Sheet feeder and sealer for automatic slicing machine

A slicing machine comprising:

• a main housing having a horizontal conveyor surface;
• means in the main housing for cutting slices from a foodstuff and depositing them on the conveyor surface;
• a supply housing immediately upstream of the main housing;
• supply means on the supply housing holding a supply roll of flexible strip for feeding the flexible strip downstream toward the main housing;
• cutting means on the supply housing for severing a sheet from a leading end of the flexible strip;
• a gripper above the surface displaceable between an upstream position generally at the cutter and a downstream position downstream of the surface, the gripper being closable to grip the leading end of the flexible strip and openable to release it;
• and
• control means connected to the gripper, to the cutting means, and to the supply means for periodically displacing the gripper between its upstream and downstream positions so as to pull the strip downstream above the surface, for operating the cutting means to sever a sheet from the downstream strip end generally when the gripper reaches its downstream position, and for opening the gripper in the downstream position to drop the sheet severed from the strip down onto the surface.