Bottle stream combiner and divider

A bottle stream separating device comprising a flat horizontal table, a plurality of elongated conveyor belts movable linearly upon said table, means for driving said belts in parallel paths at a predetermined linear rate in one direction, means for feeding a plurality of bottles standing vertically relative to said table into one end of said table and onto said conveyor belts, a first drive shaft supported below said table near one end thereof, a first plurality of helical wheels fixed on said shaft, each such wheel mounted to rotate closely between the bottles on the conveyor belts on either side thereof, each of said wheels having generally vertical sides weaving sinuously from side to side and back again as said drive shaft rotates, said wheel sides being of a vertical extent to hold a bottle upright as it rests on a conveyor belt, a second drive shaft supported below said table spaced from said first shaft, a second plurality of helical wheels fixed on said second shaft in position to rotate closely between the conveyor belts on either side thereof, each of said second wheels having generally vertical sides extending upwardly alongside said bottles, said second wheel sides weaving sinuously from side to side and back again as said second shaft rotates, two side guides laterally outside of said conveyor belts and extending from a wider position close to the outside bottles encountered by said helical wheels on said first drive shaft to a narrower position close to the outside bottles encountered by said helical wheels on said second drive shaft, means for driving said helical wheels on said first drive shaft at a greater peripheral speed than said predetermined linear speed, and means for driving said helical wheels on said second drive shaft at a speed less than that of said first drive shaft, whereby, when said conveyor belts are driven in a direction from said first drive shaft toward said second drive shaft, bottles in a greater number of rows at said first drive shaft are combined to a less number of rows at said second drive shaft, and when said conveyor belts are driven in a direction from said second drive shaft toward said first drive shaft, bottles in a lesser number of rows at said second drive shaft are divided into a greater number of rows at said first drive shaft.