A document reading apparatus includes a first discharge tray that assumes a closed state or an open state, by pivoting about a first pivotal shaft, a first transport route linearly extending from a document tray to the first discharge tray, a first reading device that reads an image of the document, a transport device that transports the document through the first transport route, and a controller that, when an instruction to read the document is inputted to an input device, restricts the transport device from transporting the document and the first reading device from reading the image, when the closed state or a full state of the first discharge tray is detected by a first detector, and allows the transport device to transport the document and the first reading device to read the image, when neither of the closed state and the full state is detected by the first detector.

A document sheet conveying device includes a sheet feed tray lift mechanism, a top plate portion, a fixed wall portion, and a lifted wall portion. The sheet feed tray lift mechanism lifts up and down a sheet feed tray. The top plate portion is adjacent to the sheet feed tray at a downstream side, in a sheet feed direction, of the sheet feed tray, and is contacted by a lower surface of a document sheet having been fed. The fixed wall portion is provided to extend downward from an upstream end, in the sheet feed direction, of the top plate portion, and the position of the fixed wall portion is fixed. The lifted wall portion extends upward from a downstream end of the sheet feed tray in the sheet feed direction and is lifted up and down along the fixed wall portion together with the sheet feed tray.

A sheet conveying device according to this disclosure includes a conveying tray onto which a sheet is loaded, a conveying mechanism, a raising and lowering mechanism, a raising and lowering control portion, a sensor, a first determination processing portion, and a second determination processing portion. The raising and lowering control portion drives the drive portion and controls raising and lowering of the conveying tray. The first determination processing portion determines on the basis of an output signal of the sensor whether or not a foreign object other than the sheet is present on the conveying tray while the raising and lowering control portion is raising the conveying tray before the conveying mechanism conveys the sheet. The second determination processing portion determines, on the basis that the output signal of the sensor changes while the conveying mechanism is conveying the sheet, that the sheet being conveyed is abnormal.

A linkage mechanism for opening and closing an inputting tray and an outputting tray together includes a base, an outputting tray which includes an intermediate outputting tray pivotally connected to a rear of the base, and a terminal outputting tray pivotally connected to a tail end of the intermediate outputting tray, an inputting tray pivotally connected to a top of the base, at least one first linkage bar and at least one second linkage bar. Two ends of the at least one first linkage bar are pivotally connected to one side of the inputting tray and one side of the intermediate outputting tray, respectively. Two ends of the at least one second linkage bar are pivotally connected to one side of the base and one side of the terminal outputting tray, respectively.

A transportation device transports a document sheet from a feeding tray to an output tray. A first lifting device lifts and lowers the feeding tray. A feeding-tray upperlimit sensor detects that the feeding tray reaches an upperlimit height. An output-tray sheet sensor detects the document sheet on the output tray. Further, the controller at a standby status (a) determines whether a document sheet is on the output tray or not, (b1) if a document sheet is not on the output tray, arranges the feeding tray at a predetermined intermediate position, and (b2) if a document sheet is on the output tray, arranges the feeding tray at a lower position that is a position apart by a predetermined distance from a position of the feeding tray when detecting that the feeding tray reaches the upperlimit height. Here, the lower position is a position higher than the intermediate position.

A document conveying device includes a sheet feeding tray, a sheet feeding mechanism, a sheet feeding tray lifting mechanism, a top plate, a fixed wall part, a lifting wall part, and a reflective optical sensor. The top plate is in contact with a lower surface of the document to be fed. The fixed wall part is provided extending downward from an upstream side end portion of the top plate, and is fixed in position. The lifting wall part is provided extending upward from a downstream side end portion of the sheet feeding tray, and lifted and lowered along the fixed wall part together with the sheet feeding tray. The reflective optical sensor detects the document placed on the sheet feeding tray. The reflective optical sensor emits light in a direction inclined downstream of the sheet feeding direction from a vertically upward direction.

A document conveying device includes a sheet feeding tray, a sheet feeding mechanism, a sheet feeding tray lifting mechanism, a top plate, a fixed wall part, and a lifting wall part. The top plate is in contact with a lower surface of the document to be fed. The fixed wall part is provided extending downward from an upstream side end portion of the top plate, and fixed in position. The lifting wall part is provided extending upward from a downstream side end portion of the sheet feeding tray, and is lifted and lowered along the fixed wall part together with the sheet feeding tray. The lifting wall part has a slit along an upper-and-lower direction. The fixed wall part has a fin along the upper-and-lower direction. An upper end portion of the slit is opened in the upper-and-lower direction. The fin is arranged inside the slit.

A document conveying device includes a cover, a rigid stopper, and a biasing member. The cover includes a first cover plate and a second cover plate. The stopper is rigid, has a fixed end rotatably connected to the cover and a movable end moving in an elongated hole formed in the device main body accordance with a turning of the cover, and supports the cover in a fully opened posture when the movable end is locked to one end of the elongated hole. The biasing member moves the movable end of the stopper to a position P separated by a predetermined distance from the one end of the elongated hole.

In a document feeding device, an ejection port outputs a document sheet to an output tray. A first lifting device lifts and lowers a feeding tray. A second lifting device lifts and lowers the ejection port. A feeding-tray sheet sensor detects that there is a document sheet on the feeding tray. A feeding-tray upperlimit sensor detects that the feeding tray reaches a first upperlimit height position. Further, the collision prevention sensor is lifted and lowered in conjunction with the feeding tray, and detects that the ejection port reaches a second upperlimit height position. An upperlimit of a movable range of the ejection port is set to be the second upperlimit height position detected in a condition that the feeding tray without any document sheets reaches the first upperlimit height position.

A document conveying device (9) includes a sheet feeding tray (44), a discharge tray (43) provided below the sheet feeding tray (44), a feeding roller (51), a conveying mechanism (35), a lifting mechanism (38) which lifts and lowers the sheet feeding tray (44), a discharge tray document sensor (18) which detects the document on the discharge tray (43), and a control part (10) which controls the lifting mechanism (38) such that the document placed on the sheet feeding tray (44) is pressed against the feeding roller (51) when the conveying mechanism (35) conveys the document. The control part (10) controls the lifting mechanism (38) to lower the sheet feeding tray (44) by a larger amount in a case where the document is not detected by the discharge tray document sensor (18) when power is turned on than a case where the document is detected by the discharge tray document sensor (18).