Patent ID: 6634634
Filing Date: 2003-10-21
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
A sheet feed apparatus, comprising:a first sheet tray; a second sheet trays disposed in a lower direction with respect to the first sheet tray; a first sheet feed roller contacting with top one of sheets piled up to be stored in the first sheet tray, the first sheet feed roller adapted to feed the sheets; a first handling member adapted to cooperate with the first sheet feed roller to prevent a plurality of the sheets stored in the first sheet tray from being fed together; a second sheet feed roller contacting with top one of sheets piled up to be stored in the second sheet tray, the second sheet feed roller adapted to feed the sheets stored in the second sheet tray; a second handling member adapted to cooperate with the second sheet feed roller to prevent a plurality of the sheets stored in the second sheet tray from being fed together; a registration roller adapted to nip the sheets fed out from the first sheet tray and the sheets fed out from the second sheet tray to deliver the both sheets to an image forming section disposed in an upper direction with respect to the first sheet feed roller; and a first guide portion disposed between the first sheet feed roller and the registration roller, the first guide portion adapted to guide the sheets fed from the first sheet tray toward the registration roller, wherein the registration roller has two sub rollers, wherein a distance from a nip portion of the registration roller between the sub rollers to a handling portion between the second sheet feed roller and the second handling member is smaller than a distance from the nip portion of the registration roller to a nip portion between the first sheet feed roller and the first handling member, and wherein the first guide portion, comprises: a first sheet curve forming portion adapted to curve a delivery direction of the sheet fed from the first sheet tray; and a second sheet curve forming portion disposed in downstream of the delivery direction with respect to the first sheet curve forming portion, the second sheet curve forming portion adapted to curve the delivery direction of the sheet fed from the first sheet tray in an opposite direction to the curving direction by the first curve forming portion.