Patent ID: 7331103

Claim:
A tray component feeding device in combination with a magazine for housing a tray plate, said magazine comprising: (i) a frame having a first opening for allowing the tray plate to be passed therethrough so as to be inserted within said magazine, and also having a second opening for allowing the tray plate to be passed therethrough so as to be removed from said magazine, wherein said first opening and said second opening are on respective lateral sides of said frame, with said respective lateral sides being approximately orthogonal to one another; and (ii) a regulation door on said frame operable to open and close one of said first opening and said second opening so as to allow the tray plate to pass through said one of first opening and said second opening when said regulation door opens said one of said first opening and said second opening, and so as to prevent the tray plate from passing through said one of said first opening and said second opening when said regulation door closes said one of said first opening and said second opening, said tray component feeding device comprising: (i) a loading port and an extraction port, wherein said loading port and said extraction port are on respective lateral sides of said tray component feeding device, with said respective lateral sides being approximately orthogonal to one another; (ii) an elevation device for moving said magazine in an up and down direction after said magazine has been inserted into said tray component feeding device via said loading port, and for thereby moving the tray plate in an up and down direction to an extraction level when the tray plate is within said magazine; and (iii) a tray plate extraction device for extracting, through said second opening and then through said extraction port, the tray plate after having been moved to the extraction level by said elevation device, wherein when said magazine is within said tray component feeding device, said first opening and said loading port face in approximately the same direction, and said second opening and said extraction port face in approximately the same direction.