Patent ID: 6510937
Filing Date: 2003-01-28
Classification: A21C

Abstract:
An apparatus for aligning and orienting each of a plurality of chips having a leading edge, a trailing edge, and opposed side edges, each chip having a generally similar curved shaped defining a concave surface and a convex surface extending from one side edge to the other, said apparatus comprising:a transport mechanism constructed and arranged to transport the chips with their concave surfaces down and supported on the opposite side edges thereof; and an elongated aligning rib constructed and arranged to be engaged by each of the chips while being transported along at least a portion of said transport mechanism by straddling said rib with the opposed side edges thereof supported on said transport mechanism, and to cause each chip that engages said rib to be generally oriented the same way as each other chip which engages said rib and to cause each chip to be oriented so that an imaginary line extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the chip is generally aligned with the direction of elongation of said rib.