Patent ID: 6491295
Filing Date: 2002-12-10
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
A paper feeder, for feeding a sheet of paper to a transporting path extending to a recording apparatus, comprising:a paper feeding roller, provided in the vicinity of a first widthwise end of the transporting path; a hopper, for stacking a plurality of sheets of paper, including: an aligning face, on which leading ends of the stacked sheets are abutted to be aligned with each other, the aligning face being narrowed from a first side end thereof to a second side end thereof, the first side end being in the vicinity of the first widthwise end of the transporting path, and the second side end being in the vicinity of a second widthwise end of the transporting path; a guide face, provided on the first side end of the aligning face so as to extend parallel with the transporting path; and a hopper member, pivotably supported on the second side end of the aligning face in a cantilevered manner, so as to move on the aligning face such that distance change in accordance with the number of sheets stacked thereon in the first widthwise end side of the transporting path with respect to the paper feeding roller becomes larger than that in the second widthwise end side of the: transporting path; a paper returner, placed in the vicinity of an end portion of the hopper which faces the paper feeding roller, so as to be pivotable between a first position where the paper returner constitutes a part of the paper transporting passage, and a second position where the paper returner is isolated from the paper transporting passage; and a first paper retainer, provided on the first surface of the paper returner in the vicinity of the guide face of the hopper, wherein the paper returner is placed at the first position so that a top sheet of paper in the hopper is abutted against the paper feeding roller, and is separated from other sheets of paper by a separation pad; and wherein the paper returner is placed at the second position so that a first face of the paper returner returns sheets of paper, which are entered in the paper transporting passage together with the sheet of paper to be fed, to the hopper.