Patent ID: 7878142

Claim:
A device to coat relatively thin articles with a granular material, the articles having opposite major faces, said device including: a conveyor having a plurality of conveyor surfaces arranged in cascade and upon which the articles are deposited to be conveyed therefrom from an upstream portion of the conveyor to a downstream portion of the conveyor, each surface having an upstream end and a downstream end, with the downstream end of at least some of the surfaces being located above the next downstream surface so that the articles tumble fall to the next downstream surface, with alternate faces of the articles being exposed as the result of the tumbling, said conveyor being a linear slip or linear vibratory conveyor, with the surfaces being joined so as to reciprocate in unison; and a granular material dispenser located to deliver a stream of the granular material directed at least two of the surfaces so that the granular material is applied to the major faces of the articles to coat the articles as a result of the exposure of said alternate faces.