Patent ID: 7641186

Claim:
A sheet material feeding apparatus comprising: a pressure plate for supporting sheet materials; a pickup roller for feeding the sheet materials supported on said pressure plate; a feed roller for feeding the sheet materials fed by said pickup roller; a separation roller for being urged by said feed roller and cooperable with said feed roller to separate one of the sheet materials; a registration roller for feeding of the sheet material; and a pinch roller for making a nip with said registration roller, a separation roller holder rotatably supporting said separation roller; and a common control cam mechanism for controlling separation of said pressure plate from said pickup roller and for controlling rotation of said separation roller holder, wherein the sheet material fed by said feed roller is abutted against the nip between said registration roller and said pinch roller which are at rest, so that oblique feeding of the sheet material is corrected, and then said registration roller starts to feed the sheet material by the nip, and wherein when said registration roller starts to feed said sheet material by the nip, said pressure plate urges the sheet material to said pickup roller and said separation roller urges the sheet material to said feed roller, and said common control cam mechanism controls separation of said pressure plate from said pickup roller and rotation of the separation roller holder, such that after the sheet material is pinched between said registration roller and said pinch roller, said pressure plate is separated from said pickup roller, and thereafter, said separation roller is separated from said feed roller.