Document storage and transport apparatus

Abstract

A system for presenting documents to a slit-scan xerographic exposure station includes a fluidic storage station having a housing in which a rack for storing documents is located. The rack includes a plurality of pockets in each of which a document may be stored, the rack being movable in a vertical direction so that any one of its pockets may be aligned with an opening in the housing. A fluid stream is used to move a document in a pocket aligned with the opening out of the storage apparatus and into engagement with transport apparatus. The transport apparatus includes a vacuum document drum which moves a document past the exposure station and, in one mode of operation, inverts the document prior to its return to a pocket at the station. In another mode of operation, the direction of travel of the drum is reversed after the document has been exposed and the document is returned without inversion. Another fluid stream is used to assist the return of an exposed document through the opening and into a pocket of the rack.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. Apparatus for storing and feeding selected sides of selected documents past an exposure station for copying the documents comprising: (a) document exposure drum means providing said exposure station;   (b) a rack having a plurality of superposed pockets for storing documents;   (c) means for moving any selected one of said pockets to a predetermined location adjacent said document exposure drum;   (d) fluidic means for fluidicly moving a selected document into or out of a selected pocket and into and out of said document exposure drum means at said predetermined location including a plurality of fluid apertures associated with said pockets;   (e) said document exposure drum means including means for receiving a document moved out of a selected pocket at said predetermined location, means for moving a received document through an arcuate path, and means for discharging the document back into said same pocket by said fluidic means;   (f) wherein said document exposure drum includes a rotatable drum, means for providing a vacuum pressure for holding a document on an arcuate surface section of said drum, and means for rotating said drum to move a document through said arcuate path to and from said selected pocket;   (g) wherein said means for rotating said drum includes means for selectively reversing the rotation of said drum to selectively return a document to the selected pocket in the same or inverted orientation from which it was received from said pocket. .Iadd.   
     
     
       2.  Recirculating feeder apparatus for use with a copier to produce multiple copies of an original, the original including sheets of support material having first and second faces, said apparatus comprising: (a) an exposure position;   (b) a storage facility for holding the original sheets; and   (c) means for circulating said original sheets successively a plurality of times from said storage facility to said exposure position and back to said storage facility for presenting the first and second faces of the original sheets to said exposure position, said circulating means inverting each individual sheet an odd number of times between each of its presentations..Iaddend. .Iadd.   
     
     
       3.  The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 2 wherein said storage facility comprises means for storing the original sheets in superposed fashion..Iaddend. .Iadd.4. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 2 wherein said circulating means includes means for automatically serially delivering the original sheets to said exposure position from said storage facility and for moving the original sheets received from said exposure position back into said storage facility..Iaddend. .Iadd.5. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 4 wherein said storage facility comprises means for storing the original sheets in superposed fashion..Iaddend. .Iadd.6. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 5 wherein: said storage facility is a single, integral storage station adapted to receive, hold and maintain the original sheets superposed in their original order before and during said circulating, and said storage station has at least one document storage tray,   said circulating means inverts each original sheet for copying both faces thereof without changing the order of that original sheet relative to the other original sheets in said storage facility, and   said circulating means returns each original sheet back to the same storage tray in said storage facility with all of the original sheets being maintained in their original order and original orientation, after copying both faces thereof once, to provide for refeeding of the original sheets in the same order for further copies..Iaddend. .Iadd.7. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2 or 4 wherein said storage facility is a single, integral storage station adapted to receive, hold and maintain the original sheets superposed in their original order before and after said   
     
     
        circulating..Iaddend. .Iadd.8.  The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said storage facility has at least one document storage tray..Iaddend. .Iadd.9. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 8 wherein said circulating means includes means for feeding an individual original sheet to said exposure position for copying and for returning said original sheet back to the same said document storage tray in said storage facility after it has been copied..Iaddend. .Iadd.10. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 9 wherein said original sheet is additionally returned to said document storage tray temporarily between said presentations of said first and second faces thereof..Iaddend. .Iadd.11. The recirculating feeding apparatus of claim 10 wherein said original sheet is returned to said document storage tray inverted from its original orientation therein..Iaddend. .Iadd.12. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means includes means for returning each original sheet to its original position in said storage facility after it has been copied and inverted and before the second side thereof is copied..Iaddend. .Iadd.13. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means includes means for automatically presenting to said exposure position the first and then the second faces of each original sheet in said storage facility in immediate sequence..Iaddend. .Iadd.14. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means includes means for presenting for copying both the first and second sides of one original sheet before automatically presenting both sides of the next adjacent original sheet in said storage facility to said exposure position, by presenting the first and second faces of each original sheet to said exposure position in immediate sequence..Iaddend. 
     
     
        .Iadd.15.  The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means presents the first face of each original sheet to said exposure station for copying and then, after a single inversion of that original sheet through an arcuate path, immediately presents the second side of that same original sheet to said exposure position for copying the second side of that original sheet, and then returns each original sheet to said storage facility in its original order..Iaddend. .Iadd.16. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means provides for copies of both faces of an original sheet by moving the original sheet through an arcuate path, returning said original sheet to said storage facility and receiving said original sheet a second time for movement through said same arcuate path..Iaddend. .Iadd.17. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 16 wherein said exposure position is in said arcuate path..Iaddend. .Iadd.18. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means includes means for serially feeding and delivering individual original sheets from said storage facility to said exposure station to be exposed and then returning them back to said storage facility inverted or without inversion..Iaddend. .Iadd.19. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 comprising sheet feeder apparatus for presenting original sheets having first and second faces to said exposure position for copying, wherein said circulating means includes means for circulating and recirculating the original sheets, one-after-another, from said storage facility to said exposure position and back to said storage facility, said circulating and recirculating means including means for presenting seriatim the first and second faces of each original sheet to said exposure position for copying..Iaddend. .Iadd.20. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means returns the original sheets back to said storage facility after copying presentation of one face thereof in the same sheet order in which they were originally loaded 
     
     
        therein, but inverted..Iaddend. .Iadd.21.  The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means returns the original sheets back to said storage facility in their original order and original orientation after copying both faces thereof..Iaddend. .Iadd.22. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means inverts each original sheet for copying both faces thereof without changing the order of that original sheet relative to the other original sheets in said storage facility..Iaddend. .Iadd.23. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 22 wherein said circulating means inverts each individual sheet for copying both faces thereof without disturbing any of the other original sheets in said storage facility..Iaddend. .Iadd.24. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said storage facility and said circulating means are adapted to return each original sheet back to its original location within said storage facility after it is copied, to maintain the order of said original sheets for repeated copying in the same order..Iaddend. .Iadd.25. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claim 24 wherein said original sheets are returned to said storage facility with or without inversion, depending on whether one or both faces of said original sheets have been presented for imaging in said circulating means..Iaddend. .Iadd.26. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means includes means for inverting each original sheet to present both of its first and second faces for copying once for each said circulation of said original sheets..Iaddend. .Iadd.27. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means recirculates the original sheets one-after-another from said storage facility to said exposure position and back to said storage facility, and wherein said circulating means alternately presents the first and second faces of the original sheets to said exposure position for   
     
     
        copying..Iaddend. .Iadd.28.  The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means includes means for locating the original sheet faces one at a time at said exposure position for individually copying every face once during each circulation of the original sheets..Iaddend. .Iadd.29. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means includes means for presenting seriatim the first and second faces of each original sheet to the exposure position for copying said faces once during each circulation of that sheet..Iaddend. .Iadd.30. The recirculating feeder apparatus of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein said circulating means includes a sheet feeding mechanism for presenting each sheet of the original to said exposure position a plurality of times in succession, said sheet feeding mechanism defining a path for circulating each sheet of the original from said storage facility to said exposure position and back to said storage facility, said sheet feeding mechanism including means for inverting each original sheet to present both of the first and second original faces to said exposure position during circulation of a sheet..Iaddend.