Patent ID: 7484724

Claim:
A recording-medium feeding apparatus comprising: a holding portion for holding a plurality of recording media; a feed roller for feeding on a feeding path a recording medium from said holding portion; a rotation shaft facing said feed roller; an urging member for urging said rotation shaft toward said feed roller; a separator for separating one of said recording media contacting with said feed roller from the other recording media; and a return lever linked to said rotation shaft for bringing said other recording media back to said holding portion, said return lever being positioned off the feeding path of the recording medium at least at the time of starting the feeding of the recording medium, wherein said rotation shaft rotates to cause said return lever to come into contact with a surface of the recording medium while feeding the recording medium, said rotation shaft moves away from said feed roller by a force applied by the surface of the recording medium after said return lever comes into contact with the surface of the recording medium, and said rotation shaft moves toward said feed roller by a force applied by said urging member when said return lever brings the other recording media back to said holding portion.