Patent ID: 6997454

Claim:
A stacking machine for stacking a plurality of mailpieces into a stack, said stacking machine comprising: a stacking deck having an upstream end, a downstream end, a horizontal deck surface to support the stack, the stack having a first end and an opposing second end adjacent to the upstream end, wherein the mailpieces in the stack are oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to the deck surface, and wherein the mailpieces are driven into the second end of the stack for stacking, causing the stack to expand in an expansion direction from the upstream end toward the downstream end; a first longitudinal side, and a second longitudinal side, the first and second longitudinal sides being free of vertical barriers as so to allow at least part of the stack to be removed from the deck surface either from the first or second longitudinal side; a support member having a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the expansion direction of the stack, disposed on the first longitudinal side of the stacking deck; and a paddle, movably disposed on the support member, for supporting the first end of the stack, the paddle thereby is caused to move with the stack along the longitudinal axis of the support member as the stack expands, wherein the paddle is disengageable from the stack when said at least part of the stack is removed from the deck surface, and wherein the support member is disposed at a level lower than or substantially the same as the deck surface so as to facilitate the removal of said at least part of the stack from the deck surface from the first longitudinal side thereof.