Apparatus for conveying and printing postal items

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I claim: 1.
An apparatus for stamping flat objects of different sizes and thicknesses, particularly postal items, comprising: a feed table on which said objects are arranged in a vertical or approximately vertical manner; a separating device located on the feed table, the separating device comprising: (a) a perforated revolving belt oriented parallel to the leading flat object, the perforated revolving belt moving at a first speed and having means for creating a first vacuum force through the perforations such that the revolving belt lifts the leading object from the feed table by means of the first vacuum force; and (b) a pneumatic backstop adjacent to the feed table and parallel to the perforated revolving belt, the pneumatic backstop having a means for creating a second vacuum force less than the first vacuum force, the pneumatic backstop capable of separating a second object from the leading object and holding the second object at the feed table; means for conveying the objects away from the separating device, the conveying means comprising two oppositely revolving conveyor belts oriented parallel to one another for a portion of each revolution forming an inlet located adjacent to the separating device and an outlet, the conveyor belts moving at a second speed greater than the first speed at which the perforated revolving belt moves; a revolving stamp located adjacent to the outlet of the two revolving belts, the revolving stamp movable between an actuated position and a basic position; means for detecting the object as it approaches the stamp, the detecting means triggering movement of the stamp; means for conveying the object away from the stamp; and a depositing table to which said objects are fed as they are conveyed away from the stamp, the fed and deposited objects being arranged in planes parallel to one another and the feed and depositing tables are successively arranged in a direction perpendicular to said planes, the objects being removed from the feed table at right angles to said direction and are supplied to the depositing table, where the objects are placed on the feed table with their leading edges in alignment in the conveying direction during individual removal and the conveying path thereof between the feed table and the depositing table is horizontal