Feeding apparatus

Claim 1

Apparatus for feeding bars along a predetermined path into a straightener, restraining the bars from flailing and whipping action and reducing the noise level generated by said flailing and whipping action comprising a support structure, a first pair of rollers carried by said support structure in spaced relation one to the other and for rotation about a pair of spaced generally parallel axes, the rollers of said first pair thereof in part defining and lying on opposite sides of the path of movement of each bar as it is fed into the straightener, a second pair of rollers carried by said support structure in spaced relation one to the other and for rotation about a pair of second generally parallel axes substantially normal to said first pair of axes, the rollers of said second pair thereof in part defining and lying on opposite sides of the path of movement of each bar as it is fed into the straightener whereby said first and second pairs of rollers substantially circumferentially confine each bar when moved along said path, the spacing between the rollers of said first pair thereof and the spacing between the rollers of the second pair thereof being such that the distance between the opposed rollers is substantially greater than the largest transverse dimension of the bar movable along said path whereby when one roller or a pair of opposed rollers is engaged by the bar the opposite roller thereof is spaced from the bar, means carried by said support structure for moving the bar along said path, said means including means for driving at least one roller of said first and second pairs of rollers, and means carried by said rollers and engagable with the bar movable along said path for reducing the noise level produced by engagement of the bar and said rollers.