Sheet separator apparatus for recirculating feeder

Claim 1

In apparatus for circulating document sheets seriatim along a path leading from the bottom of a stack of such sheets to a copying position and then back to the top of the stack of sheets, the apparatus having a support for holding the stack of sheets, means for feeding the sheets along the path, a separator engageable with the sheet that initially is on top of the stack for separating sheets in the stack that have been circulated along the path from sheets in the stack that have not been circulated along the path, and means responsive to feeding of said top sheet along the path for returning the separator to the top of the stack, the improvement comprising: means defining first and second spaced surfaces adjacent the support, a first portion of the separator being located between said surfaces and a second portion of the separator being adapted to rest on said top sheet; drive means for applying a force to the separator to move the separator (1) in a first direction away from the support after the top sheet has been withdrawn from beneath the separator by the feeding means and (2) in a second direction toward the support when the top sheet has been returned to the top of the stack by the feeding means; means defining a guide slot in said surfaces, a first portion of the slot being in the first surface and a second portion of the slot being in the second surface, the first slot portion having a ramp extending from the bottom of the first slot portion toward the second slot portion, and the second slot portion having a ramp extending from the bottom of the second slot portion toward the first slot portion; and a guide pin mounted on the first portion of the separator and having end portions movable along the slot portions, the length of the pin being greater than the spacing between the surfaces and less than the distance between either of the surfaces and the bottom of the portion of the slot in the other surface, the pin being slidable relative to the separator toward and away from the bottoms of the slot portions in response to engagement between the end portions of the pin and the slot ramps during movement of the separator, the pin and slot cooperating during movement of the separator in the first direction to guide the second portion of the separator first away from the support and then upwardly, and the pin and slot cooperating during movement of the separator in the second direction to guide the second portion of the separator generally toward the support.