GB951225A - Improvements in or relating to means for stacking flat articles - Google Patents

Abstract

951,225. Stacking flat articles. TELEFUNKEN PATENTVERWALTUNGS G.m.b.H. Aug. 22, 1961 [Aug. 27, 1960], No. 30239/61. Heading B6H. In a device for stacking flat articles 3 such as postal mail the leading edges of the articles are caused to bear against a surface 2, Fig. 2, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface by a rotatable stacking member 9 provided with resilient radially extending vanes 10, the yieldability of the vanes in the direction parallel to the axis of the member 9 being limited. Articles 3 are fed individually in a vertical condition over the surface of a conveyer 4 which moves slowly in the direction of the surface 2 by a belt 5 driven by a roller 6 until they abut against the surface 2, a friction roller 7 mounted on the shaft of the roller 6 helping in the feeding movement. If the articles 3 are light in weight e.g. postcards, there is a danger that some of them will be prevented from reaching the surface 2 by the articles already stacked and that they will become obliquely positioned in the stack with their rear edges raised. In order to avoid this the member 9 is mounted on the shaft of the roller 6 so that the vanes 10 engage the lower regions of the articles as they rotate and ensure that the articles move uniformly against the surface 2. The vanes 10 are formed of a material having a high coefficient of friction e.g. polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane or a fibre, and in Fig. 1 are restrained against bending upwards and downwards by discs 11 secured to the member 9, the radius of which discs is smaller than the length of the vanes. The vanes are of such a length that they can engage an article 3 even when it is inclined to the vertical as shown at 12. The vanes may point downwards as shown in Fig. 3, a member 14 being provided to prevent upward bending of the vanes, and may be of circular, square or other rectangular cross section. In the latter case the long side of the rectangle is arranged so as to be parallel to the axis of the member 9 in order to restrict bending of the vanes in this direction. The vanes may be in the form of U- shaped members of which one leg is longer than the other. In a modification, instead of being fed horizontally as in Figs. 1, 2, the articles are fed vertically downwards. In the embodiment of Fig. 10 (which is a plan view) 27 is a friction wheel engaging the upper edge of the articles 30 to be stacked, 25 is a stacking member corresponding to the member 9 and 26 is a spring- biased braking strip, pivoted at 28 and engaging the upper edges of the articles 30.