Patent ID: 8430394

Claim:
A sheet feeding device comprising: a sheet cassette including a placing portion configured to accommodate stacked sheets; a pickup roller configured to individually feed the stacked sheets by rotating; a separating pad configured to apply a predetermined transporting resistance to a sheet fed by the pickup roller; a separating roller configured to contact the sheet fed by the pickup roller and to press the fed sheet against the separating pad; a holder arm which holds the pickup roller and the separating roller, the holder arm being configured to pivot about a rotational axis of the separating roller when the sheet cassette is mounted; an urging member configured to urge the separating roller toward the separating pad; and a supporting portion configured to support a specified portion of the holder arm positioned between the pickup roller and the separating roller, wherein the supporting portion and the specified portion are configured such that: when the sheet cassette is removed, the supporting portion supports the specified portion of the holder arm at a supporting position and the pickup roller is positioned at an upper position corresponding to the supporting position where the specified portion of the holder arm is supported, and when the sheet cassette is mounted to the sheet feeding device, the specified portion is moved so as not to be supported by the supporting portion, and wherein the urging member is configured to, in response to removal of the sheet cassette, move the separation roller and the holder arm from respective first positions to respective second positions, and the supporting portion is configured to guide the specified portion of the holder arm to the supporting position, thereby moving the pickup roller to the upper position.