Mechanism and method for feeding sheets from a stack

Abstract

As apparatus for producing items in selected configurations and a system and method for controlling the same. The apparatus includes a laser printer and folding sealing apparatus controlled by a data processor. The folder sealer apparatus combines sheets printed by the laser printer with pre-printed sheets and envelope forms, which also may be printed by the laser printer. The apparatus folds the sheets as necessary and folds and seals the envelope form about the folded sheets to produce a mail piece. A user inputs a configuration for the mail piece which is translated by the data processor and transmitted to the controller of the folder sealer apparatus. The controller controls the laser printer and the folder sealer to produce the mail piece in the defined configuration. Concurrently the data processor transmits text from an output file to the laser printer for printing on printed sheets and envelope forms. The data processor also controls the laser printer to print an address for the mail piece. Thus the apparatus is controlled to process an output file into a mail run. A sheet feeder for feeding sheets and envelope forms to the apparatus is also disclosed. The sheet feeder includes a take-up mechanism and a separating mechanism for singulating sheets. The separating mechanism includes a pair of crown rollers positioned above and between a pair of fixed, quarter-round retarding elements which extend in the feed direction. A top sheet is corrugated sufficiently that drag forces between it and a next sheet are reduced. A plate is positioned downstream from the separating mechanism to decorrugating the top sheet.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.