Patent ID: 8393611

Claim:
A sheet-supply cassette, comprising: (A) a main member which is open upward to store a plurality of recording sheets, the main member including: (a1) a bottom plate portion on which the plurality of recording sheets are stackable; and (a2) a plurality of first engaging portions which are stationary relative to the bottom plate portion; and (B) a sheet-separation unit attached to the main member, the sheet-separation unit including: (b1) an inclined surface which is inclined relative to the bottom plate portion of the main member, the inclined surface being exposed obliquely upward by extending obliquely from a bottom position adjacent to the bottom plate portion to a top position and further being exposed to a downstream end of each of the plurality of recording sheets in a state in which the plurality of recording sheets are stacked on the bottom plate portion of the main member, wherein when one of the plurality of recording sheets is fed in a sheet-feed direction to the inclined surface, the sheet-separation unit guides the downstream end of said one of the plurality of recording sheets in an obliquely upward direction along the inclined surface; (b2) a plurality of second engaging portions each of which is engaged with corresponding one of the plurality of first engaging portions; and (b3) an elastic sheet-separate pad which projects above the inclined surface and which separates, when at least two recording sheets of the plurality of recording sheets are fed to the elastic sheet-separate pad, one of said at least two recording sheets from next one of said at least two recording sheets, by contacting the respective downstream ends of said at least two recording sheets, wherein the elastic sheet-separate pad extends along the inclined surface such that the elastic sheet-separate pad is exposed obliquely upward to the downstream end of said each of the plurality of recording sheets in the state in which the plurality of recording sheets are stacked on the bottom plate portion of the main member, wherein the sheet-separation unit includes an inclined sheet-separate plate having the inclined surface, and the inclined sheet-separate plate is elongate in a perpendicular direction perpendicular to the sheet-feed direction, and wherein the inclined sheet-separate plate has an aperture formed through a thickness thereof, and the elastic sheet-separate pad projects from the inclined surface of the inclined sheet-separate plate through the aperture thereof.