Patent ID: 7481427

Claim:
An automatic document feeder comprising: paper supply tray means for placing documents with their front sides upward; document supply means for supplying the documents placed on the paper supply tray means in order from the top to a document reading unit; document discharging means for discharging the documents that are read in the document reading unit from the document reading unit; first gate means for sorting the documents discharged by the document discharging means in a first direction or a second direction; discharging tray means for placing the documents sorted in the first direction by the first gate means with the front sides downward; reversing means provided above the discharging tray means for conveying the documents sorted in the second direction by the first gate means reciprocally; wall-shaped aligning means provided at a side end of the first gate means of the discharging tray means; document re-conveying means for re-conveying the documents that are reversed and conveyed by the reversing means in a direction of the first gate means to the document reading unit; and turning/discharging means for turning the documents sorted in the second direction by the first gate means through the document re-conveying means in a conveying path of the reversing means to drop them on the discharging tray means from the reversing means and bumping ends of the documents in the falling direction against the aligning means, wherein the reversing means has second gate means for sorting the documents on the conveying path of the reversing means in the direction of the turning/discharging means.