Abstract: A device for stacking and destacking a stream of imbricated, substantially planar, flexible units to form or destack a layered stack. The device is a stacker, adapted to receive a stream of units from a source thereof, and a plurality of transfer sheets. The feeder delivers the stream of units to the stacker.The stacker has staging belts which receive portions of the stream and deposit the units serially on one of the transfer sheets, as it is withdrawn from the sheet stack. This forms an imbricated layer of the units and the transfer sheet. The stacker deposits the imbricated layer on a removable support and repeats the cycle to deposit successive imbricated layers on the preceding layers. Destacking is carried out by simply reversing the process.

Abstract: An in situ apparatus and method to clean filter housing and related piping, sterilize and perform integrity testing of a filter for purifying a gas or liquid to be used within various industrial environments such as chemical, pharmaceutical, food processing or semiconductor manufacture. The in situ facility of the filter apparatus in the manufacturing environment is automatically performed by use of an electrical controller which enables the method of operation to be executed in a desired sequence.