Machine for orienting and aligning articles supplied in bulk

Machine for orienting and aligning items supplied in bulk comprising:

• a first conveyor, formed by a substantially horizontal surface to support and move items in a reclined position and with a random arrangement in a conveying direction, and including a feeder section, supplied from a feeder device for items in bulk, followed in the conveying direction by a collection section, and also including a return section following the collection section in the conveying direction;
• a detection system configured for detecting the position and the orientation of the items located on the first conveyor;
• a plurality of transfer robots arranged in a transfer area containing the collection section, each one of the transfer robots is configured, in response to the detection carried out by the detection system, to pick items individually from the collection section;
• the feeder device for items in bulk includes a circular receptacle with a bottom part formed by a circular centrifugal disc that rotates around an inclined axis relative to the vertical and defining a lower peripheral area surrounding by a perimeter wall to store items in bulk,
• characterised in that
• the machine further comprises a second conveyor with a delivery section contained in the transfer area, the plurality of transfer robots being configured to orient the items picked up from the collection section in a defined orientation, and place them in alignment on the delivery section;
• the feeder device for items in bulk further comprises an upper peripheral area, adjacent and substantially at the same level as the feeder section and lacking a perimeter wall interposed between the upper peripheral area and the feeder section, to transfer the items, through lateral sliding, from the upper peripheral area of the centrifugal disc to the feeder section when the centrifugal disc rotates at sufficient speed;
• and in that
• the return section of the first conveyor is adjacent to the receptacle and is configured to transfer those items remaining on the first conveyor after passing through the collection section directly from the first conveyor to the interior of the receptacle or directly from the return section to the feeder section.