Catch tray attachment for sheet feeding machine

A catch tray attachment for a sheet feeding machine of the type comprising a frame, an endless feed belt and a feed belt drive motor structure supported by the frame for driving an upper flight of the endless belt in a forward direction, a hopper disposed above the upper flight for supporting a stack of sheet articles with the lowermost sheet article in the stack contacting the upper flight, a stripper wheel cooperating with the upper flight to block all but the lowermost sheet article from passing between the stripper wheel and the upper flight along a discharge path, and a control circuit controlling said drive motor structure, said catch tray comprising:

• (a) a tray member with a generally planar base having first and second sides projecting perpendicularly to the base, each said side including a longitudinal extension adapted for connection to the frame of the sheet feeding machine to locate the tray member downstream of the stripper wheel;
• (b) a stop assembly suspended between the first and second sides and including a stop member disposed in the discharge path of the sheet articles exiting the sheet feeding machine;
• and
• (c) a sensor mounted on the base for detecting the removal of sheet articles from a resting position on the base and sending a control signal to the control circuit of the sheet feeding machine for starting the drive motor structure a predetermined time after sheet articles fed by the sheet feeding machine are removed from the catch tray.