Patent ID: 7644824

Claim:
A vibrating screen separator for separating commingled mixtures of aggregate solids, the separator comprising; at least one screen subframe comprising a pair of spaced apart, rigid walls having exteriors and interiors; a screen captivated between interiors of said walls, the screen having at least a pair of spaced apart edges; means for vibrating the screen; a tensioning system for mounting and tightening the screen, the tensioning system comprising: suspension bracket means disposed on interiors of said walls for engaging the screen edges; a plurality of spaced apart tensioners, each tensioner comprising an elongated fastener that extends through said suspension bracket means and through a subframe wall, a resilient, deformable grommet coaxially captivated upon said fastener at the wall exterior, and an adjustable nut threadably coupled to the fastener that compresses the grommet and tensions the screen when tightened; and, a gauge adapted to be fitted about the grommet to measure grommet deformation and thereby determine screen tension, the gauge comprising a top and a pair of legs with bottoms, the legs extending from the top and disposed on opposite sides of an elongated, generally U-shaped measurement channel that surrounds the grommet during measurement, the width of the channel being smallest proximate said top and widening towards the bottom of the legs, and a plurality of index points defined upon said legs proximate said channel that measure grommet diameter and correlate grommet diameter with screen tension.