Arrangement for orienting and conveying barrels of tampon inserters

摘要

An arrangement for orienting and conveying barrels of catamenial tampon inserters includes a support which is constituted by a plurality of alternating cylindrical first and second support elements which rotate in opposite directions. Each first support element forms with the associated second support element a receiving channel, and an upper run of a V-belt conveyor is arranged at the bottom of this receiving channel and advances longitudinally of the support elements. The barrels are piled on top of the support elements in a randomly oriented collection, such as a layer or pile, and enter the respective receiving channels only when assuming one of two orientations. The engagement of the lowermost barrel with the external surfaces of the support elements causes the barrel to turn toward a position of parallelism with the axes of the support elements. Those barrels which are carried on top or between the barrels advanced by the V-belt conveyors in the receiving channels are returned into the collection by a refuser arrangement, and a succession of two conveyor pairs the downstream one of which advances at a higher speed than the upstream one disassociates those barrels which may have partially entered one another. A reversing arrangement then causes the barrels to assume only one of the two previously possible orientations.