Photoelectric control device

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR DETECTING THE CONVEYANCE OF NON-COEXTENSIVED OVERLAPPING DOCUMENTS WHICH OVERLAP ON A DESIRED SIDE OF LEADING CONVEYED DOCUMENTS COMPRISING: (A) MEANS FOR CONVEYING DOCUMENTS ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH; (B) A FIRST SOURCE OF LIGHT POSITIONED ON A FIRST SIDE OF SAID PATH SAID FIRST SIDE CORRESPONDING TO THE DESIRED SIDE OF SAID LEADING DOCUMENTS; (C) MEANS DIRECTING THE LIGHT FROM SAID FIRST SOURCE TOWARD A GIVEN POSITION WITH RESPECT TO SAID PATH SO THAT LIGHT FROM SAID FIRST SOURCE WILL BE REFLECTED IN A GIVEN DIRECTION OFF THE LEADING EDGES OF CONVEYED DOCUMENTS WHICH PASS SAID GIVEN POSITION ON SAID FIRST SIDE OF SAID PATH AND LIGHT FROM SAID FIRST SOURCE WILL BE REFLECTED IN DIRECTIONS OTHER THAN SAID GIVEN DIRECTION OFF PORTIONS OF SAID DOCUMENTS OTHER THAN SAID LEADING EDGES; (D) FIRST LIGHT SENSITIVE MEANS DISPOSED ON SAID FIRST SIDE OF SAID PATH IN SAID GIVEN DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO SAID GIVEN POSITION ADAPTED TO DETECT ONLY REFLECTION IN SAID GIVEN DIRECTION FROM SAID GIVEN POSITION AND MEANS FOR EMITTING A SIGNAL WHENEVER SUCH A REFLECTION IS DETECTED, EACH SAID REFLECTION BEING REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LEADING EDGE OF A CONVEYED DOCUMENT; AND (E) INDICATING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID FIRST LIGHT SENSITIVE MEANS AND RESPONSIVE TO THE RECEIPT OF TWO OR MORE OF SAID SIGNALS WITHIN A PREDETERMINED TIME FOR INDICATING THE PRESENCE OF OVERLAPPING DOCUMENTS, SAID PREDETERMINED TIME CORRESPONDING TO THE TIME IN WHICH IT NORMALLY TAKES ONE DOCUMENT TO PASS SAID GIVEN POSITION.