Patent ID: 7810801

Claim:
An apparatus for separating and aerating sheets of material arranged in a stack, comprising: a stack support member configured to abuttingly support thereon a stack of sheet material in a generally flat condition; a clamping member configured to clamp onto an edge portion of the stack of sheet material and selectively retain the sheets in an aligned condition along the clamped edge; an upper roller positioned generally above the stack of sheet material supported on said stack support member and having a first axis of rotation; a lower roller positioned generally below the stack of sheet material supported on said stack support member and having a second axis of rotation; an adjustment member configured to converge and diverge said upper roller and said lower roller into and out of selective engagement with the stack of sheet material supported on said stack support member; a conveyor member selectively shifting said clamping member and the stack of sheet material clamped therein generally horizontally between and relative to said upper roller and said lower roller; and wherein said upper roller and said lower roller are arranged in a staggered relationship such that an imaginary plane extending between said first and second axes of rotation of said upper roller and said lower roller is disposed at an angle with respect to both the horizontal and the vertical.