US 2021/0276814 A1 · Singulating and Orienting Objects for Feeding

Abstract

Objects in a stream in a duct are singulated and oriented by rotating at least some so that the orientations of all aligned. In one arrangement a slot is provided in the singulation duct into which the shank falls while the head remains in the singulation duct. In another arrangement there is provided a buffering device and a transfer member for transferring the singulated oriented objects from the buffering device to an operating location. In another arrangement a first path changes the orientation of relative to the second path. The objects can be fed from a singulation duct to a supply duct having an exit mouth lying on a rotation axis of the singulation duct.

Claims36

Dependent claims

A method for feeding objects in a stream from a massed supply of the objects where each object has an orientation axis and is shaped so that the object has first and second different orientations of the orientation axis, the method comprising:

supplying the massed supply of the objects;
transferring the objects from the supply into a singulation duct;
forming the objects into a stream of the objects which are singulated each from the next by passing the objects along the singulation duct and rotating the o singulation duct about a rotation axis such that centrifugal forces generated by the rotation act to drive the objects along the singulation duct and to cause pressure on the objects against a wall of the singulation duct to slide along the wall;
and orienting the objects in the stream by engaging the objects in the stream and rotating at least some of the objects so that all the objects at a location in is the stream after the orientation have the orientations thereof aligned.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Singulating and Orienting Objects for Feeding

Life of this patent

Singulating and Orienting Objects for Feeding

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims36