Patent ID: 8708332

Claim:
An automatic feeding apparatus, comprising: a body; a sheet passage formed in the body; a sheet-separation mechanism, disposed in the body and at an entrance of the sheet passage, for sheet separation, the sheet-separation mechanism forming a nip portion; and a sheet-input assisting mechanism disposed in the body and comprising: a frame; a presser, mounted on the frame, for pressing a sheet in front of the nip portion, the presser comprising a holder and a gear rack mounted on a side wall of the holder; a clutch gear, supported and displaceable on a guide groove of the frame, wherein the clutch gear is configured to move within the guide groove between a first position and a second position; and a driving device for selectively driving the clutch gear to rotate forward and rearward, wherein: the clutch gear when rotating rearward is engaged with the gear rack at the first position and drives the presser to move in a first direction; and the clutch gear when rotating forward is shifted to the second position and disengaged from the gear rack, wherein the presser, after being released by the clutch gear, moves in a second direction to press the sheet.