Patent ID: 8112898

Claim:
A template for placing one or more items on a carrier, the template comprising: a template body with top, bottom and opposing side edges, a front surface defined within said side edges, and a vertical centerline bisecting the front surface between the side edges, wherein a length of the template body is defined as a distance across the front surface from one side edge to the opposing side edge; a plurality of measurement reference points for positioning the template at a predetermined position relative to the carrier, the measurement reference points being located on the template body on the front surface; and at least one protrusion extending outwardly from, and generally normal to, the template body along the top edge of the template to form a support surface generally normal to the front surface, whereby after the template is positioned at the predetermined position relative to the carrier, at least one item may be positioned atop said at least one protrusion and engaged with the carrier and the template and removed without disturbing the position of the item relative to the carrier; wherein the protrusion and the support surface are generally centered about the vertical centerline of the template body and extend lengthwise in parallel relation with the length of the template body but spaced inwardly from each side edge; and wherein the measurement reference points include a first set of reference points located proximate a first of the side edges and a second set of reference points, separated from the first set, located proximate a second of the side edges, the first and second sets of reference points and the protrusion being mutually aligned such that the protrusion is generally centrally positioned on the front surface between the first set and the second set.