Apparatus for conveying flat articles provided with two locating holes preferably bags made of plastic film

Apparatus for receiving flat articles having a pair of spaced locating holes adjacent one end of the articles and for carrying stacks of the articles, which apparatus comprises:

• a frame;
• a stacking conveyor carried on said frame and including two juxtaposed parallel belts defining endlessly belt means, said belt means carried on and trained around respective pairs of belt carrying means rotatably supported by said frame, said belt means each carrying one of a pair of upstanding spaced stacking pins, said stacking pins mounted on respective carrying plates with alternate plates carried by respective ones of said belt means, said belt means being movable forwardly and rearwardly relative to each other in a conveying direction and interconnected in a predetermined relative position to define the spacing between stacking pins of a pair, and adjusting means for moving said belt means relative to each other in said conveying direction to change the spacing between adjacent stacking pins, wherein said belt carrying means includes a pair of gears at each end of said stacking conveyor, said belt means each trained around one of a pair of gears disposed at respective ends of the stacking conveyor, the gears of one pair mounted on a common shaft and feely rotatable relative to each other, and the gears of the other pair interconnected in a predetermined angular position relative to each other and including means to adjust the relative angular position therebetween, wherein the pair of relatively angularly adjustable gears includes a first gear having an axially extending hub, and a second gear rotatably mounted on said hub and formed with at least one arcuate slot concentric to a common axis of the two gears, a clamp bolt extending through aid slot and in threaded engagement with said tapped bore formed in the adjacent side face of the first gear to permit relative angular movement between the said first and second gears when said clamp bolt is loosened and to secure said gears in a predetermined relative angular position when said clamp bolt is tightened, said first gear including an annular collar adjacent to its hub to define a shoulder, said second gear includes an axially extending flange spaced radially from and overlying said shoulder to define an annular space therebetween, said collar having a substantially cylindrical outer surface, and said flange having internal gear teeth, a pinion in said annular space in meshing engagament with said internal gear teeth and connected to a shaft which extends through an axial bore of said first gear, said shaft having a drive member at its end opposite to said pinion and disposed on the outside of the first gear for engagement by a drive means.