Method and device for deflecting and aligning piece goods or articles

A device for conveying, deflecting, and aligning piece goods, articles, and/or groups of articles or groups of piece goods, the device comprising:

• a transfer and alignment unit;
• a first horizontal conveyor for conveying the piece goods or articles in at least two approximately parallel longitudinal rows of piece goods or articles, either without spaces or with spaces between them, in a first conveying direction to the transfer and alignment unit, designed to serve as a second horizontal conveyor;
• a single-part or multi-part stop, the transfer and alignment unit movable in parallel to the first conveying direction between two positions, toward and against the stop, the stop movable in parallel to the first conveying direction for aligning the articles or piece goods to be arranged with front sides in flush alignment or with their back sides in flush alignment;
• and
• a third horizontal conveyor for transporting the left-aligned or right-aligned articles or piece goods further in a second conveying direction oriented approximately perpendicular to the first conveying direction,
• wherein the stop is formed by multiple parts, the parts being movable independently from each other in or against the first conveying direction so that they can align the front and back sides of the front face side of the foremost transversal row of articles or piece goods to be flush or profiled.

A method for deflecting and aligning piece goods, articles and/or groups of articles or piece goods transported in at least two approximately parallel longitudinal rows of piece goods or articles, either without spaces or with spaces between them, in a first conveying direction, the method comprising:

• conveying the piece goods or articles in a stream in the first conveying direction to a transfer and alignment unit;
• transporting the piece goods or articles further, in an aligned arrangement, in a second conveying direction approximately perpendicular to the first conveying direction, the transfer and alignment unit for transferring and aligning a front transversal row of the at least two longitudinal rows of piece goods or articles transported side by side in the first conveying direction, the transfer and aligning unit being coupled with a stop movable in or against the first conveying direction, the stop being composed of a single part or of multiple parts across a width of the stream of articles or piece goods;
• bringing at least one section of the stop, during the process of transferring the front transversal row of articles or piece goods to the transfer and alignment unit, into a flush or profiled position according to an alignment of a flush front side or a flush back side of the first transversal row of articles or piece goods;
• and
• bringing the transfer and alignment unit into a defined, flush alignment with the second conveying direction by shifting the transfer and alignment unit in parallel to the first conveying direction, a left-aligned or right-aligned row of at least two consecutively arranged articles or piece goods being transported further in the second conveying direction,
• wherein the articles or piece goods are transported by a first horizontal conveyor in the first conveying direction toward and against the stop, the stop being a multi-part stop cooperating with the transfer and alignment unit in a first position until at least the front row of articles or piece goods have come up against the profiled multi-part stop, and have been conveyed onto an initially stationary second horizontal conveyor of the transfer and alignment unit, after which operation the first horizontal conveyor is stopped.