Patent ID: 7980549

Claim:
A document feeder configured to feed a document in a first direction, comprising: a tray configured to load a document or a set of documents on a loading surface thereof; a spindle rotatably provided over the tray to extend in a second direction that is parallel to the loading surface and perpendicular to the first direction; a holder body swingably provided on the spindle, a first contact surface of the holder body configured to contact a top document sheet on the loading surface; a feed roller rotatably provided on the holder body at an upstream side in the first direction, the feed roller being configured to be driven by the spindle in contact with a document on the loading surface and feed the document in the first direction, wherein the feed roller and the first contact surface are disposed to concurrently contact the top document sheet while the top document sheet is being fed in the first direction; and a detecting unit configured to detect whether a document is loaded on the loading surface, the detecting unit including an actuator provided between the feed roller and the first contact surface in the second direction, the actuator projecting upward from the loading surface and being configured to be moved down due to contact with the document on the loading surface.