Counting and stacking unit

Claim 1

Apparatus for the counting and stacking of sets of forms such as business forms, having a plurality of sheets of paper, bonded together along one or more edges to provide a form set, said bonded form sets being supplied to said counting and stacking apparatus, said counting and stacking apparatus comprising; main conveyor means for receiving said business forms and moving the same along a predetermined main path; first and second branch conveyor means communicating with said main conveyor means, for moving said forms along either a first or a second branch delivery path; selectively operable diverting gate means for diverting form sets to one of said first or said second branch paths selectively; first and second stacking means, communicating with said first and second branch conveyor means, said first and second stacking means being adapted to receive form sets from their respective said conveyor means, and assemble the same into stacks of form sets, said first and second stacking means being located one above the other, at predetermined first and second levels and wherein each of said stacking means comprises rotary stacking members having a plurality of fingers, defining generally open-ended slots, said fingers being mounted for rotation on a spindle, and being oriented in relation to a said respective branch conveyor means to receive form sets delivered therefrom in said slots, said finger means being rotatable with said form sets located in said slots; ejector members extending between said finger means, whereby to intercept form sets carried in said slots, and eject the same therefrom, to form a stack; vibration means operable to generate repetative vibration movements; coupling means connecting said vibration means with said ejector members, whereby to vibrate said ejector members to and fro, thereby applying a jogging action to form sets at said stacking means during stacking; a delivery table located at said first level; movable hoist means located between said first and second stacking means and said delivery table; power-operated means for moving said hoist means into registration with one or other of said first and second stacking means, whereby to receive a stack of business forms therefrom; conveyor means on said hoist means, intermittently operable to receive a stack of forms from a said stacking means, and subsequently to transfer such stack from said hoist means onto said delivery table, and, counting means for counting form sets moving along said first or second branch conveyor means respectively, and connected with said gate means for operating the same to switch delivery of form sets from one of said first or second branch conveyor means to the other, when a predetermined count of form sets has been recorded on said counting means.