Patent ID: 6880822

Claim:
A paper feeder comprising; a paper feed roller for feeding a recording material to a downstream side of transportation by the paper feed roller; a hopper formed with a plate member long in a width direction of the recording material, the hopper being angularly moved around a fulcrum thereof so as to be apart from and to be abutted against the paper feed roller; an urging device located opposite to the paper feed roller with respect to the hopper for urging the hopper toward the paper feed roller from a backside of the hopper; and a hopper release device for moving the hopper apart from the paper feed roller while resisting the urging device; wherein a plurality of the recording materials are stacked in the hopper and are pushed upward so as to be successively fed to the downstream side of transportation from an uppermost recording material of the stacked recording materials; and the hopper release device has a non-release mode where the uppermost recording material is abutted against the paper feed roller by an urging force of the urging device, a small release mode where the hopper is turned and held so that the uppermost recording material is slightly separated from the paper feed roller, and a large release mode where the hopper is turned and held so that the hopper is at the most apart from the paper feed roller.