High speed cap orienting and feeding apparatus

In apparatus for accepting an initially presented population of randomly oriented container caps and providing an output in-line stream of said caps wherein the open or lighter ends of the caps face in an upward direction;

• said apparatus including means for accepting said randomly oriented caps and feeding an in-line stream of said caps wherein the caps are oriented with their diameters substantially in a vertical plane;
• and guide channel means having a base and including an input end for receiving said caps at said vertical orientation, an output end whereat the caps reside along their diameters with the open ends thereof facing upwardly, and a transition zone between the input and output ends whereat said caps may gravitationally tip and fall from the said vertical plane to their surfaces which include said diameters;
• a narrow support member extending longitudinally and centrally along the base of said transition zone for underlying and supporting said caps thereat;
• and a pair of members extending along the lateral sides of said transition zone, the spacing between said members being such at the upstream end of said zone as to sandwich the said caps to constrain same against tipping, and said members diverging toward the downstream end of said zone, whereby to remove said constraint and permit said tipping;
• the improvement enabling higher speed feed of said caps through said channel and increased dependability of tipping in the desired direction, comprising:
• said narrow support member and said lateral members comprising bands which are continually moveable at common speed through said transition zone;
• said members thereby grasping said caps at the upstream end of the said transition zone and conveying said caps through said zone, while permitting same to gravitationally fall as said lateral bands diverge, without said caps being rolled along said support member or otherwise being rotated about their axes.