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Claim 2

Apparatus for advancing sheets from a stack at an input one at a time to an output including in combination means at said input for holding a stack of said sheets, a feed roller, a stripper forming a first nip with said feed roller, means for feeding sheets from said stack to said first nip, a curved guide, means mounting said curved guide adjacent to said feed roller to form a curved path extending from said first nip toward said output, means for driving said feed roller to move sheets through said first nip and along said path, accelerating means forming a second nip for receiving sheets moving along said path and for advancing sheets toward said output, the distance between said nips being less than the smallest dimension in the direction of said path of any sheet being fed whereby the leading edges of sheets being fed enter said second nip before the trailing edges leave the first nip and means extending along said path from a location relatively adjacent to said first nip toward said output for inhibiting snapping of said sheets against said feed roller as the sheets are picked up by said second nip.

Claim 3

Apparatus as in claim 1 in which said inhibiting means in a prominence on said guide.

Claim 4

Apparatus as in claim 2 in which said prominence is a rib.

Claim 5

Apparatus as in claim 3 in which said rib extends in the direction of said path.

Claim 6

Apparatus as in claim 1 in which said accelerating means comprises a pair of rollers forming said second nip adjacent to the end of said curved path remote from said input, said inhibiting means comprising a prominence on said guide, one of said rollers being formed with a depression for accommodating said prominence.

Claim 7

Apparatus as in claim 5 in which said one acceleration roller is substantially coaxial with said feed roller.

Claim 8

Apparatus as in claim 6 in which said prominence is a rib on said guide extending in the direction of said path and in which said depression is a peripheral groove in said one accelerating roller.

Claim 9

Apparatus for advancing sheets from a stack at an input one at a time to an output including in combination means at said input for holding a stack of said sheets, a pair of feed rollers, means mounting said feed rollers in spaced relationship on a common axis, respective strippers forming first nips with said feed rollers, means for feeding sheets from said stack to said first nips, a curved guide, means mounting said curved guide adjacent to said feed rollers to form a curved path extending from said first nips toward said output, means for driving said feed rollers to move sheets through said first nips and along said paths, accelerating means forming a second nip for receiving sheets moving along said path and for advancing sheets towards said output, the distance between said first nips and said second nip being less than the smallest dimension in the direction of said path of any sheet being fed whereby the leading edges of sheets being fed enter said second nip before the trailing edges leave the first nips and means extending along said path from a location relatively adjacent to said first nips toward said output for inhibiting snapping of said sheets against said feed rollers as the sheets are picked up by said second nip.

Claim 10

Apparatus for advancing sheets from a stack at an input one at a time to an output including in combination means at said input for holding a stack of said sheets, a pair of feed rollers, means mounting said feed rollers in spaced relationship on a common axis, respective strippers forming first nips with said feed rollers, means for feeding sheets from said stack to said first nips, a curved guide, means mounting said curved guide adjacent to said feed rollers to form a curved path extending from said first nips toward said output, means for driving said feed rollers to move sheets through said first nips and along said paths, accelerating means forming a second nip for receiving sheets moving along said path and for advancing sheets towards said output, the distance between said first nips and said second nip being less than the smallest dimension in the direction of said path of any sheet being fed whereby the leading edges of sheets being fed enter said second nip before the trailing edges leave the first nips and means extending along said path from a location relatively adjacent to said first nips toward said output for inhibiting snapping of said sheets against said feed rollers as the sheets are picked up by said second nip.

Claim 11

Apparatus as in claim 8 in which said inhibiting means is a rib in said guide at a location between said feed rollers.

Claim 12

Apparatus as in claim 9 in which said accelerating means comprises an acceleration roller disposed between said feed rollers.

Claim 13

Apparatus as in claim 10 in which said acceleration roller is an idler roller substantially coaxial with said feed rollers.

Claim 14

Apparatus as in claim 11 in which said acceleration roller is formed with a circumferentially extending groove for accommodating said rib.

Claim 15

In a sheet feeder for advancing sheets one at a time along a path from an input to an output, apparatus including a feed roller mounted for rotation around an axis, a stripper shoe adapted to cooperate with said feed roller to ensure that only one sheet at a time is advanced by said feed roller, means mounting said stripper shoe for movement in a first direction generally transversely of said axis toward and away from said feed roller and means for adjusting the position of said stripper shoe relative to said feed roller, said adjusting means comprising a shiftable member, means mounting said member for shifting movement in a second direction across said path and means responsive to movement of said shiftable member in said second direction for moving said stripper shoe in said first direction.

Claim 16

In a sheet feeder for advancing sheets one at a time along a path from an input to an output, apparatus including a feed roller mounted for rotation around an axis, a stripper shoe adapted to cooperate with said feed roller to ensure that only one sheet at a time is advanced by said feed roller, means mounting said stripper shoe for movement in a first direction generally transversely of said axis toward and away from said feed roller and means for adjusting the position of said stripper shoe relative to said feed roller, said adjusting means comprising a shiftable member, means mounting said member for shifting movement in a second direction across said path and means responsive to movement of said shiftable member in said second direction for moving said stripper shoe in said first direction.

Claim 17

Apparatus as in claim 13 in which said shoe mounting means comprises a support, said adjusting means comprising interengageable means on said shiftable member and said support for adjusting the position of said shoe relative to said feed roller in response to said movement of said member.

Claim 18

Apparatus as in claim 14 in which said internegageable means comprise a cam surface on said member and a complementary surface on said support.

Claim 19

In a sheet feeder for advancing sheets one at a time along a path from an input to an output apparatus including a feed roller mounted for movement around an axis, a support, a stripper shoe on said support, means mounting said support for movement of said stripper shoe in a direction generally perpendicular to said axis toward and away from said roller, means for biasing said support for movement of said stripper shoe in said direction toward or away from said roller and means acting against said biasing means for adjusting the position of said stripper shoe relative to said roller, said adjusting means comprising a shiftable member, means mounting said member for movement transversely of said path and means responsive to movement of said member transversely of said path for acting against said biasing means to adjust the position of said stripper shoe in said direction relative to said roller.

Claim 20

In a sheet feeder for advancing sheets one at a time along a path from an input to an output apparatus including a feed roller mounted for movement around an axis, a support, a stripper shoe on said support, means mounting said support for movement of said stripper shoe in a direction generally perpendicular to said axis toward and away from said roller, means for biasing said support for movement of said stripper shoe in said direction toward or away from said roller and means acting against said biasing means for adjusting the position of said stripper shoe relative to said roller, said adjusting means comprising a shiftable member, means mounting said member for movement transversely of said path and means responsive to movement of said member transversely of said path for acting against said biasing means to adjust the position of said stripper shoe in said direction relative to said roller.

Claim 21

Apparatus as in claim 16 in which adjusting means comprises a cam surface on said member for engaging said support.

Claim 22

Apparatus as in claim 17 in which said member is a sleeve and in which said member mounting means is a rod extending transversely of said path.

Claim 23

Apparatus as in claim 18 including spaced detents for positioning said sleeve on said rod.

Claim 24

Apparatus as in claim 18 including a handle on said member, said sleeve being rotatable on said rod.

Claim 25

Apparatus as in claim 16 in which movement of said member provides a primary adjustment of said stripper shoe, said support being formed with a resilient arm for receiving said shoe and means for adjusting the position of said arm relative to said support as a secondary adjustment of said shoe.

Claim 26

Apparatus as in claim 20 including a housing for receiving said feed roller and support and adjusting means and a cover on said housing, said cover being provided with an opening through which said handle extends in one position of said sleeve around said rod to permit adjustment of said stripper from outside the housing with the cover on and said cover concealing said handle in another position of said sleeve around said rod to prevent adjustment of said stripper from outside the housing with the cover on.

Claim 27

In a sheet feeder for advancing sheets one at a time along a path from an input to an output, apparatus including a pair of feed rollers, means mounting said feed roller in spaced relationship on a common axis, a pair of stripper supports, respective stripper shoes carried by said supports, means mounting said supports for movement of said shoes as a unit toward and away from said feed rollers in a direction generally perpendicular to said axis, means biasing said supports for movement of said shoes toward said feed rollers, means including a member shiftable transversely of said feed path for acting against said biasing means to position said shoes relative to said feed rollers in said direction, transverse shifting of said member concomitantly adjusting the positions of said shoes relative to said feed rollers in said direction and means carried by said supports for individually adjusting the positions of said shoes relative to their respective supports.

Claim 28

In a sheet feeder for advancing sheets one at a time along a path from an input to an output, apparatus including a pair of feed rollers, means mounting said feed roller in spaced relationship on a common axis, a pair of stripper supports, respective stripper shoes carried by said supports, means mounting said supports for movement of said shoes as a unit toward and away from said feed rollers in a direction generally perpendicular to said axis, means biasing said supports for movement of said shoes toward said feed rollers, means including a member shiftable transversely of said feed path for acting against said biasing means to position said shoes relative to said feed rollers in said direction, transverse shifting of said member concomitantly adjusting the positions of said shoes relative to said feed rollers in said direction and means carried by said supports for individually adjusting the positions of said shoes relative to their respective supports.

Claim 29

Apparatus as in claim 23 in which said shiftable member is an elongated member mounted for movement in the direction of its length transversely of said path and in which said means including said shiftable member comprises interengageable cam surfaces on said elongated member and on said supports.

Claim 30

Apparatus as in claim 24 including means for releasably holding said elongated member in a number of positions.

Claim 31

Apparatus as in claim 23 in which each of said stripper supports comprises an integral resilient arm carrying one of said shoes, said individual adjusting means comprising means for adjusting the position of said resilient arm relative to the rest of said support.

Claim 32

Apparatus as in claim 24 in which each of said stripper supports comprises an integral resilient arm carrying one of said shoes, said individual adjusting means comprising means for adjusting the position of said resilient arm relative to the rest of said support.

Claim 33

Apparatus for advancing sheets from a stack at an input one at a time along a path to an output including in combination means at said input for holding a stack of said sheets, a feed roller for receiving sheets from said stack, means mounting said feed roller for movement around an axis, a support, a stripper shoe on said support, means mounting said support for movement of said stripper shoe in a direction generally perpendicular to said axis toward and away from said roller, means comprising a member shiftable transversely of said path and means responsive to movement of said shiftable member transversely of said path for moving said support in said direction to adjust the position of said stripper shoe relative to said roller, a curved guide, means mounting said curved guide adjacent to said feed roller to form a curved path extending toward said output, means for driving said feed roller to advance sheets from said stack one at a time past said stripper shoe along said path, acceleration means for receiving sheets advanced along said path by said feed roller and for advancing sheets toward said output and means for inhibiting snapping of said sheets against said feed roller as they are picked up by said accelerating means.

Claim 34

Apparatus for advancing sheets from a stack at an input one at a time along a path to an output including in combination means at said input for holding a stack of said sheets, a feed roller for receiving sheets from said stack, means mounting said feed roller for movement around an axis, a support, a stripper shoe on said support, means mounting said support for movement of said stripper shoe in a direction generally perpendicular to said axis toward and away from said roller, means comprising a member shiftable transversely of said path and means responsive to movement of said shiftable member transversely of said path for moving said support in said direction to adjust the position of said stripper shoe relative to said roller, a curved guide, means mounting said curved guide adjacent to said feed roller to form a curved path extending toward said output, means for driving said feed roller to advance sheets from said stack one at a time past said stripper shoe along said path, acceleration means for receiving sheets advanced along said path by said feed roller and for advancing sheets toward said output and means for inhibiting snapping of said sheets against said feed roller as they are picked up by said accelerating means.

Claim 35

Apparatus for advancing sheets from a stack at an input one at a time to an output including in combination means at said input for holding a stack of said sheets, a pair of feed rollers, means mounting said feed rollers in spaced relationship on a common axis at a position to receive sheets from said stack, a pair of stripper supports, respective stripper shoes carried by said supports, means mounting said supports for movement of said shoes as a unit toward and away from said feed rollers in a direction generally perpendicular to said axis, means biasing said supports for movement of said shoes toward said feed rollers, means including a member shiftable transversely of said path for acting against said biasing means to position said shoes relative to said feed rollers in said direction, transverse shifting of said member concomitantly adjusting the positions of said shoes relative to said feed rollers in said direction, means carried by said supports for individually adjusting the positions of said shoes relative to their respective supports, a curved guide, means mounting said curved guide adjacent to said feed rollers to form a curved path extending toward said output location, means for driving said feed rollers to advance sheets form said stack one at a time past said stripper shoes and along said path, a pair of acceleration rollers forming an accelerating nip adjacent to the end of said guide remote from said input location for receiving sheets advanced along said path, one of said acceleration rollers being disposed between said feed rollers, a rib in said guide for inhibiting snapping of said sheets against said feed rollers as they are picked up by said accelerating nip and a peripheral groove in said one acceleration roller for accommodating said nip.

Claim 36

Apparatus for advancing sheets from a stack at an input one at a time to an output including in combination means at said input for holding a stack of said sheets, a pair of feed rollers, means mounting said feed rollers in spaced relationship on a common axis at a position to receive sheets from said stack, a pair of stripper supports, respective stripper shoes carried by said supports, means mounting said supports for movement of said shoes as a unit toward and away from said feed rollers in a direction generally perpendicular to said axis, means biasing said supports for movement of said shoes toward said feed rollers, means including a member shiftable transversely of said path for acting against said biasing means to position said shoes relative to said feed rollers in said direction, transverse shifting of said member concomitantly adjusting the positions of said shoes relative to said feed rollers in said direction, means carried by said supports for individually adjusting the positions of said shoes relative to their respective supports, a curved guide, means mounting said curved guide adjacent to said feed rollers to form a curved path extending toward said output location, means for driving said feed rollers to advance sheets form said stack one at a time past said stripper shoes and along said path, a pair of acceleration rollers forming an accelerating nip adjacent to the end of said guide remote from said input location for receiving sheets advanced along said path, one of said acceleration rollers being disposed between said feed rollers, a rib in said guide for inhibiting snapping of said sheets against said feed rollers as they are picked up by said accelerating nip and a peripheral groove in said one acceleration roller for accommodating said nip.