Nisca Corporation

Hiroshi Mukouyama

Masashi Yamashita

Atsumi Kobayashi

Mamoru Akiyama

Yoshihiko Minagawa

In a device and method for feeding one by one documents including a preceding document to be fed earlier and a following document to be fed later to an image scanning station having a scanning reference point, the document being transported toward the image scanning station is first measured to find the length of the document, so that the following document is introduced into the image scanning station with timing varying with the length of the preceding document after the preceding document is treated and discharged. In a case that the following document passes past the scanning reference point just when the preceding document is discharged, the following document is moved backward to the scanning reference point, but if the following document does not reach the scanning reference point at that time, it is further forwarded to the appropriate image scanning station, consequently to shorten the interval of transporting the preceding and following documents, thus speeding up the image processing operation.

Variable-timing automatic document feeding device and method

An automatic document feeder for feeding and discharging a document or documents to and from a document handling device such as a copying machine includes a document supply unit having a separation roller and register rollers, positioning unit and discharge unit, which are driven by a drive unit having a single reversible driving motor. The separation roller is operated to forward the document to a document reading portion when driving the driving motor in a first direction, and stopped when driving the driving motor in a second direction. The register rollers are operated only when driving the driving motor in a second direction. By slowing down the separation roller just before the document collides with the register rollers, the document can be transferred at high speed without being damaged.

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Yamanashi-ken, Japan

Hiroshi Mukouyama