Apparatus for feeding sheets of media from a stack
AssigneeSilverbrook Research Pty Ltd
InventorDavid William Jensen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for feeding porous sheets of media from a stack of such sheets includes a support structure for supporting the stack. A gas conduit is mounted on the support structure and has an outlet that is oriented so that, when the stack is positioned on the support structure, the outlet is directed towards a first sheet of the stack. The gas conduit is in fluid communication with a gas supply so that a stream of gas can be directed onto the first sheet to penetrate the first sheet and generate a cushion of gas between the first sheet and a second sheet to separate the first and second sheets. A sheet feed mechanism feeds the first sheet from the stack once the first and second sheets are separated.
Claims5
An apparatus for feeding porous sheets of media from a stack of such sheets, the apparatus comprising
- a support structure for supporting the stack;
- a gas conduit that is mounted on the support structure and has an outlet that is oriented so that, when the stack is positioned on the support structure, the outlet is directed towards a first sheet of the stack, the gas conduit being in fluid communication with a reversible gas supply so that a stream of gas can be directed out of the outlet and onto the first sheet to penetrate the first sheet and generate a cushion of gas between the first sheet and a second sheet to separate the first and second sheets whereupon the reversible gas supply reverses the direction of the stream of gas back into the outlet to draw the first sheet against the outlet;
- and
- a sheet feed mechanism arranged on the support structure, the sheet feed mechanism having a displacement mechanism for displacing the gas conduit to feed the first sheet from the stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.