Patent ID: 7063312

Claim:
An apparatus for processing and stacking printed forms adapted to feed said forms for processing downstream thereof comprising: a dual registering stacking interface for receiving continuously fed forms, transversely registering said forms and selectively stacking and transporting said forms to a first output end; a sequencer merger for receiving said forms from said first output end, directing said forms in a selected order and transporting said forms to a second output end, said sequencer merger adaptable to process said forms as a stack of forms; an accumulator for accumulating forms into a single set and transporting said forms to a third output end from which said forms are fed therefrom; a folder for folding said accumulated forms and transporting said forms to a fourth output end; and, a collector for receiving said folded forms from the fourth output end and transporting them to a fifth output end for further use or processing downstream thereof, said collector and said folder having a common drive, said collector including a drive pulley operably engaged to said drive and having an input shaft mounted thereon, at least one belt pulley arranged along said input shaft, each said at least one belt pulley having a transport belt engaged thereto for carrying folded pieces along a path, said collector further including at least one other belt pulley each engaged to a transport belt and being mounted on an output shaft at an output end thereof to be rotatable with a first said at least one belt pulley, said collector having a selectively moveable pinch mechanism operable to pinch a folded form against a transport belt and moveable away therefrom upon the transporting of said form outwardly of said output end, and a disengagement clutch for disengaging said input shaft from said drive pulley to stop transport belt movement.