Patent ID: 7185886

Claim:
A sheet delivery device for a sheet-fed press in which printed sheets, conveyed by a sheet conveyor in a sheet moving direction, are sequentially stacked on a pallet, said sheet delivery device comprising: a sheet separating device operable to create a separation between the sequentially stacked printed sheets and subsequently conveyed printed sheets by temporarily receiving an end portion of the subsequently conveyed printed sheets; and a shutter device arranged to be inserted into the separation between the sequentially stacked printed sheets and the subsequently conveyed printed sheets created by said sheet separating device so as to temporarily receive printed sheets conveyed by the sheet conveyor for enabling replacement of a filled pallet with a vacant pallet, wherein said shutter device comprises: endless conveying members disposed in a spaced-apart, parallel relation to be disposed on both sides of the sequentially stacked printed sheets, and arranged to be movable in the sheet conveying direction of the sheet conveyor; and a shutter bar unit connected to and spanning between respectively opposing portions of said endless conveying members, wherein said endless conveying members are operable to move said shutter bar unit between an operation position, in which said shutter bar unit is inserted into the separation between the sequentially stacked printed sheets and the subsequently conveyed printed sheets created by said sheet separating device, and a standby position in which said shutter bar unit is not disposed in the separation between the sequentially stacked printed sheets and the subsequently conveyed printed sheets created by said sheet separating device and allows the subsequently printed sheets to drop through a space between said endless conveying members and onto the pallet.