Patent ID: 7226271

Claim:
A feeder for supplying plates to a technician in a work area on an as-needed basis, said feeder comprising: a magazine for holding a stack of plates, said magazine having an ejection area from which a plate from the stack of plates may be moved into a holding structure; the holding structure for removably holding the plate in a holding position until the plate is removed by the technician, the holding structure including an inner entrance portion that defines an interior passage, the entrance portion being joined to an exit portion defining a narrow vertically-extending exterior opening, the entrance portion and the exit portion being secured to and extending upwardly from a horizontal lower wall, wherein said holding structure holds the plate so that the technician can remove the plate by pulling the plate from the holding structure; a plate detector mounted proximate to the holding structure, said plate detector being operable to detect absence of the plate in the holding position in the holding structure and to generate a plate absent signal representative thereof; an ejector apparatus having a blade that is movable between retract and eject positions, wherein a plate disposed in the ejection area is aligned with the interior passage of the holding structure such that movement of the blade from the retract to the eject position moves the plate disposed in the ejection area to the holding structure so as to be held by the holding structure in the holding position; a supply apparatus having a pusher that is movable in incremental amounts toward the ejection area, wherein movement of the pusher in an incremental amount toward the ejection area moves the stack of plates such that the plate from the stack is moved into the ejection area; a control system operable to receive the plate absent signal from the plate detector and, in response thereto, to control the ejector apparatus and the supply apparatus such that the plate is moved into the ejection area and then moved from the ejection area to the holding structure so as to be held by the holding structure in the holding position; and, wherein the holding structure exterior opening is in communication with the interior passage, and wherein when the plate is in the holding position, the plate extends through the exterior opening such that a portion of the plate is disposed in the interior passage and a further portion of the plate is disposed exterior to the holding structure so as to be accessible by the technician.