Patent ID: 7324781

Claim:
An automatic document transportation device, comprising: a document tray and a document discharge tray which are provided vertically in two stages; a transportation path which is formed in a sideways letter-U shape from the document tray to the document discharge tray; means for separating original documents fed from the document tray by nipping the original documents in a thickness direction which is provided in proximity to an inlet of the transportation path; transportation rollers which are provided appropriately along the transportation path and nip and transport the original document, including first transportation rollers provided directly downstream of the means for separating without any intervening rollers in the transportation path between the means for separating and the first transportation rollers; means for scanning a first side of the transported original document which is provided on an outer side of the transportation path directly downstream of a U-turn part of the transportation path; means for scanning a second side of the transported original document which is provided on an inner side of the transportation path downstream of a scanning position of the means for scanning the first side; and document discharge rollers which are provided in proximity to an outlet of the transportation path and nip and discharge the scanned original document onto the document discharge tray, wherein in a lateral cross-section of the automatic document transportation device, the means for scanning the second side is provided between and below the means for separating and the first transportation rollers, and between the means for scanning the first side and the document discharge rollers.