Patent ID: 7530562

Claim:
A sheet feeding apparatus, comprising: a transport unit that, among a plurality of recording sheets loaded in a storage unit, transports at least a first recording sheet disposed at an uppermost position in the storage unit; a separation unit, provided downstream of the transport unit in a transport direction that, when the first recording sheet and one or more other recording sheets are stacked and transported out of the storage unit by the transport unit, causes downstream ends of the other recording sheets in the transport direction locate at a separation action point in a transport path, the separation action point being a contact point between the transport unit and the separation unit, by applying to the other recording sheets a larger force in a direction opposite to the transport direction by the separation unit than a force applied to the other recording sheets in the transport direction by the transport unit, while applying to the first sheet a larger force in the transport direction by the transport unit than a force applied to the first recording sheet in a direction opposite to the transport direction by the separation unit; and a push-back unit that can pivot from the separation action point to a downstream end portion of the storage unit in the transport direction, and pushes back the downstream ends of the other recording sheets to the downstream end portion of the storage unit by applying to the other recording sheets a larger force in the direction opposite to the transport direction by the push-back unit than a force applied to the other recording sheets in the transport direction by the transport unit and the separation unit, while applying to the first recording sheet a smaller force in the direction opposite to the transport direction by the push-back unit than a force applied to the first recording sheet in the transport direction by the transport unit and the separation unit.