METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OVERLAPPING SHEETS IN A SHEET FEEDER AND PROVIDING THE OVERLAPPED SHEETS TO A PRINTING PRESS

摘要

The present invention is directed to a sheet feeding apparatus and method. In particular this invention comprises a sheet feeding apparatus having a first conveyance member (36), a second conveyance member (44), and a sheet bending member (26). The first conveyance member (36) conveys a sheet from a source of sheets at the first speed. The second conveyance member (44) is positioned near the first conveyance member, and conveys the sheets away from the first conveyance member at a second speed that is less than the first speed of the first conveyance member. The sheet bending member (26) is positioned to engage the sheet as the sheet moves from the first conveyance member to the second conveyance member. The sheet bending member engages the sheet to produce a gap between the tail end of the sheet and the second conveyance member. The lead edge of the next adjacent sheet from the first conveyance member is then fed into the gap. The apparatus also comprises a conveyance member for conveying a stream of overlapping sheets to the printing press. The conveyance member can have at least two portions pivotally connected to one another with at least one of the portions pivotally connected to the source of the stream of overlapping sheets. The conveyance member is constructed so that the portions can retract from the printing press in respect of pivotal connections.