Method and apparatus for collating and stacking documents and for effecting a high density stack in a document receiving bin

Claim 1

An apparatus for receiving documents from first and second adjacent, parallel transport paths in which the documents are aligned in rows of two documents transverse to the paths, said apparatus adapted to arrange the documents into a single stack of documents wherein the two documents of each row in the transport paths are stacked one on top of another such that the document from the first path in a selected row is below the adjacent document from the second path of said selected row, said apparatus comprising: a stationary, final document receiving means adapted to be aligned at the end of and below said first transport path for receiving documents as the documents are discharged from said first transport path; a single document holding platform adjacent said receiving means and adapted to be positioned at the end of and in alignment with said second transport path, said platform adapted to receive a document discharged from second transport path, said platform defining a plurality of channels within said platform, said platform comprising a plurality of support elements placed in an end-to-end array, each said support element having a substantially horizontal support surface and being spaced apart from adjacent support elements at each end to define one of said channels at each end, said support elements being successively staggered in elevation with the elevation of successive support elements decreasing with increasing distance from the end of said second transport path; and means for engaging and moving said documents transversely of said second transport path comprising a plurality of finger elements, each finger element being partially disposed within and partially projecting from one of said channels, each finger element being adapted to move across the width of said platform transversely of said second transport path to engage one edge of a document lying on said platform and to move said document off of said platform and into said receiving means.

Claim 2

An apparatus for receiving documents from first and second adjacent, parallel transport paths in which the documents are aligned in rows of two documents transverse to the paths, said apparatus adapted to arrange the documents into a single stack of documents wherein the two documents of each row in the transport paths are stacked one on top of another such that the document from the first path in a selected row is below the adjacent document from the second path of said selected row, said apparatus comprising: a stationary, final document receiving means adapted to be aligned at the end of and below said first transport path for receiving documents as the documents are discharged from said first transport path; a single document holding platform adjacent said receiving means and adapted to be positioned at the end of and in alignment with said second transport path, said platform adapted to receive a document discharged from second transport path, said platform defining a plurality of channels within said platform, said platform comprising a plurality of support elements placed in an end-to-end array, each said support element having a substantially horizontal support surface and being spaced apart from adjacent support elements at each end to define one of said channels at each end, said support elements being successively staggered in elevation with the elevation of successive support elements decreasing with increasing distance from the end of said second transport path; and means for engaging and moving said documents transversely of said second transport path comprising a plurality of finger elements, each finger element being partially disposed within and partially projecting from one of said channels, each finger element being adapted to move across the width of said platform transversely of said second transport path to engage one edge of a document lying on said platform and to move said document off of said platform and into said receiving means.