Patent ID: 7429040

Claim:
A feeding apparatus comprising: a feeding roller for conveying a sheet in a sheet feeding direction; a separation roller for conveying the sheet in a reverse direction against the sheet feeding direction based on rotational force transmitted through a torque limiter, the separation roller being opposed to the feeding roller; a transmission mechanism for transmitting rotational force to the feeding roller; a limited force reverse transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational force to the separation roller through the torque limiter; a forced reverse transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational force to the separation roller without passing through the torque limiter; a temperature detector for detecting ambient temperature; and a controller for selecting a first feeding operation or a second feeding operation based on detected information from the temperature detector; wherein the first feeding operation is to rotate the feeding roller by applying the transmission mechanism and to temporarily rotate the separation roller by applying the forced reverse transmission mechanism after the limited force reverse transmission mechanism transmits the rotational force to the separation roller, then the limited force reverse transmission mechanism transmits the rotational force to the separation roller, and the second feeding operation is to rotate the feeding roller by applying the transmission mechanism and the limited force transmission mechanism transmits the rotational force to the separation roller.