Patent GB-1106248-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for separating documents from a stack
IPC: G06K13/107
Filed: 1965-12-13
Abstract: 1,106,248. Feeding sheets. RECOGNITION EQUIPMENT Inc. 13 Dec., 1965 [18 Dec., 1964], No. 52807/65. Heading B6B. Sheets stacked on edge on a tray 10, which is slightly inclined to the horizontal, are urged towards a suction plate 40 by a pusher 24 which is detachably engaged with an endless chain 26 adapted to be driven by a motor (33, Fig. 2), and the sheets are separated sequentially when the plate 40 is reciprocated across the face of a vacuum chamber (120, Fig. 3), and are conveyed in the direction 18 by feed rollers 11, 12 under the control of timing wheels 42, 42a. The suction plate 40 is reciprocated by the same motor 43a which drives the timing wheels 42, 42a, and is coupled by levers to a rotating cam 83. The plate 40 comprises a front plate (50, Fig. 3) secured to a parallel plate (55), and a valve plate 57 arranged to slide between the two plates is arranged to be reciprocated by levers coupled to the cam 83, but can only be operated by that cam when the levers are allowed to engage the cam by a control solenoid device 105. The plate (50) is slotted, the plate (55) has a large aperture (58) therein, and the valve plate (57) has slots (61-64) therein which are narrower than the slots in the plate (50). The plate 40 serves as a front closure member for the vacuum chamber (120), coupled to a blower (122, Fig. 4), and sheets are separated from the stack when the apertures in the valve plate (57) coincide with the slots in the plate (50). When suction is cut off by the valve plate, the sheet is released quickly by venting the plate 40 to atmosphere. Sheet separation is assisted by blasts of compressed-air issuing through'vents (147) in a chamber (143) below the suction plate 40, and connected to a blower (145), these vents being inclined in the direction of sheet separation. There are three pneumatic control sensors (152, 170, 171, Figs. 2 and 4) of the type comprising plastic cylinders, such as (152), in which are magnetic floats (161) which control electric switches (163, 164) in the circuit of the motor (33) which drives the pusher 24 to urge forward the sheet stack. These controls operate: (a) if upper and lower suction apertures (132, 133, Fig. 4) in the suction chamber (120) are not fully covered by the front sheet of the stack; (b) if the vents (147) in the pressure chamber (143) are not sufficiently closed by the front sheets of the stack, and the pressure falls in that chamber. The motor (33) will also not operate if a limit switch 34a is engaged by a follower 25 on the pusher 24, indicating that the sheet stack is diminished below a predetermined limit. Means for preventing the separation of two sheets together comprises a vacuum chamber 190 having a slotted face 192 close to the suction plate 40, whereby the second sheet is grasped to prevent its removal. Sheet-forwarders.-A set of idler rollers 11 in a fixed bracket 13 co-operate with a set of driven feed rollers 12 in a pivoted bracket 15 urged by a spring 17 so that the roller sets engage to forward the separated sheets. Two timing wheels 42, 42a on a shaft 43 driven by the motor 43a, which also reciprocates the suction plate separator 40, have cam sections 44 co-operating with idler rollers 45 on the bracket 13 to control the timing of the release of sheets to the feed rollers 11, 12.