Document feeding device and method for assembling document feeding device

Abstract

The present invention provides a document feeding device whose components are easily assembled. A document feeding device includes a housing base unit and a drive unit, the housing base unit forming a document transportation path, and including a roller shaft including a roller and a driven gear, the drive unit transmitting power to the roller shaft, and including a drive gear meshing with the driven gear, and when the drive unit is mounted in the housing base unit, the drive gear being positioned on an upper or lower side of the driven gear to mesh with the driven gear.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A document feeding device comprising a housing base unit and a drive unit, wherein the housing base unit forms a document transportation path, and comprises a roller shaft including a roller and a driven gear, the drive unit transmits power to the roller shaft, and comprises a drive gear meshing with the driven gear, and when the drive unit is mounted in the housing base unit, the drive gear is positioned on an upper or lower side of the driven gear to mesh with the driven gear. 
     
     
         2 . The document feeding device according to  claim 1 , wherein when the drive unit is mounted in the housing base unit, the drive gear is positioned on an obliquely upper or obliquely lower side of the driven gear to mesh with the driven gear. 
     
     
         3 . The document feeding device according to  claim 1 , wherein when the drive unit is mounted in the housing base unit, the drive gear is positioned on an upper or lower side of the driven gear at an angle of 45 degrees or less from an horizontal plane with respect to the driven gear to mesh with the driven gear. 
     
     
         4 . The document feeding device according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing base unit comprises a positioning part and a drive-unit fixing screw hole used for mounting the drive unit, and the positioning part and the drive-unit fixing screw hole have a shape corresponding to the drive unit. 
     
     
         5 . The document feeding device according to  claim 1 , wherein the roller shaft includes a separating roller shaft, a reading roller shaft, and a paper discharging roller shaft, and the drive unit comprises drive gears meshing with driven gears provided at the respective roller shafts. 
     
     
         6 . The document feeding device according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive unit comprises two side plates, and the drive gear is interposed unitedly between the two side plates. 
     
     
         7 . The document feeding device according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing base unit comprises as the roller shaft a paper feeding roller shaft including a paper feeding roller and the driven gear, the drive unit comprises an electromagnetic clutch controlling drive and stop of the paper feeding roller, the electromagnetic clutch is positioned coaxially with the paper feeding roller shaft when the drive unit is mounted in the housing base unit, and an attachment is provided at the paper feeding roller shaft, and divides the paper feeding roller shaft into a shaft where the paper feeding roller is provided and a shaft where the electromagnetic clutch is provided. 
     
     
         8 . A method for assembling a document feeding device comprising a housing base unit and a drive unit, wherein the housing base unit forms a document transportation path, and comprises a roller shaft including a roller and a driven gear, the drive unit transmits power to the roller shaft, and comprises a drive gear meshing with the driven gear, when the drive unit is mounted in the housing base unit, the drive gear is positioned on an upper or lower side of the driven gear to mesh with the driven gear, and at the time of the meshing, the drive unit is mounted in the housing base unit from an upper or lower side. 
     
     
         9 . The method for assembling the document feeding device according to  claim 8 , wherein the housing base unit comprises as the roller shaft a paper feeding roller shaft including a paper feeding roller and the driven gear, the drive unit comprises an electromagnetic clutch controlling drive and stop of the paper feeding roller, the electromagnetic clutch is positioned coaxially with the paper feeding roller shaft when the drive unit is mounted in the housing base unit, an attachment is provided at the paper feeding roller shaft, and via the attachment, the paper feeding roller shaft is divided into a shaft where the paper feeding roller is provided and a shaft where the electromagnetic clutch is provided.