Abstract: A sheet material seperator device that moves one sheet of material at a time from a generally flat, overlying stack of sheets of material by making contact with the lower sheet and thereafter breaking at least the forward portion of the first sheet away from the stack as the first sheet is transferred to a new location. The sheet material separator device includes a moveable first sheet contact member with a generally flat contact surface around a vacuum contact opening with a leading edge forward of a rearwardly positioned boundary line breaking portion. The sheet material separator device has a following surface positioned to prevent direct contact between the following surface and with the first sheet during the initial movement of the first sheet away from the stack. The first sheet contact member moves in an arcuate path away from the stack to separate the first sheet from the overlying sheet.

Abstract: A device and method for arranging book signatures or single sheets of paper in an inside each other stacked or side-by-side array in which a single mechanism may be utilized for either operation, dependent upon the relative position of the signature backbone in the holder magazine. A single transfer is employed with a triangularly shaped saddle above the collating tray. If signatures are fed, backbone first, to the cylinder, the signatures will be collated side-by-side in the collating tray; if fed open face first, the signatures will be inserted and stacked inside of each other.