Abstract A photocopying machine is provided with a paper feed arrangement wherein a stack of sheets is supported on a floor of a paper feed tray located on a shelf at an operating station beneath paper feed rollers for advancing the sheets from the tray. The forward end of the stack is supported by a plate hingedly connected to the floor, and an upwardly biased lifting member extends upwardly through openings in the shelf and the floor of the tray to lift the forward end of the stack into engagement with the feed rollers at a feeding position. The tray is provided with corner separators to separate an advancing topmost sheet from the remainder of the stack, and the stack is confined between side walls of the tray which guide the sheets being advanced by the feed rollers. The paper feed tray is movable from the operating station to a loading station outside the photocopying machine to facilitate loading another stack of sheets into the tray. To enable sheets of different widths to be used in the photocopying machine, the paper feed arrangement is provided with locating means for enabling paper feed trays accommodating sheets of different widths to be interchangeably placed on the shelf and properly positioned thereon for operation at the operating station.
A paper feed tray comprising a floor for supporting a stack of sheets, a side wall connected to said floor for aligning the side of a stack of sheets on said floor, a corner separator connected to said floor adjacent to said side wall for separating an advancing topmost sheet from the remainder of the stack, said corner separator being vertically spaced above said floor and located adjacent said side wall, a plate mounted on said floor for supporting the portion of the stack beneath said corner separator, said plate being movable upwardly to move the portion of the stack Supported thereon into operating relation with said corner separator, said plate being substantially nondeformable relative to the sheets supported thereon, and said floor having an opening formed therein beneath said plate to enable a lifting member to move upwardly therethrough and lift said plate upwardly to bring the topmost sheet of the stack thereon into operating relation with said corner separator.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
161 words
A paper feed tray comprising a floor for supporting a stack of sheets, a side wall connected to said floor for aligning the side of a stack of sheets on said floor, a corner separator connected to said floor adjacent to said side wall for separating an advancing topmost sheet from the remainder of the stack, said corner separator being vertically spaced above said floor and located adjacent said side wall, a plate mounted on said floor for supporting the portion of the stack beneath said corner separator, said plate being movable upwardly to move the portion of the stack Supported thereon into operating relation with said corner separator, said plate being substantially nondeformable relative to the sheets supported thereon, and said floor having an opening formed therein beneath said plate to enable a lifting member to move upwardly therethrough and lift said plate upwardly to bring the topmost sheet of the stack thereon into operating relation with said corner separator.