Automatic document feeder capable of feeding a document in the form of computer form paper

Claim 1

An automatic document feeder (ADF) for an image recorder having a top open platen, comprising: document transporting means located to face the platen for transporting a continuous document constituted by a sequence of continuous pages and having a plurality of equally spaced feed holes; hole sensor means comprising a plurality of hole sensors each of which generate feed pulses by detecting different ones of said feed holes simultaneously; decision means for producing, on receiving said feed pulses from said plurality of hole sensors at the same time, a feed pulse by determining that said hole sensors each has sensed a single hole, said decision means comprising an AND gate which receives pulses from at least two of the plurality of hole sensors and which outputs feed pulses to said counting means representing sensing of different holes by said at least two sensors such that an output of said decision means corresponding to sensing of a hole is provided only when each of said at least two hole sensors has sensed a hole; counting means for counting said feed pulses from said decision means; and control means for controlling said document transporting means such that when said counting means reaches a count matching one page of the continuous document, said document transporting means stops transporting said continuous document.