Patent ID: 8042798
Filing Date: 2011-10-25
Classification: B65H,G03G

Abstract:
1. A sheet supply apparatus comprising: a sheet support tray on which a plurality of sheets are stacked and capable of moving in a vertical direction; an upper limit detecting sensor for detecting a top surface position of the plurality of sheets stacked on the sheet support tray; an adsorbent surface for attracting the sheets stacked on the sheet support tray from a top surface of the stacked sheets and adsorbing the topmost sheet of the stacked sheets; a conveyance mechanism for conveying the sheet adsorbed on the adsorbent surface to a sheet conveyance path; a separation air blasting mechanism having a separation air outlet wherein separation air is blasted from a sheet conveyance path side of the adsorbed sheet, and blasting the separation air to a leading edge of the sheet adsorbed on the adsorbent surface; and a control section for controlling the movement in a vertical direction of the sheet support tray according to an output of the upper limit detecting sensor so that a position of an upper surface of the stacked sheets on the support tray is adjusted to a height located below the separation air outlet, wherein adsorption is possible at the height located below the separation air outlet; and so that a fall region, in which a pressure difference with respect to a separation region is generated, is formed below the separation region in which the separation air blasted from the separation air outlet is blasted along the sheet adsorbed on the adsorbent surface, at least during a time from adsorption of sheets onto the adsorbent surface to a start of conveyance of the sheets by the conveyance mechanism when supplying a sheet; wherein the following condition is satisfied: where H 1 is a adsorbent height that represents a distance between the adsorbent surface and the top surface of the stacked sheets on the sheet support tray and H 2 is a separation air blasting height that represents a height of the separation air outlet.