Document interleaver device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION We claim: 1.
A device for interleaving documents comprising: separate document bins for receiving stacks of each of the documents to be interleaved; a common collection bin; means defining separate document feed paths from each of the document bins to a merged feed path connecting the separate feed paths to the common collection bin, each of the respective feed paths having at least single sheet counter-rotating friction separation means along its feed path; document sensing means along each of the document feed paths after the document separation means to detect a document after it has passed through the single document separation means; drive means for each separate feed path driving at least the single document separation means; and means to activate the respective drive means in sequence, including logic means responsive to the document sensing means for predetermined sequential activation of the respective drive means, so that only one document passes through a selected one of the separate document feed paths to the merged feed path at one time, whereby documents from the respective document bins are interleaved in the predetermined sequence.
2.
The document interleaver device of claim 1 in which counter means is provided and responsive to the document sensing means to count the number of documents passing the sensing means.
3.
The document interleaver device of claim 2 in which separate counter means responsive to each document sensing means is provided to count separately the number of documents passing through each document feed path.
4.
The document interleaver device of claim 1 in which sensing means is provided along the separate feed paths to sense the absence of documents and provide a signal enabling the shut down of the system.
5.
The document interleaver device of claim 4 in which means is provided to prevent operation of the drive means along its document feed path when the sensing means senses the absence of documents in the path.
6.
The document interleaver device of claim 5 in which annunciator means is also provided to identify that bin from which documents have been exhausted