Shingle stacker with shingle inverting feature

摘要

The present invention concerns stacking of shingles, in particular shingles having one edge portion thicker than the other edge portion. Such shingles require that at least some of the shingles in a stack be oriented to place the thicker edge thereof opposite the thicker edge of the other shingles in the stack to form a neat and easily packaged stack of shingles. Such a stack of shingles must be formed quickly and accurately in order to keep up with the high rate of shingle production. The present invention accomplishes this by permitting selected shingles to be dropped and simultaneously rotated about a longitudinal axis as the shingles drop from one star wheel catcher (20) to another star wheel catcher (30). This rotation takes place by applying a substantial moment to the shingle as it falls by interposing specially shaped flipping fingers (46) in the path of the shingle. These fingers engage the falling shingle initially at an edge remote from the longitudinal axis of the shingle and progressively closer to the longitudinal axis as the shingle begins to rotate in order to provide a rotational moment of adequate magnitude and duration to accomplish the complete inversion of the shingle by the time it reaches a stack forming location.