Patent ID: 8051971

Claim:
An apparatus for positioning articles, comprising multiple unloading operations per cycle, the apparatus comprising: means for moving a plurality of housings and a plurality of alignment conduits along a length of a closed circuit, with each alignment conduit being placed under one of said housings; means for placing articles in said plurality of housings, said articles having a symmetry that provide for only one of two vertical orientations; at least first and second drop sites provided in said closed circuit, wherein said articles fall from each housing into the corresponding alignment conduit through said first and second drop sites, each housing being configured to confer one of said two vertical orientations to the article when falling; extraction means for extracting the vertically oriented articles from said alignment conduits to an outfeed conveyor where the articles are positioned in said one of two vertical orientations and aligned; a plurality of compartments positioned between said alignment conduits; and transfer means for transferring each article from its corresponding alignment conduit to one of said compartments after said particular article has been received in the corresponding alignment conduit through said first drop site, leaving said alignment conduit unoccupied so that it can receive a new article through said second drop site.