Method and device for the conversion of a conveyed stream of flat articles

A method for converting a stream of flat articles (5) from one of transverse conveyance and parallel conveyance to the other of parallel conveyance and transverse conveyance, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing two continuously operated conveyors (1 and 2), one of which being a transverse conveyor (1) with a direction (FQ) of transverse conveyance and the other one being a parallel conveyor (2) with a direction (FP) of parallel conveyance, wherein one of the conveyors (1 and 2) is a supplying conveyor for supplying the articles (5) and the other one is is a removing conveyor for removing the articles (5) and wherein the direction (FQ) of transverse conveyance and the direction (FP) of parallel conveyance encompass an angle,
• providing an alignment means, providing an auxiliary conveying means for displacing articles being conveyed by the transverse conveyor transverse to the direction of transverse conveyance, (3),
• pushing the articles (5), one after the other, out of an outlet (13, 21′) of the supplying conveyor towards an entrance (21, 13′) of the removing conveyor,
• grasping a leading zone of the article with the alignment means (3) and thereby aligning the article with the entrance (21, 13′) of the removing conveyor, before a trailing zone of the article (5) has left the supplying conveyor, and conveying the article onwards in the direction (FP) of parallel conveyance at a speed of the parallel conveyor (2), while bending a trailing zone of the article between the alignment means (3) and the outlet (13, 21′) of the supplying conveyor wherein the step of pushing is executed by the auxiliary conveyor if the transverse conveyor is the supplying conveyor, and wherein the step of conveying the article onwards is executed by the auxiliary conveyor if the transverse conveyor is the removing conveyor.