Patent ID: 6968936

Claim:
Feed system for preforms comprising: an unscrambling and alignment trough ( 18 ) that is inclined with reference to the horizontal; a pair of appreciably parallel alignment rollers ( 28 ) located at a bottom of the trough and driven in rotation around their respective axis (A 1 , A 2 ), the preforms ( 32 ) being dumped in bulk at the upper end of the trough ( 18 ) and recovered at the lower end of the trough once they are aligned and oriented between the two rollers ( 28 ), wherein the trough ( 18 ) comprises at least a wheel ( 40 ) for ejection of the improperly oriented preforms ( 50 ), which wheel is driven in rotation around its axis (A 3 , A 4 , A 5 ), which is not parallel or perpendicular to the direction of the axes (A 1 , A 2 ) of the alignment rollers so as to sweep the improperly aligned or nested preforms ( 50 ) and eject them directly toward a side evacuation orifice ( 24 ) of the trough ( 18 ), wherein the axis of the wheel lies in a plane parallel to the plane defined by the axes (A 1 , A 2 ) of the alignment rollers, and wherein the wheel is located above and facing the alignment rollers.