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US 4,231,562 AGranted
Recirculating document feeder
AssigneeSavin Corporation
InventorTatsu Hori
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeSavin Corporation
InventorTatsu Hori
Estimating the term…
Originals are individually separated from the bottom of a stack overlying the imaging platen of a document copier and are advanced around a first 180.degree. bend onto the platen for copying. After they are copied, the originals are returned to the top of the stack around a second 180.degree. bend at the other end of the platen. Each original is advanced to the imaging platen a number of times equal to the number of copies to be made to produce collated sets of copies from the copier. A relatively flat place-marking member initially placed on the uppermost original drops down when that original is fed to generate a signal indicating that the entire set of originals has been advanced once to the imaging platen. The generated signal indexes a counter that turns off the feeder when the desired number of copies have been made. This counter also actuates a motor that shifts the copy tray between sets to offset successive sets of copies.
In a sheet feeder in which sheets are separated from one side of a stack and returned to the other side of the stack, said feeder having a place-marking element and means for automatically setting said element against the sheet on the other side of said stack, the improvement wherein said automatic setting means comprises means for mounting said element for movement along either of two paths between a first point on said one side of said stack and a second point on said other side of said stack, one of said paths extending through the space occupied by said stack and the other of said paths being a return path not extending through said space, said mounting means comprising a pin secured to said place-marking element and means for forming an endless elongated slot for receiving said pin, said element being normally subject to a biasing force in the direction of said first point along the lengths of each of said paths and at the end of said paths, and means for applying an actuating force in a direction opposing said biasing force to move said place-marking element from said first point to said second point and then removing said actuating force to permit said element to move under the influence of said biasing force back to said first point.
In a sheet feeder in which sheets are fed one by one from one side of a stack and are returned to the other side of the stack, apparatus including a support on which said stack is adapted to rest, a place-marking element, means mounting said element in engagement with the uppermost sheet in said stack and for movement with said sheet downwardly toward said support as sheets are fed from said stack, said mounting means comprising a pin secured to said place-marking element and means for forming an endless elongated slot for receiving said pin, means forming an opening in said support in the path of movement of said element, and means responsive to movement of said element through said opening for first moving said element out of alignment with said stack and then moving said element in the direction of said stack and finally moving said element back into engagement with the uppermost sheet in said stack.
Apparatus including in combination means adapted to be actuated to make copies of originals presented to a copying station, means for holding a stack of originals to be copied, means for successively feeding each original from said stack to said copying station in a recirculating manner a predetermined number of times to make the desired number of sets of copies, means operating synchronously with said feeding means for actuating said copying means to make copies of said originals fed to said copying station, means for sensing each successive circulation of the entire stack of originals, a copy tray for holding said copies, means for delivering copies from said copying means to said copy tray along a path having a center line, and means responsive to said sensing means for rotating said copy tray about an axis passing adjacent said center line to offset successive sets of copies to permit the separation thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.