Automatic restacking registration in a recirculating document handler

Claim 1

In a recirculating document handling apparatus for repeatedly recirculating a set of document sheets for precollation copying, wherein the document sheets are repeatedly individually fed seriatim from the bottom of a stack thereof for copying in a precise registration position on two axis of a copier platen, in the direction of document movement and laterally thereof, and returned to the top of the stack supported by a support surface, and restacked between two elongated side guides and abut a rear guide connected to said support surface, said side guides and said rear guide including cutaway portions to allow the escape of air from an air knife during said restacking of said document sheets, said side guides being laterally spaced by a greater distance than the lateral dimension of said document sheets to allow unrestricted restacking therebetween with variations in document dimensions, and one of side guides being stationarily aligned with said lateral registration position on said platen but spaced therefrom, the improvement of automatic edge registration of said document sheets on said support surface comprising: ramp means attached to at least one of said elongated side guides and said support surface, said ramp means including an inclined straight surface portion such that it forms an acute angle with respect to said at least one of said elongated side guides and said support surface and adapted to allow said document sheets being returned to said support surface to lie flat against said inclined straight surface portion so as to provide a positive registration position along the junction between said ramp means and said rear guide thereby reducing the possibility of mis-registration due to bending of the documents during feeding and recirculation.