Abstract: Apparatus for counting and endorsing documents and more particularly tickets dimensionally within the preferred range from 1 inch by 2 inches to 2 inches by 5.5 inches and in the thickness range from two mils to 14 mils. The stack of tickets is placed in an in-feed hopper and is engaged by an eccentric bottom feed picker to drive preferably the bottom-most document toward a drive wheel and stripper wheel assembly to permit documents to pass only in single file beyond the stripper device. The documents are fed in single file between cooperating belts until they are picked up by acceleration means which abruptly accelerates the documents to provide a gap therebetween suitable for counting purposes.The documents are driven into a stacker wherein they are stacked in the same order in which they were loaded into the in-feed hopper. A stacker arm provides pressure on the building stack which pressure is continually reduced as the stack increases in height to assure a smooth stacking operation.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device adapted to separate a single sheet from a stack of sheets and forward the separated sheet away from the stack for subsequent processing. The apparatus includes a feed belt mounted for movement on at least two stationary rolls and a movable roll, the section of the belt between the two stationary rolls being adapted for frictional engagement with retard means forming a sheet feed nip therebetween. A sheet sensor adjacent the retard means and the feed belt is employed to displace the movable roll and the portion of the feed belt mounted thereon into engagement with the sheet stack to increase the feed belt "foot print" when the absence of a sheet is sensed during a feed cycle to increase the feed force on the sheet.