Patent ID: 7225913

Claim:
A discharge device for discharging elongated products each having one end that is larger in size than the other end, the discharge device comprising: a hopper having an opening portion at a bottom portion thereof; a driving mechanism for swaying the hopper about a rotation center axis, wherein the opening portion of the hopper extends in a direction of the rotation center axis; and a bottom cover closing the opening portion of the hopper so that elongated products do not escape therefrom, wherein the bottom cover has an upper surface closing the opening portion of the hopper and a slit extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction of the swaying motion of the hopper so as to be open in the upper surface, the bottom cover is profiled so that the elongated products cannot escape from the opening portion of the hopper, the slit has a width that allows all but the maximum outer size portion of the elongated products to pass therethrough, and the driving mechanism is operable to sway the hopper so that the opening portion of the hopper moves along the upper surface of the bottom cover to thereby guide the elongated products, accommodated in the hopper, into the slit of the bottom cover, wherein the swaying motion of the hopper defines a sway cycle in the range of 0.5 to 10 sec.