Image reading apparatus
AssigneeNisca Corporation
InventorsTetuyuki Tohyama, Masaki Fukuda
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An image reading apparatus for reading both surfaces of a document has a first reading device and a second reading device disposed at a side opposite to the first reading device to sandwich a reading station for reading the document, thereby simultaneously reading both surfaces of the document transported to the reading station. The reading station includes a first path to guide the document to be read by the first reading device and a second path for guiding the document to be read by the second reading device. A gap in the second path is narrower than a gap in the first path. This structure does not cause document transport problems and attains quality readings of both surfaces of the document while having different optical reading means.
Claims15
An image reading apparatus for reading indicia on two surfaces of a document automatically at a time, comprising:
- a document supply tray for placing a document to be fed for reading,
- document feed means for feeding the document on the document supply tray for reading,
- discharge means for discharging documents after reading, and
- a reading station situated between the document supply tray and the discharge means and including first reading means for reading one surface of the document, second reading means for reading the other surface of the document, transparent first guide means for guiding the document so that said one surface of the document is read by the first reading means, second guide means formed at a side opposite to the first guide means to form together with the first guide means a first path having a predetermined gap, said second guide means having an oblique portion at a side of the second reading means to incline obliquely toward the first guide means to gradually reduce a distance to the first guide means, transparent third guide means for guiding the document so that the other surface of the document is read by the second reading means, and fourth guide means formed at a side opposite to the third guide means and connected to the first guide means so that the first and fourth guide means form flat and continuous guide surfaces thereon, said fourth guide means forming a second path together with the third guide means to allow the document to pass from the first path to the second path, said second path having a gap smaller than said predetermined gap.
An image reading apparatus for reading indicia on two surfaces of a document automatically at a time, comprising:
- first reading means formed of an optical reduction reading means for reading one surface of a document,
- second reading means for reading the other surface of the document situated adjacent to the first reading means, said second reading means being formed of a contact image sensor,
- first contact glass means situated adjacent to the first reading means for reading the one surface of the document by the first reading means,
- second contact glass means situated adjacent to the second reading means for reading the other surface of the document by the second reading means and located at a side opposite to the first contact glass means, and
- a linear transport path for passing the document to be read by the first reading means and the second reading means defined by the first contact glass means and the second contact glass means, said transport path including a first path having a determined gap and a second path having a gap narrower than said determined gap to allow the document to pass from the first path to the second path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.