Overlapped document detector
AssigneeMagnetic Peripherals Inc.
InventorsEddy J. Milanes, Russell E. Highbridge, Robert S. Morgan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An overlapped document detector for a document handling apparatus comprises an air knife in the primary document path to separate overlapped documents and forward them along separate ones of two secondary paths. Optical detectors focused on each secondary path, detects documents to detect an overlapped condition. A vacuum is created to maintain the documents in their respective secondary paths for detection purposes.
Claims8
An overlapped document detector for detecting documents in each of two paths along which documents may travel in a document handling machine comprising, in combination, first and fourth radiant sensor means focused to receive radiation reflected from opposite sides of a document in a first of said paths, and second and third radiant sensor means focused to receive radiation reflected from opposite sides of a document in a second of said paths, said first radiant sensor means being so disposed and arranged adjacent said second path as to receive radiation reflected from documents in said first path only when no document is present in said second path, and said third radiant sensor means being so disposed and arranged adjacent said first path as to receive radiation reflected from documents in said second path only when no document is present in said first path;
- first gate preparation means responsive to said first and second radiant sensor means for providing a first gate signal;
- second gate preparation means responsive to said third and fourth radiant sensor means for providing a second gate signal;
- and gate means responsive to said first and second gate signals for providing a signal indicative of an overlapped document condition.
A detector for detecting objects in each of two paths along which the objects may travel comprising:
- first and fourth radiant sensor means focused to receive radiation reflected from opposite sides of an object in a first of said paths, and second and third radiant sensor means focused to receive radiation reflected from opposite sides of an object in a second of said paths, said first radiant sensor means being so disposed and arranged adjacent said second path as to receive radiation reflected from objects in said first path only when no object is present in said second path, and said third radiant sensor means being so disposed and arranged adjacent said first path as to receive radiation reflected from objects in said second path only when no object is present in said first path;
- first threshold means responsive to said first and second radiation sensors for establishing a first threshold signal and second threshold means responsive to said third and fourth radiation sensors for establishing a second threshold signal;
- first output means responsive to said first radiant sensor means and said first threshold means for indicating the presence of an object in said first path when the signal produced by said first radiant sensor means is no greater than said first threshold signal, and second output means responsive to said third radiant sensor means and said second threshold means for indicating the presence of an object in said second path when the signal produced by said third radiant sensor means is no greater than said second threshold signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.