Apparatus for providing gap control for a high-speed check feeder

A control system for controlling operation of a separator roller of a document feeder stager assembly, the separator roller feeding documents to a feed roller assembly having a first and a second set of rollers, the feed roller assembly having a constant document transport speed during operation, the constant document transport speed always being faster than a rate of document feeding from the separator roller, the control system comprising:

• a) an edge sensor, disposed so as to have a line of sight between the first and second set of rollers, the edge sensor sensing an arrival of a leading or trailing edge of a document, the edge sensor providing signals indicating the arrival of the leading or trailing edge of the document;
• and
• b) a controller, responsive to the edge sensor signals, controlling feeding of documents by the separator roller utilizing a predetermined motion control profile whereby the controller decelerates the separator roller from an original speed to a lower speed upon receiving the signal from the edge sensor indicating the arrival of a leading edge, the separator operating at the lower speed for a low speed interval, and whereby the controller subsequently accelerates the separator roller back to the original speed.