Feeder and separator for separating and moving sheets from a stack of sheets

A feeder/separator apparatus for separating and moving sheets from a stack of sheets comprising:

• an input area for positioning the stack of sheets;
• a first and second series of rollers for jointly feeding a sheet on the bottom of the stack into an area of the apparatus including a third and fourth series of rollers and a first series of belts;
• a pre-separation brake adapted to act in a pivoting pattern on the first series of belts only, to thereby cause a first stage separation of the bottom sheet;
• a separation brake adapted to act in a linear pattern on the fourth series of rollers only, to thereby cause a second stage separation of the bottom sheet, the pre-separation and separation brakes permitting the bottom sheets to be separated from the stack;
• and
• a fifth series of rollers and a second series of belts both being adapted to feed the bottom sheets away from the feeder/separator apparatus in a sheet feed path,
• wherein said feeder/separator apparatus is module for a modular mailing machine.

A feeder/separator apparatus for separating and moving sheets from a stack of envelopes, the apparatus being adapted to adjust to envelope thickness comprising:

• an input area for positioning the stack of envelopes;
• a first and second, series of rollers for jointly feeding an envelope on the bottom of the stack into an area of the apparatus including a third and fourth series of rollers and a first series of belts;
• a pre-separation brake adapted to act in a pivoting pattern on the first series of belts only to cause a first stage separation of the bottom envelope;
• a separation brake adapted to act in a linear pattern only on the fourth series of rollers to cause a second stage separation of the bottom envelope, the pre-separation and separation brakes permitting the bottom envelopes to be separated from the stack;
• and
• a fifth series of rollers and a second series of belts both being adapted to feed the bottom envelopes away from the feeder/separator apparatus in an envelope feed path.