Document feeder and method

摘要

A document feeder comprises an input hopper ( 1 ) into which batches of documents with interleaved separators ( 24, 25 ) are loaded in use, each separator carrying data related to the associated batch. A feed system ( 9, 10 ) withdraws documents and separators singly from the input hopper. A sensing system ( 7 ) obtains information about the documents and separators. The sensing system includes a data sensor ( 7 ) located so as to read separator data while the separator ( 24, 25 ) is in the input hopper ( 1 ).