Patent ID: 7740125

Claim:
A continuous motion escapement system comprising a rotatable disk comprising a central axis; a capture location at a first distance from, and at a first radial position of, the central axis; a delivery location at a second radial position of the central axis, the delivery location is at a second distance from the central axis different than the first distance; and wherein the distance of the component from the central axis changes as the component transfer mechanism moves the component from the capture location to the delivery location; and a plurality of component transfer mechanisms arranged on the disk, wherein each component transfer mechanism comprises a component holder configured to actively grip a component at the capture location, and wherein each component transfer mechanism is configured to move the component holder from the capture location to the delivery location, enable the component holder to deposit the component in a defined orientation at the delivery location, and return the now empty component holder to the capture location within one rotation or less of the disk, wherein as the disk rotates, the component holder moves radially from the first distance at the capture location to the second distance at the delivery location along a path at an angle to a surface of the disk.