Apparatus for supplying a predetermined number of piston rings to a work station

Claim 1

Apparatus for supplying a predetermined number of split piston rings to a work station comprising: (a) a charge-side chute having a pair of downwardly inclined parallel grooves on opposite side surfaces thereof for holding a supply of rings, said grooves receiving the end portions of the confronting end faces forming the gap of the rings whereby the rings are suspended from and slide down the grooves by gravity; (b) a discharge-side chute having a pair of similarly inclined parallel grooves on opposite side surfaces thereof, said discharge-side chute being spaced from the charge side chute with its grooves extending in a longitudinal direction parallel to but out of alignment with the grooves of the charge-side chute; (c) slider means for transferring a predetermined number of rings from the charge chute to the discharge chute interposed between the chutes, said means including a slide plate having inclined parallel grooves on opposite side surfaces thereof, said plate being vertically movable between a position where the grooves of said slide plate are in alignment with the grooves of said charge-side chute to receive rings from the charge chute and a position where the grooves of said slide plate are in alignment with the grooves of said discharge-side chute to transfer the rings from the slide plate to the discharge chute; and (d) adjuster means for controlling the number of rings received by the slider means and transferred to the discharge chute.