Sheet separator dam with buckling element
AssigneeLexmark International, Inc.
InventorsDaniel Paul Cahill, Robert Joseph Feldman, Sishuang Li, Adam Gordon Price, Richard Gayle Snapp, Scott Stephen Williams, Curtis Duane Woodson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A dam has a slat disposed therein with protrusions along its sheet-engaging surface. If more than one sheet is fed from a stack to the dam, the sheets strike the slat surface and protrusions, causing the sheets to buckle and then separate from each other.
Claims62
A sheet separator for separating adjacent sheets of media being fed from a stack of individual sheets comprising:
- a rotatable sheet feed roller,
- a surface for supporting a bottom of said stack of sheets, and having a sheet dispensing end,
- an inclined element located adjacent said end of said surface for supporting, said inclined element being inclined at an obtuse angle to said stack of sheets and having an exterior surface, said stack having a top opposite said bottom,
- said sheet feed roller for contacting said top of said stack and being spaced away from said inclined element and being rotatable to move said sheets in a feed direction from said top of said stack into said inclined element, and
- a plurality of protrusions disposed along said exterior surface of said inclined element, said protrusions arranged in a line diagonal to said feed direction.
In a sheet separator for separating adjacent sheets of media being fed from a stack of individual sheets, a rotatable sheet feed roller, a surface for supporting a bottom of said stack of sheets and having a sheet dispensing end, an inclined element located adjacent said end of said surface for supporting, said inclined element being inclined at an obtuse angle to said stack of sheets and having an exterior surface, said stack having a top opposite said bottom, said sheet feed roller for contacting said top of said stack and being spaced away from said inclined element and being rotatable to move said sheets from said top of said stack into said inclined element in a feed direction, the improvement comprising a plurality of protrusions disposed along said exterior surface of said inclined element, said protrusions arranged in a line diagonal to said feed direction.
A sheet separator for separating adjacent sheets of media being fed in a feed direction from a stack of individual sheets, said sheets having a leading edge when fed from said stack, comprising:
- a rotatable sheet feed roller,
- a surface for supporting a bottom of said stack of sheets, and having a sheet dispensing end,
- an inclined element located adjacent said sheet dispensing end of said surface for supporting, said inclined element being inclined at an obtuse angle to said stack of sheets, said stack having a top opposite said bottom,
- said sheet feed roller contacting said top of said stack and being spaced away from said inclined element and being rotatable to move said sheets from said top of said stack into said inclined element,
- said inclined element having a pair of protruding ribs, and
- a slat disposed between said pair of ribs with a plurality of protrusions positioned along an exterior surface thereof, said protrusions evenly arranged in a plurality of lines diagonal to said feed direction, whereby said leading edge of said sheets engages only a single protrusion at a time when said sheets are fed from said stack into said inclined element so that said sheets buckle and then separate from each other.
In a sheet separator for separating adjacent sheets of media being fed in a feed direction from a stack of individual sheets, said sheets having a leading edge when fed from said stack, a rotatable sheet feed roller, a surface for supporting a bottom of said stack of sheets and having a sheet dispensing end, an inclined element located adjacent said sheet dispensing end of said surface for supporting, said inclined element being inclined at an obtuse angle to said stack of sheets, said stack having a top opposite said bottom, said sheet feed roller contacting said top of said stack and being spaced away from said inclined element and being rotatable to move said sheets from said top of said stack into said inclined element, said inclined element having a pair of protruding ribs, said individual sheets being flexible when two sheets are moved together from said stack by said feed roller, the improvement comprising a slat with a plurality of protrusions positioned along an exterior surface thereof and disposed between said protruding ribs and engaging said leading edge of said upper sheet when said upper sheet is advanced, said protrusions evenly arranged in a plurality of lines diagonal to said feed direction, whereby said leading edge of said sheets engages only a single protrusion at a time when said sheets are fed from said stack into said inclined element so that said sheets buckle and then separate from each other.
A paper tray for containing a stack of sheets of media fed by a sheet feed roller comprising:
- a surface for supporting a bottom of said stack of sheets, and having a sheet dispensing end,
- an inclined element located adjacent said end of said surface for supporting, said inclined element being inclined at an obtuse angle to said stack of sheets and having an exterior surface, said stack having a top opposite said bottom, said sheet feed roller for contacting said top of said stack and being spaced away from said inclined element and moving said sheets in a feed direction from said top of said stack into said inclined element, and
- a plurality of protrusions disposed along said exterior surface of said inclined element, said protrusions arranged in a line diagonal to said feed direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.