Document conveying apparatus

Abstract

A document conveying apparatus (1) includes a conveying unit (30) inside a document feeding section (10), and the conveying unit (30) includes two fans (34) for cooling the inside of the document conveying apparatus (1). The fans (34) are arranged to pass air from upstream to downstream with respect to the document conveying direction. Thus, the stream of air produced by the fan (34) flows along the document conveying direction so that a document sheet is conveyed without being affected by a braking effect. Moreover, the air stream produced by the fan (34) flows along the document conveying passage (13) both on the air intake side and the air exhaust side of the fan (34). This facilitates the conveying of a document sheet by pulling it on the air intake side of the fan (34) and pushing it on the air exhaust side of the fan (34).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional front view of a document conveying apparatus of a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional front view showing a document feeding section in the document conveying apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conveying unit in the document feeding section, as seen from the left side of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the conveying unit in the document feeding section, as seen from the right side of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the conveying unit in the document feeding section, in a state where a conveying guide member is removed;

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional enlarged front view of a portion around an exhaust louver in a document conveying apparatus of a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the document conveying apparatus shown in FIG. 6, as seen from the direction of a document stacking tray;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, as seen from the direction of the document stacking tray, of the document conveying apparatus, in a state where the document stacking tray is removed; and

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional enlarged front view of a portion around an exhaust louver in a state where some of the document sheets shown in FIG. 6 have been conveyed.

Claims

1. A document conveying apparatus that separates and conveys one document sheet after another from a stack of document sheets placed on a document stacking tray to permit image data to be read from a document surface, the document conveying apparatus comprising: a fan arranged at such an orientation as to pass air from an upstream side to a downstream side with respect to a document conveying direction to cool an inside of the document conveying apparatus, the air flowing along a document conveying passage on an air intake side and/or an air exhaust side of the fan.

2. The document conveying apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fan is arranged so that the air flows along the document conveying passage on the air intake side of the fan, the air exhaust side of the fan pointing to a downstream-side end face of the stack of document sheets placed on the document stacking tray.

3. The document conveying apparatus of claim 2, wherein an exhaust louver is provided on a wall portion located in a downstream-side vicinity of the downstream-side end face of the stack of document sheets, the exhaust louver permitting the air discharged from the fan to be directed to the downstream-side end face of the stack of document sheets placed on the document stacking tray.

4. The document conveying apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least part of the air discharged toward the downstream-side end face of the stack of document sheets placed on the document stacking tray is passed to a document ejection port located at a downstream end of the document conveying passage to permit the document sheets to be ejected therethrough into a document ejection tray.

5. The document conveying apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fan has an inlet thereof pointing to part of the document surface lying in contact with an outer circumferential surface of a conveying roller located on the air intake side of the fan.

6. The document conveying apparatus of claim 5, wherein the conveying roller comprises a plurality of conveying rollers arranged in a document sheet width direction perpendicular to the document conveying direction, and the fan is arranged to pass air between two adjacent ones of the conveying rollers

7. The document conveying apparatus of claim 1, wherein an outlet of the fan points to a document ejection port located at a downstream end of the document conveying passage to permit the document sheets to be ejected therethrough into a document ejection tray.

8. The document conveying apparatus of claim 7, wherein an exhaust duct is provided to permit the air discharged from the fan to be directed to the document ejection port.

9. The document conveying apparatus of claim 2, wherein the document stacking tray and the document ejection tray are arranged over each other, with respective document conveying directions thereof pointing in mutually opposite directions,a document feed port through which to feed the document sheet out of the document stacking tray and a document ejection port through which to eject the document sheet into a document ejection tray are formed at a same side of the document stacking tray and the document ejection tray respectively with respect to a document reading section, andthe document conveying passage running from the document feed port to the document ejection port is curved to form a U-shape in an up and down direction.