Arrangement for feeding parts into automatic lines

Claim 1

IN A DEVICE FOR FEEDING PARTS IN PROPERLY ORIENTED POSITION TO AN ASSEMBLY LINE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A HOPPER FOR RECEIVING SAID PARTS, A ROTATABLE TAPERED DISC IN THE LOWER END OF SAID HOPPER, A CHUTE DISPOSED ADJACENT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID DISC FOR RECEIVING PARTS DISCHARGE FROM SAID DISC BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE, AND ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM ADJACENT THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID CHUTE FOR CAUSING INTERMITTENT DISCHARGE OF INDIVIDUAL PARTS FROM SAID CHUTE, A SENSING MEANS ADJACENT THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID CHUTE FOR SENSING THE ORIENTATION OF PARTS DISCHARGED FROM SAID CHUTE, A ROTARY CONVEYOR FOR RECEIVING PARTS FROM SAID CHUTE AND TRANSFERRING THE SAME TO SAID ASSEMBLY LINE, AND CONVEYOR INCLUDING A PLURALLITY OG GRIPPERS, EACH GRIPPER SERVING TO RECEIVE AND GRIP AN INDIVIDUAL PART DISCHARGE FROM SAID CHUTE, EACH GRIPPER BEING MOUNTED FOR ROTATION TO PERMIT TURNING A PART CARRIED THEREBY THROUGH ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DEGREES, RACK AND PINION MEANS FOR ROTATING EACH GRIPPER, A CAM TRACK FOR ACTUATING SAID RACK, AND CONTROL MEANS TO RENDER SAID CAM TRACK INOPERATIVE, AND A MEMORY UNIT OPERATING IN TIMED RELATIONSHIP TO THE DISCHARGE OF PARTS FROM SAID CHUTE, SAID MEMORY UNIT INCLUDING OPERATING MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID CONTROL MEANS TO RENDER SAID CAM TRACK OPERATIVE OR INOPERATIVE AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID SENSING MEANS IN SENSING THE ORIENTATION OF PARTS DISCHARGE FROM SAID CHUTE TO RENDER SAID OPERATING MEANS OPERATIVE OR INOPERATIVE.