Device for transforming a plurality of disorderly advanced containers into a single row

A device for transforming a plurality of disordered advancing upright containers into a single row, which containers have an arbitrary circumference and are advanced on a buffer path, said device having a plurality of conveyors driven in a common direction and comprising:

• a metering path being sufficiently wide to advance n containers and capable of being driven at a speed V.sub.1 ;
• a first lateral guide situated above and extending obliquely across the metering path;
• a transformation area comprising a plurality of adjacent transformation conveyors, the transformation conveyors being mutually parallel and parallel to the metering path conveyor, a first transformation conveyor being immediately adjacent the metering path conveyor at the portion of the metering path conveyor immediately upstream of the first lateral guide and being capable of being driven at a speed which is a multiple of the metering path speed V.sub.1 and each additional transformation conveyor more distant from the metering path, having a velocity at least 10% greater than the immediately preceding transformation conveyor;
• a discharge path conveyor being sufficiently wide to discharge a single row of containers, the discharge path conveyor being parallel and immediately adjacent to the transformation conveyor most distant from the metering path conveyor and being capable of being driven at a speed V.sub.3, at least equal to n .times. V.sub.1 ;
• a second lateral guide situated above and extending obliquely across the transformation conveyors at an angle of less than 30.degree. with the direction of movement of the transformation conveyors;
• whereby containers moving along the metering path conveyors are directed by the first lateral guide onto the first transformation conveyor and then directed by the second lateral guide successively across the transformation conveyors towards and onto the discharge conveyor;
• a return conveyor being situated adjacent to and extending substantially parallel to the discharge conveyor and being designed and adapted to move in a direction relatively upstream of the discharge conveyor, an intermediate wall situated so as to separate the return conveyor and the discharge conveyor between two points intermediate the end of the second lateral guide and the ends of the return conveyor and the discharge conveyor, and a guide bend disposed across the return conveyor and the discharge conveyor and situated intermediate the end of the intermediate wall and the ends of the return and discharge conveyors, whereby upright containers returning on the return conveyors are directed to the transformation area.