Apparatus for stacking hanging plates

In an apparatus for forming a stack of plates, such as cathode plates produced in an electrolytic refining process, from a series of hanging plates which respectively hang from rods conveyed by a rod-conveyer means one after the other along a predetermined path, toothed conveyer means having a portion situated at said path, said toothed conveyer means receiving said rods one after the other from said rod-conveyer means and having teeth which engage each rod arriving at said toothed conveyer means to transport the rod with a plate hanging therefrom beyond said rod-conveyer means along a plate-turning path, turning means situated in the path of movement of each plate as each rod is conveyed by said toothed conveyer means along said plate-turning path for engaging each plate and turning the latter from a substantially upright hanging attitude to a substantially horizontal attitude with said toothed conveyer means transporting each rod with a plate connected thereto for advancing each plate beyond said plate-turning means after each plate has been turned by the latter at least substantially into said horizontal attitude, stack-forming table means situated beyond said plate-turning means beneath a plate which has been turned thereby substantially to a horizontal attitude for receiving the plates one after the other while a stack is formed therefrom on said table means, and means situated at a region of said toothed-conveyer means distant from said rod-conveyer means for receiving each rod while said toothed-conveyer means continues to operate and after the plate connected to the latter rod has formed part of a stack on said table means.