Abstract: When a sheet is fed, a feeding roller is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction in which the sheet is fed to draw out the uppermost sheet from a separation claw, and then the sheet is fed in such a manner that the feeding roller is rotated in the direction in which the sheet is fed to feed the drawn out sheet along the upper surface of a separation claw. When the sheet is fed, a curvature formation portion curves downward both ends in the width direction of the second and subsequent sheets to integrally lower pressing portions for pressing both ends in the width direction of the sheet along with the curved sheets and to separate the pressing portions from the uppermost sheet, thereby preventing the leading end of the uppermost sheet from catching the pressing portions.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus has a chassis, a paper feed roller, a lifting member, and a biasing member. The chassis has a first side surface, a second side surface, and a bottom surface that connects the first and second side surfaces. The bottom surface has one of a first L-shaped projecting portion and a first coupling hole unitarily formed thereon. The paper feed roller is rotatably supported by the first and second side surfaces of the chassis and configured to convey paper. The lifting member is pivotably supported by the bottom surface of the chassis, and has a main portion and the other of the first L-shaped projecting portion and the first coupling hole unitarily formed on the main portion. The first L-shaped projection is pivotably coupled to the first coupling hole, such that the lifting member is pivotably coupled to the bottom surface.

Abstract: A sheet separating device having a mechanism for buckling or humping a top sheet of a stack and thereby separating the top sheet from an underlying sheet that may be adhering to the underside of said top sheet.

Abstract: A sheet material supplying apparatus having a low-cost sucker adsorbing unit of a simple structure is provided for the carrying of sheet materials that are used under a high-humidity environment or that include humidity, to ensure a proper separation of each sheet material. Sheet materials accommodated in a tray are being sandwiched between a push-up panel and an engagement claw. At the time of taking out the sheet materials from the tray, the push-up panel is pressed down by a cam to cancel the state of sandwiching between the engagement claw and the push-up panel. Accordingly, only the top layer sheet material is taken out from the tray, with the rest of the lower layer sheet materials being dropped by their self-weight. Further, the sheet materials are carried by the sucker adsorbing unit.

Abstract: A cradle for holding and feeding a stack of sheets in a printer or copier which compensates for non-uniformities in the stack, and especially non-uniformities in the central portion of the stack, thereby presenting a level top sheet to a sheet feeder regardless of how many sheets are in the stack. The cradle broadly comprises a rectangular base plate and four support posts arranged proximate the corners of the base plate. Two extension springs are arranged diametrically with respect to one another, each spring supported at its ends by the support posts, with the springs intersecting one another at approximately the center of the base plate. The extension springs support a plastic sheet, upon which the stack of sheets is laid.

Abstract: The present invention provides a sheet feeding apparatus comprising a supply means contacting one of the sheet in a sheet stack, for applying a feeding force to the sheet; a first limiting means abutting against a front end of the sheet stack in a sheet feeding direction, for limiting the movement of the sheet stack in the sheet feeding direction; a second limiting means contacting the sheet to which the feeding force is applied from the supply means, for limiting the movement of the sheet stack in a sheet thickness direction; and a clearance defined between the first and second limiting means, the clearance having a predetermined length in the sheet feeding direction.

Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet supporting device for supporting sheets, a supply device for feeding the sheets supported by the sheet supporting device in a sheet feeding direction, a separating claw device for separating, one-by-one, the sheets fed by the supply device by regulating at least one front corner of the sheets relative to the sheet feeding direction. A switching device selectively switches positions of the separating claw device between a first position where the separating claw device is separated from the sheet supporting device and a second position where the separating claw device is adjacent to the sheet supporting device. A separation device separates, one-by-one, the sheets fed by the supply device in a condition that the separating claw device is in the second position.

Abstract: An apparatus in which a stack of sheets is detected at a preselected location. An air jet is directed towards an edge of the stack of sheets at a preselected location. A pressure transducer is located at the prescribed location and positioned to have the air jet at impact thereon. The pressure transducer is enabled to transmit a signal indicative of the absence of the stack of sheets at the preselected location in response to the air jet impacting thereon. The pressure transducer is inhibited from transmitting the signal in response to the stack of sheets blocking the air jet. When the stack of sheets blocks the air jet, the signal from the pressure transducer indicates the presence of the stack of sheets at the preselected location. A pneumatic stack height detector of this type may be used to regulate the movement of a stack of sheets used in electrophotographic printing machines.

Abstract: An apparatus transports sheets of material and breaks the adhesion between first and second sheets when sheets are fed from a stack one at a time. The apparatus includes a gripper which is mounted on a gripper arm and grips the first sheet. The arm repeatedly and cyclically moves the leading edge of the first sheet to be fed while the first sheet is held by the gripper. The arm moves the leading edge of the first sheet both horizontally and vertically. The vertical cyclical motion causes air pockets to travel between the first and second sheets and the horizontal cyclical motion translates the first sheet relative to the second sheet to break the adhesion.

Abstract: An apparatus for feeding sheets such as labels or covers includes a holder having a groove-shaped cross section opening upwardly. The holder is formed with a take-out port at one end, and holds the covers stacked horizontally with their surfaces facing horizontally. A pressing body connected to a rodless cylinder presses the stacked covers with a constant force towards the take-out port. A suction machine having a sucking disk at one end confronting a cover exposed from the take-out port attracts the exposed cover one-by-one. A stepping motor coupled to the suction machine turns the suction machine downwardly to 90.degree. so that the cover attracted to the sucking disk abuts against a top aperture of a container which is carried on a conveyor. When the suction machine releases the attraction of the cover, the cover is left on the top aperture of the container to cover the top aperture.

Abstract: A dispenser for sequentially dispensing one sheet at a time from a stack of sheets. A housing encloses a drive and a lift roller, and each roller has a longitudinal axis arranged in parallel aligned relationship respective to one another and spaced from the one another an amount to bring the outer peripheral surfaces thereof into rolling contact with one another. A holding post is aligned in parallel relationship with respect to the rollers and is spaced therefrom for enabling a stack of sheets to be held against the holding post and lift roller, with one outermost sheet having a marginal edge portion thereof urged against the lift roller and the opposed marginal edge portion thereof is urged against the holding post. The outer peripheral surface of the drive roller is made of high friction material while the lift roller has a relatively small segment of its outer peripheral surface made of high friction material and the remainder of the peripheral surface made of low friction material.

Abstract: A sheet-feed mechanism for feeding paper or the like from a stack of paper sheets in a tray in which the sheets have a soft or pressure-sensitive coating, includes a sheet-engaging apparatus which distributes the load over a substantial area of the sheet, in order to control the pressure on the sheet. Simultaneously, the apparatus is moved in a direction to cause buckling of the exposed or first sheet, for separation from the stack and subsequent removal. Two embodiments are disclosed. One embodiment employs a pair of feed wheels and another embodiment employs a sheet-engaging flat pad. The wide feed wheels or the pad are caused to be moved, following engagement with the exposed sheet, in a direction generally parallel to the plane of the sheet, for causing the separation of the sheet.

Abstract: There is disclosed an envelope hopper for attachment to a printer requiring envelopes. Spring members provided with adjustable throats for permitting passage of a single envelope are biased downward against the upward force of the supply stack for compensating for changes in relative position of the uppermost envelope and the throats during separation from the stack.

Abstract: A top vacuum corrugation feeder employs a vacuum feedhead working in conjunction with an air knife to feed sheets from the top of a stack. The feedhead is valveless and has a vacuum applied thereto during the entire feed cycle in order to increase reliability and decrease minimum feed speed. The top vacuum corrugation feeder includes fluffer jets and vectored auxiliary fluffer jets in order to assist the air knife in separating severely downcurled sheets for feeding.

Abstract: This gripper is applicable more particularly to textile machines and includes a gripping clamp and an apparatus for opening and closing the clamp. The clamp proper includes a fixed central member provided laterally and on either side with a resilient portion, two arms crossing each other for constituting a pair of gripping jaws, each arm being provided with a key preferably in the outer extension of the resilient portion. The opening and closing apparatus includes a pair of vertically movable fingers, by reason of one per arm, which are adapted in their lower position to depress the keys in order to cause the distortion of the resilient portions and thus modify the degree of crossing of the jaw forming portions.

Abstract: An automatic paper sheet feeding device for a copying machine has a cassette with a base plate made of magnetic material which is secured by a magnet to a bottom plate of the cassette against a biasing force of a spring. The device has a cam member which enters a slot in the cassette after the cassette has been inserted into the device. This raises the base plate upwardly which releases the base plate from the magnetic holding force allowing the base plate to rotatingly move upwardly and contact a feeding roll due to the force of the spring.

Abstract: The outermost sheet of a stack of overlapping sheets in a magazine is partially separated from the neighboring sheet of the stack by the peripheral projection of a singularizing roller which is adjacent to the rear edge face of the outermost sheet. The projection engages and moves the rear edge face forwardly while the outermost sheet is biased against an abutment in the region of its front edge face. The bias upon the outermost sheet is relaxed or terminated when the rear portion of the outermost sheet is flexed away from the neighboring sheet so that the outermost sheet can be withdrawn from the magazine, either forwardly or rearwardly, by advancing rolls which are installed in close proximity of the singularizing roller, in the interior of the roller, or close to the front edge face of the outermost sheet of the stack.

Abstract: A device for seizing a bag from a pack of bags provided with two jaws movable towards each other, said jaws having a sharp edge, and a pushing device for pushing said jaws against the outermost bag of said pack of bags, said jaws grip the bag and remove it from the pack of bags.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for separating a single outermost label from a stack of labels mounted on a centrally disposed shaft in a magazine. The apparatus utilizes a pair of friction members diametricaly opposed from said shaft and containing respective friction engaging elements which are caused to reciprocally move into a position where the friction engaging elements doggingly engage the outermost label of the stack and move toward one another thereby causing the outermost label to slide and bend outward from the next adjacent label in the stack. Included in the apparatus is an adjustable camming mechanism for varing the points at which the friction engaging elements contact the outermost label of the stack.

Abstract: A newspaper vending machine has a receptacle with a front wall, a rearwardly ascending slide track to support a stack of newspapers on edge, the lower end of the slide track having an upstanding ledge to hold back the foremost paper in the stack which is pressed forward by a presser plate whose upper part is parallel to the front wall and whose lower part inclines rearwardly, and a delivery mechanism which by means of inclined needles engaging the foremost paper in the stack lifts the said paper until its lower edge swings forward over the upstanding ledge and then feeds the paper downwards through a delivery slot between the upstanding ledge and the front wall.