Palletizing system and method

A sheet placement apparatus for placing sheets on a pallet, comprising:

• a support structure, the support structure comprising:
• a sheet stack magazine;
• a frame for elevating the magazine to define a pallet receiving region beneath the magazine;
• a sheet lifting mechanism carried by the support structure;
• a sheet placement mechanism carried by the support structure;
• the sheet lifting mechanism including:
• a sheet lifting member movable to, when a stack of sheets is contained in the magazine, capture a top sheet on the stack of sheets, lift the sheet from the stack of sheets and release the sheet to the sheet placement mechanism;
• and
• a sheet lifting member actuator for moving the sheet lifting member;
• the sheet placement mechanism including:
• a sheet placement member movable to, when a stack of sheets is contained in the magazine, receive and capture the sheet from the sheet lifting member, carry the sheet in an arcuate path around an edge of the magazine to a position beneath the magazine and above the pallet receiving region, and, when a pallet is received in the pallet receiving region, release the sheet onto the pallet in alignment therewith;
• and
• a sheet placement member actuator for moving the sheet placement member;
• whereby the sheet lifting mechanism and the sheet placement mechanism cooperate to, when a stack of sheets is contained in the magazine and a pallet is received in the pallet receiving region, transfer the top sheet from the stack of sheets to the pallet.

A sheet placement apparatus for placing sheets on a pallet, comprising:

• a support structure, the support structure comprising:
• a sheet stack magazine;
• a frame for elevating the magazine to define a pallet receiving region beneath the magazine;
• a sheet lifting member movably mounted to the support structure to be movable between a sheet release position and a bottom sheet capture position through a range of intermediate sheet capture positions and having a sheet lifting member capturer for releasably securing a sheet to the sheet lifting member;
• a sheet lifting member actuator coupled to the sheet lifting member for controlling movement thereof;
• a sheet placement member movably mounted to the support structure to be movable between a sheet receiving position opposed to and beneath the sheet lifting member when the sheet lifting member is in the sheet release position to a sheet placement position between the magazine and the pallet receiving region in which a sheet carried by the sheet placement member is aligned with the pallet receiving region, the sheet placement member having a sheet placement member capturer for releasably securing a sheet to the sheet placement member;
• a sheet placement member actuator coupled to the sheet placement member for reciprocating the sheet placement member between the sheet receiving position and the sheet release position;
• the sheet lifting member, sheet lifting member actuator, the sheet placement member and the sheet placement member actuator being cooperable to, when a stack of sheets is contained in the magazine and a pallet is received in the pallet receiving region, transfer the top sheet from the stack of sheets to the pallet.