Document conveying apparatus capable of correcting document skew

A document conveying apparatus, comprising:

• a conveying path along which documents are conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction;
• a correction roller comprising a rotating shaft along a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and a pair of contact portions including contact pieces that are arranged on the rotating shaft spaced apart in the width direction and extending in radial directions from the same positions in the circumferential direction, each of the contact portions being capable of coming in contact with a leading edge of a document conveyed on the conveying path;
• a correction portion configured to allow the correction roller to rotate due to a document conveying force applied to the pair of contact portions only in a case where skew of the document was corrected by the leading edge of the document conveyed on the conveying path coming in contact with both of the pair of contact portions;
• a biasing portion configured to bias the correction roller in a rotational direction in which the correction roller is rotated by the document conveying force;
• and
• a regulating portion configured to regulate rotation of the correction roller biased by the biasing portion so as to cause the contact pieces of the contact portions to retract from the conveying path, wherein
• the regulating portion comprises:
• an actuator that is arranged farther on an upstream side in the conveying direction than the correction roller and configured to rotate when the leading edge of the document conveyed on the conveying path comes in contact with the actuator;
• a stopper configured to move forward or backward according to a rotation of the actuator;
• and
• engaging pieces provided at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft of the correction roller and capable of engaging with the stopper,
• in a state where the actuator is not rotating, the stopper moves backward and separates from the engaging piece, and
• when the leading edge of the document comes into contact with the actuator and the actuator rotates, the stopper moves forward and engages with the engaging piece, thereby regulating rotation of the correction roller.