Patent ID: 7591364

Claim:
A method for supplying containers to an automatic machine, with the containers exhibiting at least one support base and a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the support base, wherein it includes the following operating stages: supplying the containers in a loose arrangement to a plurality of underlying trays which are removably borne by a first conveyor belt having a vertical axis, in such a way that the containers form a single layer of containers which are loosely arranged in the trays with a substantially horizontally-oriented longitudinal axis; detecting the position of each container of the loosely-arranged single layer of containers in the corresponding tray; on the basis of data received from the detection operation, picking up each container loosely arranged in the tray and releasing the container onto a fixed plane which restingly receives the support bases of the containers in housings having a predetermined interaxis P; the pick-up operation being performed on the basis of the information received from the previous detection operation; coplanarly translating, in a substantially horizontal way, the containers which are restingly positioned in the housings towards corresponding facing seatings associated to a step-activated, second conveyor belt having a vertical axis; supplying the containers borne by the second conveyor belt to an associated automatic machine.