Automatic sheet feeder for copiers and other machines having sheet transport mechanisms and assemblies therewith

Claim 1

An automatic sheet feeder to feed and separate only the top sheet from a stack of sheets and feed that sheet to an independent sheet processing apparatus or the like where said sheet processing apparatus includes an entrance gate for positioning a sheet, a sheet detector for detecting a sheet at said gate, sheet feeding means, means for driving said sheet feeding means, said sheet processing apparatus including means responsive to said detector for lifting said gate and activating said sheet feeding means to feed a detected sheet to said processing apparatus, said automatic sheet feeder comprising: (a) a frame including a pair of upstanding side plates mountable on said sheet processing apparatus; (b) a sheet tray supported in said frame and adapted to hold a stack of sheets therein; (c) sheet drive means supported on said frame for advancing a single sheet from a stack of sheets located on said sheet tray to said entrance position of said feeding mechanism, said sheet drive means including a set of upper and lower roller means cooperating to form a nip adjacent the lower edge of said sheet tray adapted to receive sheets of paper, said upper and lower roller means each including a shaft extending through and journaled for rotation in said side plates of said frame and at least one roller mounted thereon, roller drive means including a motor mounted on said frame for driving said roller means, and clutch means operatively connected between said lower roller means and said roller drive means, whereby said clutch means will drivingly engage said lower roller shaft when two or more sheets are fed simultaneously from said tray into said nip defined by said upper and lower roller means; (d) means responsive to said sheet processing detector to energize said motor in response to operation of said sheet feeding means; (e) a cover mounted in said frame for pivotal movement between a closed position and an open position to permit clearing of sheet jams; (f) roller separating means on said frame cooperating with said cover and said roller shafts to separate said upper and lower roller means when said cover is pivoted from a closed position to an open position; said roller separating means comprising: i. an elongated aperture in said frame on one of said side plates; ii. A slide plate having an inclined slot therein, said upper roller shaft being disposed in said elongated aperture and said inclined slot for movement therein to separate said upper and lower roller means; and iii. means operatively connecting said cover and said slide plate for moving said slide plate relative to said one side plate in response to pivotal movement of said cover, whereby said upper roller shaft will move upwardly in said inclined slot in response to said pivotal movement of said cover.