Patent ID: 8955835
Filing Date: 2015-02-17
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
1. A feeding device comprising: a sheet placement unit configured to place sheets in stacked state thereon; an air discharge unit configured to discharge air to the sheets so as to float a single sheet that is located at top of the sheets; a suction conveying unit configured to suction, due to a negative pressure, the single floated sheet located at the top of the sheets and conveys the sheet; an upper-surface position detection unit configured to be brought into contact with an uppermost surface of the sheets so as to detect a level of the uppermost surface; a lifting and lowering unit configured to lift and lower the sheet placement unit in a vertical direction; a control unit configured to control, in accordance with an uppermost surface position detected by the upper-surface position detection unit, the lifting and lowering unit such that a level of the uppermost surface of the sheets becomes a set level; and a cleaning member configured to remove paper particles, or the like, the cleaning member being mounted on a top edge of a front fence of the feeding device at a downstream side of a conveyance direction, wherein the suction conveying unit is driven in a state where the sheet placement unit is in contact with the suction conveying unit.