Sheet feeder
AssigneeUarco Incorporated
InventorsRichard E. Schnorr, Marland R. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sheet feeder (10) includes a frame (26) with an inclined surface (94) for supporting a stack of sheets to be fed and a feed roller (96) mounted on the frame (26). A retard roller (106) is mounted adjacent to the feed roller (96) and cooperates therewith to define a nip (108) for receiving a forward edge of the bottom sheet in the stack. Upright guides (116, 119) are mounted on the frame (26) and are engageable with a forward edge of a stack of sheets supported on the inclined surface (94). The guides (116, 119) are disposed at an acute angle with respect to the inclined surface (94) so that when the forward edge of the stack engages the guides (116, 119) the sheets automatically shift longitudinally relative to each other to facilitate feeding of a single sheet into the nip (108).
Claims36
A sheet feeder for feeding sheets from the bottom of a stack thereof, comprising:
- a frame having an inclined surface for supporting a stack of sheets to be fed;
- a relatively soft feed roller mounted on the frame;
- means for rotating the feed roller;
- a stationary relatively hard retard roller mounted adjacent to and at least touching said feed roller and cooperating therewith to define a nip for receiving a forward edge of a bottom sheet of a stack supported on said inclined surface;
- and
- an upright guide on the frame engageable with a forward edge of a stack of sheets supported on the inclined surface, the guide being disposed at an acute angle with respect to the inclined surface so that when the forward edge of the stack engages the guide the sheets shift longitudinally relative to each other to facilitate feeding of a single sheet into the nip.
A sheet feeder for feeding sheets from the bottom of a stack thereof, comprising:
- a frame having an inclined surface for supporting a stack of sheets to be fed;
- a relatively soft feed roller mounted on the frame;
- means for rotating the feed roller;
- a stationary relatively hard retard roller mounted adjacent to and at least touching said feed roller and cooperating therewith to define a nip for receiving a forward edge of a bottom sheet of a stack supported on said inclined surface;
- and
- an upright guide on the frame engageable with a forward edge of a stack of sheets supported on the inclined surface, the guide being disposed at an acute angle with respect to the inclined surface so that when the forward edge of the stack engages the guide the sheets shift longitudinally relative to each other to facilitate feeding of a single sheet into the nip;
- said retard roller being mounted on a shaft, and including a plate movable along the shaft and friction lock means for holding the plate in frictional engagement with the retard roller to prevent the retard roller from rotating when the feed roller rotates.
A sheet feeder operable to feed single sheets from the bottom of a stack of one thousand sheets or more, said sheets being generally rectangular and having a width of approximately 8.5 inches and a length of approximately 11 inches, the sheet feeder comprising:
- a frame having an inclined surface for supporting a stack of sheets to be fed;
- a feed roller mounted on the frame, said feed roller having a diameter in the range of from about 2.5 inches to about 5 inches;
- a stationary retard roller mounted in overlying, at least touching relation with said feed roller and defining a nip between the feed roller and the retard roller for receiving a forward edge of a bottom one of the sheets in said stack, said retard roller having a diameter in the range of from about 0.75 inch to about 3 inches;
- and
- an urge roller engageable with a bottom sheet on the stack for advancing said sheet toward the feed roller, said urge roller and said feed roller having diameters which are substantially equal.
A sheet feeder operable to feed single sheets from the bottom of a stack of one thousand sheets, said sheets being generally rectangular, the sheet feeder comprising:
- a frame having an inclined surface for supporting a stack of sheets to be fed;
- a feed roller mounted on the frame;
- a retard roller mounted in overlying, at least touching relation with said feed roller and defining a nip between the feed roller and the retard roller for receiving a forward edge of a bottom one of the sheets in said stack;
- and
- a cover assembly for substantially enclosing the nip when the sheet feeder operates, said cover assembly having friction feed testing means for permitting insertion of a single sheet into and withdrawal of a single sheet from the nip when the sheet feeder operates.
In a sheet feeder for feeding sheets from the bottom of a stack, the combination of
- a frame including a sheet supporting surface;
- an opening in said surface;
- a driven feed roller mounted on said frame below said surface and having a portion of its periphery extending through said opening;
- a retard roller mounted on said frame in overlying relation to said feed roller and defining a nip therewith;
- said retard roller being mounted on a shaft;
- means mounting said shaft for movement toward and away from said feed roller and including a first hand wheel for selectively moving said shaft toward and away from said feed roller;
- a brake for locking said retard roller against rotation on said shaft;
- and
- means including a second hand wheel for actuating or releasing said brake.
A sheet feeder for feeding sheets from the bottom of a stack thereof, comprising:
- a frame having an inclined surface for supporting a stack of sheets to be fed;
- a relatively soft feed roller mounted on the frame;
- means for rotating the feed roller;
- means defining a stationary, relatively hard, arcuate surface adjacent to and at least touching said feed roller and cooperating therewith to define a nip for receiving a forward edge of a bottom sheet of a stack supported on said inclined surface;
- an upright guide on the frame engageable with a forward edge of a stack of sheets supported on the inclined surface and including means whereby when the forward edge of the stack engages the guide, the sheets shift longitudinally relative to each other to facilitate feeding of a single sheet into the nip.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.