Patent ID: 7438187

Claim:
A magnetic separation apparatus for separating metallic material from a granulated stream of mixed metallic and nonmetallic material, the apparatus comprising: (a) a vibratory conveyor including a trough assembly suspended on springs and a motor for causing vibration of the trough assembly to thereby move material in a predetermined direction of material flow, said trough assembly including an upper trough having at least three sections aligned in said predetermined direction of material flow and a lower trough extending in the same direction as and beneath said upper trough, said upper trough having at least two gaps of a predetermined width between said sections so as to permit material to fall onto the lower trough, at least one of said at least two gaps between a downstream section and an upstream section having said downstream section positioned at a height lower than said upstream section thereby forming a vertical drop between the two sections with said gap therebetween, and (b) a magnetic separator positioned above each of said gaps in said upper trough and each magnetic separator comprising a magnet member and an endless belt moving in said direction of material flow relative to said vibratory conveyor, the endless belt positioned so as to slide over the magnet member, the magnet member being positioned above and spanning the width of said gaps in said upper trough.