Stacking apparatus for card like items

Abstract

Abstract STACKING APPARATUS FOR CARD LIKE ITEMS IS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS INVENTION FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH CARD HANDLING SYSTEMS. ACCORDING TO AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION, STACKING APPARATUS INCLUDING CONVEYOR MEANS AND STACKING CHAMBER MEANS IS PROVIDED WHEREIN SUCH CONVEYOR MEANS IS POSITIONED INTERMEDIATE A PATH OF INCOMING CARD LIKE ITEMS AND SAID STACKING CHAMBER MEANS. THE CONVEYOR MEANS IS ADAPTED TO BE DRIVEN AT A SPEED WHICH IS LESS THAN THE VELOCITY OF THE INCOMING CARD LIKE ITEMS PRESENTED THERETO, AND IN ADDITION, SAID CONVEYOR MEANS IS PROVIDED WITH PROJECTING FIN MEANS FIXEDLY MOUNTED THERETO SO AS TO FORM DISCRETE POCKETS THEREON. AS THUS PROVIDED, SAID CONVEYOR MEANS ACTS UPON AN INCOMING STREAM OF CARD LIKE ITEMS TO DIVIDE SUCH INCOMING CARD LIKE ITEMS INTO SMALL SUBGROUPS WHICH ARE EACH INSERTED AND CONVEYED TOWARD SAID STACKING CHAMBER MEANS IN ONE OF THE DISCRETE POCKETS FORMED ON SAID CONVEYOR MEANS. THUS, IN SPITE OF AN OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOME OF THE CARD LIKE ITEMS PRESENT IN THE INCOMING STREAM OF CARD LIKE ITEMS, SMALL SUBGROUPS OF SAID CARD LIKE ITEMS ARE INDIVIDUALLY AND SEPARATELY CONVEYED TO SAID STACKING CHAMBER MEANS SO THAT ACCURATE AND ORDERLY STACKING MAY TAKE PLACE.

Inventors

• 👤 Shoichiro Yoshimura

Bibliographic Details