Vacuumatic Limited

Kenneth G Dalby

George W Day

The disclosure relates to sheet separating device for a stack counting apparatus including a counting head to traverse a corner of a stack and having a horizontal suction blade with a suction orifice on its upper surface for insertion in the stack and oscillatable about a horizontal axis to separate a corner of a sheet in the stack adhered by the suction port to the blade from the next sheet. A wiping pin is driven in an elongate orbit around the blade from the trailing edge thereof over the upper surface to the leading edge and along the underside of the blade to transfer a corner of a sheet adhered to the upper surface of the blade from the upper surface to the lower surface. A counting device is arranged to count the number of sheets transferred by the pin. In order to minimize damage to the stack by the engagement of the blade and pin in the stack, the path of the movement of the pin from the upper surface to the lower surface adjacent the leading edge of the blade is in a generally vertical direction after which the pin moves generally horizontally close to the underside of the blade, while the blade remains substantially horizontal and the blade tilts downwards to separate the corner of a sheet on it from the sheet above only after the pin has moved beyond the undersurface of the blade. The pin then moves over the upper side of the blade towards the leading edge thereof as the blade returns to the horizontal.

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Clacton-on-Sea, United Kingdom

Kenneth G Dalby