Patent ID: 8152168

Claim:
An apparatus for forming a stream of overlapping sheets or stacks of sheets, comprising: a first transport device to deliver overlap-free sheets or stacks of sheets at a speed v 1 along a plane of transport E V ; a second transport device to carry away the sheets or stacks of sheets at a speed v 2 along a plane of transport E H ; and a decelerating device arranged to receive the sheets or stacks of sheets at the speed v 1 from the first transport device, decelerate the sheets or stacks of sheets to the speed v 2 and deliver the decelerated sheets or stacks of sheets to the second transport device to form the stream of overlapping sheets or stacks of sheets, wherein the decelerating device comprises a suction roller unit that is actuated independently of the transport devices, wherein the suction roller unit comprises a stationary element and an unevenly driven movable element, and wherein a speed of rotation of the movable element of the suction roller unit is controlled independently of the first and second transport devices.