Compact document handling system

Abstract

In a document handler for a copier for providing recirculative copying at the copier imaging station of plural documents stacked in a recirculative copying input tray with automatic inversion of duplex documents by a document inverter with a document inverting chute in the recirculative path of the documents, and with a document return path after this recirculative copying back to the input tray, and wherein this same document handler also has an integral alternative non-recirculative copying document input for non-recirculative document copying at the same imaging station, and a document output for this alternative document input for ejecting documents from the document handler after the non-recirculative copying, the improvement wherein the document inverting chute is substantially planer, and open ended, to provide for alternative unobstructed unidirectional document feeding therethrough, and the document inverter operates to reverse the direction of movement of documents in the inverting chute from the input tray and to return the documents in the return path to the input tray rather than feeding the documents fully through the document inverting chute, and the document output is integral to the document inverter for automatically ejecting documents from the document handler unidirectionally through the substantially planar document inverting chute of the document inverter, from the open end thereof, when the documents were inputted at the alternative document input. Preferably the integral document inverting chute and document output extends generally horizontally away from an opposite side of the imaging station and document handler from the alternative document input and has a sheet feeder which operates bidirectionally for document inversion and unidirectionally for document output.