Sheet feeder with mechanism for protecting input and discharge openings and image reading device including the same

Patent 6612561 Issued on September 2, 2003. Estimated Expiration Date:

November 2, 2021. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

Electrophotographic copying machine with paper feeding and discharge trays
Patent #: 5111252
Issued on: 05/05/1992
Inventor: Hamada, et al.

Automatic document feeding device Patent #: 6029969
Issued on: 02/29/2000
Inventor: Saitoh, et al.

Inventor

Sekine, Naofumi

Assignee

Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Application

No. 09/985241 filed on 11/02/2001

US Classes:

271/3.14, FEEDING AND DELIVERING271/145, Pack holders271/207, To receiver for pack of sheets271/9.01, Multiple supplies271/9.09Including manual supply

Examiners

Primary: Skaggs, H. Grant
Assistant: Joerger, Kaitlin

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto

International Class

H04N 1/00 (20060101)

Foreign Application Priority Data

2000-11-13 JP

Abstract

A sheet feeder has a sheet-feed opening for feeding sheets into a sheet transporting path inside the sheet feeder; a sheet-discharge opening for discharging the sheets; a sheet-holding tray which is rotatably provided and which is movable to a position where the sheet-holding tray holds the sheets and to a location where the sheet-holding tray covers the sheet-feed opening; and a discharged-sheet holding tray which is rotatably provided and which is movable to a position where the discharged-sheet holding tray holds the sheets that have been discharged from the sheet-discharge opening and to a location where the discharged-sheet holding tray covers the sheet-discharge opening. When either one of the sheet-feed opening and the sheet-discharge opening that is disposed above the other is to be covered, the sheet-holding tray or the discharged-sheet holding tray is subjected to inversion rotation so that a surface of the sheet-holding tray or the discharged-sheet holding tray that is formed opposite to a sheet-loading surface thereof forms a surface of the body of the sheet feeder and when either of the sheet-feed opening and the sheet-discharge opening is to be covered, the sheet-holding tray or the discharged-sheet holding tray is moved so that the sheet-loading surface of the sheet-holding tray or the discharged-sheet holding tray forms the surface of the body of the sheet feeder in order to cover either of the other of the sheet-feed opening and the sheet-discharge opening.