Patent ID: 8177225
Filing Date: 2012-05-15
Classification: B65H,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An automatic document feeder comprising: a paper supply tray on which documents are placed with a first side upward; document supply path configured to supply the documents, placed on the paper supply tray in order from the top sheet to a document reading unit; a length sensor provided in the supply path to detect the lengths of the documents, the length sensor detecting a first length which is shorter than or equal to a main size and a second length which is longer than the main size; a document discharging path configured to discharge the documents that are read in the document reading unit from the document reading unit; a first gate to sort the documents discharged by the document discharging path either in a first direction or a second direction; a discharging tray on which the documents are sorted in the first direction by the first gate with the first side downward when the length sensor detects the length of the documents as the second length; a reversing path provided above the discharging tray to convey the documents sorted in the second direction by the first gate reciprocally; an aligning wall provided at a side end of the first gate of the discharging tray; a document re-conveying path configured to re-convey the documents that are reversed and conveyed by the reversing path in a direction of the first gate to the document reading unit; and, a turning/discharging path configured to turn the documents sorted in the second direction by the first gate through the document re-conveying path in a conveying path of the reversing path to drop them on the discharging tray from the reversing path and bump ends of the documents in the falling direction against the aligning wall when the length sensor detects the length of the documents as the first length, the reversing path having a second gate to sort the documents on the conveying path of the reversing path in the direction of the turning/discharging path or in an extended direction of the conveying path, and a length of the documents dropping on the discharging tray by the turning/discharging path being shorter than a distance from the aligning wall to an exit of the turning/discharging path.