Feeding mechanism for documents and the like

Claim 1

A FEEDING MECHANISM FOR DOCUMENT AND THE LIKE COMPRISING: A SET OF ROLLERS ADAPTED TO FEED A DOCUMENT THEREBETWEEN; MOTIVE MEANS COUPLED TO AT LEAST ONE OF SAID ROLLERS FOR CAUSING A DOCUMENT RECEIVED BETWEEN THE ROLLERS TO BE CONVEYED THERETHROUGH SENSING MEANS DISPOSED AT SAID ROLLERS AND CONNECTED TO SENSING MEANS DISPOSED AT SAID ROLLERS AND CONNECTED TO SAID MOTIVE MEANS FOR SENSING THE CONDITION WHEN THE LEADING EDGE OF THE DOCUMENT IS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID ROLLERS AND CAUSING ACTUATION OF SAID MOTIVE MEANS IN RESPONSE TO SAID CONDITION; BLOCKING MEANS FOR BLOCKING THE PATH THROUGH SAID ROLLERS WHEN THE ROLLERS ARE STANDING STILL; A RECEIVING PLATFORM AND A RECEPTACLE DISPOSED BEHIND SAID ROLLERS AND ADAPTED FOR RECEIVING A DOCUMENT FED THROUGH SAID ROLLERS; A MOVABLE GATE DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID PLATFORM AND SAID RECEPTACLE; SAID GATE WHEN IN A BLOCKING POSITION PREVENTING THE DOCUMENT FORM BEING FED FROM THE PLATFORM TO THE RECEPTACLE, CAUSING THE DOCUMENT TO COME TO REST ON SAID PLATFORM BETWEEN SAID ROLLERS AND SAID GATE WITH THE LEADING DOCUMENT EDGE ABUTTING AGAINST THE GATE; A SCANNING MEANS DISPOSED FOR COMMUNICATION WITH THE DOCUMENT TO PRODUCE SIGNALS RESPONSIVE TO THE CHARACTER OF THE DOCUMENT WHEN THE LATTER IS ON THE PLATFORM; CONTROL MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID SCANNING MEANS FOR RECEIVING THE SIGNALS THEREFORM; DOCUMENT DRIVE MEANS DISPOSED AT SAID PLATFORM WHICH MEANS COMPRISE A SET OF SPACED ROLLERS JOURNALED UNDERNEATH THE PLATFORM AND A SET OF SPHERICAL MEMBERS THEREABOVE; THE PERIPHERY OF EACH ROLLER ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE UNDERSIDE OF A DOCUMENT DISPOSED ON SAID PLATFORM AND EACH SPHERICAL MEMBER, IN THE ABSENCE OF A DOCUMENT, BEING IN ROLLING CONTACT WITH AN ASSOCIATED ROLLER AND ADAPTED TO BE LIFTED FROM THE ROLLER BY A DOCUMENT WHEN THE LATTER IN RESPONSE TO BEING FED THROUGH SAID SET OF ROLLERS REACHES SAID PLATFORM AND IS PLACED BETWEEN SAID ROLLERS AND SPHERICAL MEMBERS; SAID CONTROL MEANS ADAPTED TO CAUSE, IN RESPONSE TO A PREDETERMINED SIGNAL RECEIVED AT SAID CONTROL MEANS, SELECTIVE OPERATION OF SAID LATTER ROLLERS IN A FIRST DIRECTION AND REMOVAL OF SAID GATE MEANS FROM ITS BLOCKING POSITION FOR CAUSING THE DOCUMENT TO MOVE FROM THE PLATFORM PAST SAID GATE MEANS TO SAID RECEPTACLE, AND CAUSING IN RESPONSE TO A SIGNAL DEVIATING FROM SAID PREDETERMINED SIGNAL, MOTION OF SAID ROLLERS AT SAID PLATFORM AND OF SAID PAIR OF FEED ROLLERS IN A SECOND DIRECTION WHEREBY TO MOVE SAID DOCUMENT FROM THE PLATFORM AND RETURN THROUGH SAID SET OF FEED ROLLERS.