Sheet feeding apparatus

Claim 1

A REGISTER FAULT INDICATING DEVICE FOR USE IN APPARATUS WHEREIN SHEETS ARE FED SEQUENTIALLY IN A DETERMINED DIRECTION INTO A REGISTER POSITION COMPRISING CURRENT CONDUCTING MEANS DEFINING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT, ESTABLISHMENT OF SAID CIRCUIT DEFINING A REGISTER FAULT INDICATION, A FIRST AND A SECOND SWITCH CONNECTED IN SERIES IN SAID CIRCUIT, SAID SWITCHES BEING NORMALLY OPEN AND THE CIRCUIT BEING THEREBY IN DISESTABLISHED CONDITION, SAID FIRST SWITCH BEING DEFINED BY A PAIR OF UPPER AND LOWER CONTACTS SITUATED RESPECTIVELY ABOVE AND BELOW THE REGISTER POSITION OF THE SHEETS, MEANS FOR MOVING THE UPPER CONTACT INTO AND FROM ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LOWER CONTACT, THE ABSENCE OR PRESENCE OF A SHEET AT THE REGISTER POSITION RESPECTIVELY ALLOWING OR DISALLOWING SUCH ENGAGEMENT, EACH SHEET DURING THE FEED THEREOF TO THE REGISTER POSITION PASSING A POSITION SPACED FROM THE REGISTER POSITION REARWARDLY IN RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE SHEET BY A DISTANCE WHICH IS LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF THE SHEET AS MEASURED IN SAID DIRECTION, A TABLE OVER WHICH SAID SHEETS ARE FED, A FEELER SITUATED ABOVE SAID TABLE AT SAID SPACED POSITION OF THE SHEETS, A MEMBER ON WHICH SAID FEELER IS MOVABLY SUPPORTED, AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID MEMBER TOWARD AND FROM THE TABLE THEREBY TO MOVE THE FEEDER TO SENSE THE PRESENCE OF A SHEET ON SAID TABLE, SAID FEELER-UPON ENCOUNTERING A SHEET-BEING MOVED RELATIVE TO SAID MEMBER AND COOPERATING BY SUCH MOVEMENT TO CLOSE SAID SECOND SWITCH, WHEREBY SAID CIRCUIT IS ESTABLISHED ONLY IF A SHEET DURING THE FEED THEREOF REACHES SAID SPACED POSITION BUT FAILS TO REACH SAID REGISTER POSITION.