Method and apparatus for feeding and forming a single row of containers along a conveyor

A conveying apparatus comprising:

• a combining conveyor;
• a guide rail section having an axis and spanning said combining conveyor at an angle thereto;
• said combining conveyor being tilted at a predetermined angle about the axis of said guide rail section;
• and
• said guide rail section comprising a lower container support and an upper container support extending substantially the full length of the guide rail section, said lower container support being adapted to contact the containers at a lower portion thereof, said upper container support being adapted to contact the containers at a height which is near the center of gravity thereof;
• to thereby maintain the center of gravity of the containers in the stability region thereof, whereby the stability of the containers on said combining conveyor is maintained.

A method for simultaneously conveying and combining a plurality of containers into single file, comprising;

• feeding a plurality of randomly oriented containers onto an input conveyor;
• guiding the randomly oriented containers to an edge of the input conveyor onto an adjacent edge of a combining conveyor;
• tilting the combining conveyor by a predetermined tilt angle such that the edge adjacent said input conveyor is lower than an opposite edge of said combining conveyor;
• driving the combining conveyor at a faster speed than the input conveyor to accelerate the containers as they are fed onto the combining conveyor;
• guiding the containers along the combining conveyor by a guide rail extending across the combining conveyor at a predetermined span angle determined at least in part by the tilt angle and combining conveyor speed such that containers become aligned in a single file along the guide rail as they are conveyed along the combining conveyor;
• and
• outputting a single file line of containers on an output conveyor having an edge aligned adjacent to the combining conveyor.

A method for maintaining stability of articles being conveyed on a combining conveyor which is tilted such that one side is lower than the other side, comprising:

• providing a guide rail section having an axis and spanning said combining conveyor at an angle thereto from the side which is lower to the side which is higher, said guide rail section having a lower container support and an upper container support extending substantially the full length of the guide rail section;
• arranging said lower container support to contact the containers at a lower portion thereof;
• arranging said upper container support to contact the containers a height which is near the center of gravity thereof;
• to thereby maintain the center of gravity of the containers in the stability region thereof, whereby the stability of the containers on said combining conveyor is maintained.