An apparatus for franking flat items of mail removed individually or at the underside of a supplied stack and guided in a transport direction at one side edge, includes a separating station formed from a feeder for items of mail separating device, and a downstream processing line of a franking machine, following in a conveying manner in the transport direction, for franking/printing the individual items of mail. The processing line in the transport region between feeder and the separating device of the separating station assigned to the latter includes a plurality of driven transport rollers which form a transport plane for receiving an item of mail or the respective lowest item of mail from a stack, which rollers are mounted in a frame in the transport direction of the items of mail transversely and beside one another and in the same direction and at the same peripheral speed.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet regulation member, a lock portion, and a damper portion. The sheet regulation member is changeable between a regulation posture to regulate a sheet supported on a supporting portion not to enter a separation nip portion and a retracted posture to allow the sheet to enter the separation nip portion. The lock portion locks the sheet regulation member in the regulation posture. In a case where external force equal to or more than a predetermined amount is applied to the sheet regulation member toward the downstream in the sheet feeding direction with the sheet regulation member is locked by the lock portion in the regulation posture, the damper portion allows displacement of the sheet regulation member.

Apparatus for separating workpieces which preferably consist at least in sections of wood, wood-based materials, plastic or the like, having a workpiece magazine with a magazine area for holding a plurality of workpieces, in particular a stack of workpieces, a discharge device for discharging a workpiece out of the workpiece magazine, characterized in that the apparatus has a feed device which is set up to feed at least one workpiece held in the workpiece magazine to the discharge device.

Apparatus for separating workpieces which preferably consist at least in sections of wood, wood-based materials, plastic or the like, having a workpiece magazine with a magazine area for holding a plurality of workpieces, in particular a stack of workpieces, a discharge device for discharging a workpiece out of the workpiece magazine, characterized in that the apparatus has a feed device which is set up to feed at least one workpiece held in the workpiece magazine to the discharge device.

A document sheet transportation device includes a feeding portion which feeds a document sheet from a document sheet placement portion toward a document sheet transportation path. The feeding portion includes a holder, a feeding member, a supporting body supported by the holder, a rotatable stopper member having a contact end portion allowed to contact a front end of a document sheet, and a biasing member which applies a biasing force to the stopper member. The stopper member is allowed to change a position among a first position in which the contact end portion contacts the front end of the document sheet, a second position which allows feeding of the document sheet by the feeding member, and a third position which is rotated in the first rotating direction from the second position. The biasing member applies the biasing force to the stopper member in a reverse second rotating direction.

A document sheet transportation device includes a feeding portion which feeds a document sheet from a document sheet placement portion toward a document sheet transportation path. The feeding portion includes a holder, a feeding member, a supporting body supported by the holder, a rotatable stopper member having a contact end portion allowed to contact a front end of a document sheet, and a biasing member which applies a biasing force to the stopper member. The stopper member is allowed to change a position among a first position in which the contact end portion contacts the front end of the document sheet, a second position which allows feeding of the document sheet by the feeding member, and a third position which is rotated in the first rotating direction from the second position. The biasing member applies the biasing force to the stopper member in a reverse second rotating direction.

A sheet feed device has a tray with holding surface for holding sheets, a feed unit for feeding sheets from the tray, and a separation plate. The separation plate has an inclined surface and two or more separation portions that separate a sheet from the sheets held in the tray. At least one of the separation portions projects a first distance from the inclined surface. The separation plate also has a projection positioned on the inclined surface that projects a second distance from the inclined surface. The second distance is greater than the first distance. A first of the separation portions is positioned upstream of the particular projection in the sheet feed direction, and a second of the separation portions positioned downstream of the particular projection in the sheet feed direction.

A sheet conveying apparatus includes: a supporter having a support surface; a supplier including a supply roller rotatable about a rotation axis; a separator for separating sheets; a stopper pivotable about a first axis and movable between a first position at which a distal end portion of the stopper intersects a conveyance path and a second position at which the distal end portion is separated from the support surface; and a stopper cam pivotable about a second axis and movable between a third position at which the stopper cam contacts the distal end portion at the first position and a fourth position at which the stopper cam is spaced apart from the distal end portion at the first position. The second axis is located upstream of the rotation axis of the supply roller and farther from the support surface than the rotation axis.

A sheet conveying apparatus includes: a supporter having a support surface; a supplier including a supply roller rotatable about a rotation axis; a separator for separating sheets; a stopper pivotable about a first axis and movable between a first position at which a distal end portion of the stopper intersects a conveyance path and a second position at which the distal end portion is separated from the support surface; and a stopper cam pivotable about a second axis and movable between a third position at which the stopper cam contacts the distal end portion at the first position and a fourth position at which the stopper cam is spaced apart from the distal end portion at the first position. The second axis is located upstream of the rotation axis of the supply roller and farther from the support surface than the rotation axis.

A sheet feeding device includes: a feeding unit that is provided to be movable in a forward-backward direction to move forward or backward relative to a sheet placing unit on which a sheet is placed, and feeds the sheet; a moving unit that moves the feeding unit in the forward-backward direction; a contact unit that is provided to be movable, with which the sheet placed on the sheet placing unit is brought into contact; a limitation unit that limits movement of the contact unit; and a releasing unit that, when the moving unit moves the feeding unit in a direction away from the sheet placing unit, with the movement of the feeding unit, releases limitation on the movement of the contact unit by the limitation unit.