Patent ID: 7497155
Filing Date: 2009-03-03
Classification: F42B

Abstract:
1. Apparatus comprising: a bullet conveyance conveying bullets along a bullet conveyance path from an upstream location to a bullet-receiving opening at a downstream location, the bullets each including a tip end having a first width and a base end having a second width greater than the first width, the bullet conveyance taking up the bullets in tip down and tip up orientations whereby each of the bullets taken up by the bullet conveyance in the tip up orientation comprises a tip up bullet and each of the bullets taken up by the bullet conveyance in the tip down orientation comprises a tip down bullet; and bullet-orienting structure interacting with each tip down bullet conveyed along the bullet conveyance path by the bullet conveyance between the upstream location and the downstream location rotating each tip down bullet relative to the bullet conveyance from the tip down orientation to the tip up orientation, the bullet-orienting structure comprising: a groove receiving the tip of each tip down bullet initially rotating each tip down bullet out of the tip down orientation toward the tip up orientation; and a ramp receiving the tip of each tip down bullet initially rotated from the groove rotating each tip down bullet into the tip up orientation.