Patent ID: 7021450

Claim:
A process for correcting uneven spacing of successive articles in a shingling operation, comprising: carrying a sequence of a plurality of articles on a first conveyor belt, wherein at least one article is unevenly spaced, having a different pitch than the pitch of another article on the first conveyor belt; and transferring the plurality of articles to a second conveyor belt located downstream of the first conveyor belt; wherein, when a position of the at least one unevenly spaced article is detected, a discharge end of the first conveyor belt is extended or retracted a distance based upon the pitch of the articles on the first conveyor belt and the pitch of the articles on the second conveyor belt, thereby moving a point of arrival for the at least one unevenly spaced article on the second conveyor belt upstream or downstream, resulting in uniform stacking of the plurality of articles in a shingled manner on the second conveyor belt, wherein the plurality of articles on the second conveyor belt have substantially the same pitch.