US3815730A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Orienting apparatus and method
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1972-08-02
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Granted: 1974-06-11
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Expires: 1992-08-02
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and method for orienting elongated headed articles such as nails and the like. A pair of rotatably mounted, horizontally disposed orienting rolls have helical grooves of opposite hand. The rolls are rotated in opposite directions and such that the surfaces of the rolls move upwardly through a slot formed between the two rolls. The elongated articles are dumped onto an orienting end of the rolls and by rotation of the rolls fall between the slot with the heads of the articles being retained between the rolls. The articles are worked into the roll grooves which mate at the slot and are moved in the grooves by rotation of the rolls to a discharge end of the rolls wherein they are removed therefrom seriatim in oriented form. The apparent motion of the mating grooves is toward the discharge end as the rolls rotate. Rejection means, such as pins or brushes on the rolls at the discharge end thereof, remove articles which are horizontally disposed between the rolls. The articles are fed to the orienting rolls by a rotating drum which surrounds the rolls. The drum has radially oriented baffles for lifting the articles and dumping the same onto the orienting end of the rolls.
Inventors
- 👤 T Zwiep
- 👤 Bleyker J Den
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 00:13
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G47/00; B65G47/02; B65G47/04; B65G47/12; B65G47/14; B65G47/1407; B65G47/1414; B65G47/1428
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
335 words
An apparatus for orienting articles having a stem and an expanded head, said apparatus comprising: a pair of orienting members having an orienting portion and a discharge portion, at least one of said members being a roll having a helical groove therein; means mounting said orienting members in horizontal juxtaposition to each other, leaving a slot therebetween, said slot being sufficiently wide in said orienting portion to permit the stem of said articles to be positioned between said orienting members, yet insufficient to permit the heads of said articles to pass through said slot; means mounting said roll for rotation about its longitudinal axis; means for rotating said roll about its longitudinal axis so as to move articles within said groove from said orienting portion to said discharge portion thereof; means for releasing articles positioned between said orienting members at said discharge end thereof; means for dumping said articles in disoriented condition onto said orienting portion of said orienting members, said article dumping means including a hopper having an enclosed continuous surface surrounding said orienting members, said hopper having a dumping end surrounding said orienting portion of said orienting members, and a recycle end surrounding said discharge portion of said orienting members; means in said dumping end for carrying said articles upwardly and dumping said articles onto said orienting portion of said orienting members; and means in said recycle end of said hopper for moving articles from said recycle end to said dumping end; means mounting said hopper for rotational movement about a substantially horizontal axis and with said continuous surface revolving around said orienting portion of said orienting member; means for rotating said hopper about said substantially horizontal axis; and means for receiving articles in oriented condition from said releasing means of said orienting members; whereby said articles dumped on said orienting members by said rotating hopper fall within said slot in an oriented condition, are engaged by said grooves in said roll, and are moved to said discharge end of said orienting means.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
335 words
An apparatus for orienting articles having a stem and an expanded head, said apparatus comprising: a pair of orienting members having an orienting portion and a discharge portion, at least one of said members being a roll having a helical groove therein; means mounting said orienting members in horizontal juxtaposition to each other, leaving a slot therebetween, said slot being sufficiently wide in said orienting portion to permit the stem of said articles to be positioned between said orienting members, yet insufficient to permit the heads of said articles to pass through said slot; means mounting said roll for rotation about its longitudinal axis; means for rotating said roll about its longitudinal axis so as to move articles within said groove from said orienting portion to said discharge portion thereof; means for releasing articles positioned between said orienting members at said discharge end thereof; means for dumping said articles in disoriented condition onto said orienting portion of said orienting members, said article dumping means including a hopper having an enclosed continuous surface surrounding said orienting members, said hopper having a dumping end surrounding said orienting portion of said orienting members, and a recycle end surrounding said discharge portion of said orienting members; means in said dumping end for carrying said articles upwardly and dumping said articles onto said orienting portion of said orienting members; and means in said recycle end of said hopper for moving articles from said recycle end to said dumping end; means mounting said hopper for rotational movement about a substantially horizontal axis and with said continuous surface revolving around said orienting portion of said orienting member; means for rotating said hopper about said substantially horizontal axis; and means for receiving articles in oriented condition from said releasing means of said orienting members; whereby said articles dumped on said orienting members by said rotating hopper fall within said slot in an oriented condition, are engaged by said grooves in said roll, and are moved to said discharge end of said orienting means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 1 wherein said rotating means rotates said roll such that the surface thereof moves upwardly through said slot to prevent jamming of articles therein.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
63 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 2 wherein the other of said orienting members includes a second roll having a helical groove of opposite hand to that of said first roll and in alignment with said helical groove of said first roll; and further comprising means for rotating said second roll in a direction opposite to that of said first roll.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 3 and further comprising rotating means on at least one of said orienting members at said discharge portion for removing articles disposed horizontally between said orienting members so that said articles fall back into said hopper.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
63 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 3 wherein said first and second rolls have a section in which the diameter increases slightly in a tapered fashion between said orienting portion and said discharge portion whereby said rolls operate more positively on said articles within said grooves as said articles move from said orienting end to said discharge end of said rolls.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
44 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 3 wherein said releasing means includes a reduced diameter portion of said first and second rolls to widen said slot sufficiently to permit said heads of said articles to pass between said first and second rolls.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
105 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 6 wherein said receiving means includes a pair of inclined spaced guide members terminating at an upper portion just beneath said first and second rolls at said releasing means, said guide members being spaced sufficiently to permit free reception of said article stems while retaining said article heads above said guide members, the lower ends of said guide members extending out one end of said hopper, whereby said articles discharged from said orienting members are received by said guide members and slide down said guide members away from said orienting members and out of said rotating hopper.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
54 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 7 wherein said upper portion of said guide members are spaced a sufficient distance beneath said orienting rolls to permit articles to pass between said guide members and said orienting rolls after discharge from said releasing means when said guide members are full of said articles.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 1 wherein said moving means includes at least one helical baffle within said hopper; and said article carrying and dumping means includes radial baffles aligned longitudinally within said hopper.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
36 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 1 and further comprising rotating means on at least one of said orienting members at said discharge portion thereof for rejecting articles disposed horizontally between said orienting members.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
53 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 1 wherein a section of said slot formed between said orienting members decreases in width between said orienting portion and said discharge portion of said orienting members to achieve better control over said articles as they move from said orienting portion to said discharge portion.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 1 wherein said releasing means includes a reduced diameter portion of said first roll to widen said slot sufficiently to permit said head of said article to pass between said first and second rolls.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
78 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 1 wherein said receiving means includes a pair of inclined guide members spaced from each other sufficiently to permit free reception of said article stems therebetween while retaining said article heads above said guide members, said guide members terminating at an upper portion just beneath said orienting members at said discharge portion thereof, whereby said articles are received by said guide members as they are discharged by said orienting means.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
211 words
An apparatus for orienting articles having a stem and an expanded head, said apparatus comprising: a pair of orienting members having an orienting portion and a discharge portion, at least one of said members being a roll having a helical groove therein; means mounting said orienting members in horizontal juxtaposition to each other, leaving a slot therebetween, said slot being sufficiently wide in said orienting portion to peRmit the stem of said articles to be positioned between said orienting members, yet insufficient to permit the heads of said articles to pass through said slot; means mounting said roll for rotation about its longitudinal axis; means for rotating said roll about its longitudinal axis so as to move articles within said groove from said orienting portion to said discharge portion thereof; means for releasing articles positioned between said orienting members at said discharge end thereof; means for dumping said articles in disoriented condition onto said orienting portion of said orienting members; means for receiving said articles in orienting condition from said releasing means of said orienting members; and means for rejecting articles from said receiving means when said receiving means is full of said articles while releasing said articles from said releasing means so as to avoid jamming of said orienting members.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
211 words
An apparatus for orienting articles having a stem and an expanded head, said apparatus comprising: a pair of orienting members having an orienting portion and a discharge portion, at least one of said members being a roll having a helical groove therein; means mounting said orienting members in horizontal juxtaposition to each other, leaving a slot therebetween, said slot being sufficiently wide in said orienting portion to peRmit the stem of said articles to be positioned between said orienting members, yet insufficient to permit the heads of said articles to pass through said slot; means mounting said roll for rotation about its longitudinal axis; means for rotating said roll about its longitudinal axis so as to move articles within said groove from said orienting portion to said discharge portion thereof; means for releasing articles positioned between said orienting members at said discharge end thereof; means for dumping said articles in disoriented condition onto said orienting portion of said orienting members; means for receiving said articles in orienting condition from said releasing means of said orienting members; and means for rejecting articles from said receiving means when said receiving means is full of said articles while releasing said articles from said releasing means so as to avoid jamming of said orienting members.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
107 words
An apparatus for orienting articles according to claim 14 wherein said receiving means includes a pair of inclined spaced guide members terminating at an upper portion just beneath said releasing means of said orienting members, said guide members being spaced sufficiently to permit free reception of said article stems while retaining said article heads above said guide members, and wherein said article rejecting means includes a spacing between the upper portion of said guide members and said orienting members to permit articles to pass between said guide members and said orienting members after discharge from said releasing means when said guide means are full of said articles.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-06-10 | 1977-12-10 | 1978-06-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-06-10 | 1981-12-10 | 1982-06-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-06-10 | 1985-12-10 | 1986-06-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |