Bulk feeder for electronic components

A bulk feeder for feeding electronic components one at a time into a receiver for a lead forming machine, each component having a body portion and axially aligned lead wires extending one from each end of the body portion, said feeder comprising:

• (a) a hopper comprising:
• i. a pair of oppositely disposed side walls which are spaced from one another a distance which is slightly greater than the length of the electronic components which are to be fed to the forming machine,
• ii. a back wall extendimg between the side walls and being downwardly and forwardly inclined, said back wall having a lower end,
• iii. a bottom wall extending between the side walls, at least a portion of said bottom wall extending forwardly and upwardly from the lower end of the back wall,
• (b) a chute having a slipway channel which is shaped to axially aling electronic components with the direction in which they slide down the chute, said chute having a discharge end which is laterally aligned with respect to said side walls so that the axially aligned components are discharged laterally of the hopper from a point adjacent a first of said side walls toward the other of said side walls, said discharge end also being aligned with respect to said other of said side walls and said back wall so as to direct the components discharged therefrom to strike the other side wall at a point of contact adjacent the back wall such that the component will thereafter slide down the back wall to assume a position extending transversely of the hopper at the lower end of the back wall,
• (c) a conveyor projecting above and mounted for movement from said lower end of said back wall to the receiver for said components, said conveyor having an upper face which is movable below said lower end of said back wall, a plurality of notches formed in said upper face, said notches being arranged and proportioned to receive and seat by gravity the transversly extending body portion of a single component located at the lower end of the back wall to transport the components one at a time out of said hopper, successive notches being arranged directly adjacent to one another whereby a large number of components can be removed from the hopper without requiring the conveyor to operate at high speed.