Patent ID: 6776412
Filing Date: 2004-08-17
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
A feeding module for feeding sheet material items one at a time from a stack onto a conveying mechanism whereby the fed items are moved from upstream to downstream in a moving direction along a chassis, said feeding module comprising:a mounting support fixedly mounted on the chassis; and a sheet feeder releasably mounted on the mounting support, wherein the sheet feeder comprises: a frame; a tray, mounted on the frame, for supporting the stack of the sheet material items; means, located adjacent to the bottom of the stack, for retrieving the items; a feeding channel, located adjacent to the retrieving means, for channeling the retrieved items to the conveying mechanism, wherein the feeding channel comprises a first channel guide and a second channel guide spaced apart to define a releasing path for guiding the retrieved items through the releasing path to the conveying mechanism, and wherein the first channel guide is removably mounted on the frame so as to allow the first channel guide to be separated from the second channel guide for jam clearance and maintenance of the sheet feeder; means, attached to the frame, for securing the sheet feeder to the mounting support; and wherein the securing means comprises a mounting rod fixedly attached to the frame, and wherein the mounting support comprises two mounting members spaced from each other along the moving direction, each mounting member having a groove to receive the rod for mounting the sheet feeder to the mounting support.