Patent ID: 6951333

Claim:
A method for producing stacks from flat articles, the method comprising: supplying articles in a supply direction to a feed point, the articles overlapping one another and being oriented substantially vertically, at the feed point, pushing leading edges of the supplied articles against an aligning element extending transverse to the supply direction thereby redirecting the articles into a stacking direction substantially at right angles to the supply direction and arranging the articles in a stack-like arrangement, guiding the stack-like arrangement growing in the stacking direction and supporting its downstream end, and separating stacks from the stack-like arrangement, wherein for condensing a downstream part of the stack-like arrangement and for keeping loose a feed-side part to which the articles are supplied, in an active zone distanced in the stacking direction from the feed point, the articles in the stack-like arrangement are accelerated in the stacking direction by being acted on at two opposite edge zones and the articles in at least one of the condensed part and the loose part of the stack-like arrangement are driven in the stacking direction at a speed, which is matched to speed, spacing and thickness of the supplied articles.