Sheet stopping mechanism

Claim 1

A SHEET BRAKING MECHANISM FOR A STATION OF A HIGH VELOCITY SHEET TRANSPORTION APPARATUS COMPRISING SUPPORTING MEANS, A BRAKE PLATE SUPPORTED BY SAID SUPPORTING MEANS, A PRESSURE PLATE OVERLYING SAID BRAKE PLATE IN BROADSIDE RELATIONSHIP THERETO, SAID PLATES HAVING CORRESPONDING FORWARD ENDS DEFINING A SHEET ENTRANCE THEREBETWEEN AND CORRESPONDING REARWARD ENDS DEFINING A SHEET EXIT, A FULCRUM MEMBER MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT ON SAID SUPPORTING MEANS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID BRAKE PLATE AND DISPOSED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID PRESSURE PLATE FROM SAID BRAKE PLATE, SAID PRESSURE PLATE PIVOTAL ON SAID FULCRUM MEMBER BY A SHEET ENGAGING BETWEEN THE FORWARD ENDS OF SAID PLATES, SAID FULCRUM MEMBER DISPOSED CLOSER TO THE SHEET EXIT THAN TO THE SHEET ENTRANCE, A YIELDABLE THRUST MEMBER EXERTING A BRAKING FORCE ON SAID PRESSURE PLATE, SAID FULCRUM MEMBER INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID THRUST MEMBER AND SAID PRESSURE PLATE AND TRANSMITTING THE FORCE OF SAID THRUST MEMBER TO SAID PRESSURE PLATE TO NORMALLY HOLD THE LATTER FLAT AGAINST SAID BRAKE PLATE, A RETRACTABLE STOP MEMBER NORMALLY OVERLYING THE SHEET EXIT, A LATCH MEMBER NORMALLY LATCHING SAID STOP MEMBR IN THE NORMAL POSITION THEREOF, A POWER ELEMENT OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID LATCH MEMBER AND OPERABLE WHEN ACTIVATED TO RELEASE SAID STOP MEMBER, A LOST-MOTION CONNECTION BETWEEN AND CONNECTING SAID POWER ELEMENT AND SAID STOP MEMBER TO EFFECT A DELAYED RETRACTION OF SAID STOP MEMBER SUBSEQUENT TO RELEASE SAID LATCH MEMBER, AND A SECOND LOST-MOTION CONNECTION BETWEEN AND CONNECTING SAID POWER ELEMENT AND SAID FULCRUM MEMBER TO EFFECT A DELAYED MOVEMENT OF SAID FULCRUM MEMBER AWAY FROM SAID BRAKE PLATE SUBSEQUENT TO RETRACTION OF SAID STOP MEMBER, SPRING MEANS SUSPENDING THE FRONT END OF SAID PRESSURE PLATE FROM SAID SUPPORTING MEANS AND NORMALLY OVERCOME BY SAID THRUST MEMBER, AND MEANS ON SAID STOP MEMBER OPERABLE TO LIFT THE REAR END OF SAID PRESSURE PLATE AND NORMALLY SPACED THEREFROM.