Deconsolidation-type conveyor device and corresponding method

A device (1) for conveying products, has a first conveying portion (2), referred to as a quick portion (2), and a second conveying portion (3), referred to as a slow portion (3), in which the products then circulate in a linear fashion in a longitudinal conveying direction (4), normally slower than in the quick portion (2). The products circulate from the quick portion (2) towards the slow portion (3), in which they are then organized into a flow that is wider than in the quick portion (2), the quick portion (2) and the slow portion (3) being placed next to one another. Upstream from the slow portion (3), the quick portion (2) has an upstream guide (5) which is directed angularly towards the slow portion (3). A method for implementing the device is also described.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention pertains to the field of equipment for conveying and has as its object a particular conveying device, as well as a method for using such a device.

The movement of products, in a conveying and handling line, can, depending on the needs, take place either in a single line, the products being then aligned one behind the other in a single column or line, or in bulk, the products then being able also to be next to one another, according to a more or less structured arrangement. A single-line movement is, for example, necessary as long as the products must be handled by unit, for labeling or counting, for example. A movement in bulk is selected in particular to ensure accumulation functions, to reduce the length of the equipment, or even to reduce the travel speed of the products while preserving an overall flow rate.

Equipment is then necessary to ensure the transitions between these two conveying forms: an aligner thus has the function of making the products go from a bulk configuration to a single-line configuration, and therefore of reducing the number of columns of products, and a deconsolidator has the reverse function, namely that of increasing the number of columns, in particular to make the products go from a single-line configuration to a bulk configuration. The invention relates more particularly to the deconsolidators.

Description of the Related Art

Generally, a deconsolidator has, on the one hand, a speed differential between two conveying portions, namely a fast conveying portion and a slower conveying portion, thus causing the products to be positioned side-by-side to preserve the overall flow rate, and, on the other hand, means for making the products go from the fast portion to the slow portion. FR2531046 thus discloses the use of an inclined plane to transfer the products from the fast portion to the slow portion. A robust operation, however, is very difficult to attain at high speeds by using gravity. Mechanical guides are preferred today to ensure the passing from one portion to the next.

Thus, embodiments are known that are in the form of a deconsolidator arranged in an angular zone of a conveyor. The products travel in a single line in the fast portion, and the passing of the products from the fast portion to the slow portion takes place in the curve of the conveyor, where the fast portion is formed by the zone with a small radius of curvature, and the slow portion is formed by a series of lines in the zone of the higher radii of curvature. This embodiment has numerous drawbacks. Actually, it can more easily lead to falls of products during the passing from one conveyor to the next, because of the greater separation between curved conveyors, resulting in particular from higher wear. Furthermore, because of the curved shape, the driving direction in the slow portion is not uniform, which destabilizes the products more, in particular at high speed. Finally, in such a configuration, an effective deconsolidation can be achieved only if the angle between the two directions of speed is significant. At high speed, the falls are then very frequent.

From FR2604693, a solution is also known for multistage deconsolidation on parallel conveyors, in which the products arrive in a single line, then travel gradually transversely in a first conveyor having a sequence of two zones with a speed differential, then arrive on a second output conveyor, at a still lower speed. In the first conveyor, the products are both slowed and moved transversely, which, at high speed, easily causes falls. Furthermore, to redirect the products transversely at the same time as they are slowed necessitates the use of guides. Under the effect of the braking, the slowed products thus accumulate gradually against these guides and the pressure in this column can reach values such that the column breaks up and a product is then violently ejected transversely. It is therefore not possible, with this type of embodiment, to attain high speeds and to deconsolidate over a short conveying distance, necessitating significant speed gradients.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,944 also has a multistage deconsolidation, in which the products travel on parallel conveyors that have a speed gradient, while going each time from a fast conveyor to a slow conveyor thanks to an angled guide, along which the products accumulate until creating the problem already mentioned above of the breaking up of the column of products. A multistage slowing of the products leads to excessive lengths for the entire device. Moreover, this embodiment illustrates a particularly problematic phenomenon at high speed: the end portion of the guide must be extended transversely to the direction of advance to cause the products to go as quickly as possible to the slow portion, but at high speed, the more transverse this end portion is, the more the products run the risk of being thrown against the opposite guide and falling. Furthermore, a violent transverse deflection increases the pressure within the column of products upstream, destabilizes the products more, and intensifies the harmful centrifugal phenomena once the product is freed from the guide.

Finally, other deconsolidator-type embodiments are also known, essentially in the form of two linear conveying zones that are parallel and side-by-side, having a speed differential relative to one another, the fastest portion having at its terminating end a guide ensuring a transverse deflection of the products toward the slowest portion. This type of embodiment, however, itself also leads to producing simultaneously the reduction in speed and the transverse movement, which destabilizes the products too much at high speed. The pressure along the end guide can also become problematic, as described above.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention thus has as its object to improve the state of the art from the way described above, and aims in particular to attaining a deconsolidation over the shortest length possible, limiting risks of falling of the products and reliable at high speed, or about 80,000 products per hour or more.

For this purpose, the invention proposes deconsolidating the products in the area of a linear conveyor, having preferably one speed gradient, up to which the products are brought with an essentially uniform speed and in a direction steadily oriented toward said conveyor.

The invention thus has as its object a device for conveying products, having a first conveying portion, referred to as the fast portion, and a second conveying portion, referred to as the slow portion, where the products then travel linearly in a longitudinal conveying direction and normally more slowly than in the fast portion, said products traveling from the fast portion to the slow portion in the area of which they are organized and then into a flow that has a greater width than within the fast portion, the fast portion and the slow portion being placed beside one another.

This device is characterized in that upstream from the slow portion, the fast portion has an upstream guide that is oriented angularly in the direction of the slow portion.

The invention also has as its object a method for using such a device, namely a method of conveying in which the products travel on a first conveying portion, referred to as the fast portion, and then on a second conveying portion, referred to as the slow portion, the travel in the slow portion taking place linearly in a conveying direction, the travel in the fast portion, before the products arrive on the slow portion, taking place in the form of a flow that is less wide and faster than in the slow portion.

This method is characterized in that the travel in the fast portion takes place in a principal direction that is different from the conveying direction and that is gradually oriented toward the slow portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention thus has as its object a device1for conveying products, having a first conveying portion2, referred to as the fast portion2, and a second conveying portion3, referred to as the slow portion3, where the products then travel linearly in a conveying direction4that is longitudinal and normally slower than in the fast portion2, said products traveling from the fast portion2to the slow portion3in the area of which they are then organized into a flow that has a greater width than within the fast portion2, the fast portion2and the slow portion3being placed beside one another.

The conveying device1therefore has conveying means, belt-type, chain-type or the like, to convey the products11both in the fast portion2and in the slow portion3. In the latter, the conveying means therefore extend linearly in a conveying direction4, and are intended, in normal operation, to cause the products11to travel less quickly than in the fast portion2. The conveyors of these two portions therefore do not have the same speed, and independent control means can be provided for them. As the travel speed of the products decreases while going from the fast portion2to the slow portion3, the size of the flow of products increases transversely in a corresponding manner. The products can thus go from a single-line configuration in the fast portion2to a bulk configuration in the slow portion3. Generally, the width of the flow of product is increased at the time of the passing from the slow portion3to the fast portion2.

The conveyors of the fast portion2therefore travel more quickly than the conveyors of the slow portion3. The speed of the conveyors can, of course, not be uniform in the same portion. Thus, the fast portion2optionally has a decreasing speed gradient while approaching the slow portion3, the latter for its part optionally having a decreasing speed gradient while separating from the fast portion2.

According to the invention, upstream from the slow portion3, the fast portion2has an upstream guide5that is oriented angularly in the direction of the slow portion3, so as to direct laterally and gradually the products toward the slow portion3. This therefore leads to bringing the products gradually closer toward the median axis of the conveying means of the slow portion3. In the prior art, it is generally when the products11arrive in contact with the slow portion3that they are brought transversely from the fast portion2to the slow portion3, with a more or less large angle. The invention therefore proposes anticipating this deflection in the direction of the slow portion and initiating it while the product11is still exclusively on the fast portion2. The direction of the speed of the product11is therefore not changed during the passage onto the slow portion3.

The upstream guide5in particular takes the form of a pair of guide walls, one on each side of the group of products11traveling in the fast portion2. Generally, the upstream guide5is thus, upstream from the slow portion3, separated from the latter by a distance that gradually decreases in the direction of the flow of products, thanks to which the products are gradually brought laterally toward the slow portion3even though they are still entirely on the fast portion2.

According to a possible additional characteristic, the upstream guide5directs the products essentially linearly toward the slow portion3. The products11therefore undergo, in the area of the fast portion2, indeed also at the beginning of their progress on the slow portion3, an orderly linear movement oriented angularly in the direction of the slow portion3and therefore of its median axis, and this with a relatively small angle, as will be explained again further on. The guiding of the product therefore basically does not change direction, which avoids destabilizing the products.

According to another possible additional characteristic, before the slow portion3, the upstream guide5, on the one hand, and the conveying means of the fast portion2, on the other hand, have approximately the same direction of action on the products, and this over at least one part or even the entirety of the fast portion2, so as to avoid a sliding of the products on said conveying means that would prevent controlling in a satisfactory way the movement of the products up to the slow portion3. Actually, if the guiding direction and the conveying direction are not the same, the products11slide on the conveying means, the latter then being able to apply only a slight drive force from the base of the products. Now, it is necessary to apply enough force on the products given the slowing that they are undergoing from their base as soon as they arrive on the slow portion3. If the upstream conveying means are unable to exert enough force on the products, they are going to accumulate until reaching a conveying portion still upstream that will put the entire column in motion. It is therefore proposed here to install, in the area of the fast portion2and thus near the slow portion3, an upstream guide5and a conveying that impose the same movement on the product, so as to be able to drive the products once near the slow portion3. The dimensions of the conveying device1can thus be reduced.

The common profile of the upstream guide5and of the corresponding conveying can have different shapes. Thus, the conveying and the upstream guide5are, for example, both linear, or else curved along a curved profile, whose center of curvature is on one side or the other in relation to the interface between the fast portion2and the slow portion3.

Of course, it remains possible to provide a consequent angle between, on the one hand, the upstream guide5and, on the other hand, the conveying of the fast portion2. For example, the upstream guide5can extend obliquely on a conveyor, optionally made of several lines, which can thus simplify the construction, the conveyor being, for example, parallel to the conveying direction4.

In particular embodiments, the upstream guide5stops in the area of the beginning of the slow portion3. A short extension of the upstream guide5on top of the slow portion3, i.e., beyond the interface between the fast portion2and the slow portion3, is conceivable so that the products, once they empty into the slow portion3and are disengaged from the upstream guide5, are free optionally to move back by a transverse pullback movement in the direction of the closest guide wall of the slow portion3. Problems can appear if the upstream guide5extends excessively on top of the slow portion3. Actually, the guide on top of the slow portion3must preferably be short enough to prevent a column of products from being able to be formed against it so as to avoid an accumulation of products and an increase of the pressure that can result in a breaking up of this column of products and therefore falls.

According to another possible additional characteristic, the upstream guide5performs a lateral deflection of the products in a principal direction that has, in relation to the conveying direction4, a small angle6, so as to prevent too violent a transverse movement having the harmful effect of destabilizing the products11and increasing the pressure in the fast portion2, in particular an angle6of between 5 and 30 degrees, preferably between 10 and 20 degrees. The transverse deflection therefore represents a movement that, in relation to the conveying direction4, has a transverse component but also a longitudinal component, the balance between the two components ensuring an entry of the products on the slow portion3that is almost parallel to the conveying direction4or in any case only slightly offset angularly.

For the purpose of improving the deconsolidation and of facilitating the transverse expanding of the flow of products over a short conveying distance, and according to another possible additional characteristic of the conveying device1, it comprises, further, a means for dynamic deformation of the end of the upstream guide5that is the farthest downstream in the direction of the flow. Said end is thus driven by a transverse movement in the conveying direction4, so that the orientation of the movement that the upstream guide5gives to the products11when they empty onto the slow portion3varies slightly over time. The transverse movement is preferably alternating and of small amplitude, applied near the free end of the wall. The latter is fixed in relation to the frame at a distance from the free end. It is thus possible to send the products that are separated from one another in the longitudinal direction on the slow portion3, which limits the risk of collisions and falls.

Said end of the upstream guide5thus moves between two end positions, around a median position. In this median position, the end is aligned in the extension of the remainder of the upstream guide5, i.e., it preferably has only a small angle in relation to the conveying direction4.

According to another possible additional characteristic of the conveying device1, it has a downstream guide9extending into the area of the slow portion3and comprising a first guide wall, referred to as a proximal wall7, on the side of the fast portion2, as well as a second guide wall, on the opposite side, referred to as a distal wall8, the proximal wall7beginning, in a transverse direction, in transverse set back in relation to the terminal end of the upstream guide5. This transverse set back, perpendicular to the conveying direction4, frees an additional space so that the products can move back without colliding once they leave the upstream guide5.

The invention also has as its object a method using the device as described above in its different variants, namely a method of conveying in which the products travel on a first conveying portion2, referred to as the fast portion2, and then on a second conveying portion3, referred to as the slow portion3, the travel in the slow portion3taking place linearly in a conveying direction4, the travel in the fast portion2, before the products arrive on the slow portion3, taking place in the form of a flow that is less wide and faster than in the slow portion3, so as to perform a deconsolidating of the products between the fast portion2and the slow portion3.

Under the effect of the travel speed of the conveyors, the products therefore travel faster on the fast portion2than on the slow portion3, where they are gradually slowed because of the lower speed of the conveyors in this place. The method therefore makes it possible to perform a deconsolidation stage by causing the products to pass toward a zone where the driving by the conveyors is slower, and this thanks to mechanical guide means that laterally contain the flow of products.

According to the invention, the travel in the fast portion2takes place in a principal direction that is different from the conveying direction4and gradually oriented toward the slow portion3, so that, before even being on the slow portion3, the product is guided laterally toward it. Before arriving on the slow portion3, there is therefore given to the product, which is then on the side, a speed oriented in the direction of said slow portion3, and more particularly toward the edge of the slow portion3that is opposite to the fast portion2. This movement is given to it before the product even approaches the fast portion2. This movement preferably has an angular offsetting6that is small in relation to the conveying direction4, so that the essential effect of the conveyors of the slow portion3is to slow the products and not to change the direction of their movement, which would have a tendency to destabilize them and cause them to fall, in particular at high speed.

Thus, according to a possible additional characteristic of the method, the angle6between, on the one hand, the conveying direction4, and, on the other hand, the principal direction of the movement in the fast portion2when the products empty onto the slow portion3, is small, so as to prevent sudden transverse movements of the products while they undergo the sliding on the conveyors of the slow portion3, for example an angle6of between 5 and 30 degrees, preferably about 15 degrees.

Finally, according to another possible characteristic of the method, the conveying on the fast portion2, before the products arrive on the slow portion3, takes place without sliding between, on the one hand, the products and, on the other hand, the conveying means, and this over all or part of said fast portion2, so as to avoid an excessive accumulation of the upstream products but also so as to control the behavior of the products emptying onto the slow portion3.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, the conveying device1has the function of deconsolidating the flow, namely to transform the configuration of a flow while causing it to go, on the one hand, from a configuration where the products are in a single line behind one another in the area of the fast portion2, to, on the other hand, a configuration where the products are arranged in bulk, i.e., in a flow having a total width that is greater than a single column of products in the area of the slow portion3.

The travel speeds change between, on the one hand, the fast portion2, and, on the other hand, the slow portion3. As their names reflect, the conveyors travel more slowly in the slow portion3than in the fast portion2, the overall flow rate of products11being, of course, maintained. Generally, a decreasing speed gradient for the conveyors can be provided in the fast portion2, to the extent that the slow portion3is being approached, for example to bring the products close to one another, and/or a decreasing speed gradient for the conveyors can be provided in the slow portion3to the extent that it is separated from the fast portion2. The products travel essentially without sliding on the conveyors of the fast portion2, although a lateral sliding can be organized if the guide and the conveyors are not strictly parallel. Once they have entirely left the fast portion2, they are entirely on conveyors that travel more slowly. On leaving the fast portion2and considering their inertia, the products then generally continue their movement in the direction that it had, so that they slide on the conveyors of the slow portion3. The friction between the conveyors of the slow portion3and the base of the products has the effect of gradually slowing the latter and changes their trajectory.

The slow portion3comprises parallel and linear conveyors, which have a tendency to carry the products in a conveying direction4that goes from bottom to top inFIG. 1. The fast portion2and the slow portion3are side by side, i.e., against one another in a direction that is perpendicular to the conveying direction4, so that a deflection that is transverse to the conveying direction4is enough to cause the products to go from the fast portion2to the slow portion3. Preferably, this deflection is smooth and steady.

Since the fast portion2of the device1is beside the slow portion3, it is necessary, to have the products go from the fast portion2to the slow portion3, to impose on the products a transfer movement that has a component that is transverse to the linear conveying direction4on the slow portion3. This movement in the direction of the slow portion3is caused by the upstream guide5. In the fast portion2, the products are moved and guided under the combined effect of the conveyor or conveyors in this portion as well as the upstream guide5.

Since the products go gradually from the fast portion2to the slow portion3, the conveying device1also has a combined portion10where the products are overlapping both on the slow portion3and the fast portion2, i.e., a part of their base is in contact with the conveyors of the slow portion3and the rest of their base is in contact with the conveyors of the fast portion2. During the transverse deflection, or transfer movement, the product travels on the combined portion10, the part of its base in contact with the slow portion3thus decreasing gradually in favor of the part of its base in contact with the fast portion2asFIG. 3shows.

In the particular case illustrated, the products11that travel in the fast portion2move in a single line, and the separation from the upstream guide walls5is therefore adapted to the dimension of a single product. Consequently, the combined portion10begins at the section of the upstream guide5from which the latter, or its virtual extension, commences to be extended on top of the slow portion3. From this mouth of the upstream guide5, the products begin to travel on the slow portion3, and it is possible no longer to guide the products from the upstream side of the flow. In the combined portion10, the guide on the downstream side of the flow is again ensured, to the extent that it still essentially extends only on top of the fast portion2, asFIGS. 1 and 3show. Preferably, the guide in the area of the combined portion8is a linear extension without changing of direction, so as to limit the effects of inertia there. Furthermore, a too sudden change of direction in the upstream guide5also has the effect of increasing the pressure in the line of products, which creates problems of instability once the products are freed from the guide.

In the prior art, the transverse movement of the products, i.e., their movement in the direction of the slow portion3and comprising a transverse component, is often provided only in the combined portion10. In the invention, the movement in the direction of the slow portion3takes place already when the product is exclusively on the fast portion2, i.e., the base of the products is in contact only with the conveyor or conveyors of the fast portion2. The upstream guide5, which in particular has the function of ensuring this movement in the direction of the slow portion3, guides the products toward the latter while their entire base is still in contact with the conveyors of the fast portion2.

Thus, the conveying device1is provided with an upstream guide5that acts on the products, on approaching the slow portion3but while the products are still entirely on the fast portion2, so as to guide them toward the slow portion3, i.e., so as to impose on them a movement that has a component that is transverse to the linear conveying direction4of the slow portion3. Preferably, this movement in the direction of the slow portion3, in front of and to the right of the combined portion10, is gradual or steady, for the purpose of avoiding changes in direction that are too sudden for the products. Actually, changes in direction that are too sudden have the effect of destabilizing the products when they are traveling at high speed.

In the particular embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1, the upstream guide5is essentially linear, in the area of the combined portion10and even before, which has the advantageous effect of imposing on the products a movement whose direction is stable, which avoids destabilizing the products under the effect of their inertia at high speed. In this same figure, it is seen that the conveyors of the fast portion2have a curvature, while the upstream guide5that extends on top of them is linear. Generally, on approaching the combined portion10, the upstream guide5is such that the products are already directed toward the slow portion3. Furthermore, in the combined portion10, the guiding takes place in the extension of the one provided upstream, so as to avoid imposing simultaneously on the products, on the one hand, a change in direction of the movement, and, on the other hand, a slowing caused by the difference in speed between the fast portion2and the slow portion3on which they begin to travel when they arrive on the slow portion3.

Moreover, as the accompanying figures show, the upstream guide5preferably does not extend on top of the slow portion3, and this in particular for the part of the upstream guide5that is found downstream in the direction of the flow of products. Actually, when the products arrive on the slow portion3, they undergo a braking caused by the slower speed of the conveyors of the slow portion3. If the guide is extended in the area of the slow portion3, the products then run the risk of being flattened against its most downstream edge in the direction of the flow, particularly taking into account their inertia and the pushing of the column of products. The products then accumulate behind one another along this edge. This column of products in contact is then subjected to the pressure of the products that are still in the fast portion2, to the friction at their base, as well as to the resistance of the guide. In the cases of products having a circular base in particular, this state of forces can lead to causing the column to break up, at least one product then being violently thrown far from the edge, which obviously leads to falls following collisions with other products or with another guide. It is therefore preferable to prevent the upstream guide5from extending on top of the slow portion3, which makes it possible for the products to arrive on the latter free from being repositioned. By remaining essentially in the area of the fast portion2, the upstream guide5thus does not make it possible to form a column of several products in the slow portion3.FIG. 1shows, for example, that the upstream guide5extends very slightly on top of the slow portion3, yet without hindering the progression.

It should be noted that the upstream guide5is such that the products arrive on the slow portion3with a movement having a small angle relative to the conveying direction4. This angle6actually corresponds to the one that separates, on the one hand, the direction of the speed that the product has a tendency to maintain once it has left the fast portion2to continue on the slow portion3, and, on the other hand, the conveying direction4in the area of the slow portion3. The upstream guide5, in the part that ends up on the combined portion10, even also in said combined portion10, thus has a small angle6relative to the conveying direction4, particularly from 5 to 30 degrees, preferably from 10 to 20. In the version ofFIG. 1, where the upstream guide5is linear for its part in front of the combined portion10as well as for its part to the right of the combined portion10, the angle corresponds directly to the one between the two linear directions. In a case where the upstream guide5is curved, it is essentially the principal direction that has the upstream guide5near the combined portion10that is taken into account to determine the angle, i.e., the angle of the upstream guide5just in front of the combined portion10, even also in the area of the combined portion10.

By arriving thus on the slow portion3with a movement that is only slightly transverse to the conveying direction4, the products11, under the effect of their inertia, can travel a longitudinal path that is higher once they have arrived on the slow portion3, which limits the risk that the following products run into the preceding ones. Furthermore, such an orientation also makes it possible to convey the products at higher speed in the fast portion2and to have a higher overall flow rate, since at the exit, they have less of a tendency to be directed toward the guide opposite. With such an orientation of movement relative to the conveying direction4, the braking caused by the slower conveyors of the slow portion3has less of an effect on the direction of the movement of the products and therefore destabilizes them less, and more of an effect on the value of their speed. With a small angle between, on the one hand, the direction of the movement of the products at the entry of the slow portion3, and, on the other hand, the conveying direction4, the risk is therefore reduced that the speed differential of the conveyors between the fast portion2and the slow portion3destabilizes the products and causes them to fall. It is therefore possible to further increase the speed differential, and thus to deconsolidate over a shorter distance. The device1can then be shorter than another that performs the same transverse expansion of the flow of products.

To further speed up the deconsolidation, and therefore to reduce more the length of the device1, the latter can be provided with a means for dynamic deformation of the upstream guide5, which will have the effect of causing the direction of the movement to vary slightly when the products empty onto the slow portion3. The free end of the wall that is downstream from the flow of products is thus connected to a movable piece of equipment rather than attached to the frame. By driving this movable piece of equipment with an alternating movement, it is the final direction of the movement of the products in the fast portion2that is changed. The angular amplitude then corresponds to a deflection of the free end that is less than 2 centimeters, preferably less than 1 centimeter.

Varying slightly the direction of the speed exiting the fast portion2makes it possible in effect to separate from one another two products that are aligned in the conveying direction4on the slow portion3, and thus to reduce the risk of falls. Nevertheless, a considerable amplitude of the movement of the free end of the upstream guide5has the effect of imposing changes in direction that are too significant for the products while they are traveling toward the slow portion3, which destabilizes them excessively since the travel speeds are high.

Advantageously, by sending the products on the slow portion3with a speed that is only slightly transverse to the conveying direction4, the deflection of the free end can be small, as quantified above. Actually, since the two directions of movement, namely, on the one hand, on the fast portion2, and, on the other hand, on the slow portion3, are almost parallel, even a slight deflection of the free end of the upstream guide5makes it possible to obtain a considerable distance between two aligned products on the slow portion3that are behind one another in terms of the conveying direction4. It is therefore possible to obtain enough longitudinal separation between the products11on the slow portion3without thereby destabilizing the products under the effect of an upstream guide5that is moving with an amplitude that is too high.

AsFIG. 1shows, the device1is also equipped with a guide in the area of the slow portion3, in the form of two walls facing each other, extending parallel to the conveying direction4and transversely delimiting the zone available for the products. A first wall, or proximal wall7, extends approximately in the area of the interface between the fast portion2and the slow portion3. The second wall, or distal wall8, extends opposite the first and is the farthest from the two relative to the fast portion2. Advantageously, the free end of the proximal wall is in transverse set back relative to the free end of the upstream guide5, which makes it possible to allow more space for the products to be repositioned while being deconsolidated. Actually, taking into account the presence of the other products, on the slow portion3, a product freed by the upstream guide5can be made to move back while moving transversely in moving away from the distal wall8. The transverse distance between the end of the upstream guide5and the proximal wall makes it possible then for the product11to be repositioned while moving away from the distal wall.

Thanks to the invention, it is thus possible to perform a deconsolidation of the products over a reduced distance, without, however, causing falls of products under conditions of operating at high speed.

Although the above description is based on particular embodiments, it is in no way limiting of the scope of the invention, and modifications can be introduced, particularly by substitution of technical equivalents or by a different combination of all or part of the characteristics developed above.