Importance

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for dispensing and feeding to a workstation elongated articles which are vertically stackable and have a substantially common longitudinal dimension. Articles of different shape are sequentially dispensed from separate dispensers onto a common pathway and fed to the workstation along that pathway. Articles of each shape are dispensed onto the pathway from a group of articles all having that shape in common and the articles dispensed from all the groups are fed sequentially along the common pathway in a downstream direction to the workstation. The dispensers are arranged in tandem in the pathway direction to the workstation and each is positioned above the pathway and oriented to dispense elongated articles with their longitudinal directions transverse to the pathway direction. The dispensers may be positioned higher than the workstation and the pathway extending under them in the downstream direction to the location of the workstation so that the articles will slide down the pathway to the location of the workstation. A receiver at the end of the pathway receives articles and deposits the articles sequentially in a holder at the workstation extending transversely of the downstream direction of the pathway. The article dispensers have opposed end supports, each for receiving and supporting a respective longitudinal end of elongated articles, which are stacked in a vertical stack on the dispenser, and sequentially dispensing the articles by simultaneously releasing the ends of the bottom article while continuing to support the ends of the articles remaining in the stack.

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First Claim