Apparatus to separate a single sheet from a stack of several similar sheets

Apparatus for separating a single sheet from a stack of several sheets having the same non-round shape and the same size, said apparatus comprising a container with a recess for holding the stack, a base located underneath the container having a dispensing opening, a separating element with an aperture for receiving the bottom sheet which is to be separated from the stack, said separating element being located between the container and the base and being essentially a flat disc, the thickness of which is smaller than the thickness of a single sheet of the stack, means for rotating the container relative to the separating element on an imaginary axis passing through the recess of the container, the dispensing opening of the base and the aperture of the separating element capable of separating each bottom sheet from the stack and conveying the separated sheet into the dispensing opening of the base, the recess of the container and the aperture of the separating element conforming essentially in shape and size to one another and being of the same shape and size of the sheets of the stack when viewed in the direction of the imaginary axis, and at least one support element beneath the separating element which can be moved into an operating position where the support element supports the bottom sheet of the stack into a non-operating position where the support element allows the bottom sheet to move from the aperture of the separating element into the dispensing opening of the base, the movement of the support element from the operating position to the non-operating position being coupled with the relative rotation between the separating element and the container.