An automatic document feeding device having a main body, a stopping assembly, an actuating assembly and a controller. The main body has a sheet conveying channel of a curvature shape. A sheet feeding roller assembly and a sheet conveying roller assembly are arranged on the sheet conveying channel. The stopping assembly is arranged between the sheet feeding roller assembly and the sheet conveying roller assembly. The stopping assembly is capable of being located in or out of the sheet conveying channel. A buffering channel is located between the stopping assembly and the sheet feeding roller assembly. The controller is electrically connected with the actuating assembly and the sheet feeding roller assembly. The controller controls the actuating assembly to hold the stopping assembly in the sheet conveying channel to block the sheet conveying channel in a predetermined period, and then controls the actuating assembly to stop holding the stopping assembly.

A sheet conveying device includes a discharging roller pair, a discharge sheet holding portion, and a stopper member. The discharging roller pair discharges the sheet member outside from a sheet discharge port by rotating in a forward rotational direction. The discharging roller pair includes a first conveying roller, and a roller member. The discharge sheet holding portion is for holding the sheet member discharged outside by the discharging roller pair. The stopper member is swingably supported on a rotational shaft of the first conveying roller. The stopper member allows the sheet member to be discharged to the discharge sheet holding portion when the discharging roller pair rotates in the forward rotational direction, and prevents the sheet member from intruding into the nip portion from the discharge sheet holding portion when the discharging roller pair rotates in the reverse rotational direction.

There is provided a feed apparatus including a support unit, a feed roller, a swingable arm to support the feed roller, a guide unit, a movable member movable to a retracted position and a protruding position at which the movable member can abut against the sheet supported by the support unit, a driving source, driving transmission units; and a contact-separating mechanism to move the feed roller to a separated position and an abutment position at which the feed roller abuts against the sheet supported by the support unit. In a state in which the movable member is the protruding position and the feed roller is the separated position, a time required to start feeding of the sheet by the feed roller moved from the separated position to the abutment position is longer than a time required to shift the movable member from the protruding position to the retracted position.

A sheet feeder comprises a sheet stacking unit which stacks sheets, a sheet pickup unit which picks up a sheet from one side of the stacked sheets on the sheet stacking unit, a sheet separating and feeding unit which separately feeds sheets one by one to a conveyance path, an orientation holding unit which holds a feed orientation of a sheet, and a biasing unit which biases the orientation holding unit from a retracted position to a projecting position. A projection amount of the orientation holding unit from an inclined surface increases as the number of stacked sheets decreases, and the projection amount from the inclined surface decreases as the number of stacked sheets increases.

A card reader may include card insertion port; a plurality of types of pulling-out detection mechanisms; and a pulling-out prevention mechanism. The pulling-out prevention mechanism may include a lock member having a prevention part configured to contact with the card and prevent pulling-out of the card; and a moving mechanism structured to move the lock member between a contact position and a retreated position. The plurality of types of the pulling-out detection mechanisms may the abnormal pulling-out of the card by methods different from each other. The lock member is moved to the contact position from the retreated position to prevent pulling-out of the card when the abnormal pulling-out of the card from the card insertion port is detected by the plurality of types of the pulling-out detection mechanisms.

A feeding apparatus includes a mounting portion that holds a medium; a feeding roller that feeds the medium toward a feeding direction; a stopper configured to prevent the medium from moving toward the feeding direction; a supporting part that swings the feeding roller between: a first position in which the feeding roller feeds the medium while both the feeding roller and the stopper contact the medium, and a second position in which the feeding roller does not contact the medium while the stopper contacts the medium to prevent the medium from moving toward the feeding direction; and a regulating part disposed on a downstream side in feeding direction with respect to a supporting point of the supporting part. The regulating part regulates movement of the stopper by contacting a portion of the stopper that does not contact the medium in the first position.

A sheet conveyance apparatus that conveys a sheet along a curved path shorter than the sheet and corrects skew of the sheet, includes: a conveyance roller that sends the sheet into the curved path; a guide that guides the sheet along the curved path; and a gate that is hinders advance of the leading end, generates a moment about a normal of the sheet passing through the leading end, and allows advance of the leading end by being pushed away by the leading end, wherein the guide includes a projection projecting toward a movement space for the sheet on a surface facing the movement space, and the projection abuts a center portion of the sheet in a longitudinal direction and generates a moment about an axis parallel to an advance direction of a portion that has come into contact with the projection.

The sheet stacker includes a sheet conveyor arrangement, configured for feeding a plurality of sheets and having a sheet discharge end, and a stacking bay. In the stacking bay sheets delivered by the sheet conveyor arrangement are formed into stacks. A stack conveyor is provided in the stacking bay and is movable in a conveyor direction parallel to a sheet feeding direction, according to which the sheets are fed from the sheet discharge end onto the stack conveyor. The sheet discharge end is configured and controlled such that it is gradually lifted during sheet stacking, in order to accommodate a growing stack of sheets being formed on the stack conveyor. A stop plate is positioned in the stacking bay above the stack conveyor and in front of the sheet discharge end of the sheet conveyor arrangement. The stop plate is configured and controlled to be gradually lifted from the stack conveyor as the sheet stack grows, to be withdrawn upon completion of the stack thus allowing removal of the stack in an evacuation direction substantially parallel to the conveyor direction, and to be lowered towards the stack conveyor again.

A document sheet transportation device includes a feeding portion which feeds a document sheet from a document sheet placement portion toward a document sheet transportation path. The feeding portion includes a holder, a feeding member, a supporting body supported by the holder, a rotatable stopper member having a contact end portion allowed to contact a front end of a document sheet, and a biasing member which applies a biasing force to the stopper member. The stopper member is allowed to change a position among a first position in which the contact end portion contacts the front end of the document sheet, a second position which allows feeding of the document sheet by the feeding member, and a third position which is rotated in the first rotating direction from the second position. The biasing member applies the biasing force to the stopper member in a reverse second rotating direction.

Provided is a multi-banknote cassette with a movable stopper, which is capable of storing various kinds of banknotes at the same time. The multi-banknote cassette includes a movable stopper which is installed in a stack guide for guiding banknotes introduced into a cassette body of the banknote cassette toward a banknote stopper, and rotated to protrude from or retreat into a transfer path of the banknotes. When a banknote having a relatively small size among the banknotes inserted into the banknote cassette is introduced, the movable stopper is rotated to protrude from the stack guide and regulates the front end of the introduced banknote, and when a banknote having a relatively large size is introduced, the movable stopper is rotated to retreat into the stack guide, and a banknote stopper installed at the rear of the stack guide regulates the front end of the introduced bank.