Patent ID: 6851671

Claim:
A method of feeding porous sheets of media from a stack of such sheets using a pick-up device that includes a gas conduit that is in fluid communication with a gas supply, the gas conduit opening at a nozzle that is shaped to define a pick-up surface, the pick-up device being displaceable along a feed path, the method comprising the steps of: applying a gas flow to a first sheet of the stack, via the gas conduit and nozzle so that the gas passes partially through the first sheet and impinges on a second sheet, generating a cushion of air between the first and second sheets to separate the first and second sheets; reversing the gas flow so that the first sheet is drawn towards the pick-up surface and retained against the pick-up surface; and displacing the pick-up device along the feed path so that the first sheet is fed from the stack along the feed path.