Apparatus for grouping articles into package units

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING CONTINUOUSLY MOVING ROWS OF OBJECTS INTO PACKAGE GROUPS COMPRISING, FIRST CONVEYOR MEANS CONTINUOUSLY MOVING ROWS OF OBJECTS FORWARD ONTO A STATIONARY PLATE, A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED SELECTOR MEANS DRIVEN AT A SPEED AT LEAST AS FAST AS SAID FIRST CONVEYOR MEANS, EACH OF SAID SELECTOR MEANS HAVING FIRST LUG MEANS MOUNTED THEREON, SAID FIRST PAIR OF SELECTOR MEANS BEING OPERATIVE TO ENGAGE A GROUP OF SAID OBJECTS AT SPACED DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED INTERVALS AND TO PROPEL SAID GROUP ALONG SAID STATIONARY PLATE TOWARD SPEED-UP MEANS, A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED SPEED-UP MEANS, EACH OF SAID SPEED-UP MEANS HAVING SECOND LUG MEANS MOUNTED THEREON, THE LUG MEANS ON EACH OF SAID SPEED-UP MEANS BEING SPACED A GREATER DISTANCE APART THAN THE LUG MEANS ON EACH OF SAID SELECTOR MEANS, SAID SELECTOR MEANS AND SAID SPEED-UP MEANS BEING MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT IN CONTINUOUS PATHS INTERSECTING AT A COMMON POINT TO EFFECT A TRANSFER OF SAID GROUP FROM SAID FIRST LUG MEANS TO SAID SECOND LUG MEANS, MEANS DRIVING SAID PAIR OF SPEED-UP MEANS AT A GREATER SPEED THAN SAID PAIR OF SELECTOR MEANS TO ACCELERATE SAID GROUPS OF OBJECTS, THE DIFFERENCE IN SPEED AND THE SPACING OF THE LUGS OF SAID PAIR OF SPEED-UP MEANS BEING EFFECTIVE TO SEPARATE SAID ROWS OF OBJECTS INTO SPACED PACKAGE GROUPS EACH CONTAINING A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF UNITS.