SEPARATING MECHANISM FOR PILED-UP PLATE MEMBERS

PURPOSE:To separate and transport the plate members one by one from the piled-up state by adjusting the position of the stopper of an adsorbing pad. CONSTITUTION:In the state where adsorbing pads 1-4 are not attached with a plate member 9, a height difference (h) in the vertical direction is formed between the adsorbing pads 1 and 4 at the edge part and the adsorbing pads 2 and 3 at the center part. When a chain 8 is lowered and the adsorbing pads 1-4 are lightly attached with the plate member 9, a stopper 7 is put into the floated-up state from a supporting mechanism 5. In this state, the air in the pad is drawn-out to adsorb the plate member 9. When the chain 8 is pulled-up gradually, the stoppers 7 of the pads 1 and 4 contact with the supporting mechanism 5. Then, the state where the both edges of the plate member 9' are turned- over is generated. Then, since the stopper 7 for the pads 2 and 3 contacts with the supporting mechanism 5, and the center part of the plate member 9' is lifted-up by the pads 2 and 3, only one of the uppermost plate member 9' can be lifted-up from the piled plate members 9.