US Patent 7673743 Material handling apparatus

A conveyor conveys sheets and deposits the sheets at a location to be stacked. The conveyor includes a sensor for determining the presence of a sheet before the sheet arrives at the location. A controller is coupled to the sensor and responsive to sensor inputs for controlling a movable support for projecting into a projected orientation to receive the sheets as the sheets exit the conveyor. The movable support moves to a retracted orientation to assist a stack to be withdrawn therefrom. Apparatus for manipulating pallets includes a conveyor, a mechanism for tilting the conveyor between a generally horizontal orientation and an orientation in which a first end of the conveyor is elevated above a second end of the conveyor, a first shifting mechanism to shift the conveyor horizontally along a first axis, a second shifting mechanism for shifting the conveyor horizontally along a second axis generally perpendicular to the first axis, and an elevator mechanism for raising and lowering the conveyor along a third axis generally perpendicular to the first and second axes. Apparatus for dispensing a pallet includes vertically spaced magazines, conveyors, and an elevator. The conveyors and elevator are selectively operable to deliver a pallet from the magazine in which that pallet is located to a common location.