Patent ID: 8876104

Claim:
A sheet feed apparatus comprising: a sheet stacking portion on which sheets are stacked; a sheet conveying path, extending from the sheet stacking portion, in which the sheet is conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction; a sheet feed roller disposed, in the sheet conveying path, facing the sheet stacking portion and having a circumferential surface being rotated, the sheet feed roller configured to convey the sheet; a sheet feed pad disposed facing the circumferential surface of the sheet feed roller, and having a pad surface that forms, between the pad surface and the circumferential surface, a nip portion into which the sheet is conveyed; a support member having a support surface to which the sheet feed pad is fixed, and a contact surface located upstream of the support surface in a sheet conveying direction so as to be higher than the pad surface, the contact surface being parallel to the support surface and configured to make contact with a leading end of the sheet fed from the sheet stacking portion; and rib portions disposed in the support member on both side portions, in a sheet width direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction, of the support surface, the rib portions having inclined surfaces that extend so as to lower front end portions thereof, respectively, from the contact surface toward a downstream side in the sheet conveying direction.