Abstract: An apparatus for the stacking of sheets, with a stacking band conveyor, which for both-sided action on a series of scalelike staggered sheets has conveyor belts with conveying surfaces facing each other defining a conveying track therebetween, the latter beginning at its entrance having at least one bend about an axis parallel to the axes of rotation of the conveyor belts and having an exit directed substantially downwardly from above, with a substantially horizontal support on which the exit of the stacking band conveyor is directed and on which the scalelike staggered sheets are pushed together in the staggering succession into a stack with sheets standing substantially vertically on their edges, and with a feeder which feeds the sheets to the entrance of the stacking band conveyor. The bend at the entrance of the stacking band conveyor is convex viewed from above, so that the lagging edge of each sheet fed from the feeder to the entrance to the stacking band conveyor lifts from the feeder.

Abstract: A device for feeding and stacking documents in a box uses a driven endless belt arranged to sweep tightly along an open side of the box whereby documents may be taken in succession from a feeding station along the belt to the box. The open side of the box is oriented substantially vertically for receiving and thus stacking the documents in an upright position, and a guide roller with an over-shooting guide sheet is located adjacent the bottom edge of the open side to guide upwardly the belt and any form thereon to the open side of the box and to a belt roller located at a higher level than the guide means, while forming an acute angle with the plane of the open side, so that the trailing edge of each document snaps out from contact with the guide sheet before its leading edge abuts a stop surface provided at the upper edge of the box.

Abstract: The invention relates to a lowering and pivoting rail mechanism for a carton filling machine for guiding and loading blanks into transport containers, in which the lowering rail can be lowered more or less vertically to the vicinity of the floor of the transport container or to a previously loaded layer of blanks and in which the pivoting rail can be moved into a position above the layer of blanks to be loaded.

Abstract: Switch apparatus for the positioning drive of a lowering and pivoting rail for the guiding of blanks into transport containers in a carton filling machine. With the pivoting rail and the aid of a belt running along the pivoting rail, previously imbricated delivered blanks are delivered to loading position in the transport container such as a carton. The lowering rail serves as a counter support so that the pivoting rail and lowering rail cooperate at the loading point of the blanks to guide and control the loading of the blanks as far as possible into their final position in the transport container.

Abstract: In a sheet stacking system employing a spirally slotted wheel and a stripping plate to remote sheets from the wheel and form them into a stack, the sheets are conveyed to the stacking wheel by a vacuum drum having a slot around its circumference into which extends the extremity of the stacking wheel. The sheet continues to be held on the drum surface by the vacuum until it encounters the stacking wheel extremity which, by virtue of the lower peripheral speed of the stacking wheel, acts against the vacuum to strip the sheet from the drum. The stacking wheel axis may be mounted for pivotal movement about the vacuum drum axis to accommodate different output stack sizes, permitting the formation of a sheet store buffer.

Abstract: There is disclosed a sheet handling apparatus wherein sheets are delivered onto a conveyor belt traveling at a slower speed than the speed at which the sheets are delivered. The leading end of a sheet is sucked against the conveyor belt such that a trailing end of the sheet flips upwardly and allows the leading end of the succeeding sheet to pass therebeneath. These sheets are conveyed in lapped relationship by the conveyor belt. At a discharge end of the conveyor the lapped sheets drop sequentially in vertical orientation onto a carrier. A movable retainer plate contacts the initial sheet of the stack and is horizontally displaced thereby as the stack builds up, to maintain the sheets upright and in tightly abutting relationship. The retainer is mounted at the end of a freely movable, horizontally extensible pair of rods onto which the sheets fall, such that displacement of the retainer produces extension of the rods to accommodate additional sheets.

Abstract: A flexible sheet stacker is described which includes a support surface disposed substantially at right-angles to a flowline along which flexible sheets are fed in spaced relationship. The support surface is adapted to support in a stack the leading edges of the successive sheets fed along the flowline. The pressure-member is arranged to contact a face of a first sheet fed to the support surface and is thereafter movable away from the flowline against biasing means as sheets are progressively fed to the support surface. A wedge shaped separation member is movable along a substantially rectilinear path in advance of a sheet approaching the support surface, the separation member contacting the face of the stack and maintaining the contact during rectilinear movement of the separation means up to the support surface, a face of the stack being thereby displaced laterally out of the path of the leading edge of the approaching sheet as the sheet is advanced up to the support surface.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for handling or for stacking sheets provide servo power and pass the sheets seriatim from a first region to a second region. The provided servo power is transmitted through each of the sheets during passage thereof from the first region to the second region and the sheets are handled or stacked in the second region with the transmitted servo power.

Abstract: This invention relates to apparatus for piling up boards such as corrugated boards. More particularly, it relates to a board piling-up apparatus wherein boards, such as corrugated boards, which are individually fed lying flat or in the form of small bundles and which are erected by a hand in the course of the feed to thereby be collected in the erected posture, the collected boards are turned to be piled up, and the boards piled up are thereafter discharged.

Abstract: A high speed sheet stacking device for stacking documents on edge as they are serially ejected from a sheet transport apparatus into preselected sorting pockets. A pair of spaced-apart paddle wheels coaxially disposed subjacent to the pocket are rotatively driven through apertures formed therein, displacing the documents to the back side of the pocket in a serially stacked arrangement. The paddles remain outside of the pocket until advanced in rotative steps of 90.degree. responsive to the passing of a document past a predetermined point enroute to the stacking pocket. A thin wire spring secured to the outer end of each paddle aids in displacing the documents during stacking and remains bent through the pocket floor in holding contact against the stacked sheets after the rotative stepping is completed.

Abstract: An envelope stacking system is described which has a wide-angled inlet window for easily inserting envelopes upon an envelope stacking deck. The envelopes are thrust towards a guide wall by means of constantly rotating friction rollers. Once an incoming envelope is received it is displaced from the friction rollers to prevent damage to the envelope. The displacement of the envelope also serves the purpose of freeing the inlet for the next incoming envelope. In this way, the inlet window is cleared to accommodate each incoming envelope. The stack is biased toward the inlet and friction rollers, but a lip disposed upon the deck prevents the stack from blocking the inlet window or from engaging with the friction rollers.

Abstract: A sheet stacking mechanism neatly stacks a plurality of sheets, which may be of dissimilar sizes, thicknesses and surface quality (finishes), in the original sequence in which the sheets are fed into the mechanism. An outfeed mechanism picks each sheet into the stacker and removes each sheet entering into the stacker away from the throat of the stacker to permit unimpeded entry of the next sheet to the stacker. Anti-skewing devices are employed at various locations to maintain the sheets in proper alignment during stacking. Linkage means having a mechanical advantage greater than one interconnects a biasing spring to a stacker bar to provide elongation of the spring inversely proportional to the distance moved by the bar in response to the accumulation of stacked sheets thereon to render more uniform the force exerted on the bar by the spring means to provide uniform stacking.