Automatic feeder mechanism for orienting relatively small articles

Claim 1

AN AUTOMATIC FEEDER MECHANISM FOR INSERTION BETWEEN A RANDOM SOURCE OF ORIENTED AND NON-ORIENTED RTICLES AND A TRANSFER STATION FOR ALIGNING THE ARTICLES IN PROPER SEQUENCE AT THE TRANSFER STATION COMPRISING, A VIBRATORY FEEDER SUPPLIED WITH ARTICLES FROM SAID RANDOM SOURCE ADAPTED TO PROVIDE AN OUTPUT OF THE ARTICLES MOVING ENDWISE IN SINGLE FILE FORMATION, DRIVEN BELT MEANS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE ARTICLES EXITING FROM THE OUTPUT OF SAID VIBRATORY FEEDER AND TO TRANSPORT THE ARTICLES ENDWISE IN SINGLE FILE FORMATION, SAID BELT MEANS BEING DRIVEN AT A PREDETERMINED SPEED FOR IMPARTING A UNIFORM VELOCITY TO THE NON-ORIENTED ARTICLES, A CHUTE CONNECTING SAID BELT MEANS WITH SAID TRANSFER STATION, SHOCK ABSORBING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID CHUTE FOR CUSHIONING THE ARTICLES, SAID SHOCK ABSORBING MEANS COMPRISING A STRIP FOR RESILEINT MATERIAL HAVING AN UPPER END MOUNTED ABOVE SAID CHUTE AND HAVING A LOWER END FREE FOR MOVEMENT, SAID STRIP OVERLYING SAID CHUTE TO FORM A YIELDABLE UPPER WALL THEREFOR, AND ORIENTING MEANS SUITABLY SPACED ABOVE SAID CHUTE AND IN LINE WITH SAID BELT MEANS FOR PLACING THE NON-ORIENTED ARTICLES IN THE PROPER SEQUENCE AT THE TRANSFER STATION, SAID ORIENTED ARTICLES MOVING THROUGH SAID CHUTE TO SAID TRANSFER STATION INDEPENDENT OF SAID ORIENTING MEANS.