Substrate transport and marking assembly

An apparatus, comprising:

• a feeder station configured to receive a substantially vertically aligned stack of substrates having an innermost substrate and an outermost substrate, each substrate within said stack comprising opposing top and bottom edge surfaces and opposing inboard and outboard planar surfaces, the feeder station comprising an advancement assembly which supports and advances the respective bottom edge surfaces of the substrates in the stack along a first direction, a tensioner assembly which applies a clamping force to support and urge the stack along the first direction, and a transfer assembly which engages the inboard planar surface of the innermost substrate in the stack, rotates a bottom portion of the innermost substrate while a top portion of the innermost substrate remains clamped by the tensioner assembly, retracts the innermost substrate from the stack to remove said clamping by the tensioner assembly, and then advances the retracted innermost substrate adjacent the stack;
• a transport and marking station coupled to the feeder station and comprising a drive system which moves said substrate at a selected linear velocity, and a marking mechanism which applies a selected marking to the innermost substrate, wherein the transfer assembly further advances the substrate for engagement by the drive system;
• and
• a gravity discharge station coupled to the transport and marking station, comprising a stationary channel along which a bottom edge of said substrate contactingly as said substrate continues to be advanced by the drive system of the transport and marking station, said channel narrowing to displace the bottom edge in an inboard direction, the station further comprising a stationary guide rail skewed with respect to a direction of travel of the substrate induced by the drive system so that the upper portion is displaced in an outboard direction opposite the inboard direction as the upper portion contactingly slides along the stationary guide rail, wherein the channel and guide rail cooperatively induce a tilt in the substrate sufficient to cause the substrate to controllably rotate and fall downwardly due to gravity into a completed stack after a trailing edge of said substrate exits the drive system.