Apparatus for feeding sheet-like articles from a stack

An apparatus for feeding sheet-like articles from a vertical stack thereof, comprising

• a rest for supporting a vertical stack of the articles,
• a sucker arrangement for lifting the uppermost one of the articles from the stack,
• a pushing away unit for laterally moving the article which has been lifted from the stack by the sucker arrangement,
• said sucker arrangement including at least one suction head which is mounted for movement in a guide element between a lowered extended position where it engages the uppermost one of the articles in the stack, and a raised retracted position, said suction head having a lower suction opening which is permanently connected to a negative pressure source, and a restoring element for biasing the suction head toward its lowered position,
• wherein when the suction head is in its lowered position and engages the uppermost one of the articles in the stack, the suction opening is closed by the article and the negative pressure causes the suction head to move toward its raised position against the biasing force of the restoring element and thereby lift the engaged article, and wherein the pushing away unit then engages and laterally moves the lifted article so as to remove the article from the sucker arrangement and open the suction opening, and wherein the suction head is then moved to its lowered position by the restoring element so as to engage the next uppermost article in the stack.