Patent ID: 7518079

Claim:
A method of sorting paving stones from bulk condition by performing the following process steps: a) conveying and guiding individual paving stones ( 2 ) into a successive row ( 3 ); b) separating individual paving stones ( 2 , 2 ′), typically the paving stone ( 2 ′) being at front at any time in relation to the conveying direction; c) determining the size and quality of a relevant paving stone; d) transferring relevant paving stones determined by size with the same orientation for relevant lanes ( 34 ) with individual advancing system for paving stone items with same size and/or size and colour, for advancing these against a stop; e) dispensing of the sorted rows ( 8 ) of paving stone items arrayed in respective lanes ( 34 ) to a transport device ( 36 ) oriented transversely of the lanes into a predetermined or randomly chosen sequence for forming a row of the paving stone items in a given modular width that fit to a selected laying pattern ( 38 ); f) compressing the formed row ( 21 ) of paving stone items so that the mutually facing lateral faces are in mutual contact; g) performing a lateral displacement of the formed row of paving stones ( 21 ) by the transverse transport device; h) displacing the row of paving stones from the transverse transport device ( 36 ) to a collecting table ( 18 ); i) repeating the process steps e)-h) until a preferred out format ( 22 ) of paving stones has been collected on the collecting table ( 18 ); j) conveying the paving stones in the out format ( 22 ) to a stacking/palletising unit.