Patent ID: 6776097
Filing Date: 2004-08-17
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
A plate supplying apparatus for supplying a plate, which is transferred such that a portion of its faces are reversed, from a pile of plates each alternating with a slip sheet, the apparatus comprising:the plates each having a first face facing upwards and a second face facing downwards in a storage section; the storage section for storing the pile of plates each alternating with the slip sheet; a plate suction section for sucking a proximal end portion of a plate present at the top of the pile of plates stored in the storage section, the proximal end portion being nearer to the plate suction section; a base member for supporting the plate suction section; a moving and pivoting mechanism for moving the plate suction section and the base member in a direction toward a portion of the plate opposite to the proximal end portion, while causing at least the plate suction section to pivot, thereby causing the plate sucked by the plate suction section to be transferred to a state in which at least a portion of the first and second faces are reversed so that said first face of said portion faces downwards and said second face of said portion faces upwards; a vertical movement mechanism for causing the plate suction section to move linearly with respect to the base member for removing a slip sheet from the plate sucked by the plate suction section; a control section for controlling movement of each of the plate suction section, the moving and pivoting mechanism, and the vertical movement mechanism; and a supplying section for supplying the plate transferred by the moving and pivoting mechanism toward another equipment device, wherein the control section controls the plate suction section so as to suck the plate, and then controls the vertical movement mechanism so as to cause the plate suction section to move linearly with respect to the base member, thereby performing a separating operation for shaking off a slip sheet adhering to a back face of the plate, and thereafter the control section controls the moving and pivoting mechanism so as to transfer toward the supplying section the plate on which the separating operation has been performed by the vertical movement mechanism.