Curved fences for part alignment

Abstract

In automated packing or assembly it is often necessary to bring randomly oriented parts into uniform alignment. A slanted fence attached to the stationary sides of a conveyor belt is capable of orienting a stream of parts. The design of an individual fence, consisting of a straight slanted section followed by an optimal curved tail, is considered. The straight section selectively aligns certain edges of the part while the curved tail preserves this alignment precisely as the part leaves contact with the fence. The shortest tail which guarantees alignment is found.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>