Apparatus for forming sheet material assemblages

In an apparatus for collating and otherwise manipulating sheet material articles, particularly in a newspaper stuffing apparatus, a combination comprising a plurality of pockets each having a first wall and a second wall;

• means for transporting said pockets in a predetermined direction along a predetermined path;
• a plurality of supports, one for each of said pockets, said supports being secured to said transporting means and extending substantially transversely of said direction, each of said supports including a shaft and said walls of each of said pockets being substantially parallel to the respective shafts, each of said pockets further comprising pivot means for the respective second wall and each of said pivot means defining an axis about which the respective second wall is turnable toward and away from the corresponding first wall;
• at least one stuffer adjacent said path and having at least one device for feeding sheet material articles between the first and second walls of successive pockets;
• and braking means associated with each of said pockets, each of said braking means including at least one braking member pivotably mounted on the respective support and having means for frictionally engaging the article which is being fed into the respective pocket during transport of such pocket past said feeding device, each of said braking means further comprising means for biasing the respective braking member toward the corresponding first wall, said biasing means being arranged to urge said braking members against the respective second walls so that the distance between said braking members and the associated first walls decreases in response to pivoting of said second walls toward the respective first walls.

In an apparatus for collating and otherwise manipulating sheet material articles, particularly in a newspaper stuffing apparatus, a combination comprising a plurality of pockets each having a first wall and a second wall;

• means for transporting said pockets in a predetermined direction along a predetermined path;
• at least one stuffer adjacent said path and having at least one device for feeding sheet material articles between the first and second walls of successive pockets;
• braking means associated with each of said pockets, each of said braking means including at least one braking member having means for frictionally engaging and gradually decelerating the article while it is being fed into the respective pocket during transport past said feeding device;
• and means for reducing frictional engagement between said braking means and the articles in respective pockets upon completion of entry of articles into the respective pockets.