Patent ID: 7837751

Claim:
A free-flow apparatus for separating entrained yard debris from a transporting air stream by action of body forces thereupon comprising: a. a curvilinear primary-separation duct having an outer wall, an interior wall, an entrance for accepting a stream of air bearing entrained yard debris and an exit; said curvilinear primary-separation duct being adapted for conducting said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris from said entrance to said exit; b. a vessel having a roof, a bottom, and a generally frusto-conical outer peripheral wall section flaring downwardly and outwardly and an opening thereinto, a portion of said outer wall of said curvilinear primary-separation duct adjacent to said exit being generally tangential to a portion of said generally frusto-conical outer peripheral wall section of said vessel in a first location adjacent to said opening, a portion of said interior wall of said curvilinear primary-separation duct adjacent to said duct exit defining an acute angle with another portion of said generally frusto-conical outer peripheral wall section at a second location generally opposed to said first location adjacent to said opening; c. a secondary-separation zone in said vessel being defined proximate said opening into said vessel and being adapted to receive said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris from said exit of said curvilinear primary-separation duct; d. said secondary-separation zone in said vessel being at least partially wrapped by said curvilinear primary-separation duct, the curvature and arc length of said curvilinear primary-separation duct being sufficient to separate said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris into an inwardly located debris-depleted stream and an outwardly located debris-enriched stream; e. said generally frusto-conical outer peripheral wall section of said vessel being adapted to further enrich the debris content of said outwardly located debris-enriched stream while further depleting the debris content of said inwardly located debris-depleted stream by action of body forces upon the debris as said streams of air bearing entrained yard debris pass tangentially thereto; f. an accumulator located below said secondary-separation zone for receiving debris from said outwardly located debris-enriched stream; and g. said roof of said vessel having defined therein a generally centrally located passage adapted to exhaust air from said inwardly located debris-depleted stream to the atmosphere.