Patent ID: 7469893

Claim:
A sheet loading device comprising: a sheet tray adapted to place thereon a sheet stack consisting of a plurality of stacked sheets; a pair of side fences disposed on the side on a top surface of said sheet tray to sandwich said sheet stack therebetween in a direction orthogonal to a sheet loading direction; a pair of racks attached to respective ones of said pair of side fences and disposed on the side of a bottom surface of said sheet tray to extend in mutually opposed directions of said pair of side fences; and a pinion adapted to be rotated about a pinion shaft penetrating said sheet tray and engaged with said racks, said pinion having a first surface opposite to the bottom surface of said sheet tray, and a second surface located on the opposite side of said first surface and provided coaxially with a flange having a diameter greater than that of an engaged portion of said pinion, wherein each of said racks has a concave portion formed in a bottom surface of an end thereof on the side of the associated side fence and adapted to allow said flange to be fitted therein.