Alignment mechanism for food products

A method for segregating a plurality of food products into rows, the method comprising:

• receiving a plurality of food products at a first location;
• conveying the plurality of food products to a second location in a conveying direction;
• oscillating a distributing plate in a first direction and a second direction opposite the first direction, the first direction being substantially transverse to the conveying direction, and the second direction being substantially parallel to the conveying direction;
• engaging a portion of the food products with the distributing plate to cluster the food products at the second location and delay movement of the food products in the conveying direction;
• periodically dispensing a portion of the clustered food products to a third location to disperse the food products;
• segregating the dispersed food products into a plurality of longitudinal rows;
• and
• transporting the rows of food products to a subsequent processing operation.

An apparatus for segregating food products into a plurality of longitudinal rows in a production process comprises:

• a first continuous belt conveyor operable to convey in a first direction;
• a second continuous belt conveyor adjacent the first continuous belt conveyor operable to convey in a second direction;
• a dispensing plate provided at an interface between the first continuous belt conveyor and the second continuous belt conveyor, the dispensing plate articulable in a back-and-forth motion transverse to at least one of the first conveying direction or the second conveying direction;
• an alignment apparatus comprising:
• a plurality of longitudinal members aligned with the second conveying direction, the plurality of longitudinal members forming channels for receiving the food products therein;
• a plurality of articulable guiding fingers disposed at a first end of the alignment apparatus, each guiding finger aligned with a corresponding longitudinal member;
• a plurality of guide members, each of the guiding fingers slideable within a corresponding guide member;
• and
• a plurality of piston-type actuators coupled to respective guide members to articulate the guide members in a back-and-forth movement aligned with the second conveying direction.