Patent ID: 7905342

Claim:
A supply unit adapted to withdraw a plurality of mechanical fasteners from an unsorted quantity thereof, said fasteners comprising an enlarged head and a shank, said supply unit comprising: a) a container including a front wall, a rear wall, and side walls, b) said front wall, said rear wall, and said side walls tapering inwardly to define a funnel, c) a bottom extending across said funnel, and adapted to receive an unsorted quantity of mechanical components, d) a conveyor movable along the interior of said rear wall of said container, e) said conveyor including a body with an upper carrier surface, which extends across the rear wall of said container, f) a drive unit secured to said rear wall for moving said conveyor in a reciprocal manner within said container, g) a step defined in said rear wall of said container, h) an opening in the bottom of said container, i) said drive unit moving said conveyor downwardly through said opening so that said upper surface contacts several unsorted mechanical fasteners, j) said drive unit subsequently moving said conveyor upwardly along said rear wall so that said upper carrying surface withdraws several mechanical fasteners from the unsorted fasteners, k) the upward movement of said conveyor terminating in proximity to said step, l) a transport assembly located in proximity to said step for transferring the mechanical fasteners delivered to said step away from the supply unit for further processing.