Reversing shuttle feeder

Abstract

A sheet feeding apparatus for feeding a compilation of sheets in a direction of movement to a process station, comprising: a sheet tray for holding said compilation of sheets; an air plenum, positioned above said compilation of sheets, for picking up sheets into contact with said air plenum when a vacuum force is applied; drive means, attached to said air plenum, for translating said air plenum initially in a direction reverse from the direction of movement so that a trailing edge of said one of said compilation of sheets abuts against a portion of said sheet tray to generate a buckle area in said one of said compilation of sheets thereby allowing separation of one of said compilation of sheets from other sheets in said compilation of sheets, and said drive means translates said one of said compilation of sheets in said direction of movement.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.