Pallet loading machine

Claim 1

IN A MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING A PLURALITY OF LAYERS OF ARTICLES INTO A MULTI-LAYERED STACK OF ARTICLES WITH EACH LAYER CONTAINING A PLURALITY OF ARTICLES ARRANGED IN A PREDETERMINED PATTERN, SAID MACHINE COMPRISING A FRAME DEFINING A LIFT SHAFT, A LIFT MOVABLE VERTICALLY IN SAID SHAFT, AND AN APRON SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AT THE UPPER PART OF SAID SHAFT FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN EXTENDED ARTICLE RECEIVING POSITION OVERLYING THE LIFT AND A RETRACTED POSITION WITHDRAWN FROM SAID SHAFT TO DEPOSIT A LAYER OF ARTICLES ON THE LIFT; THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING GUIDES BENEATH THE APRON AT CONTIGUOUS SIDES OF SAID SHAFT FOR DEFINING THE RECTANGULAR AREA OF A LAYER OF ARTICLES ON THE LIFT, MEANS OPERATED FOLLOWING THE DEPOSITING OF A LAYER OF ARTICLES ON THE LIFT BY WITHDRAWAL OF SAID APRON FOR MOVING SAID GUIDES INTO THE SHAFT TO ENGAGE AND ALIGN ARTICLES OF A LAYER DEPOSITED ON THE LIFT, AND MEANS FOR LOWERING THE LIFT TO LOWER THE LAYER OF ARTICLES DEPOSITED FROM SAID APRON AND ALIGNED BY SAID GUIDES TO A POSITION BELOW THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID APRON TO PERMIT SAID APRON TO RETURN TO SAID EXTENDED POSITION TO RECEIVE ANOTHER LAYER OF ARTICLES.