Patent ID: 6134417
Filing Date: 2000-10-17
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
An automatic document feeding apparatus comprising:a document supplying mechanism including a document supply tray for stacking one or more original documents, at least one kick roller for sending out the documents from said document supply tray one by one, pressure means opposed to said kick roller, document separation means for permitting one document from said document supply tray to pass therethrough, and registering means for correcting inclination of the document being forwarded;a document transferring mechanism including transferring means rotatable in forward and reverse directions to transfer the document along a document reading station in either forward or reverse direction;a document discharging mechanism including a document discharge tray for receiving the documents discharged, a transfer passage for forwarding the document sent from said document transferring mechanism therealong, a delivery roller for sending the document along said transfer passage, a discharge passage for discharging the document sent from said transfer passage to said document discharge tray, a return passage for forwarding the document from said transfer passage toward said document reading station to cause the document to be inverted, and a changeover means for introducing the document sent from said document reading station via said transfer passage selectively to said discharge passage or said return passage; anda motion transmitting system including a single reversible drive source for driving said document supplying mechanism, said document transferring mechanism and said document discharging mechanism, a first electromagnetic clutch disposed between said drive source and said kick roller and separating means, a second electromagnetic clutch disposed between said drive source and said document transferring mechanism, and a one-way clutch disposed between said first electromagnetic clutch and said kick roller, said kick roller and said separating means being driven in the forward direction by operating said drive source in the reverse direction, and at least one of said registering means and said document discharging mechanism being driven when operating said drive source in the forward direction.