Patent ID: 7699178

Claim:
A particulate sifter, comprising: a casing into which particulates flow; a cylindrical net body located inside said casing, said net body having two ends and extending in a horizontal direction; a rotatable shaft forcibly rotatable by a first electric motor as a first driving source; multiple radially shaped elements extending radially from said rotatable shaft and rotatable blades which are supported by said multiple radially shaped elements and are located inside said net body and extend in the direction of said rotatable shaft, and are positioned to rotate along an inner surface of the net body; said sifter further comprising a rotatable structure, including: said net body; a first ring member which supports one of the two ends of the net body and being located on an upstream side of a flow of the particulates; a second ring member which supports the other of the two ends of the net body and being located on a downstream side of the flow of the particulates; and multiple rods which join said first ring member and said second ring member, wherein particulates that pass through said net body are seperable from particulates or foreign substances that do not pass through the net body while particulates that have flowed into the net body are agitated with said rotatable blades, and wherein one of said first and second ring members is supported and rotatable by a rotatable supporting member which is supported by said casing and is forcibly rotatable by a second electric motor as a second driving source, such that said rotatable structure is rotatable around said rotatable shaft independently of said rotatable shaft, and wherein said net body has a rotation center and said second ring member is provided with a frame in its inner area and a supported part located at the rotation center of the net body and rotatable with said second ring member; said casing is provided with an opening used for taking the net body out of the casing and said opening is formed at a portion of the casing that faces said second ring member; a cover member used for opening and closing said opening is provided with a supporting part which engages with said rotatable supported part; and said supporting part supports the rotatable supported part for rotation such that said rotatable structure is supported for rotation independently of said rotatable shaft.