Sheet feeding apparatus and method

Sheet handling apparatus comprising:

• a sheet store including a movable support against which sheets are stacked;
• a sheet feed device which cooperates with said sheet store to selectively (a) feed sheets to said sheet store in a sheet stacking mode, or (b) to feed sheets from said sheet store in a sheet dispensing mode, the sheet feed device comprising at least one rotatably mounted member having at least one resilient portion which flexes against its resilience relative to the remainder of said rotatably mounted member in response to contact with a sheet in said sheet store;
• a monitoring system for monitoring the degree of flexure of said resilient portion relative to the remainder of said rotatably mounted member;
• a drive mechanism for moving the sheet store with respect to the sheet feed device;
• and
• a control system that cooperates with the drive mechanism in response to signals from said monitoring system to cause (a) movement of said sheet store support toward said sheet feed device during said sheet dispensing mode when said monitored flexure indicates an insufficient degree of flexure for dispensing, and (b) movement of said sheet store support away said sheet feed device during said sheet stacking mode when said monitored flexure indicates an excessive degree of flexure for accepting sheets.

A method of feeding sheets with respect to a sheet store including a movable support against which sheets are stacked, the method comprising:

• providing a sheet feed device which cooperates with the sheet store to feed sheets with respect to the sheet store, the sheet feed device comprising at least one rotatably mounted member having at least one resilient portion which flexes against its resilience relative to the remainder of the rotatably mounted member in response to contact with a sheet in the sheet store;
• generating a signal representative of the degree of flexure of the resilient portion relative to the remainder of the rotatably mounted member;
• and
• using the signal representative of the degree of flexure to control at least one of (a) the position of the movable support, and (b) the operation of the sheet feed device.