US3253735A

US3253735A - Apparatus for orienting articles

Info

Publication number: US3253735A
Application number: US430814A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ford J Brown; Barry M Eckhaus; Nicholas F Gubitose
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1965-02-08
Filing date: 1965-02-08
Publication date: 1966-05-31
Anticipated expiration: 1983-05-31
Also published as: FR1466738A

Description

May 31, 1966 F. J. BROWN ET AL APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 8, 1965 FIG-I FIG-3 I /v v- TORS F. .1. BRO w/v muse/(mus MF. GUB/TOSE BY 7% 2 ,4 r TORNEY May 31, 1966 F. J. BROWN ETAL 3,253,735

APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ARTICLES Filed Feb. 8, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 31, 1966 F. J. BROWN ET AL 3,253,735

APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ARTICLES Filed Feb. 8, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet .5

May 31, F J. BROWN ET AL APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ARTICLES Filed Feb. 8, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ill FIG-7 May 31, 1966 F. J. BROWN ET AL APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 8, 1965 FIG-l2 United States Patent 3,253,735 APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ARTICLES Ford J. Brown, Kutztown, Barry M. Eckhaus, Easton, and

Nicholas F. Gubitose, Emmaus, Pa., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y.,

a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 430,814 Claims. (Cl. 221-9) This invention relates to apparatus for orienting articles and, more particularly, to apparatus for orienting elongated, paramagnetic articles having asymmetrically shaped ends. Accordingly, the general objects of this invention are to provide new and improved apparatus of such a character.

In the manufacture of scaled contacts for use in ferreed switches, two metallic contacts are assembled in parallel, overlapping relationship, and are then sealed within a glass envelope. Each of the contacts is composed of a paramagnetic material and has a round end and a fiat end. In order to facilitate the mass production of the sealed contacts it is first necessary to arrange the individual contacts in a manner compatible with such type production. One way this may be accomplished is to deposit a randomly arranged supply of the contacts in a vibratory feeding bowl which advances them, single file, to a track, and then to orient the contacts such that their like ends face in the same direction. Since the contacts, although arranged in a single file, are randomly arranged with respect to their endwise orientations, to orient them in the foregoing manner requires that the orientation of certain of the contacts be reversed in an end-for-end manner.

It is, therefore, another object of this invention to provide new and improved apparatus for reversing in an endfor-end manner the orientation of an elongated, paramagnetic article.

Another object of this invention is to provide continuous automatic equipment of a relatively simple nature for detecting the orientation of advancing elongated, paramagnetic articles having asymmetrically shaped ends, and :for reversing those articles which are detected to be in an undesirable orientation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention may include first and second unlike magnetic poles. An article whose endwise orientation is to be reversed is advanced to the poles in a manner causing the leading end of the article to be attracted by the pole nearest thereto and the lagging end of the article to be attracted by the pole furthest therefrom, to thereby pivot the article about its leading end to a reverse orientation. Alternatively, the reversal can be accomplished with a single magnetic pole of sufficient strength, mounted along the base of an inclined track down which the article is advanced.

Preferably, the track is formed with a step in its base a short distance in advance of the magnet, or the first pole when two poles are employed, to provide additional gravity assistance to the pivoting of the article about its leading end. Further, the magnet is preferably an electromagnet which is energized when it is desired to reverse the orientation of an article and deenergized after reversal to release the reversed article.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of apparatus embodying certain principles of the invention for orienting elongated, paramagnetic articles having asymmetrically shaped ends;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a paramagnetic contact having asymmetrically shaped ends which may be oriented with the apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is 3,253,735 Patented May 31, 1966 a perspective view of a sealed contact incorporating two of the paramagnetic contacts illustrated in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1, illustrating the cross section of a first track employed in the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, elevation view, with parts broken away for the sake of clarity, of an escapement mechanism incorporated in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, elevation view, with parts broken away for the sake of clarity, of a detector incorporated in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a circuit forming part of the detector;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are enlarged views, taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 6, with parts removed and broken away for the sake of clarity, illustrating how oppositely oriented contacts are positioned in the detector;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view taken along the line 99 of FIG. 1, illustrating the cross section of a second track employed in the apparatus thereof;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary, elevation view, with parts broken away for the sake of clarity, of an orienting station incorporated in the apparatus of FIG. 1 and employing an electromagnet;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are elevation views, with parts removed for the sake of clarity, illustrating the passage through the orienting station of oppositely oriented contacts; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an energization circuit for the electromagnet of the orienting station.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown apparatus for orienting articles, such as contacts 1010, having asymmetrically shaped ends. As more clearly seen in FIG. 2A, each contact has a cylindrical or round end 11 and a paddle-shaped or flat end 12. Additionally, each of the contacts 1010 is composed of a paramagnetic material, by which is meant a material capable of experiencing attraction by a magnet to a sufficient degree for the purposes of this invention to be fulfilled. In the particular example, the material is "52 alloy," an alloy consisting of approximately 52 percent nickel and 48 percent iron. After being oriented, the contacts may be advanced to an assembly machine such as that disclosed in the co-pending application of N. F. Gubitose and I. J. Monahan, Serial No. 332,101, filed December 20, 1963, now Patent No. 3,- 223,446 and assigned to the assignee of the present application. In the assembly machine, two of the contacts 1010 are assembled in parallel, overlapping relationship and then sealed within a glass envelope 13 to form a sealed contact 14 (FIG. 2B) for use in a ferreed switch (not shown).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the apparatus includes a vibratory feeding bowl 16 of a generally conventional type into which the contacts 10--10 are deposited in random order. The bowl 16 is provided with a spirally inclined track 17 about its inner periphery and is mounted on an electromagnetic drive unit 18. When actuated, the drive unit 1.8 imparts vibrations to the bowl 16 in a manner such as to cause the contacts 1010 therein to move radially outwardly of the bowl and in a circular path along its inner periphery. The track 17 is shaped such that, as the contacts 1010 are advanced thereto, they are formed into a single file. The contacts 1010 proceed up the track 17 until they reach the uppermost point thereof, whereupon the contacts are advanced to a first straight, downwardly inclined track 19. As seen in FIG. 3, the track 19 is provided with a channel 21 having lands 22-22 for receiving the flat end 12 of a contact 10 and an arcuate groove 23 for receiving the round end 11 thereof. The track 19 is further provided with cover plates 24-24 which serve to guide the contacts 10-10 through the channel 21.

Escapcment The contacts 10-10 proceed down the track 19 to an escapemcnt mechanism, designated generally by the numeral 26, which serves to halt the advancement of the file of contacts and release the contacts one at a time for further advancement down the track. As best seen in FIG. 4, the escapement mechanism 26 comprises two identical, spaced

units

27 and 27, only one of which, the unit 27, will be described in detail. The unit 27 includes a cylindrical pin 28 having a fiange 29 at its lower end and a reduced upper end 3]. The pin 28 is vertically movable into and out of the channel 21 of the track 19 through a complementary shaped bore formed in the body of the track. Movement is imparted to the pin 28 by actuation of an air cylinder 32 having a plunger 33 and a housing 34, the housing 34 being threadably fixed in one leg of an inverted T shaped member 36 secured to the underside of the track 19. When air (from a suitable source not shown) is supplied to the interior of the housing 34 through an air inlet line 37, the plunger 33 drives the pin 28 upwardly into the channel 21. The pin 28 and the plunger 33 are provided with respective compression springs 41 and 42 which serve to return these members to a downward position upon deactuation of the air cylinder 32. Additionally, the dual compression spring arrangement provides a soft upward movement of the pin 28 so that the pin does not strike a contact 10 with a force sufiicient to damage it.

The pins 28 and 28' of the units 27 and 27' are alternately movable into and out of the channel 21 and are spaced such that, when the pin 28 is in its up position to impede the passage of a contact 10 down the track 19, the pin 28 is in its lower position beneath the next succeeding contact 10 to permit its advancement into abutment with the preceding contact. (This is the position of the

pins

28 and 28 seen in FIG. 4.) In operation, the pin 28' is first moved upwardly to engage and hold the contact 10 in registration therewith. The pin 28 is then moved downwardly to allow advancement of the leading contact 10. The pin 28 is then returned to its up position and the pin 28 moved downwardly, whereupon the contact 10 previously held by the pin 28' advances to and is halted by the raised pin 28. In this manner, only one contact 10 at a time is released from the escapement mechanism 26.

Detector After being released from the escapement mechanism 26, the released contact 10 travels down the track 19 to a suitable detector, designated generally by the numeral 43, which functions to detect which end of the contact, i.e., the round end 11 or the fiat end 12, is leading. The specific detector 43 to be described herein forms the subject matter of the related co-pending application of B. M. Eckhaus and E. W. Nelson, Serial No. 430,958, filed on even date herewith and assigned to the assignee of the present application.

As is best seen in FIGS. and 8A, the detector includes a coil unit 44 and a jaw unit 46 arranged in the path of travel of the advancing contacts -10, such that each contact 10 passes first through the coil unit 44 and is then momentarily stopped by the jaw unit 46 while the orientation of the contact 10 is sensed by the coil unit 44.

The coil unit 44 includes a nylon tube 47 mounted at its left end (FIG. 5) to the track 19 in alignment with the channel 21 so that the contacts 10-10 can advance therethrough. Two coils are wound around the tube 47,

a primary coil 48 and a secondary coil 49. Advantageously, the

coils

48 and 49 are encapsulated in a suitable insulating material 51, such as epoxy resin. Electrically, the

coils

48 and 49 are connected in the detecting circuit of FIG. 7 which will he described in detail below.

Referring to FIGS 6 and 8A, the jaw unit 46 includes a base 52 in the form of a rectangular block and a pair of like jaws 53-53 disposed on opposite sides of the base. The inner opposed surfaces of the jaws 53-53 are cut away such that when the jaws are closed, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8A, the jaws envelop the base 52 and define with the base an enclosed tapered passageway 54 into which the contacts 10-10 advance from the tube 47. The entrance end of the passageway 54 receives the right end (as viewed in FIG. 5) of the tube 47, the left end of the tube 47 being pressed into a complementary shaped recess 56 formed longitudinally in the track 19.

The dimensions of the passageway 54 are such as to pass the round end 11 of the contact 10 therethrough but not the (wider) flat end 12. As illustrated in FIG. 8A, if a contact 10 advances to the passageway 54 from the escapement 26 with its tint and 12 leading, the flat end strikes the walls of the passageway near the entrance end thereof. This halts the contact 10 in a position where the major portion of the contact (most of the round end 11) is disposed within the

coils

48 and 49. Conversely, if the round end 11 of the contact is leading (FIG. 8B), the round end 11 passes through the passageway 54 and the Hat end 12 enters and strikes the walls of the passageway as previously described. This, however, halts the contact 10 in a position where no part of the contact is disposed within the

coils

48 and 49.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the jaws 53-53 and the base 54 are supported by a top plate 57, a bottom plate 58 and two like side plates 59-59 which are secured to the top and bottom plates by screws 61-61. Additionally, as seen in FIG. 5, the side plates 59-59 are secured at their left ends to a support member 62 which is fixedly connected to the track 19. At their right ends the side plates 59-59 are secured to a second downwardly inclined track 63 which receives the contacts 10-10 after the detector has functioned.

The jaws 53-53, as best seen in FIGS. 6 and 8A, are movable toward and away from each other by a pair of identical pins 66-66 having conically tapered lower portions which are movable into respective bores 67-67 formed in the jaws 53-53 through an opening 68 formed in the top plate 57. The pins 66-66 are disposed eccentrically of the bores 67-67 such that as they enter the bores their tapered surfaces engage the top edges thereof and laterally move the jaws apart by cumming action. As the jaws 53-53 move apart, they compress respective compression springs 68-68 which serve to return the jaws to their closed position when the pins 66-66 are moved out of the bores 67-67.

The pins 66-66 are fixedly connected at their upper ends to a transverse support member 69. The support member 69, in turn, is fixedly connected to the shaft 71 of an air cylinder 72 which when actuated drives the pins 66-66 into the bores 67-67. The air cylinder 72 is supported by a U-shaped member 73 which is secured to the top plate 57.

Referring now in detail to the circuit of FIG. 7, the primary coil 48 of the coil unit 44 is connected in parallel with a capacitor 74 to form a tuned cricuit 76, and the tuned circuit thus formed connected in a series circuit including an oscillator 77 and a capacitor 78. The secondary coil 49 is connected in the input circuit of a transistor amplifier 79. The input circuit of the transistor amplifier 79 additionally includes a rectifier diode 81 and a biasing resistor 82. DC. bias voltage is applied to the transistor amplifier 79 by a suitable DC. voltage source 83. The output circuit of the transistor amplifier 79 includes a relay 84 having a capacitor 85 connected in parallel therewith.

The

capacitors

74 and 78 are selected such that the tuned circuit 76 is at resonance with the oscillator 77 when no contact is within the primary coil 48. Accordingly, a relatively large signal at this time is inductively coupled to the secondary winding 49. This signal, after rectification by the diode 81, is applied to the input of the amplifier 79 which amplifies the signal and impresses it across the relay 84. The magnitude of the amplified signal is such as to cause energization of the relay 84. The relay 84 remains energized as long as no contact 10 is within the primary coil. When, however, a contact 10 is disposed within the

coils

48 and 49, i.e., when a contact is positioned within the passageway 54 with its flat end 12 leading (FIG. 8A), the inductance thereof changes because of the paramagnetic nature of the contact, resulting in a de'tuning of the tuned circuit 76 with a concomitant decrease in the signal developed thereacross. This, in turn, results in a lowering of the input signal to the transistor amplifier 79 which, in turn, results in a lowering of the signal impressed across the relay 84 to a value insufficient to maintain energization thereof. Accordingly, the relay 84 deenergizes. Thus, it is seen that the condition of the detector relay 84 after a contact 10 is positioned in the passageway 54 indicates the initial orientation of the contact. As will be seen below, the detector relay 84 performs a control function in the subsequent orienting of the contacts 10-10.

After the detector 43 functions to detect which end of a contact 10 is leading, the jaws 5353 are moved apart by the air cylinder 72 to release the contact for advancement down the track 63 which is provided with a channel 86 (best seen in FIG. 9) having relatively high side walls, for reasons which will become apparent from the following discussion.

orienting station Referring to FIG. 10, the released contact 10 proceeds down the track 63 to an orienting station, designated generally by the numeral 87, which, in accordance with certain features of the invention, functions to reverse the orientation of the contact if the fiat end 12 is leading. If the round end 11 of the contact 10 is leading, the contact passes through the orienting station 87 without a reversal of its orientation.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the orienting station 87 includes a horseshoe shaped electromagnet 88 having two

poles

89 and 91. The magnet 88 is supported by a bracket 92 which is connected to the side of the track 63 by means of screws 93-93 which pass through the side of the track and through oval shaped openings 9494 in the bracket. The openings 9494 enable adjustment of the longitudinal position of the magnet 88 relative to the track 63. The magnet 88 is encrgizable by means of two

windings

96 and 97 connected to each other so as to form one composite electrical coil 98 which is included in an energization circuit (FIG. 12) to be described in more detail below.

The base of the channel 86 has a step 99 therein in advance of the magnet 88. When a contact 10 reaches the step 99, it drops off the step and, because of gravity, partially pivots about its leading end. The height of the step 99, and the angle of inclination of the track 63 are such that the contact 10 will not completely pivot, but will retain its initial orientation as long as the magnet 88 is not energized (FIG. 11A). When, however, the magnet 88 is energized, developing a magnetic field and magnetizing the

poles

89 and 91 with unlike polarity, the pole 89 nearest to the advancing contact 10 attracts the leading end thereof while the other pole 91 furthest from the contact attracts the lagging end thereof (FIG. 11B). Accordingly, the contact 10 pivots about its lead ing end in an end-for-end manner to a reverse orientation.

While it is preferred to reverse articles with a horseshoe-type magnet having two unlike poles adjacent to the track 63, it is also possible to reverse articles with a single magnetic pole corresponding to the pole 89 shown. In this instance, the shape and angle of the track 63, and the strength of the magnet are set so that the article pivots about its leading end by the combination of gravity and the lines of magnetic force emanating from the single operative pole. In this situation, the magnet must generally be stronger and the angle of the track steeper than when the preferred combination of two operative poles is employed.

Referring now to the magnet energization circuit of FIG. 12, the coil 98 (which, as will be recalled, represents the two

windings

96 and 97 in series) is connected in a series circuit which includes a source of DC. power 101, a variable resistor 102 and a contact 103 of the detector output relay 84. A diode 104 is connected in parallel with the coil 98 for are supression purposes and a contact protection circuit including a resistor 106 and a capacitor 108 is connected across the contact 103.

As is readily seen, the coil 98 (and, hence, the windings 96 and 97) is energized as long as the contact 103 is closed and is deenergized whenever the contact is open. It will be recalled that the detector output relay 84 (FIG. 7) remains energized (and, hence, the contact 103 open) as long as a contact 10 is not disposed within the

coils

48 and 49. In this connection, it should be noted that the capacitor in parallel with the relay 84 precludes the relay from being deenergized during the transit of a contact 10 through the tube 47 to the passageway 54 (FIGS. 8A and 8B). Accordingly, when a contact 10 having its round end 11 leading is released by the detector jaws 5353, no energizing current is supplied to the

windings

96 and 97 of the magnet 88 and, as

" seen in FIG. 11A. the contact 10 passes through the orienting station 87 without its orientation being disturbed.

When, however, a contact 10 having its fiat end 12 is in the passageway 54 of the detector 43 (FIG. 8A), the detector relay 84 is deenergized closing the contact 103 and resulting in energizing current being supplied to the coil 98, to magnetize the

poles

89 and 91. Accordingly, when the contact drops off the step it pivots (as seen in FIG. 1113) into the magnetic field resulting from the

magnetized poles

89 and 91 and is reversed in an endfor-end manner so that its round end 11 is leading when the contact leaves the orienting station 87. It should be noted that the Capacitor 85 prevents the relay 84 from immediately reenergizing when the contact 10 is released from the detector 43, the relay not reenergizing until the capacitor charges to the energization voltage of the relay. The capacitor 85 is selected such that it does not charge to this voltage until completion of the orientation of the contact.

Thus, as is seen, all of the contacts 10 leave the orienting station 87 with the same orientation, i.e., they all have their round ends leading. At the bottom of the track 63 the contacts enter a tube 109 which directs them to a suitable receptacle represented schematically by the block 111.

Summary of operation The contacts 10-10 are deposited in random order in the bowl 16 and are fed up the track 17 thereof in a single file to the track 19. The contacts 1010 then proceed by gravity down the track 19 to the escapement mechanism 26, the pins 28 and 28' of which are in the positions shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the advancement of the leading contact 10 is halted. The air cylinder 32 is then deactuated and the air cylinder 32' actuated, whereupon the pin 28 retracts to release the leading contact and the pin 28 is extended to engage and hold the next succeeding contact. The air cylinder 32 is then reactuated, and the air cylinder deactuated to return the pins 28 and 28' to the positions shown in FIG. 4.

The contact 10 released from the escapernent mechanism 26 proceeds down the track 19 to the detector 43, the jaws 5353 of which are in a closed position at this time to form the passageway 54 and thereby halt the advancement of the contact 10. If the round end 11 of the contact 10 is leading (FIG. 8B), the contact is halted outside of the

coils

48 and 49 and the detector relay 84 remains energized. If the flat end 12 of the contact 10 is leading (FIG. 8A), the contact is halted within the

coils

48 and 49, whereupon the detector relay 84 is deenergized, closing the contact 103 and energizing the magnet 88. The air cylinder 72 is then actuated to open the jaws 5353 and release the contact 10. If

the contact 10 is of the desired orientation (round end 11 leading), it passes through the orienting station 87 without its orientation being changed. If, however, the contact is improperly oriented (flat end 12 leading), the orientation thereof is reversed as the contact passes through the orienting station 87.

The

air cylinders

32, 32 and 72 are operated in timed sequence by a suitable electrical timing circuit (not shown).

It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Other embodiments may be devised by persons skilled in the art which embody these principles and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for reversing in an end-for-end manner the orientation of an elongated, paramagnetic article, which apparatus comprises:

(a) an inclined track down which the article is advanced in the direction of its elongation; and

(b) a magnet positioned along the base of the track so as to attract the leading end of the advancing article toward the magnet and stop the leading end adjacent to the magnet;

the shape and angle of the track and the strength of the magnet being set so that the article pivots about its leading end to a reverse orientation.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the track is formed with a step in the base thereof a short distance in advance of the magnet to provide additional gravity assistance to the pivoting of the article about its leading end.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein: the magnet is an electromagnet; and means are provided for energizing the electromagnet when it is desired to reverse the orientation of an article advancing down the track, and for deenergizing the electromagnet after reversal of the article to release it.

4. Apparatus for reversing in an end-for-end manner the orientation of an elongated, paramagnetic article, which apparatus comprises:

(a) first and second unlike magnetic poles; and

(b) means for advancing an article to said poles in a manner causing the leading end of the article to be attracted by the pole nearest thereto and the lagging end of the article to be attracted by the pole farthest therefrom, to thereby pivot the article about its leading end to a reverse orientation.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the means for advancing the article includes a track having a step in the base thereof in advance of the poles which causes the article to partially pivot about its leading end to a position such as will enable the attractive forces of the poles to complete the pivoting of the articles to a reverse orientation.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5, wherein the track is inclined at a predetermined angle.

7. Apparatus for orienting elongated, paramagnetic articles having asymmetrically shaped ends so that the articles have their like ends facing in the same direction, which apparatus comprises:

(a) first and second selectively magnetizable members;

(b) means for feeding articles, single file, to the members in a manner such that when the members are magnetized an article advanced to the members has its leading end attracted by the member nearest thereto and its lagging end attracted by the member farthest therefrom, to thereby pivot the article about its leading end to a reverse orientation; and

(c) means in advance of the members for sensing the orientation of each of the articles and for magnetizing the members each time a sensed article is in an undesired orientation.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an escapement disposed along the predetermined path in advance of the detector is provided for halting the advancement of the file of articles, and for releasing the articles, one at a time, for advancement to the sensing means.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the means for feeding the articles includes a track having a step in the base thereof in advance of the magnetizable members which causes an article advanced thereto to partially pivot about its leading end to a position such as will enable the attractive forces of the magnetizable members to complete the pivoting of the article to a reverse orientation when the members are magnetized, but which will not cause complete pivoting of the article when the members are not magnetized.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the magnetizable members are the legs of a horseshoe-shaped electromagnet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,080,435 12/1913 Gamper 221-198 2,499,422 3/1950 Schmidt 19833 2,662,626 12/1953 Graham et a1 19343 2,796,359 6/1957 Speed.

2,823,781 2/1958 Bosch 193-43 2,967,642 1/1961 Curry 221-173 3,975,878 3/1961 Cason 193-43 RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

WALTER SOBIN, Examiner.

Claims

1. APPARATUS FOR REVERSING IN AN END-FOR-END MANNER THE ORIENTATION OF AN ELONGATED, PARAMAGNETIC ARTICLE, WHICH APPARATUS COMPRISES: (A) AN INCLINED TRACK DOWN WHICH THE ARTICLE IS ADVANCED IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS ELONGATION; AND (B) A MAGNET POSITIONED ALONG THE BASE OF THE TRACK SO AS TO ATTRACT THE LEADING END OF THE ADVANCING ARTICLE TOWARD THE MAGNET AND STOP THE LEADING END ADJACENT TO THE MAGNET;