Patent ID: 7500819

Claim:
An arrangement for an optional forming of stacks of multiple products conveyed successively along a conveying path, or for changing a sequence of products conveyed successively along the conveying path, said arrangement comprising: a conveying device comprising a circulating conveying belt having conveying sections for transporting the products in a conveying direction, the conveying belt defining a support surface; at least two lifting elements disposed opposite from one another, with one of the lifting elements located on each respective side of the conveying device, the at least two lifting elements adapted to move up and down independently from one another, and to pick up the products from an underside of the products along the conveying path from the conveying device and subsequently stack the products, each lifting element comprising a plurality of support rods spaced apart from one another and projecting at right angles to the conveying direction to form a support for the products, each lifting element being displaceable from below the support surface of the conveying belt to above the support surface of the conveying belt; and rollers that span the entire width of the support surface, wherein the rollers have a first position above the support surface in which objects are lifted, and a second, belt deflecting position below the support surface in which the deflection creates gaps in said conveying belt into which the lifting elements enter; wherein each of the at least two lifting elements is movable within a respective one of the gaps in the support surface to a position below the support surface, thereby interrupting substantially the entire width of the support surface.