Embodiments of systems and methods are disclosed herein to transfer a printed election sheet from a printer to a scanner, which is separate and distinct from the printer, without human intervention. More specifically, the present disclosure provides a retrofit automatic document feeder (ADF), which may be retrofit or adaptively coupled between a printer and a scanner for automatically transferring a printed election sheet output from the printer to the scanner, where it is scanned to generate a scanned image of the printed election sheet. Unlike conventional ADFs incorporated within printers, scanners and multi-function printers, the retrofit ADF disclosed herein is coupled to receive a printed election sheet output from an output port of the printer, advance the printed election sheet away from the output port of printer and automatically transfer the printed election sheet to an input port of the scanner.

An image reading device includes a transporting unit that transports a recording medium along a transport path; an image reader that is disposed on one side of the transport path and that reads an image formed on the recording medium that is transported through the transport path; and a rotary body that is rotatably provided, that is disposed on a side opposite to a side where the image reader is set with the transport path being interposed between the rotary body and the image reader, and that includes an elastic body that protrudes toward the image reader.

A document reading device includes a conveyer for conveying a document sheet using a single drive source, a reader for reading an image of the document sheet being conveyed through a reading position, and a controller for stopping the conveyance by the conveyer if a read request for a first document sheet, which is being conveyed upstream of the reading position in a conveyance direction, has not received. The controller invalidates the image read from a second document sheet which is being conveyed downstream of the first document sheet if the trailing edge of the second document sheet has not passed through the reading position at a timing when the conveyance is stopped because of the read request having not been received, and validates the image read from the second document sheet if the trailing edge of the second document sheet has passed through the reading position.

An optical scanning apparatus includes: a casing having a bottom face; a cylindrical portion having a first opening through which a laser beam from a light source passes; a light-transmitting member arranged between the cylindrical portion and a rotary polygon mirror; a plate spring fixing the light-transmitting member; and a sealing member between the cylindrical portion and the plate spring, wherein a width of the first opening narrows progressively in a insertion direction of the plate spring, the sealing member comes into contact with the cylindrical portion in a first region when the plate spring is inserted, and in a second region closer to the bottom face than the first region, a region, in which the sealing member comes into contact with the cylindrical portion, expands toward a center part from two end portions of a leading end portion of the sealing member as the plate spring is inserted further.

A sensor mounting structure includes a positioning member, a holding member, and a biasing member. The positioning member is a mounting reference of a sensor. The holding member is attachable to and detachable from the positioning member so as to form a space in which the sensor is disposed with respect to the positioning member. The biasing member includes an arched part which is overhung between a pair of engaging parts engaging with the holding member. The biasing member, while the holding member is attached to the positioning member, elastically deforms the arched part that is sandwiched between the holding member and the sensor that is disposed in the space so as to bias the sensor to the positioning member.

A medium discharge device includes a discharge roller pair that is provided with a discharge driving roller and a discharge driven roller which drivably rotates in contact with the discharge driving roller, and a medium receiving tray which receives the medium that is fed and discharged by the discharge roller pair, in which the medium receiving tray includes a guide member which guides such that a tip end of the medium which is discharged from the discharge roller pair enters the medium mounting surface at a predetermined angle, and the guide member is provided to be elastically displaceable in an advancing and retreating direction with respect to the medium mounting surface of the medium receiving tray and is displaced in a direction coming close to the medium mounting surface according to raising of a pressing load due to the medium that is discharged to the medium receiving tray.

A method of scanning documents and moving such documents along a path such that during scanning a method of improving the documents velocity and the documents image quality is disclosed. The method includes providing a plurality of documents in an input tray and transporting each document along the path from the input tray at a transport velocity past the scanner to obtain scanned image data. By monitoring and controlling the velocity profile of the transport system, the scanning system may provide higher image quality, reduce slippage, misfeeds and jams, and provide alerts to an operator in the even slippage, misfeeds, or jams do occur.

A first reference portion has a lower surface of a first color. A second reference portion is adjacent to the first reference portion in a first direction and has a lower surface of a second color. A data processing portion executes a color determination process of determining whether one or more reference pixel data of a reference area in line image data is data of the first color or the second color. A control device sequentially selects a plurality of drive operations from a plurality of trial drive operations and causes the unit drive device to execute the plurality of drive operations, thereby positioning a scanning unit at a home position. When causing the unit drive device to execute the plurality of drive operations, the control device outputs, to the unit drive device, a speed command signal of a different level according to a moving distance of the scanning unit.

A multifunctional printer having a printer section, an auto document feeder, a scanner section, a print path, and a path guide. When the multifunctional printer is not in a print and scan mode, the path guide can move to a position that routes printed paper from the print path to a print output tray. When the multifunctional printer is not in a print and scan mode, the path guide can move to a position that routes printed paper from the print path to the auto document feeder, where it can be scanned.

A medium discharge device includes a discharge roller pair that is provided with a discharge driving roller and a discharge driven roller which drivably rotates in contact with the discharge driving roller, and a medium receiving tray which receives the medium that is fed and discharged by the discharge roller pair, in which the medium receiving tray includes a guide member which guides such that a tip end of the medium which is discharged from the discharge roller pair enters the medium mounting surface at a predetermined angle, and the guide member is provided to be elastically displaceable in an advancing and retreating direction with respect to the medium mounting surface of the medium receiving tray and is displaced in a direction coming close to the medium mounting surface according to raising of a pressing load due to the medium that is discharged to the medium receiving tray.