WO2002074667A1

WO2002074667A1 - Universal shuttle type component feeder

Info

Publication number: WO2002074667A1
Application number: PCT/SE2002/000454
Authority: WO
Inventors: Berthon SÖDERLING
Original assignee: Soederling Berthon
Priority date: 2001-03-16
Filing date: 2002-03-13
Publication date: 2002-09-26
Also published as: SE518702C2; SE0100913D0; SE0100913L

Abstract

The invention relates to a shuttle type parts feeder, comprising a shuttle moving up and down for feeding the parts up and out onto a conveyor path. The invention is characterised by a flat, plate-like shuttle (5), sliding along a side wall (4) of a bin (6), and having a larger area than that the portion (66) of said side wall which lies within the outer edges of the bin, so that the top edge (51) will be the only shuttle edge moving inside the bin. The top edge (51) of the shuttle , lifting the parts, is held horizontal during the transport up to the upper edge of the bin, but is then pivoted up to an adjustable angle of inclination in its end position, where the parts are handed over to the conveyor. The bin, together with the shuttle and the side wall, have an adjustable angle relative to the vertical plane, pivoting about a horizontal axis parallel with the plane of said shuttle, so that the lifted parts, by means of the adjustable inclination of the shuttle top edge and of the adjustable friction created by the inclined side wall in the handing over position, are caused to roll or slide out onto the conveyor path with an appropriate velocity.

Description

TITLE

Universal Shuttle Type Component Feeder.

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an improved device for lifting, from a set of parts stored in an open-top supply bin, a subset of the parts into a position above the bin top edge and then moving them sideways over said bin edge to a conveyor path located outside thereof. The device is especially, but not exclusively, useful as a parts feeder of the kind that has the ability to collect parts from a disordered heap of parts and to place them, one after the other, in a collecting or operating position, for further treatment or assembly with other parts. The device is also useful for sorting out and lifting, from a set of mixed parts, a subset of parts comprised of only one kind of part, and then moving them sideways to said conveyor path.

STATE OF THE ART

There are known devices for parts feeding of many different types, such as vibration feeders, centre-board feeders, rotating disk feeders, pivoting box feeders, blade wheel feeders, magnetic feeders and shuttle feeders.

A very common type of parts feeder for many types of smaller parts is the vibration feeder, where the parts are fed up/out from the bin by means of vibrations. Although such feeders are functioning well in many applications, they are however exhibiting several drawbacks. As they, in principle, operate (ike rumble barrels, they might cause surface abrasion on the parts or on their surface treatment. Another problem is that the sound level of vibration feeders often is unacceptably high. A further problem is that the bin of a vibration feeder requires a fairly constant amount of parts therein in order to function satisfactorily, entailing the requirement for a separate storage container, from which regular replenishment of the vibrator supply bin, controlled for example by level sensors therein, must be performed. This will make the feeding device very bulky. Known so-called centre-board feeders, where one or more elongated lifters, similar to centre-boards, having a groove-shaped top edge, is raised from the bottom of the supply bin, passing through the parts, up to the top edge of the bin, whereby each centre-board will only bring along one elongated part, have a drawback in substantially being suitable for elongated objects, and they will hardly be efficient for small parts such as screws, nuts, washers, etc. They also require the objects to be fed upwards/forwards to be correctly oriented already in the bin.

Rotating disk feeders utilise a rotating annular disk with an inclined axle, having a number of substantially radial recesses where a predetermined num- ber of appropriately oriented, predetermined parts will fit. The lower half of the inclined disk extends down into the supply bin and parts fitting into the recesses will follow the disk up to its highest point, where the parts will slide or roll out through a transport groove. This type of feeding device has the disadvantage of only being suitable for feeding relatively simple parts, such as balls, nuts, washers, screws etc., of such a kind not easily causing bridge-building in the bin. When changing the fed part, the feeding disk will typically also have to be exchanged, as its shape is adapted to the shape of the part. This could be time-consuming.

Shuttle feeders are a type of feeder exhibiting some type of shuttle moving from the bottom of the supply bin up to its top edge, thereby bringing with it one or more of the parts to be fed onwards. Known types of shuttle feeders commonly exhibit some kind of further transport or feeding device that orients and/or forwards the parts from the top of the bin out onto the conveyor path.

Common to the above-mentioned and in brief described types of parts feeders is that they will function well in specific applications, but all of them have disadvantages in various respects. Vibrations and noise, requirements for level control in the bin, for orientation before placing in the bin, adaptation to certain kinds of parts, bridging tendencies, need for a separate storage container or for a following additional transport device, certain types requiring considerable downtime when changing the fed part, etc.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Consequently, there exists a demand on the market for an improved, more universal parts feeding device, which is more silent and will not subject the fed parts for unnecessary abrasion, which does not require a separate storage container and allows easy and quick adaptation to various shapes, appearances and types of part; from rolling elements to relatively slowly sliding parts, giving each part type an appropriately adapted velocity out onto the conveyor path without requiring a subsequent transport device therefor, which will, without the use of additional devices, counteract bridge-building in the bin, and which can at the same time be used for orientation and/or sorting of parts.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved parts feeder that minimises or eliminates the above drawbacks. The object is achieved by means of a parts feeder according the attached claim 1. Further developments of the invention are defined by the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows a side elevational view of the parts feeder according to the invention, standing on a stand adapted for a standard pallet, with the integrated supply bin and the adjustable and lockable supporting side wall in one of its inclined end positions;

Fig. 2 shows a similar side elevational view of the parts feeder, with the adjustable and lockable supporting side wall in its other inclined end position;

Figs. 3a and 3b shows front elevational views of the supporting side wall, with the shuttle in its lower and upper end positions, respectively.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the shuttle, with three different lifting bars adapted for different parts;

Fig. 5 is a partial side view of the outlet aperture to the conveyor device, said aperture having an adjustable width;

Fig. 6 shows a partial view of the end of the covering strip at the outlet; and

Fig. 7 shows a further development of the present invention, with two feeders mounted back to back on one stand, adapted for a standard pallet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The parts feeder according to the invention will be described below with reference to the enclosed drawings, which are intended as principle examples only and will not be limiting in any way for the invention. The parts feeder is fitted on an in the illustrated embodiment somewhat inclined stand 1 with a foot 2. At the upper end of the stand there is a support frame 3, journalled about a horizontal pivot axis, upon which frame a supporting side wall 4 is affixed, together with the (not shown) driving device for a thin, plate-shaped shuttle 5. On the frame 3, a supply bin 6 for the parts to be fed upward/forward is also fixedly mounted, with a slot-shaped opening 61 between its three other walls and the side wall 4, through which opening the shuttle 5 extends, lying tightly against the side wall 4. As can best be seen from Figs 3a and 3b, the flat area of the shuttle 5 is so much greater than the projected area 66 of the bin 6 onto the side wall 4, that the top edge 51 of the shuttle can move from its lower end position at the bottom of the bin 6 (Fig. 3a) all the way up to its tipped-up delivery position above the upper edge of the bin (Fig. 3b), without any other edge of the shuttle 5 entering into said projected area 66. The slots 61 between the bin 6 and the side wall 4 are provided with an elastic lip type seal (not shown) that, when the shuttle 5 is in its lower end position, will cover the slot-shaped opening 61 and seal against the side wall 4 but that, when the shuttle 5 is in its upper end position, will be pushed away so as to leave room for the shuttle, and will be sealing against the latter. This will prevent parts with a smallest dimension thinner than the slot 61 to fall out of the bin 6 through the side slots when the shuttle is not covering the entire slot height. The lip seal also ensures that, if the slot 61 with time become somewhat wider, due to wear of the shuttle and the side wall, said slot will still be sealed.

As can be seen from Figs 1 and 2, the entire support frame 3, with side wall 4, shuttle 5 and bin 6, can be pivoted into different angles of inclination about the horisontal pivot axis, through its support points in the stand 1. The pivoting motion may, in an alternative preferred embodiment of the parts feeder according to the invention, be performed completely by hand, before starting the feeding function, and the pivot position may be locked through the locking arms 31 and the knob- equipped locking screws 32. In a preferred embodiment of the parts feeder according to the invention, said pivot position may be controlled automatically by e.g. a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 33, attached between a console on the stand 1 and the support frame 3. The control power is then delivered by a (not shown) pneumatic or hydraulic system, and the control signals for the pivoting motion will come from a preferably electronic control system of a known kind that also controls the shuttle motion and any other auxiliary functions. With such a control of the inclination of the support frame 3, the person skilled in the art will realise that this angular position can also be varied while the shuttle 5 is moving.

Due to the function of being able to vary the inclination of the supporting side wall in relation to the vertical plane, several advantages are achieved that will be described in further detail when the function of the parts feeder is described. Among other things, the number of collected and lifted parts per work cycle and the feed-out speed will be influenced, making it possible to handle rolling as well as sliding parts with the same feeder.

The feeding of parts from the supply bin 6 is handled by the shuttle 5. The shuttle 5 is functioning to perform, from its bottom position, the collecting position, a work cycle comprising a lifting motion from its bottom position (see Fig. 3a) to its top, adjustable, feed-out position just above the top edge of the bin, and then back again to the bottom end position. According to the invention, the shuttle 5 slides along the side wall 4 and is provided with two guiding fastening devices therein. The stub axle 52 is positioned and affixed to the shuttle in its top left-hand corner and runs in an elongated, vertical slot 41 in the side wall 4. A second stub axle 53 runs in an elongated slot 42, having a vertical lower portion 43 and an upper, circular arc portion 44. A preferably pneumatically operated (not shown) cylinder is fastened with one end in the shuttle, preferably at the stub axle 53 on the rear side of the side wall 4, and with the other end in the side wall 4 or the support frame 3, and so dimensioned as to enable it to drive, in a known manner, the stub shaft 53 and thus the shuttle 5, from the downwards limiting end position of the slot portion 43 to the upwards limiting end position of the slot portion 44. Through this, the shuttle 5 will slide up and down along the side wall 4 inside the bin 6, and pass through the slot 61 with a portion of its surface area lying outside the bin 6, while the previously mentioned seals (not shown) keep the slot 61 closed also above the top edge 51 of the shuttle.

The lower end position of the shuttle 5 is so arranged that the top edge of the shuttle, generally designated 51, will be horisontal, inside the bin 6 and adja- cent to the lower end of the inclined bottom thereof, thus allowing it to catch parts for feeding even at a very low storage level in the bin 6.

The upper end position of the shuttle 5, the handing-over position to the conveyor path, is, as can best be seen from Fig. 3c, inclined towards the conveyor in order to allow influencing the rolling or sliding velocity of the lifted parts out onto the conveyor. The upper end position of the stub axle 53 in the slot portion 44 can, according to the invention, be varied. Figs. 3a and 3b illustrate an example of the maximum extension of the slot 42. According to the invention, the upper end position of the stub axle 53 can be further limited, preferably through a mechanical stop device (not shown), blocking the upward movement of the stub axle 53 in the slot portion 44, the position of which may be manually pre-set, or may be pre-set by signals from the control system of the feeding device.

As the stub axle 52, during the shuttle upward movement, will move vertically upward along the slot 41 and will be stopped at the upper end of said slot, and as the stub axle 53 will initially also move vertically upwards through guidance from the slot portion 43, up to that level when the stub axle 52 reaches the upper end of its slot 41, the shuttle will, during the upward passage through the supply bin 6, along the side wall 4, run all the way with its upper edge being horisontal.

Upon a continued feeding movement upwards, the shuttle 5 will then pivot about the stub axle 52, whereby the stub axle 53 will follow the slot portion 44, which describes a circular arc with its centre coinciding with the centreline of the stub axle 52 when at the upper end of the slot 41. The pivoting motion of the shuttle 5 is terminated at a pre-set angle of the shuttle top edge 51, appropriately adapted for the handing-over of the parts, said angle being adjustable, as previously dis- cussed, by means of a stop device in the slot portion 44, either manually or automatically from the control system of the feeding device.

The shuttle top edge, generally designated 51, will in practice consist of a detachable, easily exchangeable bar 54, which is adapted for catching and lifting a specific part, oriented in a specific manner, that is, such that the vertical com- ponent of the force of gravity acting on the part will fall inside the outer edge of the bar 54. AH other parts, and/or all parts of one single kind that are not appropriately oriented will, as the person skilled in the art will realise, not be able to stay on the bar 54 (the top edge 51). This means, of course, that the feeder according to the invention is also able to function as a pre-orienter for the same kind of parts and/or as a sorter in case of mixed parts in the supply bin 6. Some examples of different shapes of such bars 54 are illustrated in Fig. 4. The bars may be attached to the top edge 51 of the shuttle 5 by means of a small number of screws, or in any other suitable way allowing simple and quick exchange.

In order to further secure that only a certain part, in one (or some) certain pre-oriented positions), and one at a time, will pass out onto the conveyor, the width of the handing-over aperture is adjustable by means of the adjustable plate 62. Correspondingly, the height of the handing-over aperture may be limited (not shown) by a pin or a plate, in order to reduce the number of positions that a pre- oriented part may have when it passes out onto the conveyor. The need for such devices, as such known and not constituting any part of the present invention, is determined, as the person skilled in the art will understand, by the shape of the fed part, and will not be discussed further in this description.

In order to ensure that incorrectly oriented parts will not get caught during the handing-over process in a dimensionally limited handing-over aperture, through being pinched by parts coming from behind in the outlet direction, one side of the shuttle 5, according to a preferred embodiment of the feeding device according to the invention, towards the end wall of the bin 6 at the handing-over aperture, is covered by a covering strip 63 that, as the top edge 51 of the shuttle moves up and down in the supply bin, will stop even correctly oriented parts from landing on the top edge 51 in the covered area and being lifted up to the handing-over position. The covered area 63 is shown hatched in Fig.6. In order to make room for as many parts as possible on the top edge 51 of the shuttle, the covered area should be as narrow as possible, about 50-80 mm is preferred. When the shuttle has reached the handing-over position, the covering strip has narrowed into nothing, and, furthermore, its top edge is chamfered, seen in a vertical section. This results in the shuttle top edge 51 (the bar 54) exposing a greater length during the final phase of its upward movement, and any pinching between lifted parts can thus be relieved while they roll/slide towards the outlet aperture on the previously empty portion of the shuttle top edge. If hereby an improperly turned part had been caught by some properly turned parts and was brought up, then the grip on the improperly turned part will now be released and the part will then, due to the position of its centre of gravity being outside the top edge 51 (the bar 54), fall back into the supply bin 6 instead of getting stuck in the outlet opening. In order to empty any remaining parts when changing the parts to be fed, the supply bin is provided with a discharge hatch 64, shown in a closed and open position in Fig. 1.

The function of the parts feeder according to the invention is as follows: The parts to be fed up/out onto the conveyor are filled into the supply bin 6. The inclination of the support frame 3, with the side wall 4, the shuttle 5 and the bin 6, in relation to the vertical plane, is set, manually or via the control system, to a suitable value. For e.g. products having such a shape that they cannot roll out onto the conveyor path but have to slide out, the friction against the side wall should be relatively low, meaning that from this aspect, the side wall 4 should be set at a rela- tively small angle of inclination relative to the vertical plane, e.g. as in Fig. 1. On the other hand, a larger angle of inclination towards the vertical plane will entail that the top edge 51 of the shuttle will catch a larger number of parts. The angle of inclination will therefore be determined, for a given part, as a compromise between these two factors, with regard also to the inclination of the shuttle top edge 51 in the handing-over position.

For rotation-symmetrical parts, e.g. balls or cylindrical bodies, the inclination angle of the side wall in relation to the vertical plane can be increased, for braking the speed of the part out onto the conveyor through its sliding friction against the side wall 4. Of course, the inclination of the shuttle top edge 51 in the handing-over position is considered also in this case.

In the preferred embodiment where the inclination angle of the side wall 4 can be controlled by the control unit of the feeding device, it is of course also possible to change this angle of inclination while the shuttle 5 is moving, through changing the extension of the cylinder 33, which will provide increased flexibility of the feeding device in handling parts that are difficult to feed. For example, it might be appropriate, for parts sliding out onto the conveyor path, to give the side wall 4 a larger inclination angle relative to the vertical plane in the lifting stage, when the shuttle is moving upwards through the bin, in order to catch as many parts as possi- ble, but a smaller inclination angle during the handing-over stage in order to reduce the sliding friction. The case might also be the opposite for rolling parts that need to be braked during handing-over.

With the parts feeder according to the preferred embodiment where the inclination angle of the side wall 4 can be controlled by the control unit of the feeding device, bridge-building of difficult parts can be avoided in the bin 6 by feeding the cylinder 33 from an as such known operating device that has the ability to quickly adjust the extension of the cylinder 33. Hereby, the cylinder 33 could be made to perform one or a few quick displacement changes, for example while the shuttle 5 is moving downwards, thus shaking the parts in the bin 6 and undoing any bridge-building. With this preferred embodiment of the parts feeder according to the invention, a function is thus obtained that counteracts bridge-building without increasing the number of components of the parts feeder.

When the fixed inclination angle of the side wall 4 has been set, or when its adjustable inclination angle during the shuttle stroke, if any, has been selected or programmed into the control unit, feeding is started. The shuttle 5 will initially be in its start position at the bottom of the supply bin, with its top edge 51 horisontal, as shown in Fig. 3a. The shuttle will, due to the stub axles 52, 53 and the slots 41, 42, move upwards through the supply bin with its top edge 51 horisontal in the shuttle 5 plane. The lifting bar 54 thereby catches parts according to the principles described above. This could for example mean that a relatively low cylindrical body, e.g. a roller bearing or similar, can only be caught and fed upwards with its rotation centreline perpendicular to the side wall 4 and the shuttle 5. An elongated part, such as a screw, can only be caught with its longitudinal axis lying substantially parallel with the side wall 4, but might of course be turned within 180° in this plane, i.e. in practice lie with its head first or last in the feed-out direction, or might possibly be standing straight up along the side wall 4.

When the top edge 51 of the shuttle 5 has reached the upper edge of the bin 6, the stub axle 52 is stopped by the upper end of the slot 41, whilst the stub axle 53 will run out from the vertical portion 43 of the slot 42 and into its circular arc- shaped portion 44. The shuttle 5 will then start to pivot about the stub shaft 52, and the pivoting will continue until the stub shaft 53 reaches the upper end of the slot portion 44 or, as discussed previously, an earlier stop, set manually or by the control unit, which has been predetermined by the operator. The result of this is that the feeding-out of the parts is performed by means of gravity, and that no additional feeding-out device, in the form of e.g. a pneumatically operated cylinder or similar, is required with the parts feeder according to the present invention. The setting of the stop position for the feeding-out inclination is determined by the shape of the fed-out part, for example a small inclination of the top edge 51 for rolling parts and a larger one for sliding parts. Furthermore, as discussed previously, the feeding-out speed can be influenced by the setting of the inclination of the side wall 4 in relation to the vertical plane, which influences the friction of the part against the side wall 4.

Any accompanying, incorrectly turned, pinched parts will fall back into the bin 6 through the action of the previously discussed covering strip 63, that, in the handing-over position, will provide space along the shuttle top edge 51 for undoing any pinching. The final orientation of the lifted parts is performed, as necessary, through variation of the feed-out aperture as discussed previously, and through turning arrangements, if any, of a known kind on the conveyor path, which do not fall within the scope of the present invention. The shuttle is then returned, by its not shown, previously discussed work cylinder, to its initial position, whereupon the procedure is repeated.

The parts feeding device is preferably so designed as to fit for placing onto a standard pallet. For parts feeders leading directly to an assembly station for fitting two parts together, it is conceivable that two feeding devices, thanks to their small width perpendicularly to the side wall 4, could be placed on an A-shaped stand, back to back, on the same pallet, as schematically shown in Fig. 7, whereby the operating devices and the control unit (not shown) would be located between the stand elements. The parts feeder according to the invention thus provides a universal, versatile feeding device for a multitude of parts and different part types with varying length/width relationship, with a low sound level and without vibrations, without requiring accurate level control inside the bin 6, that would necessitate a separate storage container, without requiring orientation of the parts before placing them in the bin, and without requiring separate feeding-out devices or devices preventing bridge-building. The feeder is easy to adjust between different parts, as the lifting bar 54 is the only part that might have to be exchanged, whereas the other modifications are only a few simple mechanical adjustments or a program selection in an electronic control unit. The parts feeder according to the invention has been described above with a certain degree of particularity. The description and the enclosed drawings are not intended to be limiting. The person skilled in the art will be sure to realise possibilities for modification and further development of the device according to the present invention, the scope of which will only be limited by the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A shuttle type parts feeder/orienter/sorter, in which a shuttle moves cyclically upwards and downwards in a supply bin (6) containing a multitude of parts, for feeding the parts up and out onto a conveyor path in sequence, characterised in that the shuttle (5) is shaped like a flat, relatively thin plate, working along and in sliding contact with the inside of a supporting side wall (4) of a bin (6), inte- grated with said side wall, from which bin the parts are fed upwards and out in sequence onto the conveyor path; the shuttle has a larger area than that portion (66) of said side wall (4) which lies within the outer edges of the bin (6) at the side wall, and extends through a slot (61) provided in the other walls and bottom of the bin, said slot being substan- tially of the same width as the shuttle thickness, so that the only shuttle edge that moves inside the bin (6) during the operation of the shuttle (5) will be its up-and- down-moving top edge (51), whilst the side and bottom edges thereof will always be moving outside of the bin; the movement pattern of the shuttle (5) is such that the top edge (51) thereof, on which the parts are lifted upwards, is arranged to be maintained horisontal in its longitudinal direction, seen at right angles to the plane of the side wall (4), during the entire transport from the bottom of the bin (6) up to its upper edge, but that said shuttle (5) is then pivoted upwards, parallel with the side wall (4) it slides along, around a stub axle (52) at one of its comers, up to a predetermined, adjustable angle of inclination relative to the horisontal plane, so that the lowermost end of the top edge (51) of the shuttle (5) will lead onto the conveyor in the end position where the parts are to be handed over thereto; and in that the entire supporting side wall (4) that the shuttle (5) slides along, and the bin (6) integrated with said side wall (4), are arranged with an adjust- able angle relative to the vertical plane, whereby they are pivoted about a horisontal pivot axis parallel with the plane of said side wall (4), in such a way that the lifted parts, as a function of the adjustable inclination of the top edge (51) of the shuttle in its handing-over position, and of that higher or lower friction caused by the above defined inclination of the side wall (4) relative to the vertical plane when the shuttle (5) is in its handing-over position, will roll or slide along the top edge (51) of the shuttle and onto the conveyor path with an appropriate velocity.

2. The parts feeder/orienter/sorter according to claim 1 , characterised in that said predetermined, adjustable angle of inclination of the top edge (51) of the shuttle (5) relative to the horisontal plane in the handing-over position is controlled by a control unit belonging to the feeding device and can be set at an arbitrary angular position before the feeding process is started.

3. A parts feeder/orienter/sorter according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the adjustable inclination of said side wall (4) can be locked manually (31, 32) in an arbitrary angular position before the feeding process is started.

4. A parts feeder/orienter/sorter according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the adjustable inclination of said side wall (4) can be varied and be held constant by an operating device (33) controlled by the control unit of the feeding device.

5. The parts feeder/orienter/sorter according to claim 4, characterised in that the adjustable inclination of said side wall (4) can be varied by said operating device (33) controlled by the control unit of the feeding device while the shuttle (5) is moving, allowing said inclination to be different for different shuttle positions.

6. The parts feeder/orienter/sorter according to claim 4, characterised in that the adjustable inclination of said side wall (4) can be varied back and forth at high speed by said operating device (33), thereby allowing the inclination change of the bin (6) also to be used for shaking purposes, while the shuttle (5) is at its lower end position or on the way there, to prevent bridge-building in the bin (6).

7. A parts feeder/orienter/sorter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the top edge (51) of the shuttle can be provided with different, easily exchangeable lifting bars (54), the width of which will be adapted to the current part, causing the shuttle (5) only to lift such parts that are lying oriented with the vertical line through their centre of gravity passing between said side wall surface (4) and that support edge of the lifting bar (54) lying furthest out from said side wall surface (4), with regard to the prevailing inclination of said side wall (4) during the lifting.

8. The parts feeder/orienter/sorter according to claim 7, characterised in that the width of each said lifting bar (54) is made so small that only those parts for which said bar has been adapted, and which lie with their smallest dimension substantially perpendicular to said side wall (4) can be lifted, thereby performing an automatic first orientation of identical parts and/or a sorting of different parts.

9. A parts feeder/orienter/sorter according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a narrow portion of the shuttle (5), along the bin side wall located at the outlet side towards the conveyor, for the entire shuttle stroke from the bottom of the bin (6) to its upper edge, is covered by a covering strip (63), designed in such a fashion that a short portion of the shuttle top edge (51) adjacent to the outlet side cannot lift parts but will remain empty, whereupon said strip (63) is terminated shortly before the handing-over position in a sloping fashion, in order to increase, at the handing-over, the space along the top edge (51) of the shuttle, thereby avoiding any incorrectly turned parts to be caught between the outlet to the conveyor path and correctly positioned parts further up along the shuttle (5), but instead letting the former parts fall back into the bin (6) as any pinching forces are released, while the parts slide towards the outlet.