Patent ID: 7823876
Filing Date: 2010-11-02
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
1. A sheet feeding device for feeding a sheet, comprising: a sheet accommodating portion for accommodating a sheet stack constituted by a plurality of sheets; a sheet carrying plate for carrying the sheet stack, a sheet feeding direction upstream side end of which is supported within the sheet accommodating portion to be free to rotate; a pickup roller that contacts an upper face of the sheet stack and dispatches an uppermost sheet of the sheet stack; an elevator mechanism that displaces the sheet carrying plate between a sheet feeding position in which the upper face of the sheet stack contacts the pickup roller and a separating position in which the upper face of the sheet stack is separated from the pickup roller; a first heated air mechanism for blowing heated air toward a side face of the sheet stack accommodated in the sheet accommodating portion, the side face being parallel to the sheet feeding direction; a controller for controlling the operation of the elevator mechanism, wherein the controller controls the operation of the elevator mechanism such that the sheet carrying plate is displaced between the sheet feeding position and the separating position during a heated air blowing operation performed by the first heated air mechanism; a conveyance roller pair provided on a sheet feeding direction downstream side of the pickup roller and sandwiching the sheet dispatched by the pickup roller to convey the sheet; and a rear end detection portion for detecting a state in which a sheet feeding direction rear end portion of the sheet dispatched by the pickup roller passes between the conveyance roller pair, wherein the controller controls the operation of the elevator mechanism such that raising of the sheet carrying plate from the separating position to the sheet feeding position is started when the rear end detection portion detects the state.