Patent ID: 6585251
Filing Date: 2003-07-01
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
A separator comprising:a housing; a feeder mounted in the housing, the feeder feeding documents along a feed path; a retard mechanism mounted in the housing along the feed path and opposite to the feeder, the retard mechanism including a body and a pad attached to the body, the body mounted at first and second pivot points such that the body and pad can rotate around the first and second pivot points; a biasing device that applies a distributed load along the pad, and wherein at times when a document is not present in the feed path between the pad and the feeder the biasing mechanism maintains the pad in a first position substantially parallel to the feed path, and at times when the document is being fed along the feed path between the pad and the feeder the body and the pad first rotate around the first pivot point and then rotate around the second pivot point to reach a second position whereby the pad is substantially parallel to the feed path but disposed from the first position by the thickness of the document.