Stacking and palletizing system and method

Claim 1

A MACHINE FOR STACKING AND PALLETIZING FLAT PLANAR MEMBERS COMPRISIN G (A) FIRST CONVEYOR MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF PARALLEL COACTING ENDLESS BELTS MOVABLE AT HIGH SPEEDS AND HAVING OPPOSED FACING SURFACES FOR FRICTIONALLY HOLDING THEREBETWEEN A PLURALITY BOF PARTIALLY OVERLAPPING PLANAR MEMBERS WITH THE FORWARDMOST END OF EACH PLANAR MEMBER OVERLYING THE REARWARD END OF THE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT PLANAR MEMBER; (B) RECEIVING AND STACKING MEANS LOCATED AT THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID BELTS FOR RECEIVING SAID PLANAR MEMBERS FROM SAID FIRST CONVEYOR MEANS AND ARRANGING THEM IN A VERTICAL STACK, SAID RECEIVING AND STACKING MEANS HAVING STATIONARY VERTICAL SIDE WALLS FOR ARRANGING IN A VERTICAL STACK SAID PLANAR MEMBERS FALLING INTO SAID RECEIVING AND STACKING MEANS, RESILIENT DEFLECTOR MEANS LOCATED ON ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS IN THE PATH OF PLANAR MEMBERS DISCHARGED FROM SAID BELTS AND INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO SAID PATH IN A POSITION TO CAUSE DEFLECTION OF SAID PLANAR MEMBERS INTO THE SPACE SURROUNDED BY SAID SIDE WALLS, A STACK SUPPORTING SURFACE LOCATED INTERMEDIATE SAID SIDE WALLS AND BEING DOWNWARDLY MOVABLE IN INCREMENTAL STEPS; STACK CLAMPING DEVICES PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO TWO OPPOSED SAID SIDE WALLS AND BEING POSITIVELY MOVABLE INWARDLY UPON ACTUATION TO ENGAGE SAID BLANKS, MEANS LOWERING SAID STACK SUPPORTING SURFACE TO MAINTAIN THE TOP OF SAID STACK BEING FORMED AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT HEIGHT WITH RESPECT TO SAID SIDE WALLS; (C) A PLATE WITH A RECEIVING SPACE FOR AN EMPTY PALLET THEREBELOW, MEANS FOR LIFTING A PALLET INTO SUPPORTING AND CONTACTING ENGAGEMENT OF ITS UPPER SURFACE WITH THE UNDERSURFACE OF SAID PLATE, SAID PLATE BEING OF A THINNESS SO AS TO BE INCAPABLE OF SUPPORTING THE PALLET LOAD, WHICH PLATE, UNDER LOAD, FLEXES DOWNWARDLY TO TRANSMIT THE WEIGHT OF THE LOAD TO THE PALLET; (D) MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING SAID STACKS INDIVIDUALLY IN A SINGLE DIRECTION TO SAID PLATE TO FORM A ROW OF SAID STACKS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS SAID PLATE; (E) RECIPROCABLE PUSHER MEANS WITH WORK CONTACTING SURFACES ABOVE AND BELOW SAID PLATE BEING MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH A MINOR STROKE WITH RESPECT TO SAID PLATE TO ADVANCE A LINE OF SAID STACKS ONTO A PORTION OF SAID PLATE OVERLYING SAID PALLET, SAID PUSHER MEANS BEING MOVABLE THROUGH A MAJOR STROKE AT THE COMPLETION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF A COMPLETE PALLET LOAD ON SAID PLATE IN ORDER TO ADVANCE BOTH THE PALLET AND THE ASSEMBLED STACKS IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID PLATE WHEREBY THE STACKS ARE DISPOSITED ON SAID PALLET AND DISPLACED FROM SAID PLATE.