Pile board inserting method

A method of inserting pile boards into a plurality of sheet piling units associated with a printing press that is capable of delivering a continuous serial sequence of printed sheets, characterized by the steps of:

• arranging said sheet piling units in serial relationship as related to said continuous serial sequence of the printed sheets;
• providing a sheet receiving and releasing means on each said sheet piling unit;
• synchronously operating said sheet receiving and releasing means to sequentially assemble a pile of said printed sheets onto a said pile board at a selected one of said sheet piling units;
• providing a corresponding plurality of pile board inserting units, each one associated with a selected one of said sheet piling units;
• and,
• operating said pile board inserting units in timed sequence with operation of said sheet receiving and releasing means to insert a pile board into an associated sheet piling unit, subsequent to the assembly of the pile of said printed sheets onto said pile board in that associated sheet piling unit and during the assembly of the pile of said printed sheets onto a said pile board at another one of said sheet piling units;
• further including the steps of:
• stacking said pile boards in said pile board inserting unit in a vertical stack;
• vertically moving said stack of pile boards to position a top board in said stack at a selected predetermined height corresponding with the height of the pile of sheets stacked in the associated sheet piling unit;
• and,
• inserting the top board of said stack of boards into said associated sheet piling unit, by pushing on a rear end of said top board by an endless chain and a push plate carried by said endless chain, subsequent to the assembly of the pile of said printed sheets onto a said pile board in said sheet piling unit, and, during the assembly of the pile of said printed sheets onto another said pile board in another one of said sheet piling units.