Patent ID: 8056304

Claim:
An apparatus for handling planar or thin-walled, rectangular or square articles in conjunction with groups of articles being fed to a packaging machine, wherein the groups are combined at a grouping arrangement ( 13 ) by grouping conveyors ( 22 , 23 ; 76 , 77 ; 87 ) and then fed to the packaging machine in groups, comprising: a) a feed conveyor ( 14 , 15 ) for transporting the articles in succession; b) two branching conveyors ( 16 , 17 ) following the feed conveyors ( 14 , 15 ), wherein the articles are directed from the feed conveyor ( 14 ) to one or the other of the two branching conveyors ( 16 , 17 ); c) grouping subassemblies ( 18 , 19 ) each having a grouping conveyor ( 22 , 23 ), wherein each branching conveyor ( 16 , 17 ) leads to one of the grouping subassemblies ( 18 , 19 ), each of which is for forming a group of articles from the articles supplied by the branching conveyors ( 16 , 17 ); and d) a conveyor comprising two belt conveyors, wherein the articles are transported by the feed conveyor ( 14 ) in a horizontal plane and the articles or preliminary groups ( 54 , 55 ) of the articles are conveyed during further transport by the conveyor comprising two belt conveyors, which turn the articles from the horizontal plane into a vertical plane such that the articles are fed in an upright position to the grouping arrangement ( 13 ) or to the grouping conveyors ( 22 , 23 ; 87 ).