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US 5,305,867 AGranted
Method and apparatus for feeding articles
AssigneeGersan Establishment
InventorTimothy H. Leaton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeGersan Establishment
InventorTimothy H. Leaton
Estimating the term…
A feeding apparatus includes an upper movable carrier (1) having a plurality of guides or receptacles (7) which are transported at a predetermined speed and with a predetermined spacing along a predetermined path. The guides each have an open bottom and are each adapted to receive articles which are individually fed thereto. Over a first portion of its path, each guide (7) lies immediately above a lower carrier (11) which closes the bottom of and moves in synchronism with the guide (7), so as to allow one of the articles to become held within the guide (7) by the lower carrier (11) for a sufficient period of time as to allow the article to settle. Over a subsequent portion of the path, the guide (7) and the lower carrier (11) are separated from one another, thereby exposing the article on the lower carrier with accurately defined position and timing.
A feeding apparatus comprising an upper movable carrier comprising a plurality of guides which in operation are transported at a predetermined speed and with a predetermined spacing along a predetermined path, said guides each having an open bottom and each being adapted to receive a respective article individually fed thereto;
A method of handling articles, comprising moving a plurality of successive guides at a predetermined speed and with a predetermined spacing along a predetermined path, each said guide having an open bottom;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.