Patent ID: 7905481

Claim:
A method for feeding a shingled stack of sheet material to a downstream processing device comprising the steps of: identifying a discontinuity in the shingled stack, the discontinuity having a length dimension from an aft end of a downstream portion of the shingled sheet material to a forward end of an upstream portion of the shingled sheet material; controlling the motion of first and second serially arranged conveyors such that the length dimension of the discontinuity is substantially equal to a prescribed gap of known length dimension, the first serially arranged conveyor supporting the upstream portion of the shingled stack and the second serially arranged conveyor supporting the downstream portion of the shingled stack; advancing the deck of the first serially arranged conveyor over the deck of the second serially arranged conveyor toward the aft end thereof by the length dimension of the prescribed gap; and dispensing the upstream portion into shingled engagement with the downstream portion of the shingled stack to produce a continuous stack of shingled sheet material.