Grouping and crowding machine

Claim 1

A MACHINE FOR CROWDING TOGETHER MULTIPLE ARTICLES, COMPRISING SUPPORTING MEANS PRESENTING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AND HORIZONTALLY MOVABLE, RECEIVING SURFACE; MEANS FOR DEPOSITING A PLURALITY OF ARTICLES ON SAID SURFACE IN MUTUALLY SPACED FORMATION; CONTRACTIBLE, ARTICLECONFINING MEANS AT THE ARTICLE-DEPOSITING LOCATION FOR CROWDING SAID ARTICLES TOGETHER INTO MUTUALLY CONTIGUOUS RELATIONSHIP ON SAID SURFACE, SAID SURFACE BEING NORMALLY AT ARTICLE-CLEARANCE LEVEL BELOW SAID ARTICLE-CONFINING MEANS, AND SAID ARTICLE-CONFINING MEANS BEING NORMALLY IN EXPANDED, ARTICLE-RECEIVING CONDITION; MEANS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING SAID SURFACE TO AND FROM ARTICLE-CROWDING POSITION; MEANS FOR HORIZONTALLY MOVING SAID SURFACE INTO AND OUT OF ARTICLE-RECEIVING POSITION BELOW SAID ARTICLE-CONFINING MEANS; MEANS FOR CONTRACTING AND EXPANDING SAID ARTICLE-CONFINING MEANS; AND MEANS FOR MOTIVATING THE SEVERAL SAID MEANS IN PREDETERMINED, TIMED SEQUENCE SO THAT SAID RECEIVING SURFACE OF THE SUPPORTING MEANS MOVES INTO ITS ARTICLE-RECEIVING POSITION, SAID RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS RAISES SAID RECEIVING SURFACE INTO ARTICLE-CROWDING POSITION, SAID DEPOSITING MEANS DEPOSITS A PLURALITY OF ARTICLES ON SAID RECEIVING SURFACE, SAID ARTICLE-CONFINING MEANS CONTRACTS TO CROWD SAID ARTICLES TOGETHER INTO MUTUALLY CONTIGUOUS RELATIONSHIP, SAID ARTICLECONFINING MEANS THEREAFTER EXPANDS TO NORMAL ARTICLERECEIVING POSITION, SAID RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS LOWERS SAID RECEIVING SURFACE TO ARTICLE-CLEARANCE LEVEL, AND SAID RECEIVING SURFACE MOVES HORIZONTALLY TO REMOVE THE CROWDED ARTICLES OUT OF ARTICLE-RECEIVING POSITION.