Fastener dispencer and applicator

Apparatus for applying workpieces to a base at a series of worksites on the base with groups of fasteners which comprises

• a. a dispenser adapted to receive at a charging site a group of fasteners for each of the worksites of the series and serially dispensing a group of fasteners at each worksite to a workpiece applicator wherein the dispenser is capable of receiving fasteners from a fastener charger at a fastener receiving side thereof and of feeding the fasteners in groups to a discharge side of the dispenser and having a plurality of passages for fasteners extending between the receiving side and the discharge side, a plurality of gates spaced from one another at positions between the receiving side and the discharge side for selectively closing off flow of fasteners along the passages at each gate position and a gate operator for opening and closing each gate, whereby a fastener may be introduced in each passage at the receiving side and, by selective operation of the gates, held at each gate position and selectively released to flow a further distance toward or out of the passage at the discharge side of the dispenser;
• b. a fastener feeder at the charging site adapted to selectively feed a series of groups of fasteners to the dispenser when the dispenser is at the charging site;
• c. a workpiece applicator adapted to serially receive groups of fasteners from the dispenser and apply a respective workpiece to the base at each respective worksite with a respective group of fasteners and
• d. means for moving the dispenser and the workpiece applicator between the charging site and the worksites and consecutively between each of the worksites, whereby the dispenser may receive a series of groups of fasteners from the fastener feeder at the charging site, move to and consecutively between the worksites to deposit a group of fasteners at each worksite and then return to the charging site to receive a further series of fastener groups.