Container grouping apparatus

A grouping apparatus for providing groups of containers, with each of said groups having a prescribed length and being formed by separating from a stream of containers that is being fed by a conveyor means a number of containers that corresponds to said group length, comprising:

• at least two continuously rotating belt or chain type drive means, each of which forms a loop;
• grouping mechanisms having dividing means or grouping fingers that form a plurality of abutment and retaining surfaces for said containers, with said grouping mechanisms being provided on said drive means, and said abutment and retaining surfaces thereof being moved in a direction of rotation of said drive means along a continuous path of rotation, wherein along a portion of said path of rotation that proceeds in a conveying direction of said conveyor means, said surfaces of said grouping mechanism extend into a path of movement of said containers on said conveyor means, while along the remainder of said path of rotation said surfaces of said grouping mechanisms are outside said path of movement of said containers, with said grouping mechanisms being mounted on said drive means equidistantly from one another in such a way as to be pivotable about a pivot axis that extends perpendicular to said direction of rotation of said drive means, wherein said surfaces of said grouping mechanisms are radially spaced from said pivot axis;
• a control member that is pivotably mounted on said grouping apparatus for adjusting the position of said control member relative to said drive means for adjusting said group length by adjusting the spacing between successive ones of said surfaces of said grouping mechanisms along said portion of said path of rotation by altering the angular position which said dividing means or grouping fingers respectively form with said conveying direction of said conveyor means at a beginning and end of said portion of said path of rotation, with a pivot axis of said control member extending perpendicular to a plane in which said loops formed by said drive means is disposed, and with said control member having at least one continuous control curve means, which is disposed in a plane that extends parallel to said plane of said loop of said drive means;
• and
• guide arms, each one of which is rigidly connected to a respective grouping mechanism and extends radially relative to said pivot axis of said grouping mechanism, with each of said guide arms engaging said control curve means of said control member via at least one guide means, which follows said pivot axis of the pertaining grouping mechanism when viewed in said direction of rotation of said drive means, and wherein a center line of said control curve means is intersected at least two times, and preferably four times, by a projection of said loop of said drive means onto said plane of said control curve means, and in particular in conformity with at least one of the following:
• two times in the region of a container inlet of said grouping apparatus and two times in the region of a container outlet of said grouping apparatus.