Machine for feeding and orienting workpieces

Claim 2

In a machine for feeding and orienting workpieces having first and second end portions with different characteristics, the combination of, an upwardly opening bowl for holding the workpieces, a vibratory track spiraled around the inner wall of the bowl, said track having a first vibrating section with a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces upwardly and endwise from the bottom of said bowl to an orienting station and having a second vibrating section with a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces from said orienting station to an operating station, a selector wheel located in said orienting station between said track sections and having a series of workpiece holders spaced angularly around its periphery, said wheel being turnable about an upright axis and being disposed in a plane generally parallel to the conveying surfaces adjacent the orienting station, the upper end of said bowl being formed with a notch for receiving said wheel with the latter being located partially within and partially outside of said bowl, said wheel being rotatable in said orienting station with each of said hoLders first moving past said first track section into position to receive a workpiece being vibrated along such section and then moving past said second track section in order to carry the workpiece around to and release the workpiece on the latter section for vibration toward the operating station, and said holders being shaped to discriminate between the different characteristics of the end portions of the workpieces to discard back into the bowl those workpieces advancing along the first section second-end-first and to carry around to the second section only those workpieces being advanced first-end-first along the first section.

Claim 3

A machine as defined in claim 1 in which said track is interrupted with said first section being spiraled upwardly within said bowl, said second track section being spaced from said first section and spiraling downwardly within said bowl and out of the wall thereof.

Claim 4

A machine as defined in claim 1 in which said wheel and said track sections are inclined downwardly at a slight angle toward the adjacent wall of the bowl thereby to retain the workpieces alongside said wall when the workpieces are on said track sections.

Claim 5

A machine as defined in claim 1 in which said wheel is rotated in such a direction to move each holder past said first track section, over the interior of said bowl, past said second track section, and then around the outside of said bowl to said first track section.

Claim 6

In a machine for feeding and orienting workpieces having first and second end portions with different characteristics, the combination of, an upwardly opening bowl for holding the workpieces, a vibratory track spiraled around the inner wall of the bowl, said track having a first vibrating section with a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces upwardly and endwise from the bottom of said bowl to an orienting station, said track including a second vibrating section spaced from said first section and having a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces from said orienting station to an operating station, a selector wheel located in said orienting station between the ends of said track sections, said wheel being turnable about an upright axis and being disposed in a plane generally parallel to the conveying surfaces adjacent the orienting station, the upper end of said bowl being formed with a notch for receiving said wheel with the latter being located partially within and partially outside of said bowl, a series of angularly spaced workpiece-receiving sockets formed in the periphery of the wheel and opening out of both the periphery of the wheel and the lower face of the wheel, said wheel being rotatable in said orienting station with each of said sockets first moving past the end of said first track section into position to receive a workpiece being vibrated along such section, then moving over the interior of said bowl, and then moving past the end of the second track section in order to carry the workpiece around to the latter section for vibration toward the operating station, a nonrotatable plate located between the ends of said track sections and underlying said wheel to support the undersides of the workpieces being carried in said sockets, and said sockets being shaped to retain those workpieces inserted into the sockets first-end-first and to carry such workpieces across said plate to said second track section and being shaped to allow those workpieces inserted second-end-first to drop off of an edge of the plate and into said bowl after first carrying such workpieces past the end of the first track section and before carrying the workpieces to the second track section.

Claim 7

In a machine for feeding and orienting workpieces having first and second end portions with different characteristics, the combination of, an upwardly opening bowl for holding the workpieces, a vibratory track spiraled around the inner wall of the bowl, said track having a first vibrating section with a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces upwardly and endwise from the bottom of said bowl to an orienting station, said track including a second vibrating section spaced from said first section and having a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces from said orienting station to an operating station, a selector wheel located in said orienting station between the ends of said track sections, said wheel being turnable about an upright axis and being disposed in a plane generally parallel to the conveying surfaces adjacent the orienting station, the upper end of said bowl being formed with a notch for receiving said wheel with the latter being located partially within and partially outside of said bowl, a series of angularly spaced workpiece-receiving sockets formed in the periphery of the wheel and opening out of both the periphery of the wheel and the lower face of the wheel, said wheel being rotatable in said orienting station with each of said sockets first moving past the end of said first track section into position to receive a workpiece being vibrated along such section, then moving over the interior of said bowl, and then moving past the end of the second track section in order to carry the workpiece around to the latter section for vibration toward the operating station, a nonrotatable plate located between the ends of said track sections and underlying said wheel to support the undersides of the workpieces being carried in said sockets, and said sockets being shaped to retain those workpieces inserted into the sockets first-end-first and to carry such workpieces across said plate to said second track section and being shaped to allow those workpieces inserted second-end-first to drop off of an edge of the plate and into said bowl after first carrying such workpieces past the end of the first track section and before carrying the workpieces to the second track section.

Claim 8

A machine as defined in claim 5 in which said plate is connected to vibrate with said track sections.

Claim 9

A machine as defined in claim 5 in which said sockets are shaped to receive those workpieces inserted into the sockets first-end-first to a greater extent than those inserted into the sockets second-end-first whereby the latter workpieces overhanD said plate to a greater extent than the former workpieces and drop off of the plate by virtue of their own weight.

Claim 10

A machine as defined in claim 5 for feeding and orienting workpieces having first end portions with distinctive axially opening slots and having second end portions without such slots, and further including a blade located at the closed end of each socket and sized and shaped to fit into the slot of a workpiece inserted first-end-first into the socket, and said blades being positioned to abut the ends of workpieces inserted second-end-first and to cause such workpieces to project out of the sockets and to overhand said plate to a greater extent than workpieces inserted first-end-first.

Claim 11

A machine as defined in claim 5 for feeding and orienting workpieces having first end portions with distinctive heads and having second end portions without such heads, said sockets being shaped to engage said heads and retain those workpieces inserted first-end-first and being shaped to allow those workpieces inserted second-end-first to drip out of the sockets and off of said plate.

Claim 12

In a machine for feeding and orienting workpieces having first end portions with distinctive axially opening slots and having second end portions without such slots, the combination of, a supply hopper for holding the workpieces, a vibratory track having a first vibrating section with a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces endwise from said hopper to an orienting station and having a second vibrating section with a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces from said orienting station toward an operating station, a selector wheel located in said orienting station to turn about an upright axis and being disposed in a plane generally parallel to the conveying surfaces adjacent the orienting station, a series of workpiece-receiving sockets spaced angularly around the periphery of the wheel and opening out of both the periphery of the wheel and the lower face of the wheel, said wheel being rotatable in said orienting station with each of said sockets first moving past said first track section into position to receive a workpiece being vibrated along such section and then moving past said second track section, a plate disposed between said sections and underlying said wheel to support the workpieces as the latter are carried from said first section by said wheel, and blade means located adjacent the inner closed ends of said sockets and sized and shaped to fit into the slots of workpieces inserted first-end-first into the sockets, said blade means being positioned to abut the ends of workpieces inserted second-end-first into the sockets and to cause such workpieces to project out of the sockets and to overhang said plate to a greater extent than workpieces inserted first-end-first whereby those workpieces inserted first-end-first are carried around on said plate to said second track section while those workpieces inserted second-end-first drop off the edge of the plate and into said hopper.

Claim 13

In a machine for feeding and orienting workpieces having first end portions with distinctive axially opening slots and having second end portions without such slots, the combination of, a supply hopper for holding the workpieces, a vibratory track having a first vibrating section with a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces endwise from said hopper to an orienting station and having a second vibrating section with a conveying surface for advancing the workpieces from said orienting station toward an operating station, a selector wheel located in said orienting station to turn about an upright axis and being disposed in a plane generally parallel to the conveying surfaces adjacent the orienting station, a series of workpiece-receiving sockets spaced angularly around the periphery of the wheel and opening out of both the periphery of the wheel and the lower face of the wheel, said wheel being rotatable in said orienting station with each of said sockets first moving past said first track section into position to receive a workpiece being vibrated along such section and then moving past said second track section, a plate disposed between said sections and underlying said wheel to support the workpieces as the latter are carried from said first section by said wheel, and blade means located adjacent the inner closed ends of said sockets and sized and shaped to fit into the slots of workpieces inserted first-end-first into the sockets, said blade means being positioned to abut the ends of workpieces inserted second-end-first into the sockets and to cause such workpieces to project out of the sockets and to overhang said plate to a greater extent than workpieces inserted first-end-first whereby those workpieces inserted first-end-first are carried around on said plate to said second track section while those workpieces inserted second-end-first drop off the edge of the plate and into said hopper.

Claim 14

A machine as defined in claim 10 in which said blade means comprises a curved blade anchored to said plate, said blade being located beneath the path followed by the sockets as the latter move from said first track section to said second track section, at least part of said blade spiraling outwardly toward the outer ends of said sockets as the blade progresses from said first track section to said second track section.