Patent ID: 8267637

Claim:
An apparatus for vertically aligning a stack of pallets prior to the stack of pallets being moved to a pallet dispenser where the pallet dispenser has left and right alignment surfaces with a first horizontal spacing distance between the left and right alignment surfaces positioning the left and right alignment surfaces to engage respective left and right sides of pallets moved to the pallet dispenser to vertically align the pallets, the apparatus comprising: a conveyor positioned adjacent the pallet dispenser, the conveyor having a length with opposite input and output ends and opposite left and right sides, the conveyor having at least one conveying surface that extends the length of the conveyor and is operable to support a stack of pallets and move the stack of pallets in a direction of movement from the conveyor input end to the conveyor output end and into the pallet dispenser; a left panel adjacent the left side of the conveyor and extending along the conveyor length, the left panel having a substantially flat vertically oriented surface facing toward the conveyor; a right panel adjacent the right side of the conveyor and extending along the conveyor length, the right panel having a substantially flat vertically oriented surface facing toward the conveyor; a second horizontal spacing distance between the left panel surface and the right panel surface, the second horizontal spacing distance being smaller than the first horizontal spacing distance whereby pallets of a stack of pallets positioned on the conveying surface engage with the left and right panel surfaces and are moved toward a vertical alignment by the left and right panel surfaces that enables the stack of pallets to move on the conveying surface into the pallet dispenser; a left compression plate adjacent the left side of the conveyor and the conveyor output end, the left compression plate having a surface; a right compression plate adjacent the right side of the conveyor and the conveyor output end, the right compression plate having a surface; both the left and right compression plate surfaces angleing toward each other as they extend in the direction of movement of the conveying surface; whereby, the left and right compression plate surfaces are positioned to engage misaligned pallets of a stack of pallets moved on the conveying surface and move the pallets toward vertical alignment of the pallets as the stack of pallets is moved toward the pallet dispenser.