Continuous orienting and packaging machine for cans or the like

Claim 1

A MACHINE FOR TRANSPORTING, ORIENTING AND PACKING CORRECTLY ORIENTED CANS IN A CLIP-TYPE CAN CARRIER, THE MACHINE COMPRISING; A CAN INSERTING STATION, A CONVEYOR FOR CARRYING TWO ROWS OF CANS WHILE IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION TOWARD THE CAN INSERTING STATION, CAN ORIENTING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID CANS WHILE BEING TRANSPORTED BY SAID CONVEYORS AND IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION AND ARRESTING MEANS FOR STOPPING THE ROTATION OF THE CANS WHEN THEY REACH AN ORIENTED POSITION, CAN RIGHTING MEANS TO RIGHT THE CANS FROM SAID HORIZONTAL POSITION TO AN UPRIGHT POSITION, MEANS FOR FEEDING A PLURALITY OF CLIP-TYPE CAN CARRIERS BETWEEN ROWS OF CANS TO THE CAN INSERTION STATION IN SYNCHRONISM WITH THE MOVEMENT OF CANS, A FURTHER CONVEYOR FOR MOVING THE CORRECTLY ORIENTED UPRIGHT CANS THROUGH SAID INSERTION STATION, AND OPPOSED POCKETED INSERTION WHEELS AT THE INSERTION STATION FOR INSERTING EACH OF THE CORRECTLY ORIENTED CANS INTO THE CONTINUOUSLY FED CAN CARRIER CLIPS MOVING BETWEEN THE ROWS OF CANS.