Patent ID: 7347415

Claim:
A paper feeding apparatus of an image forming apparatus having a frame, a knock-up plate movably mounted on the frame, and a pickup roller picking up a sheet of paper disposed on the knock-up plate, the paper feeding apparatus comprising: a first finger device movably disposed on a first portion of the knock-up plate to contact a first end of the paper; a second finger device movably disposed on a second portion of the knock-up plate to contact a second end of the paper; a paper guide slidably supported on the knock-up plate; and a knock-up plate raising/lowering portion moving with respect to the frame to raise and lower the knock-up plate with respect to the pickup roller, wherein the first and second finger devices move independently from each other, the second portion of the knock-up plate is an open portion so that the movement of the second finger device does not interfere with the knock-up plate, the paper guide is slidably disposed on the knock-up plate to move toward and away from the knock-up plate raising/lowering portion according to a size of the paper disposed between the paper guide and a side of the knock-up plate, the knock-up plate raising/lowering portion moves in a first direction, and the paper guide moves in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the first finger device moves in the first direction, and the second finger device moves in the first and second directions.