Patent ID: 6969059

Claim:
An apparatus for forming and delivering a line of shingled sheets comprising: an in-feed conveyor carrying a line of closely spaced sheets, on a generally planar sheet conveying surface at a first speed; a shingling section receiving the line of spaced sheets from the downstream end of the in-feed conveyor, said shingling section including a shingling conveyor having a shingle forming and conveying surface, said shingling conveyor operable at a second speed less then said first speed; a vacuum station separating the in-feed conveyor and the shingling conveyor, said vacuum station including an upstream vacuum chamber having a first vacuum surface defining a first vacuum opening and an adjacent downstream vacuum chamber having a second vacuum surface defining a second vacuum opening; said first vacuum surface sloping upwardly from an upstream edge positioned below the downstream end of the sheet conveying surface to a downstream edge adjacent the second vacuum surface, said second vacuum surface lying generally parallel to and at or below the plane of the sheet conveying surface of the in-feed conveyor; and, a vacuum control operable to apply vacuum to the upstream chamber to drop the tail end of each sheet leaving the in-feed conveyor onto the first vacuum surface and to the downstream chamber to decelerate each sheet to said second speed.