Patent ID: 6241458
Filing Date: 2001-06-05
Classification: B65G,B65H

Abstract:
A stacker for grouping and stacking substantially flat articles into stacks of goods, said stacker comprising:a goods feeder, a primary packing unit and a supply unit for supplying said stacks of goods piled up in multiple layers by said primary packing unit for subsequent secondary packing, said goods feeder separating the goods supplied to said goods feeder and feeding the goods to said primary packing unit in a generally controlled manner one after another, said packing unit having a goods magazine with a goods support, the articles inserted in said magazine from above by said goods feeder being supported by said goods support and being superimposed in multiple layers to form said stacks of goods, and said stacks of goods being removed from said magazine by an ejection unit and fed to said supply unit, said goods magazine having a first goods support and at least one second goods support, and said first goods support being arranged above said stack of goods resting on said second goods support until said stack of goods resting on said at least one second goods support is removed from said magazine, a further stack of goods being stackable on said first support, said further stack being lowerable into a removal position following removal of said stack of goods located below said further stack,said magazine having a wall bounding a stacking region and said goods inserted from above are guided by said wall during stacking, and said first goods support and said at least one second goods support are formed by carriers mounted vertically displaceably on said wall,said wall of said magazine having at least one pair of opposing first conveyor belts, and at least one pair of opposing second conveyor belts each said second conveyor belt being arranged respectively adjacent one of said first conveyor belts and said carriers of said first pairs of belts and said second pairs of belts engage under a lowermost of said stack of goods at two opposing sides.