Wicket loader

Claim 1

In combination with conveying means arranged to sequentially deliver articles fabricated from thin flexible plastic sheet material along a certain generally horizontal directional axis of travel, the finished articles having a welded zone disposed along and adjacent one lateral side surface thereof; handling and stacking means for said thin plastic sheet articles comprising: a. means arranged to deliver said articles to a welding station having a welding bar adapted to rest at dwell on the surface of said plastic sheet article to weld the article and retain the article in generally captive relationship, pickup means immediately adjacent said welding station and including a pair of superimposed continuous belts having reciprocatory pressure applying means having a belt contacting surface with bias means arranged to urge said belt contacting surface toward said belt for forcing said belts together to form a nip zone therebetween, said bias means being further arranged to intermittently move said belt contacting surface away from said belt, the arrangement providing for intermittent releaseable retention of at least one edge surface of said thin plastic sheet material forming said article and for the continued transporting of said retained article generally along said directional axis of travel from said welding station to a stacking station disposed along a generally predetermined path, the path being arranged along and defining a plane of travel; b. sheet article stacking means comprising a shoe adapted for reciprocatory up-and-down motion and being arranged in a normal up disposition in superimposed relationship over said plane of travel, and including driving means for moving said shoe downwardly in said reciprocatory motion through said plane of travel, release means functioning in time with said shoe driving means for actuating said bias means to move said belt contacting surface away from said belt for intermittently relieving the pressure applied by said pressure applying means and for accommodating a separation of said continuous belts for releasing said retained article from the nip of said continuous belts in time with the downward travel of said shoe, with the pressure relieving occurring upon doWnward motion of said shoe, sheet article receiving means comprising a sheet article receiving zone disposed generally beneath the normal up disposition of said shoe and said plane of travel, said shoe having a sheet article contacting surface and being adapted to remove said sheet article from said pickup means; and c. means actuated intermittently for moving a plurality of superimposed stacked sheet articles away from said receiving zone.