Patent ID: 7308853

Claim:
A bulk paper feeding device with an intermediate conveyor, comprising: a carrier capable of carrying a large quantity of paper; a paper feeding mechanism for picking up and feeding one sheet at a time of the paper from the carrier; an intermediate conveyor for transporting a sheet of paper fed from the feeding mechanism to a main paper feeding table of a paper feeder on a body of an image forming device or to a vicinity of a paper feeding port that faces main paper feeding means of a paper feeder, said intermediate conveyor comprising paper transport means for transporting paper that has been fed from the paper feeding mechanism, disposed in a plurality at prescribed intervals from upstream to downstream along an intermediate transport path thereof; and paper detecting means for detecting at least one edge from among the leading and trailing edges of the paper being transported, disposed in a plurality at intervals from upstream to downstream along the intermediate transport path; control means for performing control in which the paper size is identified and a paper transport control system of each paper transport means is varied on a basis of signals from the plurality of paper detecting means when initialization is performed upon completion of transport of a single sheet of paper onto the plurality of paper detecting means; and timekeeping means for measuring a time between the paper detecting means when the trailing edge of the paper moves at a time that transport-of paper on the plurality of paper detecting means is started in accordance with a start of paper feed by the main paper feeding means, wherein the control means adds a signal from the timekeeping means and controls the paper transport speed of each paper transport means.