Abstract: A method and apparatus for singulating and delivering wire leads as part of an electrode welding process in lamp production. Leads in bulk form are transported by a feeder. The leads are dropped from the feeder and passively caught in a desired orientation within a rotational turret. The turret delivers the leads to an exit point. The leads are processed at the exit point by pick-and-place equipment.

Abstract: An apparatus for feeding a combustor with viscous bulk material, particularly coal slurry, comprises two silos which are associated with at least one conveyor system, for transporting the bulk material from the silos to a plurality of fuel-feeders in the combustor. Advantageously, two conveyor systems are linked with each other so that bulk material can be distributed uniformly either from both silos or from one of the silos to all the fuel-feeders of the combustor.

Abstract: A main screw feeder having a main screw housing set at an incline from the base of a bin. The main screw housing has two outlets, the advanced outlet and the recycle outlet. The advance outlet communicates with a metering screw housing in which twin screws of identical pitch are rotated in synchronous, intermeshed revolution. The delivery outlet for the metering screw housing communicates with the processing stages. The recycle outlet is positioned at an elevation higher than the advance outlet and discharges to the bin. A flow measuring device measures the return flow of granulated or powdered material expelled from the recycle outlet. The flow measuring device projects a prestressed cable into the recycle path of the return flow. A device for measuring any deflection of the cable and fluctuations in the tension thereon produce a signal which is a function of the return flow and which is used to control the speed of the main screw feeder.

Abstract: A workpiece loader includes a processing tray having two parallel sets of substantially V-shaped grooves adjacent a surface thereof, the grooves of one set alternating with and having a depth greater than the depth of the grooves of the other set. The workpiece loader further comprises an aligning tray having a plurality of substantially V-shaped grooves adjacent a surface thereof and parallel to each other, the grooves of the aligning tray having a depth greater than the depth of the grooves of the other set and having a periodicity equal to the periodicity of the grooves of the other set, the aligning and processing trays being positioned in tandem so that the grooves of the other set are aligned with the grooves of the aligning tray.

Abstract: An automatic packing line consisting of feeder conveyor belts arranged to bring products to be packed to a series of packing machines and of automatic feeder stations located along the said belts to distribute the said products selectively to the packing machines, is equipped with a recovery device installed after the last automatic feeder station to collect the products which have not been taken charge of by the said stations, a storage device for storing temporarily the products collected by the recovery device and an ejection device which evacuates the undistributed products when the storage device becomes saturated with such products.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for extracting and proportioning pulverulent products comprising a hopper and coaxial screws with threads of opposite directions, driven in rotation in a cylindrical conduit, which screws are separated from each other by the wall of a tube coaxial to the screws and to the conduit, the screw of smaller diameter rotating inside the tube to convey the product therein in one direction and the screw of larger diameter rotating outside said tube to convey the product in the opposite direction, in the space defined between the tube and the conduit, said latter comprising on its periphery at least one orifice for the flow of the product, wherein said screws are composed of wires helically wound in the manner of a spring, and the tube in which the so-called extraction screw, of smaller diameter, is mounted, comprises on its periphery and on the hopper side an opening for the inlet of the product, in front of which said screws extend at least partially, which product, after hav

Abstract: A continuously moving stream of pieces taken from a storage bin is separated into precisely counted batches, for bagging, or the like. The flow speed of the pieces is optimized and substantially constant at a highest possible speed of flow higher than the batcher operating speeds will handle. Thereby this invention provides an alternative to eliminate the need for reducing flow speed because batchers require relatively long operating times and to avoid the disadvantage that reduction of the flow line speed when handling many successive batch pieces which is a slow process because of the high inherent inertia to changes of speed. In order to increase the flow speeds to higher effective batch handling rates, some of the pieces are removed from a high speed stream flow to create gaps in the flow stream between batches, thereby permitting optimized time interfacing with the necessary batching operations which thereby may proceed at a slower rate than the average piece by piece flow rate.

Abstract: A multiple compartment feed frame for supplying powder to the dies of a tableting machine, wherein a relief opening is provided in the leading compartment to permit excess powder to escape therefrom and be subsequently introduced either into a trailing compartment or collected and re-introduced into the leading compartment, whereby the level of powder in the leading compartment is maintained substantially constant in spite of fluctuations in the supply of powder thereto.

Abstract: The sequential formation of load patterns of certain configurations requires the removal from the pattern forming area of odd containers from between the patterns, as the patterns are automatically formed. To accomplish this, a reject conveyor, directed transversely to the direction of movement of the main feed conveyor, is located in the pattern forming area at the interface between the formed pattern and the pattern next to be formed. The containers are conveyed into the pattern forming area by the main conveyor such that the trailing edge of a first set of containers (formed load pattern), the leading edge of a second set of containers (load pattern next to be formed) and a third set of containers, comprising the containers between the load patterns (to be rejected), are situated on the reject conveyor.