Abstract: A sheet discharging apparatus is provided with a brake member which can be contact with a sheet discharged from a sheet discharging portion. The brake member is activated when the size of a sheet discharged is sensed to be smaller than a predetermined size.

Abstract: A recirculating original-sheet transport apparatus supplies a sheet from a stack of original documents to the exposure station of an image forming apparatus and restores the sheet onto the stack. It includes a sheet container for receiving originals, a sheet feeder for feeding an original sheet from the sheet container to the image forming apparatus, and a sheet restorer for restoring the sheet into the sheet container. The sheet restorer includes a turning path in which is a plurality of soft rollers having guide ribs therebetween, and a straight transport path in which is a plurality of position-variable hard rollers around which transport belts extend and between which are guide ribs as well.

Abstract: An automatic sheet feeder for a copying machine etc. for correctly resuming a continuous copying operation after power to the sheet feeder (as well as the copying machine) is stopped by an emergency (safety) power stop. The copying machine has a state memory in which the state of the automatic sheet feeder (whether it is operating or not operating) at the time of a power stoppage to the automatic sheet feeder is stored. When the supply of power to the automatic sheet feeder begins, the state data is sent from the copying machine to the automatic short feeder. When the state data from the copying machine indicates that the sheet feeder was not operating, the automatic sheet feeder performs a preset initializing process in which the feeding rollers are rotated to eject the original sheet on the contact glass plate of the copying machine.

Abstract: The present invention is a device to be attached to a copy machine or the like to automatically reverse the original document. The invention is designed to account for misaligned or displaced portions of the copying machine which can result in poor quality reproductions when the original document is reversed for dual side copying. The present invention incorporates an adjustable reversion path to correct for obliquely fed originals.

Abstract: An automatic document conveying device for an image-processing machine including a housing having on its upper surface a transparent plate on which to place a document to be processed. The device includes an opening-closing frame member mounted on the housing so that it is free to pivot about a pivot axis extending along the rear edge of the transparent plate between a closed position at which it covers the transparent plate and an open position at which it exposes the transparent plate to view; a stationary frame member to be mounted on the housing adjacent to the upstream end of the transparent plate; a document table disposed on the stationary frame member; a document sending unit for sending a plurality of sheet-like documents placed on the document table to a document carrying-in passage one by one; and a document carrying-in unit for introducing the sheet-like documents sent to the document carrying-in passage toward the transparent plate.

Abstract: An automatic document feeder includes a conveyor belt for transporting a document, a document guide disposed downstream from the conveyor belt and which includes a holding portion in the form of a circular arc, and a discharge roller disposed in such a position as to reverse and discharge the document delivered from the conveyor belt while pressing the document on the holding portion. This automatic document feeder can discharge a document with high reliability by use of a smaller number of parts.

Abstract: An automatic document conveying device for an image-processing machine including a housing having on its upper surface a transparent plate on which to place a document to be processed. This device comprises an opening-closing frame member mounted on the housing so that it is free to pivot about a pivot axis extending along the rear edge of the transparent plate between a closed position at which it covers the transparent plate and an open position at which it exposes the transparent plate to view; a stationary frame member to be mounted on the housing adjacent to the upstream end of the transparent plate; a document table disposed on the stationary frame member; a document sending unit for sending a plurality of sheet-like documents placed on the document table to a document carrying-in passage one by one; and a document carrying-in unit for introducing the sheet-like documents sent to the document carrying-in passage toward the transparent plate.

Abstract: An automatic document feeder includes a guide member which has a flexible thin piece. A plurality of recesses are formed in a free end of the guide member in spaced-apart relationship in a width direction to provide the plurality of recesses and a plurality of protrusions adjacent to the recesses. The recesses and protrusions are formed and disposed so that both side edges of original documents of various standard sizes may pass tip portions or outside edge portions of the protrusions. By this, both side edges of the original documents are without foil scopped by the protrusions. Accordingly, both edges of original documents do not enter the interior most portions of the recesses and thus a paper jam does not occur.

Abstract: An automatic document conveying device for an image-processing machine including a housing having on its upper surface a transparent plate on which to place a document to be processed. The device includes an opening-closing frame member mounted on the housing so that it is free to pivot about a pivot axis extending along the rear edge of the transparent plate between a closed position at which it covers the transparent plate and an open position at which it exposes the transparent plate to view; a stationary frame member to be mounted on the housing adjacent to the upstream end of the transparent plate; a document table disposed on the stationary frame member; a document sending unit for sending a plurality of sheet-like documents placed on the document table to a document carrying-in passage one by one; and a document carrying-in unit for introducing the sheet-like documents sent to the document carrying-in passage toward the transparent plate.

Abstract: A drive transmission mechanism comprising a drive wheel fixed to a drive shaft, a plurality of intermediate wheels supported by a support shaft and each having a first transmission wheel and a second transmission wheel different from each other in diameter and rotatable together, and a driven wheel fixed to a driven shaft, the drive wheel being coupled to the first transmission wheel of the first intermediate wheel counted from the drive side, the second transmission wheel of the (n-1)th intermediate wheel as counted from the drive side being coupled to the first transmission wheel of the nth intermediate wheel as counted similarly, n being an optional integer of not smaller than 2, the second transmission wheel of the last intermediate wheel as counted from the drive side being coupled to the driven wheel, at least two of the drive wheel, the intermediate wheels and the driven wheel being mounted on the same shaft rotatably relative to each other.