibrating base move the ammunition casings from the input hopper to the at least one sorting track, and as the casings move along the at least one sorting track, smaller diameter casings fall through a first rectangular opening portion of the graduated opening into a first sorting compartment, and larger diameter casings move along the at least one sorting track past the first rectangular opening portion of the graduated opening and subsequently fall though a second rectangular opening portion into a second sorting compartment, wherein the first and second rectangular openings are precisely sized to separate the ammunition casings into different calibers; a plurality of exhaust chutes corresponding to and disposed in the plurality of sorting compartments wherein the exhaust chutes include filter openings defined along the bottom of the exhaust chute, the filter openings being the same diameter as the first opening portion so that small caliber casings fall through the filter openings into the first sorting compartment.