Suction feeder

Claim 1

A BOX MAKING MACHINE COMPRISING A FEEDER DEVICE FOR REMOVING BLANKS ONE AT A TIME FROM THE BOTTOM OF A STACK AND MOVING THESE BLANKS ALONG A FEED PATH EXTENDING PARALLEL TO FOLD LINES OF THE BLANKS IN THE STACK, A FOLDING DEVICE FOR RECEIVING BLANKS FROM SAID FEEDER DEVICE AND TRANSFORMING THESE BLANKS INTO FOLDED TUBULAR BOXES, AND A STACKING DEVICE FOR RECEIVING BOXES FROM SAID FOLDING DEVICE; SAID FEEDER DEVICE INCLUDING A BELT, FIRST MEANS FOR MOVING SAID BELT IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO SAID FEED PATH, SECOND MEANS FOR GUIDING MOVEMENT OF SAID BELT ALONG A LOOP, THIRD MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A STACK OF BLANKS ABOVE SAID BELT, FOURTH MEANS DEFINING A SLOT IN SAID BELT EXTENDING ACROSS A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE BELT WIDTH, MEANS FOR PRODUCING REDUCED AIR PRESSURE WITHIN SAID LOOP, FIFTH MEANS FOR DIRECTING SAID REDUCED AIR PRESSURE AT SAID SLOT WHEN THE SLOT IS BELOW SAID STACK, SAID THIRD MEANS OPERATIVELY POSITIONED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SAID BELT SO THAT WHEN SAID SLOT ITS BELOW THE STACK THE BOTTOM BLANK THEREOF WILL SEAL AGAINST SAID FOURTH MEANS AND BE MOVED FORWARD WITH SAID BELT.