Abstract: A vibratory apparatus includes a deck, an electro-mechanical sensor and at least one vibratory exciter. The deck has an upper surface configured to receive items to be conveyed in at least a first direction along a longitudinal axis from a first deck end to a second deck end. The electro-mechanical sensor includes a wheel disposed above the upper surface of the deck, the wheel being rotatable about a wheel axis disposed transverse to the longitudinal axis, and an electronic sensor associated with the wheel, the electronic sensor configured to generate a signal representative of the revolutions per unit time of the wheel. The at least one vibratory exciter is attached to the deck and is configured to move the material along the deck.

Abstract: A fastener delivery system for transporting and dispensing fasteners comprises a source of pressurized air, a dispenser configured for dispensing each of the fasteners into a workpiece, a first pathway providing a first passageway for the fasteners to pass through, and a second pathway providing a second passageway for the fasteners to pass through. Each of the first pathway and the second pathway is placed in selective fluid communication with the source of pressurized air to blow one of the fasteners disposed in the first pathway or the second pathway towards the dispenser. The dispenser includes a toggle feature for alternatingly receiving the fasteners from each of the first pathway and the second pathway. Each of the pathways includes an air brake mechanism for decelerating each of the fasteners as each of the fasteners approaches the dispenser.

Abstract: A depth of a cavity formed in a storing member is set to a depth which allows a portion of an electronic component to project from the cavity in a state where the electronic component is stored in the cavity. A storing member includes guide portions each of which is a space communicating with the cavity and configured to guide the electronic component into the cavity. A guide portion is formed such that a guide opening portion which is an opening portion of the guide portion is larger than an opening portion of the cavity and the opening portion of the cavity falls within a region of the guide opening portion as viewed in a depth direction of the cavity. A space formed of the cavity and the guide portion is configured to store an entire electronic component in the inside thereof.

Abstract: A removable one piece folding primer feeding tray preferably includes a feed tray and a valve switch. The feed tray includes a tray portion, a cover portion and a feed channel. A tray edge of the tray portion is preferably pivotally connected to the cover portion. The cover portion includes two opposing cover side walls, which are spaced apart to receive an outside perimeter of the two opposing tray side walls. The feed channel extends from an opposing edge of the tray portion. The valve switch is slidably engaged with the feed tray. The valve switch controls the flow of primers and locks the cover portion to the tray portion. A feed adapter is retained in a hand held or bench mounted primer actuator and receives the primers from the removable folding primer tray and the lifts primers for pressing into a cartridge.

Abstract: A method is provided for feeding small items, for example pills, that does not require tooling changes or position adjustment regardless of the size or shape of the pills. A first hopper supplies small items to a second hopper that separates the small items. The method incorporates sensors to detect the presence, size and travel time of the pills in the separating bowl hopper. The method uses the sensed values for setting vibration amplitude and the duration of an air flow to discharge pills from the apparatus.

Abstract: A pill dispensing cap that secures to a conventional pill container. The pill dispensing cap has a lower cap, a pill discharge port, and a spring loaded rotatable and slidable upper cap. Pills are dispensed one at a time, and the remaining pills are isolated from external contamination. A child resistant lock prevents small children and/or mentally handicapped individuals from easily accessing medicine inside the container. The child resistant lock uses a vertically slidable upper cap that is slidably and rotatably attached to the lower cap. A child safety lock uses a key in the upper cap that must be aligned with a slot in the lower cap to allow a pill to be dispensed. When the key and slot are aligned, the upper cap is vertically compressed against the lower cap. As the upper cap moves toward the base cap, a gravity fed pill discharge port is exposed which releases a single pill.

Abstract: A test tube orienting system consisting of a test tube hopper, and a test tube transport system for directing test tubes out of the test tube hopper with a consistent orientation. The test tube hopper has an open mouth, an internal cavity communicating with the mouth, and a side wall enclosing the cavity. The side wall has a downwardly inwards sloping channel extending along the side wall from the mouth. The transport system directs the test tubes axially upwards along the channel, and includes an endless chain and a series of pins affixed to the endless chain, extending through the channel into the internal cavity. The endless chain is coupled to a motor for moving the pins upwards along the channel, and is inclined at an acute angle to the channel for progressively retracting the tube supports from the internal cavity as the pins move upwards along the channel.

Abstract: The present invention includes a parts feeder system capable of being used in either a first mode without an auxiliary hopper or in a second mode with and auxiliary hopper. The parts feeder system includes an enclosure having an opening therein. In the first or manual-feed mode, the parts feeder system is replenished my manual filling thereof, and in the second or auxiliary hopper-feed mode the opening in the enclosure accommodates an auxiliary hopper. When the auxiliary hopper is used, the dispensing chute of the auxiliary hopper is positioned over the supply of the parts feeder. Additionally, the enclosure of the parts feeder system is configured with grooves so that it can be secured by a minimal number of fixation elements and can therefore be easily attached and removed.

Abstract: A vibratory bowl defines a number of predetermined attachment locations in one side thereof adjacent to a parts discharge port defined by the bowl. One or more support plates are detachably mounted to the bowl side in a vertical position via the number of predetermined attachment locations, and each of the one or more support plates defines a horizontal support edge having a parts receiving unit detachably mounted thereto. The parts receiving unit is supported by the one or more support plates and has one end thereof positioned adjacent to the parts discharge port of the bowl and an opposite end extending away from the discharge port. The parts receiving unit may be configured to orient parts supplied by the vibratory bowl according to a desired orientation. A parts confining member is detachably mounted to one of the one or more support plates and is operable to confine parts within the parts receiving unit.

Abstract: Sorting and orienting structure and method. The structure includes a frame, a hopper supported by the frame, conveyor structure extending vertically through the hopper for feeding work pieces from the hopper onto the sorting and orienting table with random orientation, a drive shaft extending through the hopper mounting the table for rotation, a drive motor connected to the drive shaft for directly driving the drive shaft to rotate the table, and sorting and orienting structure surrounding the table for sorting and orienting the work pieces on rotation of the table by returning work pieces having an undersirable orientation back to the hopper and feeding work pieces having a desired orientation away from the sorting and orienting structure.

Abstract: A rotating ring orienting feeder including a hopper for containing a supply of articles. A ring is positioned above the hopper. A support member is provided for retaining the ring in a substantially horizontal position. The supports also provide rotation for the ring. A conveyor is provided within the hopper for supplying articles to the ring. A drive mechanism is provided for imparting rotation to the ring and to the conveyor. A plurality of articles are supplied to the ring by the conveyor and are qualified on either side of the ring. Articles not being disposed in a predetermined orientation are returned to the hopper for resupply. In another embodiment, the articles positioned on the ring may also turn from one position into another position in order to qualify the articles directly on the ring.

Abstract: A button support 53 is upwardly biased and is movable along a vertical axis between three positions. Buttons formed with at least two thread holes are orientated by rotary frictional drive means 60 and 61 through effecting relative rotation between the button support 53 and a button 101 which are located by positioning means 13 and 18 positioning a button above the button support. In the lowest position of the button support, the button support is free to rotate about the vertical axis relative to a button 101 located by the positioning means 13 and 18. In an intermediate position the button support together with the button located by the positioning means 13 and 18 are rotatable about the vertical axis. Pins 54 project upwardly from the button support 53 for insertion in the holes of the button so that the button and button support can rotate together. In an upper position, the button support is locked against further rotation so as to provide a support for buttons in the required orientation.

Abstract: In a separator for pneumatic single grade sowing machines, a supporting plate (1) is provided to which a plurality of fingers (8; 28; 41) are pivotally connected. One end of the fingers forms an effective area section (12) which engages passing seed grains clinging to suction holes (6) of an apertured plate 4. Each finger (8; 28; 41) is engaged by a respective spring (13; 20; 23; 30; 44) which acts on the fingers (8; 28; 41) and thus on their effective area sections (12) against the direction of rotation (10) of the apertured plate (4) (FIG. 1).

Abstract: An improved apparatus for transferring coins to a coin counting system, a coin selecting system or the like by way of a coin passage under centrifugal force caused by rotation of a rotary disc is disclosed. The improvement consists in that the rotary disc includes a first surface portion constituting an inside part thereof from which coins are displaced onto the coin passage one after another with a single line of arrangement maintained, a circular boundary wall defining the outer periphery of the first surface portion and having a height appreciably less than the thickness of the smallest coins to be transferred and a second surface portion extending outward of the circular boundary wall in the radial direction. A coin guiding member is disposed so as to allow the coins on the second surface portion to be displaced back onto the first surface portion while the rotary disc rotates.

Abstract: An apparatus for aligning and feeding the elongated objects comprising a vibrating bowl for receiving elongated objects, the bowl having a base portion, a side wall, and a ramp spiralling around the inner perimeter of the side wall such that the elongated objects are conveyed from the bottom end of the ramp adjacent the base portion along the upper surface of the ramp to the top end of the ramp, first and second sorting stations positioned along the ramp within the bowl for removing bent objects and limiting the number of elongated objects conveying along the ramp in side-by-side relationship and an escape chute for feeding the elongated objects sequentially from the top end of the ramp. The bent objects are removed and the number of objects passing along the ramp reduced by the first and second sorting station having narrowed ramp widths and associated inclines.

Abstract: An unscrambler, to which lightweight cup- or bowl-shaped articles such as the bottoms for plastic bottles or caps for aerosol containers, are fed prior to delivery to another, e.g. a bottle-making or cap-applying machine, for which they must all be presented right-way-up, and which are likely to become "stacked" when scrambled together, comprises a shallow, rotating dish reservoir which can be very big, e.g. up to or even more than 30 feet (10 meters) across, but which can be suspended from a roof or ceiling so as not to take up floor space. The dish has an inclined rim with an outer ledge, the articles being blown up the rim onto the ledge by an air current which puts them on the ledge right-way-up. Any articles that are stacked or not aligned properly on the ledge are removed by further air jets or mechanically.

Abstract: A screw orienting assembly in which slotted headless screws are sequentially fed with their elongate axis perpendicular to and in the same plane as a guide rail having a width less than the width of the screw slots. The screws are rotated about their elongate axis and advanced along the rail. The slots of those screws having their slotted end engaged with the rail become engaged with the rail in response to the rotation of those screws such that the slot is in alignment with the rail. The slot-engaged or "seated" screws are advanced along the rail to a predetermined point and discharged therefrom in like orientation with respect to their slotted ends for further processing. Those screws not seated on the rail are discharged from the rail before reaching the predetermined point.

Abstract: A ring having a plurality of successive receptacles revolves around a flat disc within a containment wall holding a plurality of randomly piled conical bullets. The disc and receptacles are inclined with the upper edge of the disc being positioned closely adjacent the downward end of the receptacles and slightly above the lower surfaces of the receptacles so that bullets carried by the receptacles past the edge of the disc will be held within the receptacles. The disc is recessed to have a lower surface well below the center line of the bullets within the receptacles and a beveled cam raises the bullet so that bullets having their conical noses facing the edge will slide from the receptacles back into the pile but bullets with their cylindrical ends facing the disc will engage the lower surface of the recess of the disc and continue to be held in the receptacles.

Abstract: A stoppering machine is disclosed which includes an inclined rotatable member which contacts a supply of stoppers for selectively arranging and feeding the stoppers to a stopper inserting device where they are inserted into the openings of successively presented containers such as bottles. An arrangement is also disclosed wherein the stoppers are guided to and supported at a position immediately over the openings of the successively presented containers for insertion into the openings of said containers by the inserting device. Further, an arrangement is disclosed for blocking the movement of the stoppers being guided to the aforementioned position when the inserting device inserts the stoppers into the openings of the successively supplied containers.

Abstract: A crimping apparatus or machine is disclosed in which electrical contacts of any one of a variety of conformations are fed from a receptacle or reservoir which holds a supply of contacts of selected conformation. The contacts are fed seriatim from the receptacle and are oriented and advanced to a crimping mechanism where each contact is selectively crimped to the end of an electrical cable. The receptacle includes a vibratory container which can be supplied with a plurality of contacts in a random array and the container is vibrated whereas the contacts are fed outwardly from the container along a helical path leading from the bottom of the container to an orienting mechanism. The orienting mechanism includes a downwardly inclined ramp connected to the container to be oscillated therewith so that the contacts move down the ramp one at a time due to vibration and gravity toward an advancing mechanism. The advancing mechanism is selectively actuatable and feeds the contacts seriatim to a crimping mechanism.

Abstract: A vibratory feeder device has a forward moving mechanism and recirculating, or return, mechanism side by side and separately and independently controllable. The forward feeding mechanism has a feeder track that includes an angularly sloping surface down which devices to be fed, such as transistor chips, slide under the influence of gravity into the return chute unless caught by the terminals of the fed devices. The angularly sloping surface has a groove in the feed direction in which the terminals become engaged. If the device's terminals are engaged by the groove so that they are in the proper attitude, the devices are fed along under the vibratory feed forces. If not, they are brushed off onto the angularly sloping surface by a blade or fall through a hole adjacent a deflector. In either case the rejected devices are returned to the supply hopper.

Abstract: Randomly oriented screws are deposited onto two horizontally spaced endless belts and are advanced toward a track located adjacent the ends of the upper runs of the belts. As the screws are advanced, the belts are vibrated vertically to shake the screws to properly oriented positions in which the screws hang by their necks from the belts with their shanks located between the belts. Vibration of the belts is effected by means of lugs formed on the inner sides of the belts and operable to flex the belts upwardly and downwardly as the lugs pass across pulleys which support and guide the belts. Also disclosed is a clearing wheel for flinging any improperly oriented fasteners from the track, the clearing wheel being constructed from a series of face-to-face discs made of comparatively soft urethane or the like.

Abstract: A material handling apparatus for transporting parts having a bowl provided with an upright curved wall surrounding a rotatable floor. The curved wall is formed with a track that supports an endless belt capable of bending in an edgewise direction for movement along a helical path from an entrance point located at the level of the floor to an exit point located above the entrance point. As the belt moves along the track, it gradually inclines towards the center of the bowl with a portion of the belt being sufficiently inclined to cause parts to move into engagement with a rail located at the inboard edge of the track and formed so that parts not properly oriented will drop by gravity to the rotating floor.

Abstract: Entangled parts are singled by placing them in a holding container, discharging them through an outlet to a path of travel communicating therewith and arranged to deliver the parts along the path of travel to a flat receptacle capable of supporting a plurality of separated parts simultaneously. The dimensions of the discharge outlet and the path of travel are at least in one direction a multiple of the second largest dimension of the parts to permit simultaneous passage of a plurality of separate parts side-by-side.

Abstract: Apparatus for storing a supply of flat, elongated sticks stacked in an aligned, face-to-face relationship has a double ended guideway formed by rigid guide members closely spaced from the edges of the sticks. The guideway has a first vertical section with a stick input means formed at its lower end, a second vertical section with a stick output means formed at its lower end, and a curved section that connects the upper ends of the vertical sections. Sticks received at the input end advance through the guideway to the output end where they are fed to a high speed stick inserter. In one form, the curved upper section moves vertically with respect to the vertical sections to provide a variable volume storage that maintains a substantially constant pressure within the stack. Devices that sense the vertical position of the upper section, and hence the quantity of stored sticks, control an automatic stick stacking apparatus that adds sticks to the guideway.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for feeding individual coiled springs from a bulk source to a point at which they can be utilized in a product assembly operation. The apparatus includes a supply bin for bulk quantities of uniform diameter coiled springs, a receiver for first receiving individual springs from the supply bin and then guiding movement thereof to a point of use, a ramp assembly for delivering the springs from the supply bin to the receiver and defining open channels having a surface curvature that conforms to the outer surfaces of the individual coils of uniform diameter so as to retain the individual springs in positions wherein their axes coincide with a given delivery line during their travel between the supply bin and the receiver, and a drive mechanism for moving the springs between the supply bin and the receiver.