Corn orienting machinery

A method to orient generally tapered objects having a largest diametral plane, comprised of the following steps:

• A. causing a tapered object to be placed between first and second generally parallel surfaces, said first surface being capable of vertical reciprocating motion and said second surface being biased toward said first surface;
• B. bringing said second surface toward said first surface to engage said tapered object on opposed edges of its largest diametral plane in such fashion that the object is pivotally mounted with its pivotal axis in substantially horizontal alignment.
• C. moving said first surface vertically upward to allow combined gravitational and inertial torque on the free smaller end of said object to force such smaller end to become oriented more neearly downward.
• D. moving said first surface vertically downward to advance the object downward between said first and second surfaces;
• E. repeating the above steps C and D unitl orientation is complete and the opposed edges of said largest diametral plane have advanced downward below the lower edges of said first and second surfaces.

A tapered object orienting machine adapted to orient tapered objects with their smaller ends foremost, of the type having first and second inwardly opposed orienting surfaces biased toward each other, between which surfaces a tapered object is engaged on opposite edges of its largest diametral plane in an orienting operation, wherein the improvement comprises an orienting lane of fixed length bonded by said opposed orienting surfaces, have a first fixed point where an object to be oriented is engaged at the edges of its largest diametral plane and a second fixed point where such engagement is released at the end of the orienting operation, said first and second fixed points being constant when tapered objects having different largest diameters are oriented in said machine, and means to intermittently apply an upward force to objects in said lane whereby to orient said objects without overcorrection, said first and second orienting surfaces being substantially vertical plates, said second orienting surface being biased toward said first surface and provided with mounting means allowing movement toward or away from said first orienting surface in parallel relation thereto, and said first and second orienting surfaces being supplied with tapered objects at the said first fixed point by a moving feed surface, the portion of said feed surface immediately adjacent said first fixed point being positioned above said orienting lane and the feed surface intersecting with the upper extremity of the said first orienting surface, whereby a tapered object to be oriented first is supplied onto said feed surface, then is fed at a fixed rate into contact with the upper end of said second orienting surface, then is moved along said second orienting surface by the motion of said feed surface until the largest diametral plane of the tapered object reaches the first fixed point of said orienting lane, and wherein said feed surface comprises a plurality of laterally spaced narrow elements extending in the direction of movement of the feed surface, and said first orienting surface is a generally vertically reciprocating plate having portions occupying the spaces between the laterally spaced elements of the feed surface at least at its upper edge, whereby the feed surface intersects with and passes through the upper edge of the first orienting surface at all stages of the vertical reciprocation of the first orienting surface, said point of intersection defining the first fixed point.