Apparatus for aligning and arranging articles in upright position

Claim 1

Apparatus for aligning and erecting articles, more particularly hollow articles such as bottles including a filling opening for introduction of articles to be set upright; a plurality of conveying channels rising from said filling opening and each with an arcuate portion in the longitudinal extensions thereof; conveyor means for said articles including a plurality of drivers engageable with and behind the articles in the region of each conveyer channel; a plurality of aligning devices provided in the area of transition between the rising receiving area and a descending aligning area, said aligning devices each having a catch member which swings about a horizontal axis and is engageable with a neck provideD on an end of the article for turning said article and which is swung out of the area of movement of the article by the pressure of the article when arriving with its bottom end first; an erecting surface provided below the said descending aligning area of the conveyor channel; a push member associated with all the conveyor channels below the descending aligning area, which push member acts simultaneously on all the articles deposited in upright position on said erecting surface and pushes the said articles through a lateral opening onto a conveyor belt serving to remove them; displaceable guide means in the region below the said aligning device associated with each conveyor channel, and forming with the descending aligning member of said conveyor channels, a dropping chute for each article descending in an upright position with its bottom directed downwardly; said guide means comprising a vertically displaceable retaining plate; and means operatively connecting said retaining plate and said push member for raising said retaining plate when said push member advances to expose the lateral opening and lowering said retaining plate when said push member retracts to close the lateral opening.