Sheet handling apparatus

A sheet handling apparatus comprising:

• rotatable cylindrical means;
• endless belt means arranged to be in cooperative relationship with said cylindrical means over a major part of the periphery of said cylindrical means;
• feeding means for feeding sheets from sheet supply means into an entry throat between said belt means and the periphery of said cylindrical means;
• drive means, operable in a first mode or a second mode, for driving said belt means and said cylindrical means so that the parts of said belt means and said cylindrical means which are in cooperative relationship with each other move in the same direction, whereby a single or multiple sheet fed into said entry throat when said drive means is operating in said first mode is carried around the axis of said cylindrical means while held between said belt means and said cylindrical means, the operation of said feeding means being synchronized with the rotation of said cylindrical means so that each successive single or multiple sheet fed into said entry throat while said drive means is operating in said first mode is brought into a superposed relationship with the sheet or sheets already held between said belt means and said cylindrical means so as to form a stack of sheets between said belt means and said cylindrical means;
• and
• control means for changing the mode of operation of said drive, whereby, when said drive means changes from said first mode to said second mode of operation, the movement of said belt means and said cylindrical means is reversed so as to drive said stack out of said entry throat;
• movable guide means associated with said cylindrical means and movable between a first position and a second position, said guide means being arranged to be in said first position in which said guide means guides sheets around the axis of said cylindrical means when said drive means is operating in said first mode, and being arranged to be in said second position in which said guide means guides said stack of notes out of said entry throat and away from said cylindrical means when said drive means is operating in said second mode;
• and
• said endless belt means being guided around a series of pulley means including first pulley means and second pulley means, each of said first and second pulley means being resiliently mounted relative to said cylindrical means so as to be urged towards said cylindrical means, said series of pulley means including third pulley means and fourth pulley means, said first pulley means being carried on first support means pivotally mounted on a first shaft on which said third pulley means is mounted, and said second pulley means being carried on second support means pivotally mounted on a second shaft on which said fourth pulley means is mounted.