Patent ID: 7243484

Claim:
An apparatus for loading insulation batts into a packaging station of a batt-packaging machine; the insulation batts each having a length, a width, a thickness, top and bottom major surfaces defined by the length and width of the insulation batt, forward and rear lateral surfaces defined by the length and thickness of the insulation batt, and a longitudinal centerline; the apparatus comprising: an up-stacking station, the up-stacking station comprising an up-stacking chamber for receiving a plurality of the insulation batts to form a vertical stack of the insulation batts; a staging station from which the insulation batts are elevated into the up-stacking station of the batt-packaging machine; the staging station being sized and configured to successively accept the insulation batts therein; the staging station having first and second spaced apart opposing sides; an infeed conveyor means on the first side of the staging station for receiving and successively conveying the insulation batts in a first direction toward the staging station with the insulation batts oriented to have their longitudinal centerlines extending in a direction transverse to the first direction in which the insulation batts are being conveyed by the infeed conveyor means; a first endless conveyor means on the first side of the staging station; the first endless conveyor means having a lower batt infeed run, a substantially vertical run extending upward from the infeed run and forming the first side of the staging station, and an upper return run; a second endless conveyor means on the second side of the staging station; the second endless conveyor means having a lower run, a substantially vertical run extending upward from the lower run and forming the second side of the staging station, and an upper return run; and the first and second endless conveyor means each having batt engaging means thereon for successively extending into the staging station from the first and second sides of the staging station, successively engaging the bottom major surfaces of the insulation batts as the insulation batts are successively fed into the staging station; and cooperating with each other as the batt engaging means move upwardly in the vertical runs of the first and second endless conveyor means to successively raise the insulation batts from the staging station into the up-stacking station of the batt-packaging machine.