Apparatus for individually orienting textile packages in response to sensing of the initial orientation of the package

An apparatus for orienting packages of textile material into predetermined individual orientations, the packages being of the type having textile material built on a tube with one portion of the package having at least one detectably different characteristic than another portion of the package axially spaced from the one package portion, comprising:

• means for transporting packages along a delivery path to an orienting location;
• means for classifying each package on the basis of its detectably different characteristic, the transporting means being operable to deliver each package to the classifying means and the classifying means classifying each package as either an end adjacent package having its one portion more closely adjacent a predetermined delivery path location than the other portion of the package or an end remote package having its one portion more remote from the predetermined delivery path location than the other portion of the package, the transporting means being operable to transport each package from the classifying means to the orienting location in a manner in which each package arrives at the orienting location in the same disposition as other packages similarly classified by the classifying means;
• and
• means for disposing each package delivered to the orienting location in a predetermined individual orientation, the disposing means including:
• a first package supporting element and a second package supporting element disposed in generally perpendicular intersecting relation to one another, each package supporting element having an open end through which a package travels to exit the package supporting element;
• means for cyclically moving each of the package supporting elements between a receipt position at which the package supporting element receives a package delivered to the orienting location and a discharge position in which a supported package is discharged from the respective package supporting element through the open end thereof at least partially due to the operation of gravity on the package, the receipt and discharge positions being disposed relative to one another such that the orientation of each supported package changes by an angle substantially equal to ninety degrees between the receipt and discharge positions, the cyclically moving means being operable to alternately move the first and second package supporting elements between the receipt and discharge positions with the first package supporting element being disposed at one of the receipt and the discharge positions while the second package supporting element is disposed at the other of the receipt and the discharge positions, and
• means for controlling the cyclically moving means to move the respective package supporting element at the receipt position to the discharge position by a selected one of a first element in which an end adjacent package supported by the respective package supporting element is discharged in the same predetermined orientation as the other end adjacent packages and a second movement of the respective package supporting element in which an end remote package supported by the respective package supporting element is discharged in the same predetermined orientation as the other end remote packages, the controlling means being operable to select the appropriate one of first and second movements in response to a signal from the classifying means indicating the respective end adjacent or end remote classification of the package which is to be moved from the receipt to the discharge position, whereby both the end adjacent and end remote packages can be disposed in the same predetermined orientation by movement of the respective package supporting element at the receipt position to the discharge position in a selected one of a clockwise and counterclockwise direction for discharge of end adjacent packages therefrom and movement of the respective package supporting element at the receipt position to the discharge position in the other of the clockwise and counterclockwise directions for discharge of end remote packages therefrom.