Patent ID: 8074980

Claim:
An apparatus for feeding sheets, comprising: a first guide; a second guide opposite the first guide; a first side wall; a second side wall opposite the first side wall; a support surface configured to support a stack of sheets with a first edge of the sheets facing the first guide, a second edge of the sheets facing the second guide and a center line of the stack extending from the first edge to the second edge; and at least two tampers including: a first tamper secured to the first guide between the center line and the first side wall, the first tamper including a first lower pad and a first upper pad which applies a lower force to the first edge of the sheets than the first lower pad; and a second tamper secured to the first guide between the center line and the second side wall, the second tamper including a second lower pad and a second upper pad which applies a lower force to the first edge of the sheets than the second lower pad, wherein the first lower pad and second lower pad each apply about the same force to the first edge of the sheets, and the first upper pad and second upper pad each apply about the same force to the first edge of the sheets, and wherein the first lower pad and second lower pad each apply a force of about 4 N to about 8 N to the first edge of the sheets, and the first upper pad and second upper pad each apply a force of about 0.2 N to about 0.5 N to the first edge of the sheets.