Apparatus for turning flat shipments

An apparatus for turning flat shipments, which are delivered in succession standing on their short sides by a conveyor system, into a recumbent position, comprising

• a driven under-floor belt (1) with a low coefficient of friction, which on a lateral edge has a projection (5) with a boundary virtually perpendicular to the bearing face of the under-floor belt, the boundary having a coefficient of friction higher than that of the under-floor belt,
• a side belt (2), positioned obliquely outward laterally on the under-floor belt (1) on the side without a projection, the side belt having a low coefficient of friction and being driven at the same speed as the under-floor belt (1),
• a guide device (4), disposed laterally on the under-floor belt (1) on the side with the projection (5), facing the obliquely positioned side belt (2), the guide device tipping the shipments onto the obliquely positioned side belt (2) and exerting at most only slight forces, counter to the slaving forces, on the shipments,
• and a conveyor belt (3) disposed downstream of the obliquely positioned side belt (2) in terms of the conveying direction, next to the under-floor belt (1), the bearing face of the conveyor belt defining a plane together with the bearing face of the under-floor belt (1), and the under-floor belt (1) and the conveyor belt (3) are disposed and/or embodied such that the air cushion that forms when the shipments drop is quickly dissipated.