Grouping and spacing device

Claim 1

A DEVICE FOR POSITIONING MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS SUCH AS BOTTLES, BOXES AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE CONVEYOR BELT ONTO WHICH SAID OBJECTS ARE DISPOSABLE IN PREDETERMINED ROWS WHILE SAID CONVEYOR BELT IS TRAVELLING AT A CONSTANT SPEED WITH A VIEW OF HAVING THEM SEIZED AND A TRANSPORTED IN PREDETERMINED SPACIAL RELATIONSHIP BY GRIPPING HEADS TRAVELING CONTINUOUSLY ABOVE SAID CONVEYOR BELT AND A GROUPING DEVICE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SPACED STOP MEMBERS CARRIED BY SUPPORTS MOUNTED ON AT LEAST ONE ENDLESS CHAIN TRAVELING IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF TRANSLATION OF SAID CONVEYOR BELT, SAID STOP MEMBERS BEING ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED BETWEEN TWO OF SAID OBJECTS SO THAT SAID OBJECTS TRAVEL AT THE SAME SPEED AS SAID STOP MEMBERS AND ARE DISTRIBUTED OVER THE BELT INTO SEPARATE HOMOGENEOUS GROUPS, EACH HAVING A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF OBJECTS CONTACTING ONE ANOTHER, A DISTRIBUTING DEVICE, DISPOSED IN RELATION TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SAID BELT, AFTER SAID GROUPING DEVICE, SAID DISTRIBUTING DEVICE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PIN MEMBERS CARRIED BY SUPPORTS MOUNTED ON AT LEAST ONE ENDLESS CHAIN TRAVELING IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF TRANSLATION OF SAID BELT, SOME AT LEAST ONE SAID PINS BEING MOUNTED SO AS TO BE CAPABLE OF SLIDING IN RELATION TO SAID SUPPORTS TOWARD A FIRST RETRACTED POSITION AND A SECOND EXTENDED POSITION IN WHICH THEY PROJECT BETWEEN THE OBJECTS OF ONE OF SAID GROUPS SO AS TO SPACE THEM FROM ONE ANOTHER ON SAID CONVEYOR BELT, SAID GROUPING DEVICE AND SAID DISTRIBUTING DEVICE BEING DRIVEN IN SYNCHRONIZED RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND TO SAID GRIPPING HEADS, THE VELOCITY OF SAID STROP MEMBERS BEING MUCH LOWER THAN THE VELOCITY OF SAID CONVEYOR BELT AND IN RELATION WITH THE NUMBER AND SIZE OF SAID OBJECTS, AND THE VELOCITY OF SAID PIN MEMBERS BEING LOWER THAN THE VELOCITY OF SAID CONVEYOR BELT AND EQUAL TO THE VELOCITY OF SAID GRIPPING HEADS.

Claim 2

A DEVICE FOR POSITIONING MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS SUCH AS BOTTLES, BOXES AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE CONVEYOR BELT ONTO WHICH SAID OBJECTS ARE DISPOSABLE IN PREDETERMINED ROWS WHILE SAID CONVEYOR BELT IS TRAVELLING AT A CONSTANT SPEED WITH A VIEW OF HAVING THEM SEIZED AND A TRANSPORTED IN PREDETERMINED SPACIAL RELATIONSHIP BY GRIPPING HEADS TRAVELING CONTINUOUSLY ABOVE SAID CONVEYOR BELT AND A GROUPING DEVICE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SPACED STOP MEMBERS CARRIED BY SUPPORTS MOUNTED ON AT LEAST ONE ENDLESS CHAIN TRAVELING IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF TRANSLATION OF SAID CONVEYOR BELT, SAID STOP MEMBERS BEING ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED BETWEEN TWO OF SAID OBJECTS SO THAT SAID OBJECTS TRAVEL AT THE SAME SPEED AS SAID STOP MEMBERS AND ARE DISTRIBUTED OVER THE BELT INTO SEPARATE HOMOGENEOUS GROUPS, EACH HAVING A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF OBJECTS CONTACTING ONE ANOTHER, A DISTRIBUTING DEVICE, DISPOSED IN RELATION TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SAID BELT, AFTER SAID GROUPING DEVICE, SAID DISTRIBUTING DEVICE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PIN MEMBERS CARRIED BY SUPPORTS MOUNTED ON AT LEAST ONE ENDLESS CHAIN TRAVELING IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF TRANSLATION OF SAID BELT, SOME AT LEAST ONE SAID PINS BEING MOUNTED SO AS TO BE CAPABLE OF SLIDING IN RELATION TO SAID SUPPORTS TOWARD A FIRST RETRACTED POSITION AND A SECOND EXTENDED POSITION IN WHICH THEY PROJECT BETWEEN THE OBJECTS OF ONE OF SAID GROUPS SO AS TO SPACE THEM FROM ONE ANOTHER ON SAID CONVEYOR BELT, SAID GROUPING DEVICE AND SAID DISTRIBUTING DEVICE BEING DRIVEN IN SYNCHRONIZED RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND TO SAID GRIPPING HEADS, THE VELOCITY OF SAID STROP MEMBERS BEING MUCH LOWER THAN THE VELOCITY OF SAID CONVEYOR BELT AND IN RELATION WITH THE NUMBER AND SIZE OF SAID OBJECTS, AND THE VELOCITY OF SAID PIN MEMBERS BEING LOWER THAN THE VELOCITY OF SAID CONVEYOR BELT AND EQUAL TO THE VELOCITY OF SAID GRIPPING HEADS.