Patent ID: 7014031

Claim:
An apparatus for transferring parts with projections, wherein said parts have a first side and an opposite second side, and the projections are formed on either the first side or the second side, the apparatus comprising: a regulating member having a passage shaped to allow passage of the parts only when the parts are positioned in a predetermined orientation; and a sorting device disposed on upstream side of the regulating member, wherein the sorting device includes a spiral guide plate formed over a round bowl of a parts feeder, the spiral guide plate has an outer circumference and an inner circumference along the direction of transfer of the parts, a groove is formed on an upper surface of the spiral guide plate and extends in the direction of transfer of the parts, a portion of the spiral guide plate that contains the groove is tilted from said inner circumference toward said outer circumference, and the groove is designed to engage with the projections of the parts so as to prevent the parts from falling off the tilted portion of the spiral guide plate.