WO2009065409A1

WO2009065409A1 - A feeding system for alignment of objects, such as packages

Info

Publication number: WO2009065409A1
Application number: PCT/DK2008/000413
Authority: WO
Inventors: Richard Christiansen
Original assignee: Anker Andersen AS
Current assignee: Anker Andersen AS
Priority date: 2007-11-20
Filing date: 2008-11-20
Publication date: 2009-05-28
Anticipated expiration: 2010-05-20

Abstract

The invention relates to a system (1) and a method for transferring objects, such as packages, from a state of disorder at an inlet into at least one line of packages arranged singly at an outlet, said system comprising at least a first conveying means (3), at least a second conveying means (4) adjacent to and with a direction of movement substantially opposite the first conveying means, and at least one boundary screen (5) defining a narrowing of the first conveying means (3), whereby packages are led into at least one line of packages arranged singly at the outlet of the first conveying means (3).

Description

A feeding system for alignment of objects, such as packages

The invention relates to a system and a method for feeding objects, such as packages.

Such a system is known from DE 3202991. In this known system upright bottles are transferred from laterally adjacent rows on a feed conveyor into a single row of bottles on a downstream conveyor. The bottles align in a single row due to passing a number of conveyors with increasing speed. No external forces are applied to the bottles; they move across the conveyors solely due to gravity. The system applies to upright bottles and would be unsuitable for e.g. bottles in a horizontal position.

A system for recording and sorting objects at a great speed is known from WO 2006/125436 Al In this known system the packages are picked up and advanced on conveyors by means of carriers on said conveyors, said carriers thereby applying a force to the packages. The packages are subsequently fed singly to a recording unit at a great speed. The system can be used for handling packages in return vending systems. Some of the returned packages are possibly glass bottles, and if the share of glass bottles in the returned packages is too large, the feeding unit is unable to provide a sufficient number of packages to the recording unit to utilize the maximum capacity of this known system due to the fragility of the glass bottles.

Summary of the invention

Thus, an object of the invention is to provide a system for gentle alignment of disorderly arranged packages for subsequent feeding of said packages.

This is achieved by a system for transferring objects, such as packages, from a state of disorder at an inlet into at least one line of packages arranged singly at an outlet, said system comprising: at least a first conveying means, at least a second conveying means adjacent to and with a direction of movement substantially opposite the first conveying means, and at least one boundary screen defining a narrowing of the first conveying means, whereby packages are led into at least one line of packages arranged singly at the outlet of the first conveying means.

Another embodiment of the invention relates to a system for transferring objects, such as packages, from a state of disorder at an inlet into at least one line of packages arranged singly at an outlet, said system comprising at least a first conveying means, and at least one boundary screen defining a narrowing of the first conveying means, whereby packages are led into at least one line of packages arranged singly at the outlet of the first conveying means.

The invention furthermore relates to a method for transferring objects, such as packages, from a state of disorder at an inlet into at least one line of packages arranged singly at an outlet, said method comprising the steps of unloading packages into a first conveying means, - advancing the packages on said first conveying means, leading the packages into at least one line of packages arranged singly at the outlet of the first conveying means by means of a boundary screen defining a narrowing of said first conveying means, and advancing packages dropping off the first conveying means on a second conveying means adjacent to and with a direction of movement substantially opposite the first conveying means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the boundary screen prevents packages from falling off from one side of the first conveying means. The packages not aligned singly near the outlet are led towards the second conveying means. The role of the second conveying means is thus to pick up, catch, accumulate and/or collect the packages that are falling off from the first conveying means. Preferably, the packages advanced on the second conveying means are led back onto the first conveying means. I.e. the packages are advanced towards the inlet end where they once more are loaded back onto the first conveying means. Thus in a preferred embodiment of the invention the packages travel in sort of a race track movement by being initially advanced on the first conveying means, transferred onto the second conveying means if not aligned singly at the outlet, advanced on the second conveying means and transferred back onto the first conveying means to start the race track once again. This race track movement is repeated until all packages have been aligned singly at the outlet and advanced singly through a passage near the outlet thereby exiting the system singly.

In another embodiment of the invention the second conveying means is not adjacent to and/or does not have a direction of movement substantially opposite the first conveying means. Thus, packages falling off the first conveying means are advanced on at least a second conveying means. Possibly the packages are also advanced by means of a third and/or a fourth and/or a fifth conveying means. Packages not aligned singly on the first conveying means and being led off said first conveying may take an arbitrary route before they possibly re-enter said first conveying means.

Another embodiment of the invention relates to a method for transferring objects, such as packages, from a state of disorder at an inlet into at least one line of packages arranged singly at an outlet, said method comprising the steps of - unloading packages into a first conveying means,

- advancing the packages on said first conveying means, and

- leading the packages into at least one line of packages arranged singly at the outlet of the first conveying means by means of a boundary screen defining a narrowing of said first conveying means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the first conveying means and/or the second conveying means comprises a plurality of substantially parallel conveyors. In another embodiment of the invention the first conveying means and/or the second conveying means comprises just a single conveyor.

Furthermore, feeding units are very space consuming. By a preferred embodiment of the invention an in-line feeding system with smaller footprint than known systems is provided.

By the system according to the invention, a method is provided for transferring randomly arranged breakable and/or fragile and/or splintery objects, such as beverage containers made of glass, into at least one single line of objects without damaging said breakable objects. In a preferred embodiment of the system according to the invention, the packages are loaded from a tiltable loading section adjacent to the beginning of the first conveying means. By the loading section it is possible to control how many packages are loaded onto the system according to the invention. Other types of loading sections are possible.

In a preferred embodiment the invention, the first conveying means comprises a number of different conveyors. The conveyors can be of the same lengths but preferably they are of different lengths with increasing lengths from the outermost conveyor to the innermost conveyor. The conveyors are engaged by engaging means, preferably several different engaging means whereby the engaging speed of each engaging means activating the conveyors in the first conveying means can be individually controlled. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the engaging speed of the conveyors in the first conveying means is gradually increasing from the outermost conveyors to the innermost conveyor.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the crosswise plane of the first conveying means defines an angle in relation to the horizontal plane, whereby packages on the first conveying means are led towards the outermost part of the first conveying means, i.e. towards the boundary screen, solely by a gravity effect. In another embodiment of the invention this angle is adjustable, whereby the force by which the packages are led to the outermost part of the conveying means is adjustable.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a screen defines a boundary on the outer side of the first conveying means. In one embodiment of the invention this boundary is shaped in a way by which it gradually blocks the outermost conveyors, the middle conveyors and a part of the innermost conveyors being part of the first conveying means, whereby said boundary defines a narrowing of said first conveying means.

In a another embodiment of the invention this boundary screen is shaped in a way by which it gradually blocks the outermost part of the first conveying means, the middle part of the first conveying means and a part of the innermost part of the first conveying means whereby said boundary defines a narrowing of the first conveying means. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second conveying means comprises at least one inclined part. Thereby the packages on the second conveying means will be advanced from a position vertically below the innermost part of the first conveying means to a position in line with or vertically above said innermost part of the first conveying means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, substantially elongated plates define downward chutes between the first and the second conveying means. One of said plates is located along the end of the innermost part of the first conveying means and defining a slide way for packages dropping off said innermost conveyor onto the beginning of the second conveying means. Another of said plates is located along the end of the second conveying means defining a slide way for packages being led off said second conveying means onto the first conveying means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a screen defines a boundary between a part of the first conveying means and a part of the second conveying means. Said screen is preferably located between the two elongated plates defining chutes.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, boundary screens define a passage at the end of the first conveying means, i.e. towards the outlet. The width of the passage is preferably chosen to ensure that the packages are restricted to pass singly. One part of the passage is preferably part of the boundary defining the narrowing of the first conveying means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a screen defines a boundary on the outer side of the second conveying means. Thereby packages advanced on the second conveying means are prevented from unintentionally dropping off said second conveying means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a rounded screen defines a curved boundary at the end of the second conveying means. Packages advanced on said second conveying means will thereby meet this curved boundary when they reach the end of the second conveying means. The shape of said curved boundary will lead the packages off the second conveying means in a direction towards the first conveying means. In another embodiment of the invention the screen at the end of the second conveying means is defining a slanted boundary. The slanting is in relation to the boundary on the outer side of the second conveying means. Said slanted boundary will cause the packages to be led off the second conveying means in a direction towards the first conveying means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tilt, the gradually increasing speed and the narrowing boundary of the first conveying means will have the effect that the packages will automatically be led towards the innermost part of the first conveying means. At the end of the first conveying means, i.e. near the outlet, the packages will be restricted to pass singly through a passage. Packages led towards the innermost part of the first conveying means but failing to end up singly on said first conveying means will be led off the first conveying means and land on the second conveying means. The packages will be advanced on the second conveying means, preferably with an opposite direction of motion in relation to the first conveying means. At the end of the second conveying means a curved or slanted boundary will lead the packages back onto the first conveying means, whereby packages once more will be led towards the innermost part of the first conveying means to be aligned singly. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the system is self-adjusting, i.e. the controllable parameters is automatically adjusted to provide the fastest possible singly aligning of the packages.

A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises separation means for separating objects not aligned singly near the outlet. Preferably the objects are separated by leading objects not aligned singly and/or objects not aligned against the boundary screen toward the second conveying means, thereby helping to ensure that objects leave the system aligned and singly. The separation means is preferably mounted near the outlet of the system. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the separation means is cylinder shaped, preferably mounted with the long axis substantially vertical. The separation means is preferably rotatable, preferably rotatable along the vertical axis and the rotation is preferably driven by engaging means, such as a motor. The direction of rotation is preferably clock-wise seen from above whereby objects when encountering the separation device will be led towards the second conveying means. The separation means can be a roller, a rotary wheel, a rotary cylinder or the like. A further embodiment of the invention comprises a vertical rotatable device, preferably mounted near the outlet and with a direction of rotation anticlockwise seen from above. This vertical rotatable device might help aligning the packages singly.

The system and the method according to the invention is gentle towards the packages. Thereby the packages might consist of fragile material. In a preferred embodiment of the invention a majority of the objects mainly consist of breakable material and/or fragile material, such as glass, i.e. beverage containers such as glass bottles, glass containers, glass vessels, glass bins, glass canisters, and/or the like.

The system according to the invention has a capacity of more than 3000 objects aligned singly per hour, even more than 4000 objects per hour is possible, more than 5000 per hour has been reached and even more than 6000 objects can be aligned singly per hour by the system according to the invention.

With the system according to the invention the type of the packages is not important. Whether the packages are mainly beverage containers such as plastic bottles, such as PET bottles, metal cans or other type of containers the system will align the packages singly and the capacity of the system is not depending on the type of the packages.

Description of drawings

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which fig. 1 is a perspective illustrative view of one embodiment of the system according to the invention, fig. 2 is a top view of the system shown in fig. 1 , fig. 3 is a side view of the system shown in fig. 1 , fig. 4 is an end view of the system shown in fig. 1 , fig. 5 is a top view of the system shown in fig. 1 , with arrows indicating the flow of packages in the system, and fig. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the system, illustrating the position of a separation device. o

Detailed description of the invention

With reference to the drawings the numeral 1 is one embodiment of a system according to the invention. When the system 1 is in operation the objects, such as packages, are loaded into the loading container 2, e.g. from a sack, a truck or another type of container. In other embodiments of the invention the objects are loaded from different types of loading means, such as conveyor means, funnel(s), etc. In yet another embodiment of the invention a sack of packages is unloaded directly onto the first conveying means 3.

From the loading container 2 the packages can be loaded onto the first conveying means 3, i.e. the packages are loaded into the inlet of the system according to the invention. The packages are preferably loaded by means of tilting the loading container 2 in a direction illustrated by the arrow 19. In this illustrated embodiment of the invention the first conveying means 3 comprises several substantially parallel conveyors extending from the outermost conveyor 17 to the innermost conveyor 16. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the first conveying means 3 are engaged by several different engaging means 8, and in the shown embodiment 1 of the invention the lengths of the different conveyors in the first conveying means 3 are different. The screen 5 defines a boundary on the first conveying means 3 forming a narrowing from the outermost conveyor 17 towards the innermost conveyor 16 leading to the passage 14 at the outlet of the system according to the invention. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the size and shape of the passage 14 is restricting the packages to pass singly through said passage 14. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the passage 14 is defined by one end of the boundary screen 5 and a boundary screen 6. In another embodiment of the invention a plurality of screens are defining a plurality of passages, each of said passages restricting the packages to pass singly.

In the figures the loading section 2 are shown to be located next to the innermost conveyor 16 of the first conveying means 3. In other embodiments of the invention the loading section 2 is located next to the outermost conveyor 17 of the first conveying means 3 or rotated 90 degrees in the horizontal plane and located end to end with the first conveying means 3. In another embodiment of the invention more than one loading section 2 is present in the system 1. In yet another embodiment of the invention the loading section 2 is not present in the system 1 and the object are loaded onto the first conveying means 3 by alternative loading means.

The conveyors in the first conveying means 3 have substantially equal directions of motion and they have a gradually increasing speed from the outermost conveyor 17 to the innermost conveyor 16. The direction of motion and the increasing speed are illustrated by the arrows 15. This increasing speed of the conveyors in the first conveying means causes the packages to be accelerated towards the outlet of the system, i.e. when they are gradually led towards the innermost part of the first conveying the increasing speed causes acceleration of the packages.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the figures, the second conveying means 4 is adjacent to and substantially parallel to the first conveying means 3. The direction of movement of the second conveying means 4 is illustrated by the arrows 20 and said direction of movement is substantially opposite the direction of movement 15 of the first conveying means 3. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the first conveying means 3 and the second conveying means 4 are separated by substantially elongated plates 12, 13. The plate 13 defines a downward chute between the innermost conveyor 16 and the second conveying means 4 and said chute 13 works as a slide way for packages dropping off the innermost conveyor 16.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the second conveying means 4 contains at least one inclined part 11, whereby packages advanced on the second conveying means 4 are lifted from a position vertically below the innermost conveyor 16 to a position in line with or vertically above said innermost conveyor 16. The elongated plate 12 defines a chute between the second conveying means and the first conveying means, and said chute 12 works as a slide way for packages being led from the second conveying means 4 back onto the first conveying means 3.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the screen 7 defines a boundary on the outer side of the second conveying means 4 and prevents packages from unintentionally dropping off said second conveying means 4. The screen 10 defines a boundary at the end of the second conveying means 4. In figs. 1 and 2 this screen 10 is illustrated as a slanted boundary in relation to the second conveying means 4. In another embodiment of the invention said screen 10 is rounded defining a curved boundary. Packages advanced on the second conveying means 4 will meet the boundary 10 and will be led towards the first conveying means 3 due the shape of the screen 10. The packages will be led down the chute 12 and back onto the first conveying means 3. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a screen 9 defines a boundary between the first conveying means 3 and the second conveying means 4.

The end view of the system 1 shown in fig. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention, where the crosswise plane of the first conveying means 3 is defining an angle 18 in relation to the horizontal plane. This will cause packages on the first conveying means 3 to be led towards the outermost conveyor 17 solely due to a gravity effect. This gravity pull towards the outermost conveyor 17, the narrowing defined by the boundary screen 5 and the gradually increasing speed of the conveyors in the first conveying means 3 will cause the packages to be led towards the innermost conveyor 16. Some of the packages will self-align on the innermost conveyor 16 towards the end of said innermost conveyor 16 leaning against the boundary screen 5 due to the angle 18 and will exit the system 1 at the outlet through the passage 14. Other packages will fail to align on the innermost conveyor 16 and will be pushed off or will drop off the innermost conveyor 16 in the direction of the second conveying means 4 on the slide way defined by the chute 13. When said packages enter the second conveying means 4, they will be advanced in the opposite direction of motion 20 in relation to the direction of motion 15 on the first conveying means 3. The packages now on the second conveying means 4 will pass the inclined part 11 and when the packages meet the boundary 10 at the end of the second conveying means 4, they will be led back onto the first conveying means 3 by way of the slideway defined by the chute 12. Re- entering the first conveying means 3 the packages once more will be advanced on said first conveying means 3 in the direction of motion 15 and be led towards the innermost conveyor 16.

Fig. 5 is a replica of the top view shown in fig. 2, from where most of the numerals have been removed. A number of arrows indicate how the packages move around in the system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. It is illustrated that some of the packages self-align on the innermost conveyor 16 and proceed through the passage 14 at the outlet of the system, whereas other packages move in a circular motion around the boundary screen 9, before they have another chance of self-aligning on the innermost conveyor 16. Thereby all the packages unloaded from the loading container 2 will sooner or later self-align on the innermost conveyor 16 and proceed singly through the passage 14.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective top view of one embodiment 1' of the system comprising a separation device. In this case the separation device is a rotary cylinder 21. Rotation of the cylinder 21 is provided by means of engaging means 22, thereby providing adjustment of the rotating speed. The rotary cylinder 21 is mounted directly on the shaft of the engaging means 22 and mounted above the first conveying means 3 near the outlet of the system 1 '. Thereby objects not aligned singly against the boundary screen 5 will encounter the rotary cylinder 21. Rotation of the rotary cylinder 21 is preferably clock-wise when seen from above, i.e. seen from the engaging means 22. Due to the clock-wise rotation of the cylinder 21 un-aligned objects encountering the rotary cylinder 21 will be led towards the second conveying means 4. The crosswise position of the rotary cylinder 21 can preferably be varied, thereby providing adjustment of the space between the boundary screen and the rotary cylinder. In this embodiment V the rotary cylinder and the engaging means 22 are mounted on a support 23. The rotary cylinder 21 can for example be cast in steel and the surface vulcanized by rubber.

In a further embodiment of the invention more than one rotary cylinder is mounted near the outlet to help aligning the objects singly.

The system applies to many types of objects. Food and beverage containers, e.g. metal cans, bottles such as plastic and glass bottles and other types of fragile and breakable containers. I.e. the system applies to all types of objects and/or packages that need to be aligned singly for further processing.

The system is scalable and in the preferred embodiment of the invention with two sets of conveyors, the footprint is small due to the two opposite directions of motion in the system, keeping the alignment of the packages in a limited area.

The system according to the invention is illustrated in the figures with an output of only one line of singly arranged packages. In other embodiments of the invention the output from the system is two or more lines of singly arranged packages.

Claims

1. A system for transferring objects, such as packages, from a state of disorder at an inlet into at least one line of packages arranged singly at an outlet, said system comprising

- at least a first conveying means, at least a second conveying means adjacent to and with a direction of movement substantially opposite the first conveying means, and

- at least one boundary screen defining a narrowing of the first conveying means, whereby packages are led into at least one line of packages arranged singly at the outlet of the first conveying means.

2. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the first conveying means and/or the second conveying means comprises a single conveyor.

3. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the first conveying means and/or the second conveying means comprises a plurality of substantially parallel conveyors.

4. A system according to any of the preceding claims, furthermore comprising at least one loading section, preferably provided with unloading means, said unloading means preferably being tilting means.

5. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first conveying means is engaged with a gradually increasing speed from the outermost part of the first conveying means to the innermost part of the first conveying means.

6. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the crosswise plane of the first conveying means is defining an angle in relation to the horizontal plane, whereby the packages are led towards the outermost part of the first conveying means.

7. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the angle defined by the crosswise plane of the first conveying means in relation to the horizontal plane is adjustable.

8. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first conveying means comprises conveyors of different lengths engaged by several different engaging means.

9. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one screen provides a non-linear boundary on the first conveying means, said boundary gradually blocking the outermost part of the first conveying means, the middle part of the first conveying means and part of the innermost part of the first conveying means, thereby defining a narrowing towards the outlet of the first conveying means.

10. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least part of the second conveying means is inclined.

11. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a substantially elongated plate defines a downward chute from part of the first conveying means to part of the second conveying means.

12. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a substantially elongated plate defines a downward chute from part of the second conveying means to part of the first conveying means.

13. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein separation means separate objects not aligned singly near the outlet, preferably by leading objects not aligned singly and/or objects not aligned against the boundary screen toward the second conveying means.

14. A system according to any of the preceding claims, comprising at least one cylinder shaped separation device near the outlet, the cylinder shaped separation device preferably mounted with the long axis substantially vertical.

15. A system according to any of claims 13 to 14, wherein the at least one separation means is rotatable, preferably with a clock-wise direction of rotation seen from above.

16. A system according to any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the separation means is a roller, a rotary wheel, a rotary cylinder or the like.

17. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a screen defines a boundary between part of the first conveying means and part of the second conveying means.

18. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein boundary screens define a passage at the outlet, said passage restricting packages to pass singly.

19. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein boundary screens define passages at the outlet, each of said passages restricting packages to pass singly.

20. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the outer side of the second conveying means is bounded by a screen, whereby packages are prevented from unintentionally dropping off.

21. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a rounded screen is defining a curved boundary at the end of the second conveying means, whereby packages are led off said conveyors.

22. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a screen is defining a slanted boundary at the end of the second conveying means, whereby packages are led off said conveyors.

23. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the majority of the objects comprise fragile material, such as glass.

24. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the majority of the objects comprise plastic beverage containers, such as PET bottles. o

25. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the majority of the objects comprise cans, such as metal cans.

26. A method for transferring objects, such as packages, from a state of disorder at an inlet into at least one line of packages arranged singly at an outlet, said method comprising the steps of unloading packages into a first conveying means, advancing the packages on said first conveying means,

- leading the packages into at least one line of packages arranged singly at the outlet of the first conveying means by means of a boundary screen defining a narrowing of said first conveying means, and

- advancing packages dropping off the first conveying means on a second conveying means adjacent to and with a direction of movement substantially opposite the first conveying means.

27. A method according to claim 26, whereby packages advanced on the second conveying means are led back onto the first conveying means.

28. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 27, wherein the first conveying means and/or the second conveying means comprises a single conveyor.

29. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 28, wherein the first conveying means and/or the second conveying means comprises a plurality of substantially parallel conveyors.

30. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 29, whereby the packages are loaded onto the first conveying means from at least one loading section, said at least one loading section preferably being tiltable.

31. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 30, whereby the first conveying means is engaged with a gradually increasing speed from the outermost conveyor to the innermost conveyor.

32. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 31 , whereby packages are led towards the outermost part of the first conveying means by an angle defined by the crosswise plane of the first conveying means and the horizontal plane.

33. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 32, whereby the angle defined by the crosswise plane of the first conveying means in relation to the horizontal plane is adjustable.

34. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 33, whereby the first conveying means is engaged by several different engaging means.

35. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 34, whereby the packages on the first conveying means are gradually led towards the innermost part of the first conveying means by at least one screen providing a non-linear boundary on the first conveying means, said boundary gradually blocking the outermost part of the first conveying means, the middle part of the fist conveying means and part of the innermost part of the first conveying means, thereby defining a narrowing towards the outlet of the first conveying means.

36. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 35, whereby packages advanced on the second conveying means are lifted vertically.

37. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 36, whereby packages dropping off the first conveying means are led to the second conveying means by a downward chute defined by a substantially elongated plate between part of the first conveying means and part of the second conveying means.

38. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 37, whereby packages dropping off the second conveying means are led to the first conveying means by a downward chute defined by a substantially elongated plate between part of the second conveying means and part of the first conveying means.

39. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 38, whereby packages are blocked by a boundary defined by a screen located between part of the first conveying means and part of the second conveying means.

40. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 39, whereby packages are restricted to pass singly through at least one passage defined by screens at the outlet of the innermost conveyor in the first conveying means.

41. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 40, whereby packages are prevented from unintentionally dropping off the second conveying means by a boundary screen on the outer side of the second conveying means.

42. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 41 , whereby packages are led to the first conveying means by a rounded boundary screen at the end of the second conveying means.

43. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 42, whereby packages are led to the first conveying means by a slanted boundary screen at the end of the second conveying means.

44. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 43, whereby objects not aligned singly near the outlet are separated by separation means, preferably by leading objects not aligned singly and/or objects not aligned against the boundary screen toward the second conveying means.

45. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 44, whereby objects not aligned singly near the outlet are separated by means of at least one cylinder shaped separation device near the outlet, the cylinder shaped separation device preferably mounted with the long axis substantially vertical.

46. A method according to any of the claims 44 to 45, wherein the at least one separation means is rotatable, preferably with a clock-wise direction of rotation seen from above.

47. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 46, whereby a majority of the objects comprise fragile material, such as glass. o

48. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 47, whereby a majority of the objects comprise plastic beverage containers, such as PET bottles.

49. A method according to any of the claims 26 to 48, whereby a majority of the objects comprise cans, such as metal cans.