Document feeder apparatus
AssigneeBell & Howell Company
InventorRichard Frystak
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sheet feeder apparatus having a feed roller, a reverse roller, a movable sheet support platform for furnishing sheets from a stack to the feed roller, and a pivotable arm with pickup roller for engaging the stack of sheets on the support platform. The sheet support platform is spring driven and equipped with a brake mechanism operable responsive to movement of the pivotable arm which is caused by feeding of sheets from the stack, thereby to permit the spring to drive the sheet support mechanism into further feeding disposition. The nip between the feed roller and reverse roller of the apparatus may be selectively controlled to accommodate sheets of various thicknesses by means of a pivot shaft connected to the reverse roller, which shaft has a levered end engaging a manually operated adjustment cam and release lever mechanism.
Claims10
A sheet feeder apparatus comprising:
- a frame;
- sheet support means adapted to support a stack of sheets and moveable within said frame;
- a pivotable arm mounted on said frame for engaging the stack of sheets, said pivotable arm normally in a first position and being moveable to a second position;
- coil spring drive means operatively associated with said sheet support means for urging said sheet support means toward said pivotable arm;
- a brake means connected to said sheet support means for preventing motion of said sheet support means within said frame toward said pivotable arm means, said brake means comprising:
- rack means connected at one end thereof to said sheet support means;
- pinion means engaging said rack means;
- an electric motor connected to said pinion means, said electric motor having sufficiently high torque when inoperative to overcome said coil spring drive means urging of said sheet support means toward said pivotable arm when said pivotable arm is in said second position;
- and
- a switch for operating said brake means, said switch being closed when said pivotable arm means is in said first position and open when said pivotable arm is in said second position, whereby said sheet support means may be depressed within said frame and loaded with a stack of documents which is urged by said coil spring drive means toward and into engagement with said pivotable arm means for feeding, which pivots said pivotable arm from said first position into second position thereby to activate said brake means until a portion of the sheets are fed and said pivotable arm pivots again to said first position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.