Abstract: Apparatus for filling trays with cigarettes has a magazine which contains a supply of parallel cigarettes and the lower end portion of which extends into the interior of an empty tray so that the lower end portions of several vertical ducts in the lower end portion of the magazine are closely adjacent to the bottom wall of the tray. The tray is lowered continuously or stepwise while the ducts admit vertical streams or rows of cigarettes into the interior of the tray wherein the deposited cigarettes form superimposed layers with the cigarettes of each upper layer staggered relative to the cigarettes of the layer therebelow. This is attributed to the provision of horizontal shafts or horizontal tongues which flank the lower end portions of the ducts and are movable back and forth from neutral positions to effect a desirable distribution of descending cigarettes in the tray.

Abstract: The lower end portion of a magazine for parallel cigarettes or like rod-shaped articles contains a horizontal grid of parallel rods which divide the outlet opening of the lower end portion into parallel passages wherein the cigarettes descend into an empty tray therebelow. When the tray is filled (such filling takes place while the tray descends, either continuously or stepwise), the passages are blocked by rod-like closing members which are parallel to the rods of the grid and are movable from inoperative positions behind the rods of the grid to intercepting positions in or above the passages. The closing members are oscillated and/or vibrated to prevent jamming of passages and/or bridging of cigarettes above the grid. The mechanism for moving the closing members between inoperative and intercepting positions employs a pneumatic motor or an electromagnet which can shift a common carrier for the closing members. The mechanism is actuated in automatic response to completed filling of a tray.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for separating, ordering, and feeding metallic workpieces, particularly hard-to-handle workpieces which become easily entangled with one another, from a disorganized pile of workpieces. A traveling electromagnetic field is produced by a three-phase motor stator. The stator may be of the linear type, or either internal or external rotor type, cylindrical three-phase motor stators. Metallic workpieces are disposed within the traveling field, and experience stochastic motions therein. When organized, the metallic workpieces are oriented substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the traveling magnetic field. Discharge channels may be provided to transport the oriented workpieces to a pick-up point.

Abstract: The invention relates to a suction-type distributor for a single-seed seeder with a rotary apertured disk. The distributor 2 includes an aperture disk 5 rotating in a casing 4 and two adjoining selector plates 16 and 17 pivoted at 13 from the casing and provided with alternate projections 26 and 31 spaced on their edges extending around the path of apertures 6 on disk 5 so as to straddle said path, the relative angular position of the two plates being adjusted by means of a single lever 14 provided with cams 20 and 21 and pivoted at 15 on casing 4.

Abstract: An apparatus for feeding electric circuit elements has a hopper for accommodating a supply of such elements, a capture tube or pipe extending substantially vertically through a bore in the bottom of the hopper which is movable relative to the tube in the direction of the axis of the latter so that the electric circuit elements in the hopper are captured one at a time by the tube and fed therethrough to a predetermined position at the outside of the hopper, and a separating plate disposed above the opening of the tube in the hopper for shielding the electric circuit elements under the separating plate from at least part of the weight of the electric circuit elements thereabove whereby the hopper can be provided with a large vertical dimension for accommodating a correspondingly large supply of the electric circuit elements without the danger that elements near the bottom of the hopper will be damaged by reason of the relative movement of the capture tube under the weight of the superposed circuit elements.

Abstract: A device for supplying helical wire compression springs in sequence to an output conduit includes a casing defining a spring supply chamber therein for receiving a plurality of helical wire compression springs of a first diameter. A delivery tube is mounted on top of the casing and defines a spring outlet opening of a diameter slightly larger than the first diameter. The delivery tube communicates, through the spring outlet opening, between the chamber and the output conduit. An agitator, including an air inlet communicating with the bottom of the chamber, supplies air under pressure to the chamber such that springs in the chamber are agitated, and pass out of the chamber through the delivery tube and into the output conduit. A shedder piston surrounds the spring outlet opening of the delivery tube, and moves with respect thereto so as to dislodge springs entangled within or blocking the spring outlet opening.

Abstract: A tablet dispenser for dispensing a solid tablet or a predetermined number of tablets of a substantially uniform size from a storage area containing a relatively large number of tablets into a dispensing orifice upon operation of an external actuating mechanism. The tablet dispenser comprises a hollow body having an upper portion for storing the relatively large number of tablets and a lower base portion having the dispensing orifice formed in its bottom. A gate member is mounted for reciprocal movement above the tablet dispensing orifice and has a tablet receiving area formed therein. A field organizing member is mounted for reciprocal movement below the tablet storage portion and above the gate member and has a tablet receiving area formed therein which communicates with the tablet storage portion.

Abstract: System for handling axial lead components that have a low ratio of paramagnetism to weight comprising at least one nonmagnetic magazine and at least one packing and/or unpacking station for receiving the nonmagnetic magazine. The packing and/or unpacking stations receive the magazines and enable the slope of the bottom of the magazines to be adjusted to the horizon. The packing stations support two plate-like magnets along each sidewall of the magazine positioned therein for creating a magnetic field passing in and out of the sidewalls of the magazine. A vibrator is mounted to the magazine when secured to the packing and/or unpacking station to apply vibrations to it in a direction substantially aligned with the magnetic field.

Abstract: A cigarette feeding device consisting of a case wherein a pushing lever is engaged with a rocking lever, return springs are engaged with the rocking end of the above mentioned rocking lever, a rotated by the elongation and contraction of the above mentioned return spring is provided, an opposed gear is engaged with it, a disk having a ratchet wheel fixed to it and rotating in only one direction is attached to the above mentioned opposed gear, a projection is provided on the above mentioned disk and is loosely fitted to a reciprocatable conveying plate, a feeding plate is provided above the above mentioned conveying plate, a bimetal separated by heating is locked to the above mentioned ratchet wheel, a heater and a delivery port are provided as opposed to each other in the tangential direction to the above mentioned rotary chuck and a switch passing electricity to the above mentioned bimetal and heater is arranged so as to be able to contact the above mentioned rocking lever.

Abstract: A ball pitching machine having a spring powered pitching arm and having a dispensing mechanism with a de-jammer device for individually dispensing balls from a supply hopper and a ball loading device for automatically positioning a ball on the pitching arm for each cycle of the apparatus. A torsion adjusting mechanism is used to set the torsion of the coil spring to a prestressed first predetermined force value. The pitching arm applies an additional torsioning force to the coil spring resulting in a second greater predetermined stored force value in the coil spring. An adjustable link extends directly between and connects the coil spring to the pitching arm to maintain the amount of torsion in the coil spring at the first prestressed first determined force value.

Abstract: An apparatus for arranging and supplying screws comprising a trackway for aligning a plurality of screws, a conveyor for receiving aligned screws from said trackway, conveying them to a point of use and a regulator device for allowing only one screw at a time to be conveyed to the point of use of the screw.

Abstract: This invention relates to a container for generally cylindrical tablets which can be used to repeatedly dispense the tablets in pre-determined quantities. The dispenser comprises an outer case and a slidably mounted inner part which together define a container, a dispensing gate, and a downward sloping channel connecting one or two ramps situated at the base of the container to the gate. The width of the channel is such as to allow a single column of tablets supported on their peripheries. The inner part is depressable from the exterior to cause relative movement between the gate and the channel from one position where the gate is in register with the channel to a second position where the gate is in register with a dispenser outlet. The relatively simple design of the dispenser enables it to be injection-moulded from plastic material.

Abstract: A carpet tube dispensing apparatus, used in combination with a carpet roll-up machine, comprises a large hopper for holding a number of tubes therein and an outlet from which tubes can leave the hopper for use in the roll-up machine. A tube collecting and dispensing device is located at the outlet opening to regulate the dispensing of tubes and provide only one tube at a time for use in the roll-up machine, and a tube stirring device stirs the tubes within the hopper to loosen entangled tubes and insure that tubes flow freely to the outlet opening.

Abstract: The lower end portion of a magazine for parallel cigarettes or like rod-shaped articles contains a horizontal grid of parallel rods which divide the outlet opening of the lower end portion into parallel passages wherein the cigarettes descend into an empty tray therebelow. When the tray is filled (such filling takes place while the tray descends, either continuously or stepwise), the passages are blocked by rod-like closing members which are parallel to the rods of the grid and are movable from inoperative positions behind the rods of the grid to intercepting positions in or above the passages. The closing members are oscillated and/or vibrated to prevent jamming of passages and/or bridging of cigarettes above the grid. The mechanism for moving the closing members between inoperative and intercepting positions employs a pneumatic motor or an electromagnet which can shift a common carrier for the closing members. The mechanism is actuated in automatic response to completed filling of a tray.

Abstract: For feeding short rods, which term includes tubes, such as clinical thermometer tubes with bulbs at one end, a feeding hopper has downwardly-converging bottom walls terminating in an elongated gap between their lower edges forming an elongated slot. Reciprocable horizontally beneath the slot is fluid-pressure-operated ejector plunger which feeds, one at a time, the short rods to a horizontal receiver composed of a pair of spaced parallel guide bars separated by a distance large enough to pass the rod but to detain the bulb, whereupon the rod pivots around the detained bulb to swing downward into the slot and comes to rest between the bars with the bulb uppermost and the rod suspended vertically from the bars.

Abstract: An apparatus and process for aligning elongated articles is disclosed. A plurality of barrier surfaces are positioned transversely to the longitudinal axis of a vibratory trough through which said articles are moved. The surfaces may comprise gates, which are moved between opened and closed positions at timed intervals so that batches of the articles are alternately bunched up behind a closed gate and dispersed as they move through the trough, or may alternatively comprise cleats on a movable belt. An increased degree of parallel orientation occurs each time a batch of articles contacts a barrier surface.

Abstract: An apparatus for feeding coins by vibration. An electromagnet is mounted upon a frame being operable to cyclically attract and repel an armature fixedly mounted to and beneath a horizontally extending platform supported above the frame by a plurality of springs. A coin cup is mounted atop the platform and receives coins from a hopper suspendedly mounted above the cup by a plurality of members mounted to the frame. In the alternate embodiment, the hopper includes a top portion supported by the members and a bottom portion connected to the top portion by a vibration isolator. The bottom portion extends freely into the cup which includes a coin outlet opening onto the platform. The coins exit the platform through a second outlet falling into a coin tube leading to a coin dispenser.

Abstract: An apparatus for disentangling objects such as coil springs. The apparatus includes a receptacle which is generally symmetrical about an axis and has a radially directed discharge opening for the separated individual objects. A generally helical air flow moves the objects through the receptacle and a roughened inner receptacle surface facilitates separation of the objects.

Abstract: A carton loading and forming machine having a carton dispenser magazine which includes a walking beam mechanism arranged to underlie portions of the carton blanks in the magazine for moving the carton blanks towards the discharge end of the magazine. The magazine is adapted to suspend the blanks from support rails disposed at opposite sides of the blanks and arranged above the center of gravity of the blanks so that the blanks hang freely from the support rails.

Abstract: A machine for making fireworks such as sparklers and the like includes a casing disposed over a tabletop and wherein means are provided to effect vibration of sparkler sticks in the casing. A plurality of depressions in the tabletop have a central opening through which individual sparkler sticks pass. A raised edge is provided around the central opening to facilitate processing the sparkler sticks through the openings. A receiving plate and insertion plate are located below the tabletop to receive the sparkler sticks after they have passed through the openings in the tabletop.

Abstract: A coin-controlled, manually operable golf ball vending machine. The vending machine has a ball hopper and a ramp below the hopper defining a ball dispensing opening between them. A gate rotatably mounted at the opening, extends partially thereacross in its closed position to cause the balls to bridge the opening and is swung into the mass of balls to break up the bridging of balls for releasing them down the ramp when the actuating lever is pulled. The balls on the ramp are received in descending ballways for introduction into ball tubes formed in a rotatable cylinder extending across the bottom of the ballways. The actuating lever is operatively linked to both the gate and the cylindrical ball receiver for simultaneously rotating the gate to release balls down the ramp and the ball receiver for dumping balls therefrom. The actuating lever is maintained inoperative by a coin-releasable locking mechanism.