Patent ID: 8430391

Claim:
A tandem media sheet supply for an imaging device comprising: a housing having a volume that is configured with a first portion and a second portion, each portion of the volume in the housing being configured to hold a vertical stack of media sheets in the housing; a gate assembly located between the first portion and the second portion of the volume in the housing and comprising: a first gate configured to engage a first vertical stack of media sheets in the first portion of the volume; a second gate mechanically connected to rotate about the first gate, the first gate and second gate being configured to move between a first position and a second position; and a biasing member configured to bias the first gate and second gate into the first position; and an actuator configured to move the first vertical stack of media sheets from the first portion of the volume in the housing to the second portion of the volume in the housing, the movement of the first vertical stack of media sheets displacing and movably contacting the first gate and the second gate from the first position to the second position, the first gate and second gate in the second position enabling the first vertical stack of media sheets to move from the first portion of the volume in the housing to the second portion of the volume in the housing, the biasing member being configured to move the first gate and the second gate to the first position in response to the actuator moving the first vertical stack of media sheets to the second portion of the volume, and the second gate in the first position being configured to hold the first vertical stack of media sheets in the second portion of the volume.