Patent ID: 7621524

Claim:
A device for feeding sheets one by one from a stack of sheets to a transportation device for transporting the sheet to a process station, comprising: a first low-pressure chamber, a number of separately driven shafts which are positioned perpendicular to the direction of transportation of the sheets, which are arranged in the low-pressure chamber essentially equi-distantly spaced from one another, and which each carry a plurality of wheels with friction lining, each shaft being driven by its own motor which is connected to and controlled by a control unit, a separating device which is arranged essentially vertically above the low-pressure chamber and at a distance from the low-pressure chamber that is somewhat larger than the thickness of a sheet, and at least one relieving element arranged in a vertically displaceable manner before and at a distance from the closest shaft relative to the direction of transportation of the sheets and which is connected to and controlled by said control unit wherein said control unit is arranged to control the relieving element such that the relieving element is raised to a supporting position for the second lowermost sheet of the stack of sheets, essentially at the same time as a rear edge of a lowermost sheet being fed, relative to the direction of transportation of the lowermost sheet, is moved past said relieving element.