Sorter for large dish washer unit - uses weight of items in circulating water flow to determine separation

Large scale industrial dish washing unit includes a sorting system for the cutlery dishes and waste. The articles to be separated from each other are tipped by a supply chute into a water bath in which they pass into a further chute which is formed by baffle plates. Circulating water flows up out of this chute at a speed which is faster than the rate at which the dishes fall, but slower than the rate of fall of the metallic cutlery items so that these heavy and light items are separated on one side above and on the other below the chute. The metal cutlery items fall down through the chute onto a cutlery conveyor belt which takes the cutlery out of the bath. The lighted crockery items which are still heavier than water, are passed up over the crest baffle plate towards the intake point of the circulating pump. The waste floats on top of the water and is drawn by the water flow to a filter plate where it can be removed.