Recirculating copy document

Claim 1

In a precollation copier with a recirculating document handler in which a set of plural original document sheets is placed and normally plurally recirculated and copied once per circulation at the copier imaging station to produce a selected plural number of precollated copy sheet sets therefrom in a normal copy sheet output path with a copy fuser, the improvement comprising: a selectable alternative copy sheet path for feeding copy sheets from said normal copy sheet output path of said copier into an input station of said recirculating document handler; selectably actuatable copy sheet output path deflector means for diverting only a first set of copy sheets made from original document sheets from said normal copy sheet output path into said alternative copy sheet path to said recirculating document handler; in which said alternative copy sheet path extends directly from the fuser of said copier into said recirculating document handler upon the actuation of said copy sheet output path deflector means; selectable non-circulating means in said recirculating document handler for automatically ejecting the original document sheets from said recirculating document handler after said original document sheets have been copied only once, and before said original document sheets are recirculated, even though plural copy sets have been selected to be made therefrom; and means for automatically plurally recirculating said first set of copy sheets in said recirculating document handler in lieu of and as if they were said original document sheets to copy the remainder of the selected number of plural copy sets from said first set of copy sheets rather than said original document sheets.