Workpiece differentiator

Claim 2

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces including; support means for supporting a stack of workpieces, first clamp means engageable upon the top the stack for isolating a first portion of the top workpiece against lateral displacement, a rotatable friction member having a high friction surface engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece near said first clamp means, said rotatable friction member engageable on a second portion of said workpiece, said rotatable friction member including a cylinder mounted for rotating on an axle a sheet of high friction material having substantially resilient characteristics and at least one surface of which is a high friction surface with respect to the surface of the workpieces in said stack and means for coupling one end of said sheet to said cylinder, thereby leaving the other end a free end, drive means for rotating said rotatable friction member for displacing said second portion of said workpiece to a position so that said second portion is relocated wholly between said first clamp and said friction member for exposing a portion of the adjacent workpiece in said stack, said exposed portion of said adjacent workpiece corresponding to said portion of said top workpiece wholly located, second clamp means for engaging the exposed said corresponding portion of said adjacent workpiece on said stock for arresting the remainder of said stack and means for disengaging said first clamp means from said top workpiece for permitting removal of said top workpiece from said arrested stack.

Claim 3

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces as in claim 1 and in which said rotatable friction member further includes means for biasing the free end of said sheet away from the surface of said cylinder.

Claim 4

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces as in claim 1 and in which said cylinder is substantially hollow and serves for storing a portion of said sheet of high friction material.

Claim 5

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack workpieces including: support means for supporting a stack of workpieces, first clamp means engageable upon the top of the stack for arresting all the workpieces in the stack and for separating the top workpiece on the stack into a first portion and a second portion, a rotatable friction member engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece and wholly within said first portion of said top workpiece, said rotatable friction member including an axle and means for rotating said axle about its longitudinal axis, a circumferentially shaped flap having at least one high friction surface, means coupled to said axle forming at least a circumferential segment having the same radius throughout, and means for coupling said circumferentially shaped flap to said means forming at least a circumferential segment so that one end of said flap iS free and flies out from said segment in response to inertia when said friction member is rotated, drive means for rotating said friction member for bringing said flap in contact with the upper surface of said workpiece within said portion for displacing said first portion and for exposing a portion of the adjacent workpiece in the stack corresponding to the portion of the top workpiece so displaced, second clamp means for engaging the stack upon the said exposed portion of the adjacent workpiece for arresting the stack, except for said top workpiece and means for disengaging said first clamp means for releasing all the workpiece so arrested by engagement by said first clamp means for permitting removal of said top workpiece from the stack so arrested by said second clamp means.

Claim 6

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack workpieces including: support means for supporting a stack of workpieces, first clamp means engageable upon the top of the stack for arresting all the workpieces in the stack and for separating the top workpiece on the stack into a first portion and a second portion, a rotatable friction member engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece and wholly within said first portion of said top workpiece, said rotatable friction member including an axle and means for rotating said axle about its longitudinal axis, a circumferentially shaped flap having at least one high friction surface, means coupled to said axle forming at least a circumferential segment having the same radius throughout, and means for coupling said circumferentially shaped flap to said means forming at least a circumferential segment so that one end of said flap iS free and flies out from said segment in response to inertia when said friction member is rotated, drive means for rotating said friction member for bringing said flap in contact with the upper surface of said workpiece within said portion for displacing said first portion and for exposing a portion of the adjacent workpiece in the stack corresponding to the portion of the top workpiece so displaced, second clamp means for engaging the stack upon the said exposed portion of the adjacent workpiece for arresting the stack, except for said top workpiece and means for disengaging said first clamp means for releasing all the workpiece so arrested by engagement by said first clamp means for permitting removal of said top workpiece from the stack so arrested by said second clamp means.

Claim 7

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces as in claim 4 and in which said circumferentially shaped flap is a sheet of material having at least one surface having high friction characteristics.

Claim 8

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces as in claim 4 and in which said circumferentially shaped flap is a sheet of material having at least one surface having high friction characteristics and said material of said sheet is sufficiently resilient to exhibit springlike behavior.

Claim 9

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces as in claim 5 and further including means for biasing the free end of said flap of sheet material away from said means forming at least a circumferential segment.

Claim 10

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces as in claim 5 and in which said means forming at least a circumferential segment is a cylinder and said cylinder includes a hollow portion for internally storing part of the sheet of material for providing a reserve of high friction surface material.

Claim 11

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces and for removing the separated workpiece from the stack including; means for supporting a stack of workpieces, first clamp means engageable upon the top of the stack for arresting all the workpieces in the stack and for separating the top workpiece on the stack into a first portion and a second portion, a rotatable friction member engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece and within said first portion of said top workpiece, said rotatable friction member including a cylinder and means for rotating said cylinder about its longitudinal axis, a sheet of high friction material one end of which is connected to said cylinder with the other end thereof free for forming a flying flap and means for coupling said sheet to said cylinder, drive means for rotating said friction member for bringing the flying flap into contact with the upper surface of the top workpiece for displacing the first portion of the top workpiece and for exposing a corresponding portion of the adjacent workpiece in the stack, second clamp means for engaging the stack upon the said exposed portion of the adjacent workpiece for arresting the stack of workpieces except for said top workpiece, and means for disengaging said first clamp means for releasing said top workpiece from arrest for permitting removal of said top workpiece form the stack.

Claim 12

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces and for removing the separated workpiece from the stack including; means for supporting a stack of workpieces, first clamp means engageable upon the top of the stack for arresting all the workpieces in the stack and for separating the top workpiece on the stack into a first portion and a second portion, a rotatable friction member engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece and within said first portion of said top workpiece, said rotatable friction member including a cylinder and means for rotating said cylinder about its longitudinal axis, a sheet of high friction material one end of which is connected to said cylinder with the other end thereof free for forming a flying flap and means for coupling said sheet to said cylinder, drive means for rotating said friction member for bringing the flying flap into contact with the upper surface of the top workpiece for displacing the first portion of the top workpiece and for exposing a corresponding portion of the adjacent workpiece in the stack, second clamp means for engaging the stack upon the said exposed portion of the adjacent workpiece for arresting the stack of workpieces except for said top workpiece, and means for disengaging said first clamp means for releasing said top workpiece from arrest for permitting removal of said top workpiece form the stack.

Claim 13

Apparatus for separating the top workpieces as in claim 9 and further including means engageable with the second portion of said top workpiece for coupling to said top workpiece and means for driving said engageable means for removing said top workpiece from the stack of workpieces.

Claim 14

Fabric workpiece differentiator apparatus for differentiating the top fabric workpiece for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces comprising; support means for supporting the stack of workpieces, first clamp means, mounting means carrying said first clamp means in a positioN located over said stack of workpieces and spaced inwardly from the edge of the top workpiece, means for moving said first clamp means downwardly into engagement with the top workpiece at a position spaced inwardly from the edge thereof, a rotatable friction member engageable upon the top workpiece at a position close to said first clamp means, said position being between said first clamp means and said edge of the top workpiece, said rotatable friction member including deformable resilient means increasing the virtual radius of said rotatable member for engaging the top surface of the top workpiece with a high friction grip over an extended area of contact extending longitudinally over the top surface of the workpiece with low pressure contact over said extended area, said resilient means extending outwardly from said rotatable member and engaging the top surface of the top workpiece over an extended area of contact remote from the rotatable member, drive means for rotating said rotatable member for moving said resilient means toward said first clamp means while said resilient means is engaging the top workpiece for displacing the edge portion of the top workpiece upwardly away from the stack to a relocated position upwardly generally between said rotatable member and said first clamp means, second clamp means, means for engaging said second clamp means on the stack nearer the edge thereof than said rotatable member, and means for disengaging said first clamp means from said top workpiece for permitting removal thereof from the stack while said second clamp means serves to hold the stack in position on the support means.

Claim 15

Fabric workpiece differentiator apparatus for differentiating the top fabric workpiece for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces comprising; support means for supporting the stack of workpieces, first clamp means, mounting means carrying said first clamp means in a positioN located over said stack of workpieces and spaced inwardly from the edge of the top workpiece, means for moving said first clamp means downwardly into engagement with the top workpiece at a position spaced inwardly from the edge thereof, a rotatable friction member engageable upon the top workpiece at a position close to said first clamp means, said position being between said first clamp means and said edge of the top workpiece, said rotatable friction member including deformable resilient means increasing the virtual radius of said rotatable member for engaging the top surface of the top workpiece with a high friction grip over an extended area of contact extending longitudinally over the top surface of the workpiece with low pressure contact over said extended area, said resilient means extending outwardly from said rotatable member and engaging the top surface of the top workpiece over an extended area of contact remote from the rotatable member, drive means for rotating said rotatable member for moving said resilient means toward said first clamp means while said resilient means is engaging the top workpiece for displacing the edge portion of the top workpiece upwardly away from the stack to a relocated position upwardly generally between said rotatable member and said first clamp means, second clamp means, means for engaging said second clamp means on the stack nearer the edge thereof than said rotatable member, and means for disengaging said first clamp means from said top workpiece for permitting removal thereof from the stack while said second clamp means serves to hold the stack in position on the support means.

Claim 16

Fabric workpiece differentiator apparatus for differentiating the top fabric workpiece from a stack of workpieces as claimed in claim 11, in which said resilient means engages the top surface of the top workpiece over an extended area extending from an initial point of contact over the top surface of the workpiece a portion of the distance toward said edge of the workpiece.

Claim 17

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces including: means for supporting a stack of workpieces, first clamp means engageable on the top of the stack for isolating a first portion of the top workpiece against lateral displacement, a rotatable friction member having a high friction surface engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece near said first clamp means, said rotatable friction member engageable on a second portion of said workpiece, said friction member including, deformable, resilient means normally extending to a virtual radius and deformable under low pressure for enlarging the area of engagement with said upper surface, drive means for rotating said rotatable friction member for displacing said second portion to a position wholly relocated between said first clamp and said friction member for exposing a portion of the adjacent workpiece in the stack, said exposed portion of said adjacent workpiece corresponding to said portion of said top workpiece wholly relocated, second clamp means for engaging said exposed portion on said stack for arresting the remainder of said stack and means for disengaging said first clamp means from said top workpiece for permitting removal of said top workpiece from said arrested stack.

Claim 18

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces including: means for supporting a stack of workpieces, first clamp means engageable on the top of the stack for isolating a first portion of the top workpiece against lateral displacement, a rotatable friction member having a high friction surface engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece near said first clamp means, said rotatable friction member engageable on a second portion of said workpiece, said friction member including, deformable, resilient means normally extending to a virtual radius and deformable under low pressure for enlarging the area of engagement with said upper surface, drive means for rotating said rotatable friction member for displacing said second portion to a position wholly relocated between said first clamp and said friction member for exposing a portion of the adjacent workpiece in the stack, said exposed portion of said adjacent workpiece corresponding to said portion of said top workpiece wholly relocated, second clamp means for engaging said exposed portion on said stack for arresting the remainder of said stack and means for disengaging said first clamp means from said top workpiece for permitting removal of said top workpiece from said arrested stack.

Claim 19

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces as in claim 13 and in which said rotatable friction member further includes a cylinder mounted for rotating on an axle and said deformable, resilient means normally extends beyond the radius of said cylinder for forming an extended virtual radius.

Claim 20

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces as in claim 13 and in which said rotatable friction member includes an axle on which said rotatable friction member rotates, means coupled to said axle defining a radius therefrom and said deformable resilient means is couplEd to said means coupled to said axle.

Claim 21

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces from a stack of workpieces as in claim 13 and in which said rotatable friction member includes an axle on which said rotatable friction member rotates, means coupled to said axle for supporting said deformable, resilient means and said deformable, resilient means is sponge rubber.

Claim 22

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces including; means for supporting a stack of workpieces clamp means engageable on the top of the stack for separating the top workpiece into a first section and a second section, a rotatable friction member engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece near said clamp means on said second portion, said rotatable friction member including, means for defining an axis on which said rotatable friction member rotates, means, coupled to said means for defining an axis for defining a radius extending from said axis, deformable resilient means having a high friction surface and coupled to said radius defining means adapted for increasing the radius of said radius defining means in absence of engagement of said deformable resilient means with said upper surface of said top workpiece and said deformable, resilient means adapted for reducing the increase of said increased radius upon engagement with said upper surface of said workpiece for enlarging the area of engagement with said upper surface, drive means for rotating said rotatable friction member for displacing said second section to the relocated position wholly between said clamp means and said friction member and means for disengaging said clamp means for permitting removal of said top workpiece from said stack.

Claim 23

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack of workpieces including; means for supporting a stack of workpieces clamp means engageable on the top of the stack for separating the top workpiece into a first section and a second section, a rotatable friction member engageable with the upper surface of the top workpiece near said clamp means on said second portion, said rotatable friction member including, means for defining an axis on which said rotatable friction member rotates, means, coupled to said means for defining an axis for defining a radius extending from said axis, deformable resilient means having a high friction surface and coupled to said radius defining means adapted for increasing the radius of said radius defining means in absence of engagement of said deformable resilient means with said upper surface of said top workpiece and said deformable, resilient means adapted for reducing the increase of said increased radius upon engagement with said upper surface of said workpiece for enlarging the area of engagement with said upper surface, drive means for rotating said rotatable friction member for displacing said second section to the relocated position wholly between said clamp means and said friction member and means for disengaging said clamp means for permitting removal of said top workpiece from said stack.

Claim 24

Apparatus for separating the top workpiece from a stack as in claim 17 and further including second clamp means engageable upon the remainder of the stack after said second section of said top workpiece is relocated for arresting the remainder of said stack.