Patent ID: 7383937

Claim:
A method for aligning and spacing items having a length distribution, comprising: feeding a rotary surface with the items; driving the rotary surface in rotation; aligning the items substantially tangential to a wall disposed at the periphery of the rotary surface; withdrawing the items aligned in a predetermined orientation from the rotary surface through a discharge aperture in the peripheral wall; carrying the items withdrawn from the discharge aperture, in aligned succession, to a transversally-extending feed roll selectively operable to be in one of a rotating state and a stationary state; applying direct frictional contact pressure to a successive one of the items with the feed roll; and controlling the rotation speed of the feed roll to thereby vary a traveling speed of the successive one of the items and provide a spacing between items exiting the feed roll, the feed roll being in the rotating state for propelling the successive one of the items and engaging a subsequent one of the items in the aligned succession, the feed roll being in the rotating state until frictional contact is made with the subsequent one of the items and being subsequently in the stationary state for providing a spacing between the successive one of the items and the subsequent one of the items in the aligned succession.