Paper sheet feeding apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for serially feeding sheets in a forward direction from the bottom of a generally vertical stack of such sheets comprising:
- means for supporting the generally vertical stack of sheets and so that the stack defines a forward side composed of aligned forward edges of the sheets, and a bottom, said supporting means including endless belt means and means rotatably mounting said endless belt means so as to have an upper run positioned to extend across the bottom of said stack;
drive means for rotating said endless belt so that said upper run moves in the forward direction; and
means including a stationary gate forming member positioned above said upper run of said belt means and adjacent the forward side of said stack and so as to define a nip which forms a gap between said gate forming member and said upper run, for permitting the lowermost sheet of the stack to pass forwardly from the stack through said nip, said gate forming member including first surface means facing toward said forward side of said stack so as to engage the forward edges of the sheets in the stack, and second surface means at said nip and having a coefficient of friction which is higher than that of said first surface means, and such that the lowermost sheet is free to pass through said nip without significant frictional resistance while the sheet immediately above the lowermost sheet is retarded in moving through said gap by its frictional engagement with said second surface means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a sheet feeder device including support for a generally vertical stack of sheets. The support means includes endless belts having an upper belt run position to extend across the bottom of the stack of sheets. A stationary gate forming member is provided which is positioned above the upper run of the belts and adjacent the forward side of the stack to define a nip which forms a gap between the gate forming member and the upper run for permitting the lowermost sheet of the stack to pass forwardly from the stack through a nip. The gate forming member is a cylindrical roll defining a central axis and an outer peripheral surface which is concentric to the central axis. The roll has a plurality of annular grooves extending about the circumference thereof, and the grooves are disposed concentrically about a second axis which is eccentric to the central axis. An elastomeric ring is disposed in each of the grooves, and the rings have a coefficient of friction which is higher than that of the material of the roll.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An apparatus for serially feeding sheets in a forward direction from the bottom of a generally vertical stack of such sheets comprising:
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means for supporting the generally vertical stack of sheets and so that the stack defines a forward side composed of aligned forward edges of the sheets, and a bottom, said supporting means including endless belt means and means rotatably mounting said endless belt means so as to have an upper run positioned to extend across the bottom of said stack; drive means for rotating said endless belt so that said upper run moves in the forward direction; and means including a stationary gate forming member positioned above said upper run of said belt means and adjacent the forward side of said stack and so as to define a nip which forms a gap between said gate forming member and said upper run, for permitting the lowermost sheet of the stack to pass forwardly from the stack through said nip, said gate forming member including first surface means facing toward said forward side of said stack so as to engage the forward edges of the sheets in the stack, and second surface means at said nip and having a coefficient of friction which is higher than that of said first surface means, and such that the lowermost sheet is free to pass through said nip without significant frictional resistance while the sheet immediately above the lowermost sheet is retarded in moving through said gap by its frictional engagement with said second surface means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for serially feeding sheets in a forward direction from the bottom of a generally vertical stack of such sheets and comprising:
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means for supporting the generally vertical stack of sheets and so that the stack defines a forward side composed of aligned forward edges of the sheets, and a bottom, said supporting means including endless belt means and means rotatably mounting said endless belt means so as to have an upper run positioned to extend across the bottom of said stack; drive means for rotating said endless belt so that said upper run moves in the forward direction; a gate forming member positioned above said upper run of said belt means and adjacent the forward side of said stack and so as to define a nip which forms a gap between said gate forming member and said upper run for permitting the lowermost sheet of the stack to pass forwardly from the stack through said nip, said gate forming member comprising a generally cylindrical roll defining a central axis and an outer peripheral surface which is concentric to said central axis, said cylindrical roll being oriented so that a first half of said peripheral surface faces toward said forward side of said stack of sheets and a second half faces in the opposite direction, said roll having a plurality of annular grooves extending about the circumference thereof, with said grooves being disposed concentrically about a second axis which is parallel to and offset from said central axis in a direction parallel to said forward direction so that said grooves are relatively deep along said first half of the peripheral surface of said roll and relatively shallow along said second half of the peripheral surface, with a transition between said first and second halves being located adjacent said nip and adjacent a diametrically opposite location, said gate forming member further comprising a ring disposed in each of said grooves, with said rings being composed of a material having a higher coefficient of friction than the material of said roll and being sized so as to lie radially inside of said peripheral surface of said roll about said first half thereof and to extend radially beyond said peripheral surface about said second half thereof, and so that said rings extend slightly beyond said peripheral surface at said nip and are spaced from said endless belt means, and whereby the lowermost sheet is free to pass through said nip without significant engagement with said rings and thus without significant frictional resistance while the sheet immediately above the lowermost sheet engages said rings and is frictionally engaged thereby. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A gate forming member for use with an apparatus for serially feeding sheets in a forward direction from the bottom of a generally vertical stack of such sheets and comprising:
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a generally cylindrical roll defining a central axis and an outer peripheral surface which is concentric to said central axis, said roll having a plurality of annular grooves extending about the circumference thereof, with said grooves being disposed about a second axis which is parallel to and offset from said central axis and so that each groove is relatively deep along a first half of the peripheral surface of said roll and relatively shallow along a second half of the peripheral surface, and a ring disposed in each of said grooves, with said rings being composed of a material having a higher coefficient of friction than the material of said roll and being sized so as to lie radially inside of said peripheral surface of said roll about said first half thereof and to extend radially beyond said peripheral surface about said second half thereof. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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Specification