Patent ID: 8651475

Claim:
A sheet feeding apparatus that feeds a sheet, the sheet feeding apparatus comprising: a sheet feeding unit configured to include a tray that stacks sheets to be fed, a sheet feeding mechanism that conveys the sheets stacked on the tray on a one-by-one basis, a lifting mechanism that lifts the tray so that the sheet is positioned in a sheet feeding position suitable for feeding, a stepping motor that drives the sheet feeding mechanism and the lifting mechanism, and a switching mechanism that switches an operation of the sheet feeding mechanism and an operation of the lifting mechanism according to a rotating direction of the stepping motor; and a control unit configured to control said sheet feeding unit, wherein, while the sheet feeding mechanism is feeding a sheet after excitation current for the stepping motor is switched on from off, said control unit executes a first initial operation in which the stepping motor is driven at an initial starting speed until an accumulated number of pulses reaches a first predetermined pulse number, and then changes the speed of the stepping motor to a sheet feeding speed, wherein, while the sheet feeding mechanism is feeding a sheet without turning off the excitation current for the stepping motor after the lifting mechanism lifts the tray, said control unit executes a second initial operation in which the stepping motor is driven at the initial starting speed until the accumulated number of pulses reaches a second predetermined pulse number, and then changes the speed of the stepping motor to the sheet feeding speed, and wherein said control unit changes the speed of the stepping motor from the initial starting speed to the sheet feeding speed without executing the first and second initial operations, when the sheet feeding mechanism feeds a sheet without turning off the excitation current for the stepping motor after the sheet feeding mechanism feeds a previous sheet.