EP0958219A1

EP0958219A1 - Stack changing device

Info

Publication number: EP0958219A1
Application number: EP98908045A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter Hummel; Robert Ortner
Original assignee: MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG
Current assignee: Manroland AG
Priority date: 1997-02-05
Filing date: 1998-02-03
Publication date: 1999-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 2018-02-03
Also published as: JP2000509692A; DE59801570D1; EP0958217A1; WO1998034865A1; EP0958220A1; EP0958216A1; JP3332938B2; JP2000510083A; WO1998034861A1; DE59802710D1; US6676364B1; US6286826B1; EP0958218A1; EP0958216B1; WO1998034866A1; US6547513B1; JP2000509695A; WO1998034863A1; US6547512B1; ATE209154T1

Abstract

In a device for changing a sheet stack in a sheet feeder, remaining-stack bars (7A, 7B) of different thicknesses are used to improve operation. Upon combination of a remaining-stack (H) with a sheet-stack (S), they are placed in graduations on a pallet (P) and successively pulled from the stack area.

Description

Stack changing device

The invention relates to a device according to the preamble of claim 1.

It is known to use devices for the automated in sheet feeders of sheet-fed printing machines or other sheet-processing machines

To provide stack changes. These can consist of rake-like structures, so-called residual stack support devices, which are provided with linear and vertical drives for horizontal and vertical movement. Such so-called non-stop stack changers are suitable, for example during the printing of paper sheets, i.e. in the machine run to take over remnants of processed sheet stacks from a pallet provided with grooves, for example, and to deposit them again on a new sheet stack subsequently inserted into the sheet feeder. Known devices are characterized by great design and assembly costs and require special designs of sheet feeders. In addition, devices are used here whose residual stack support device has a rake which engages in the grooves of the pallet. This rake must be removed as a whole between the two parts of the stack when the remaining stack is combined with the newly inserted stack of sheets. This entails high driving forces and places a great strain on the sheets of the stack closest to the interface. Also are

To provide restraining means that prevent the stack parts from moving and thereby place great stress on the stack edges. In addition, the operation of the sheet feeder itself is severely hindered or even made impossible. The sheet run is difficult to control when changing, so that waste sheets are always produced. Devices have already been developed which partially avoid some of the disadvantages described.

A non-stop sheet feeder for sheet-fed rotary machines is known from DE 3931710 C2. It has a residual stack carrying device which is arranged below a belt table leading from the sheet feeder to the sheet rotation machine. The rest of the stack support device has a closed frame, on which non-stop rods are arranged, which can be driven as piston rods of individual cylinders by means of a pressure medium and which can be moved into grooves in a pallet carrying a stack of sheets. The non-stop rods lie on both sides of the frame when retracted and should be removed one after the other from the area of the sheet feeder. Nothing is said about the order. Bridging the gap between the main and remaining stacks caused by the non-stop bars is an obstacle to perfect continuous processing when the stacks are combined.

A sheet feeder is known from DE 4203500 A1. In parallel to the sheet feeder and associated with it on the end face, it has an auxiliary stack support device as an independent structural unit. In it, individually drivable skewers are provided via a common drive, which are retractable into grooves in a pallet carrying a stack of sheets. The drive has individual chain drives that can be coupled to the respective skewers. Special constructive measures are necessary for the guidance and accessibility of the chain drives. The chain drives completely block the space in front of the sheet feeder so that it is not accessible. When changing stacks, it is intended to remove the skewers from the stacking area when the main and remaining stacks are merged, first on the outside, then in the middle and finally in the area between the skewers that have already been drawn, so that the remaining stack is placed gently on the sheet stack should. However, this is only possible with the required accuracy with heavy materials such as metal arches, since the arches are in

REPLACEMENT BLAπ (RULE 26) bulge in different directions and lower over a large gap formed by the skewers.

Finally, DE 19520772 C1 discloses a non-stop sheet feeder for printing presses with retractable and extendable fork bars. Units of fork bars that can be moved transversely to the sheet transport direction are provided in this feeder on both sides of the stacking area. The fork rods are connected to one another and can be moved together into grooves in a pallet carrying a sheet stack. From there, they can take over an auxiliary stack to bridge the period until a new sheet stack is fed. For the preliminary approximation of the main and the remaining stack before the final merging, the fork rods are rectangular in cross section and rotatable about a longitudinal axis. The fork rods are first inserted in the upright orientation in order to be able to carry the greatest possible load. They are then rotated by 90 degrees to approximate them so that the main and remaining stacks approach each other to the value of the thickness of the narrower side. When turning the fork rods, measures must be taken to prevent the bends closest to the fork rods from moving. In practice, this has turned out to be almost impossible.

Furthermore, a sheet feeder with several stacking hoists is known from DAS 1095297. It has a fork-shaped residual stack support device which is provided with residual stack rods that can be inserted into grooves in a pallet. The device enables a remnant of a stack of sheets to be transferred from the pallet for the continuous feeding of the sheets while a new stack of sheets is being inserted into the sheet feeder. The rest of the stacking device is connected to a separate hoist parallel to the main stacking hoist within the sheet feeder, so that the rest of the stack can be raised continuously. The working area of the residual pile carrier is restricted. The rest of the stack support device hinders access to the sheet feeder.

SPARE BLADE (RULE 26) The aim of the invention is to improve the device for stack change so that the disadvantages described are avoided.

The object of the invention is to improve a device of the type mentioned so that the stack change is possible in a simple and continuous manner, the sheet transport must not be disturbed and the sheets are spared during the changing process, so that no waste caused by the stack change arises .

The solution to the problem arises from the patent claims.

It is advantageous that independently movable support and spacer bars are provided in the device, which are drawn from the stacking area not at the same time, but at different times, in order to relieve the sheet material. In this case, a different height of the two rod types can preferably be provided, which produces a flowing settling movement of the remaining stack on the sheet stack. The pulling movement of the bars has no influence on the rest of the stack, so that the paper sheets directly affected are spared, since little or no restraining forces are required. In particular, the continuous removal of the remaining stack bars from the inside to the outside and in two stages enables the remaining stack to be gently deposited on the sheet stack.

In addition, it is advantageous to make the remaining stacking rods of different lengths depending on the type, so that an improved workflow is created.

The invention is illustrated below with reference to drawings. Here show:

1 shows a sheet feeder in a side view, FIG. 2 shows a sheet feeder in a top view,

3 a stack changing device in plan view,

Fig. 4 shows a stack changing device when taking over a 5 to 8 a change process and FIG. 9 a stack change device during the stack change.

FIG. 1 shows a sheet feeder 2 connected to a sheet processing machine, for example a sheet printing machine 1. A sheet stack S is used in the sheet feeder 2 for processing. The sheet stack S can be lifted in time with the sheet processing by means of a main stack lifting device, which is not shown here. The sheets of the sheet stack S are separated at the top and the

Sheet printing machine 1 fed in a sheet stream. For this purpose, a sheet separation device 4 is provided in the sheet feeder 2, which is provided with a whole number of diverse operating elements for format-dependent settings and for settings of the supply with suction or blown air. The controls are used to coordinate the various functions of the sheet separation device 4 for the need-based transport of the sheets from the sheet feeder 2 to the sheet printing machine 1. In the sheet feeder 2 there is also a residual stack carrying device 3 which is assigned to the end face of the sheet feeder 2 facing away from the sheet printing machine 1. The residual stack support device 3 is provided with a frame 6 in which

Remaining stacking rods 7 are mounted to be longitudinally displaceable. The residual stack support device 3 is suspended from a residual stack lifting mechanism 5 by means of the frame 6. The rest of the stacking hoist 5 is only in its position here, but not indicated in detail. The residual pile hoist 5 serves to hold a residual pile H in the sheet feeder 2 and to raise it in time with the sheet processing. Therefore, the remaining stacking hoist 5 can also be controlled synchronously with the main stacking hoist. The residual pile hoist 5 consists of vertical guide rails 8 connected to the sheet feeder 2, on which the frame 6 is guided, and has lifting chains, for example, by means of which the residual pile support device 3 can be raised or lowered.

SPARE 2 BLADE (RULE 26) 2 shows the sheet feeder 2 in a view from above. A sheet table 20 adjoins the sheet feeder 2 in the sheet travel direction indicated by arrows, via which the sheet stream generated by the separation is transported to the sheet processing machine, for example the printing press 1. Furthermore, the position of the sheet separation device 4 in relation to the rear edge of the sheet stack S can be seen. The orientation of the remaining stacking bars 7 is shown in their arrangement in relation to the sheet feeder 2, only the two outer remaining stacking bars 7 being shown and the others being indicated with lines of action. The position shown is, for example, the standby position before the initiation of a

Change process or the waiting position outside the operating area of the sheet feeder 2. The remaining stack bars 7 are guided within the remaining stack support device 3, so that in the position shown they assume a horizontal position outside the area of the sheet feeder 2. The rest of the stack support device 3 with its frame 6 is by means of

Guide rails 8 guided on the sheet feeder 2 and vertically movable. The rest of the stacking hoist 5 is again only indicated in its position and is located on the top of the guide rails 8, for example on the frame of the sheet feeder 2, from there engages the frame 6 of the rest of the stacking device 3 and moves it up and down on the guide rails 8.

From Figure 1 it can be seen that the residual pile support device 3 is installed directly into the sheet feeder 2 by means of the guide rails 8. The residual stack lifting mechanism 5 can be raised and lowered on the one hand during the supply of the printing press 1 with sheets, and on the other hand the residual stack carrying device 3 can be moved outside the processing area for the actual stack change. This arrangement in the sheet feeder 2 makes it very easily accessible from its front operating side.

FIG. 3 shows a complete representation of the residual stack support device 3. The frame 6 is guided vertically on the guide rails 8. In the frame 6, the remaining stacking rods 7 are in the form of supporting rods 7A in a front support rail 9 and spacer bars 7B. A traction drive 11 for occasionally pulling the support rods 7A and spacer rods 7B is arranged on a rear mounting rail 10. The position shown is the waiting position. Furthermore, drives 12 are provided on both sides for the longitudinal displacement of the rear support rail 10 on guide rails 13 on the frame 6. The drives 12 determine the position of the rear mounting rail 10 at the rear end or within the frame 6. The front mounting rail 9 is firmly connected to the frame 6.

The support rods 7A or spacer rods 7B are of different heights. The support rods 7A are, for example, approximately twice as high as the spacer rods 7B. The term height means the expansion of the support rods 7A or spacer rods 7B perpendicular to the plane of extent of the residual stack support device 3. The effect of this measure is shown in detail in the following diagrams.

The support rods 7A and spacer rods 7B can be of the same length. In a preferred embodiment, the support rods 7A are longer than that

Spacer bars 7B. When a residual stack H is taken over, the support rods 7A are initially used to take up the load and are to be dimensioned accordingly, the load being to be diverted into a further support means (see FIG. 4).

The residual stack support device 3 is shown in operation in FIG. The support rods 7A and the spacer rods 7B are advanced by means of the drives 12 together with the rear support rail 10 relative to the front support rail 9 and inserted into grooves of a pallet P carrying the sheet stack S. Front support rail 9 and rear support rail 10 with the traction drive 11 are now parallel in front of the pallet P, which carries a rest of a sheet stack S, the so-called residual stack H. The pallet P and the remaining stack H are not touched by the front support rail 9. The longer and higher support rods 7A rest on a residual stack lifting rail 14 at the front end in the sheet feeder 2, as seen in the direction of sheet travel. This residual stacking lifting rail 14 is coupled to a lifting drive and is provided to support the supporting rods 7A and their lifting movement during production. The residual stack lifting rail 14 and the residual stack lifting mechanism 5 are both with the Main stack hoist of the sheet feeder 2 connected or at least so mechanically or control-technically coupled that they can be lifted synchronously with the stack processing, but especially when the remaining stack H is merged with a new sheet stack S.

From Fig. 4 it can also be seen that in the position shown of the residual stack support device 3 with support rods 7A and spacer rods 7B inserted into the pallet P, the space inside the frame 6 is free and the frame 6 is open towards the rear. For handling, it can be important that the support rods 7A and spacer rods 7B come in early, i.e. can be inserted into the grooves of the pallet P long before the change process actually required. The rest of the stack support device 3 can then be lifted together with the sheet stack S until the stack change must actually take place. Then the remaining stack H can only be lifted off the pallet P. When the remaining stack bars 7 are pulled again, i.e. If the stack has been combined, the remaining stacking rods 7 can immediately be moved back into the new pallet P.

The actual process of changing the stack is reproduced step by step in FIGS. 5 to 8.

The prerequisite is that a sheet stack S in the sheet feeder 2 by means of the main stacker during processing, i.e. Separation of the sheets at the top of the sheet stack S and their removal in the sheet stream to the printing press 1 is continuously raised. A point is reached at which there is only a remaining stack H of predetermined height from the sheet stack S. Depending on the processing speed, there then only remains a certain period of time until the remaining stack H is also used up. Within this period, a new sheet stack S must be available in sheet feeder 2, otherwise the processing process must be interrupted. Therefore, at the predetermined time, depending on the amount of

Remaining stack H of the sheet stack S the process for changing the stack started. FIG. 5 shows schematically how a residual stack H, or the rest of the sheet stack S, is lifted off the pallet P. This is done in that the remaining stacking rods 7 are inserted into the grooves of the pallet P and the pallet P is lowered by means of the main stacking mechanism. Then initially only the higher and elongated support rods 7A, as shown in FIG. The support rails 9 and 10 are at this time in a compact position parallel to each other with a small distance from the rear edge of the remaining stack H. It can be provided that the thinner spacer bars 7B for switching functions, which are on the inside with respect to the center of the stack, are extended and also rest on the remaining stack lifting rail 14. Likewise, all spacer bars 7B can be designed to be placed on the residual stack lifting rail 14.

FIG. 6 shows how a new sheet stack S is raised against the rest of the stack support device 3 from below. The support rods 7A are in contact with the remaining stack H from above and with the sheet stack S from below. The support rods 7A are thus firmly guided. In terms of control technology, it should be borne in mind that the lifting movement of the remaining stack H and sheet stack S, as already explained above, must be synchronized. When the sheet stack S runs against the support rods 7A, for example, a sensor in the residual stack lifting rail 14 can initiate the synchronization of the lifting movements of the remaining stack H and the stack of sheets S and also the pulling movement that now begins.

In a variant, the inner spacer bars 7B can already be in contact with the two stacking surfaces. Then there would only be no support rods 7A in the middle and the remaining stack H would already be lowered there by the height difference of the support rods 7A and spacer rods 7B.

ERSATZBLAH (RULE 26) In Figure 7 it is shown that the thicker support rods 7A have already been removed. This process can be carried out, for example, by means of individual drives, but drive connections, for example traction means, can also be stretched out between the traction drive 11 arranged on the rear support rail 10 and the support rods 7A or the spacer rods 7B. To pull the support rods 7A are then individually connected to the traction drive 11, the support rods 7A being released, for example, directly in pairs and thus being pulled in pairs by means of the traction drive 11 from the space between the remaining stack H and the stack of sheets S until they rest against the rear support rail 10 . The train sequence is preferably controlled so that the support rods 7A are subsequently pulled outwards from the center of the stack. As a result, the residual stack H slowly descends from the center of the stack outwards to the stack edges to a second level, which is represented by the spacer bars 7B. This situation is shown in Figure 7. In the simplest case, the spacer bars 7B are shorter than the support bars 7A and, in the position shown, practically only perform a control function for the continuous stacking, since they no longer rest on the rest of the stacking lifting rail 14 and therefore cannot derive any load. However, it can also be provided that the spacer bars 7B are of the same length as the supporting bars 7A and then also rest on the residual stack lifting rail 14. This can serve, for example, to detect the end of the pulling movement on the residual stack lifting rail 14 designed as a touch rail and does not impair the control function for stacking. Only the time required for pulling is a little longer.

Finally, FIG. 8 shows the initiation of the completion of the train movement. Now, in the same rhythm, ie preferably in pairs, the thinner spacer bars 7B, which only separate the remaining stack H from the sheet stack S, but no longer perform a lifting or carrying function, for example also from the center of the stack in pairs towards the outside of the stack edges drawn. The auxiliary stack H now lies on the sheet stack S again in a continuous motion, without the remaining stack H moving relative to the sheet stack S and therefore being clamped by means of restraint be or should be fixed in relation to the sheet stack S. This applies both in the direction of the pulling movement of the remaining stacking rods 7 to the rear stack edge and in the transverse direction to the side stack edges. The stack change is thus completed after the remainder of the stack H and sheet stack S have been combined and the remainder of the stack support device 3 can be repositioned.

The relationship of the pulling movement to the device is again illustrated in FIG. 9 within the sheet feeder 2. The support rods 7A and the spacer rods 7B lie alternately in the grooves of a pallet P (the sheet stack S normally having to be imagined lying on the webs between the grooves of the pallet P). The support rods 7A rest on the residual stack lifting rail 14. The same applies in the case shown to the inner spacer bars 7B, which have only half the height of the support bars 7A. The pulling process of the support rods 7A begins with the thicker support rods 7A closest to the center of the stack, which are drawn as a pair as shown. In this area, the auxiliary stack H slowly lies on the thinner spacer bars 7B. The pulling of the thicker support rods 7A and, as a result, of the thinner spacer rods 7B is carried out fluently and in close succession, but always separately from one another. For this purpose, a device for controlling the train movement is provided. This can be integrated directly into the traction drive 11 for the support rods 7A or spacer rods 7B or act on the traction drive of each individual support rod 7A or spacer rod 7B via further control means.

The stack change thus proceeds as follows: I. - When a minimum height of the sheet stack S is reached, the stack change process is started. II. - The support rods 7A and the spacer rods 7B are together from

Rack 6 is inserted into the grooves of the pallet P below the sheet stack S, the sheet stack S remaining free on the rear side toward the remaining stack support device 3.

SPARE BLADE (RULE 26) III. - The support rods 7A are moved under by the residual stack lifting rail 14 and raised until the residual stack H is carried by the support rods 7A.

IV. - The pallet P is lowered and removed from the sheet feeder 2. V. - The residual stack H is continuously raised by means of the residual stack lifting mechanism 5 to separate the sheets.

VI. - A new sheet stack S is inserted into the sheet feeder 2 and raised by means of the main stacker.

VII. - When the top of the sheet stack S touches the underside of the support rods 7A, the drawing process of the support rods 7A is initiated.

VIII. - The support rods 7A are pulled out individually or in pairs from the inside to the outside between the remaining stack H and the stack of sheets S.

IX. - The remaining stack H lies continuously on the inside from the outside

Spacer bars 7B. X. - The remaining stack lifting rail 14 becomes free, the remaining stack support device 3 no longer takes on a load, the remaining spacer bars 7B only have control functions for the stack union. XI. - The spacer bars 7B are continuously between the inside and outside

Remaining pile H and sheet pile S pulled out. XII. - The remaining stack H lies continuously on the inside from the outside

Top of the sheet stack S.

In a modified version of the process, the procedure is as follows:

I. - The residual stack support device 3 is immediately after pulling the support rods 7A and spacer bars 7B to the bottom of the stack of the new one

Sheet stack S lowered.

II. - The support rods 7A and spacer rods 7B are inserted into the grooves of the pallet P, the insertion path being smaller than the total insertion path.

III. - The rest of the stack support device 3 is lifted synchronously with the sheet stack S in a load-free manner.

IV. - When the limit height of the sheet stack S is reached, the support rods

7A and the distance rods 7B within the remaining distance to Total insertion length (with the back of the sheet stack S remaining towards the rest of the stack support device 3) inserted.

V. - The remaining stack lifting rail takes over the support rods 7A.

VI. - The process continues as described above.

The whole procedure has the advantage that the remaining stack H is continuously approaching the sheet stack S, so that there are no discontinuities when removing the remaining stacking bars 7, which could interfere with sheet separation or the removal of the sheets from the sheet feeder or even interrupt the operation. This initially applies to the permanent

Tracking the top of the stack against the sheet separation device, where a distance must be maintained within a tolerance range. Furthermore, this applies to the removal of sheets after separation, since control means, e.g. a so-called arch flap are provided, which release or block the arch path. Here, too, a specified height tolerance must be observed so that the leading edge of the sheet does not strike from the trailing edge of the sheet during removal due to the pushing movement and is thus compressed.

The pulling movement of only two remaining stacking bars 7 at a time cannot influence the position of the sheets in the sheet plane in the area of the stack union. Restraint measures that could damage the sheet can therefore be dispensed with.

In a further embodiment, not all of the

Insert remaining stack support rods 7. In the case of very thick sheet materials which, due to their stability, sink only slowly into the space between the gap in the gap between sheet stack S and remaining stack H, which increases when the support rods 7A are pulled, the spacer rods 7B can be omitted. This speeds up the changing process since time is saved for pulling the spacer bars 7B.

SPARE BLADE (RULE 26) Likewise, support rods 7A can be omitted in pairs in the middle of the stack, so that the auxiliary stack H is immediately lowered onto the spacer rods 7B there. The adaptation process on the stack surface with respect to the separating device can be supported by first slowly lowering the pallet P.

The corresponding remaining stacking rods 7 do not have to be removed for these measures. It is sufficient to decouple or block the corresponding drive means. Of course, these remaining stacking rods 7 are then not inserted into the grooves of the pallet P before the stack change.

Claims

claims

1) Method for the automatic, continuous changing of a sheet stack in a sheet feeder on a sheet processing machine with a

Leftover stack support device, which contains leftover stacking rods for temporarily picking up a leftover stack from a pallet, for continuously lifting the leftover stack in the meantime and then depositing it on a newly supplied sheet stack which is approached from below to the leftover stack, the remaining stacking rods being able to be pushed into the stacking area and at least offset from one another are removable from the stacking area, characterized in that the remaining stack is taken over over the entire area, in that the remaining stack bars (7A, 7B) can be pushed together under the remaining stack, and in that the remaining stack is continuously approximated to the sheet stack (S) in that the remaining stack bars (7A , 7B) in pairs proceeding outwards from the center of the stack towards the side edges of the stack of sheets (S) can be pulled out of the stacking area.

2) Method for the automatic, continuous changing of a stack of sheets in a sheet feeder on a sheet-processing machine with a residual stack support device, the residual stack bars for temporarily picking up a residual stack from a pallet, for temporarily lifting the residual stack and then placing it on a newly fed one from below contains the remainder of the stack of sheets, whereby the remainder of the stack of stacks can be pushed into the stacking area and at least offset from one another again from the stacking area, characterized in that the remainder of the stack is taken over the entire area by a first part of the remainder of the stacking stacks (7A, 7B) a first

Level assumes that the remaining stack is continuously approximated to the sheet stack (S) by separating the first remaining stack bars (7A, 7B) from the center outwards from the stacking area, the rest of the stack is placed on another part of the rest of the stacking rods (7A, 7B), so that the remainder of the stack before being combined with the sheet stack (S) onto a second one closer to the surface of the Is brought stack level (S) lying level, and that the remaining stack is placed on the sheet stack (S) by the second remaining stack bars (7A, 7B) separately from the center from the stack area to be pulled out.

3) Device for changing a sheet stack according to the method in claim 1 in a sheet feeder on a sheet processing machine with a main stack lifting device for lifting and lowering a sheet stack, with a residual stack support device, the residual stack bars for temporarily receiving a residual stack and transferring it to a newly fed stack of sheets , wherein the remaining stacking rods are provided with drive means for producing a mutually offset longitudinal movement such that they can be pushed into the stacking area and at least offset from one another from there, and a remaining stack lifting mechanism for lifting the remaining stacking support device, characterized in that the remaining stacking rods are used as supporting rods (7A) and as with opposite

Support rods (7A) of smaller thickness are provided that the support rods (7A) and spacer rods (7B) are arranged alternately and that the drive means of the spacer rods (7B) are stopped or disengaged.

4) Device for changing a sheet stack according to the method in claim 2 in a sheet feeder on a sheet processing machine with a main stack lifting device for lifting and lowering a sheet stack, with a residual stack carrying device, the residual stack bars for temporarily receiving a residual stack and transferring it to a newly fed stack of sheets , wherein the remaining stack bars with drive means for generating a mutually offset longitudinal movement are provided in such a way that they can be pushed into the stacking area and can be removed from them at least offset from one another, and a residual stack lifting mechanism for lifting the residual stack support device, characterized in that residual stack rods (7A, 7B) of different thicknesses are provided.

5) Device according to claim 3, characterized in that residual stack bars (7A, 7B) of different thickness and length are provided.

6) Device according to claim 3, characterized in that residual stack bars (7A, 7B) of different thickness alternate in a symmetrical arrangement over the width of the residual stack support device (3) are provided.

7) Device according to claim 3, characterized in that residual stack bars (7A, 7B) of different length and thickness alternate in a symmetrical arrangement over the width of the residual stack support device (3) are provided.

8) Device according to one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that the remaining stacking rods are designed as support rods (7A) and spacer rods (7B) and that the support rods (7A) are thicker than the spacer rods (7B), preferably about twice as thick . 9) Device according to one of claims 5, 7 or 8, characterized in that the remaining stacking bars are designed as supporting bars (7A) and spacing bars (7B) and that the supporting bars (7A) are longer than the spacing bars (7B), preferably by at least the measure of the width of a residual stack lifting rail (14) of the sheet feeder (2).

10) Device according to one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that the lateral spacings of the effective residual stacking rods can be changed so that the drive means of certain support rods (7A) and spacer rods (7B) or all spacer rods (7B) can be decoupled or stopped.