Patent ID: 7539280

Claim:
A method to load a nuclear fuel rod, comprising: providing an apparatus for loading the nuclear fuel rod, the apparatus comprising: a fuel plate transfer unit, having an underside, the underside having openings for nuclear fuel pellets; an interfacing surface on which nuclear fuel pellets in the openings of the underside of the fuel plate transfer unit can roll; and a rotational belt positioned to accept nuclear fuel pellets that fall from the interfacing surface and the underside of the fuel plate transfer unit, the rotational belt positioned to transfer the nuclear fuel pellets into a fuel rod cladding open on both ends; providing nuclear fuel pellets housed in the openings in the underside of the fuel plate transfer unit, wherein the openings are sized to allow the nuclear fuel pellets to roll along the interfacing surface while keeping the nuclear fuel pellets from interacting with one another; transferring the nuclear fuel pellets from the fuel plate transfer unit in a fuel pellet column onto the rotational belt; indexing the nuclear fuel pellets in the fuel pellet column to a nuclear fuel pellet loading machine; and transferring the fuel pellet column from the rotational belt into the fuel rod cladding.