Loading apparatus for a packaging machine for small products

A loading apparatus for a packaging machine for small products comprising:

• a filling shoe for input of said products into one of a plurality of receptacles of a package component moving past and under said filling shoe;
• means to move said receptacles in a given direction past said filling shoe;
• at least one feed chamber formed in said filling shoe and having a mouth open toward said package component and a receptacle of said package component aligned with said chamber to receive a product therefrom;
• a product duct communicating with said feed chamber for feeding said products in series one after another to said feed chamber;
• at least one vacuum passage formed in said shoe and connected with a vacuum source for evacuating a flow of air, said passage opening into said chamber at a location other than that at which said duct is connected thereto and adjacent said mouth and being formed as a groove in said given direction in said shoe opening directly toward said component and into said receptacle aligned with said chamber to remove dust and facilitate the transport of said products into said receptacles.