Apparatus for and methods of orienting and centering an article having lateral protrusions

摘要

An article (11) which has a body portion (12) and lateral protrusions (14) at fixed angular positions is oriented and centered with respect to predetermined axes. Sloped walls (61) of a plurality of channels (62) located about a central axis (24) engage lateral edges of the protrusions to urge the protrusions laterally toward desirable positions in relationship to the axes. The disclosed methods and apparatus are advantageously applied to a four-leaded electronic chip as a typical example of the article with respect to which orienting and centering offers desirable precision for handling such article during packaging operations.