Conveyer for flexible material

Claim 1

A SELF LOADING CONVEYER FOR EXTRACTING INDIVIDUAL LENGTHS OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL SUCH AS WIRE FROM A BUNDLE OF LENGTHS OF MATERIAL AND CONVEYING SAID INDIVIDUAL LENGTHS ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A CONVEYER MOVABLE ALONG SAID PATH AND HAVING SPACED-APART NOTCHES ON ONE SIDE THEREOF AND EXTENDING ACROSS SAID CONVEYER, SAID CONVEYER HAVING A THICKNESS AS MEASURED TRANSVERSELY OF ITS LENGTH WHICH IS AN INSIGNIFICANT FRACTION OF THE TOTAL LENGTH OF SAID LENGTHS OF MATERIAL AND SAID CONVEYER HAVING A THICKNESS WHICH IS OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME ORDER OF MAGNITUDE AS THE DIAMETER OF SAID MATERIAL, AND STATIONARY RETAINING MEANS EXTENDING PARALLEL TO AND AGAINST SAID ONE SIDE OF SAID CONVEYER FOR A PORTION OF SAID PATH WHEREBY, UPON POSITIONING SAID BUNDLE IN OVERHANGING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID CONVEYER AT A LOCATION ADJACENT TO SAID STATIONARY RETAINING MEANS WITH SAID BUNDLE SUPPORTED BY SAID CONVEYER, AN INDIVIDUAL LENGTH OF SAID MATERIAL ENTERS EACH OF SAID NOTCHES, AND UPON MOVEMENT OF EACH NOTCH UNDER SAID RETAINING MEANS, THE ONE LENGTH OF MATERIAL POSITIONED THEREIN IS CLAMPED TO SAID CONVEYER AND SAID ONE LENGTH IS EXTRACTED FROM SAID BUNDLE UPON FURTHER MOVEMENT OF SAID CONVEYER.