Apparatus for shingling flat sheets

Claim 2

Apparatus for shingling sheets from a stack comprising a frame, a V-shaped shingling conveyor rotatably supported by said frame, said shingling conveyor having first and second conveyor supports disposed at an acute angle to each other, said first conveyor support having a conveyor thereon for moving a stack of sheets toward the plane of said second conveyor, said second conveyor support having a conveyor thereon for moving sheets away from the plane of said first conveyor support, motor means for driving said conveyors, and means for pivoting said shingling conveyor about a transverse horizontal axis from a stack receiving position to a discharging position wherein sheets from the stack lean in the direction of discharge on said second conveyor support and are consecutively discharged in shingled relationship.

Claim 3

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the acute angle defined by the first and second conveyor supports is about 35*-70*, and said first and second conveyor supports being of approximately the same length.

Claim 4

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said second conveyor support is angled upwardly in the discharge position of said shingling conveyor, and said second conveyor support having at least two conveyors operable at progressively increasing speeds.

Claim 5

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said frame is mounted on wheels, said frame supporting an output conveyor section for receiving shingled sheets from the second conveyor support.

Claim 6

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said means for pivoting the shingling conveyor includes at least one power cylinder having one end pivotably connected to the frame.

Claim 7

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said second conveyor support includes a plurality of sets of conveyors, and means on said second conveyor support for driving each of said sets of conveyors at progressively increasing speeds with the conveyor of the slowest speed being immediately adjacent to said first conveyor support.

Claim 8

Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 including an output conveyor for receiving sheets from said second conveyor support, and a hopper for receiving sheets from said output conveyor, motor means for said output conveyor being responsive to the level of sheets in said hopper in a manner so that the motor means stops the output conveyor if the level in the hopper is above a predetermined level.

Claim 9

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first conveyor support and said second conveyor support are approximately the same length and said axis being approximately at the center of gravity of said conveyor supports.

Claim 10

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a pendulum pivotably supported by said first conveyor support for contacting sheets to apply a biasing force on the sheets when the second conveyor support is in its discharge position.

Claim 11

Apparatus in accordance with claim 9 including a rotatable member on the end of the pendulum remote from the loCation at which the pendulum is pivotably supported by the first conveyor support.

Claim 12

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including switch means for automatically starting the conveyor on the first conveyor support when the latter is in a stack receiving position, and switch means for automatically starting the conveyor on the second conveyor support when the latter is in its discharge position, the conveyor on said second conveyor support being inoperative except when in its discharge position.

Claim 13

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said shingling conveyor is pivotable through an arc of about 100*-130* from the stack receiving position to the discharging position.

Claim 14

Apparatus comprising a feed table for feeding sheets, said table having a hopper, means for feeding sheets one at a time from the bottom of the hopper, conveyor means for feeding sheets into the hopper, level control means for said hopper including means for disabling said feeding means until a predetermined number of sheets are in the hopper and means for disabling said conveyor means when the number of sheets in said hopper is greater than a predetermined number of sheets, said conveyor means including an outfeed conveyor, a shingling conveyor for delivering shingled sheets to said outfeed conveyor, said shingling conveyor including first and second conveyor supports inclined with respect to each other at a fixed angle and pivotable about a transverse horizontal axis, and each conveyor support having conveyors thereon, said second conveyor support being inclined upwardly toward said outfeed conveyor in the discharge position of the shingling conveyor for feeding sheets to said outfeed conveyor, and means associated with the conveyor on said second conveyor support for moving the sheets therealong at progressively faster speeds toward said outfeed conveyor.

Claim 15

Apparatus comprising a feed table for feeding sheets, said table having a hopper, means for feeding sheets one at a time from the bottom of the hopper, conveyor means for feeding sheets into the hopper, level control means for said hopper including means for disabling said feeding means until a predetermined number of sheets are in the hopper and means for disabling said conveyor means when the number of sheets in said hopper is greater than a predetermined number of sheets, said conveyor means including an outfeed conveyor, a shingling conveyor for delivering shingled sheets to said outfeed conveyor, said shingling conveyor including first and second conveyor supports inclined with respect to each other at a fixed angle and pivotable about a transverse horizontal axis, and each conveyor support having conveyors thereon, said second conveyor support being inclined upwardly toward said outfeed conveyor in the discharge position of the shingling conveyor for feeding sheets to said outfeed conveyor, and means associated with the conveyor on said second conveyor support for moving the sheets therealong at progressively faster speeds toward said outfeed conveyor.