Patent ID: 7556256

Claim:
A sheet feeding apparatus comprising: a first sheet stacking plate, rotatably attached to a base member, for stacking first sheets thereon; a second sheet stacking plate, rotatably attached to said base member, for stacking second sheets thereon, said second sheet stacking plate being located above said first sheet stacking plate in its sheet stacking direction and being rotated according to rotation of said first sheet stacking plate; and a feed roller being located above said second sheet stacking plate in its sheet stacking direction and adapted to, (1) when the second sheet is stacked on said second sheet stacking plate, perform a sheet feeding operation with contacting the second sheet, and (2) when a second sheet is not stacked on said second sheet stacking plate, perform a sheet feeding operation with contacting the first sheet stacked on said first sheet stacking plate, wherein a rotational fulcrum of said second sheet stacking plate is arranged on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction of a rotational fulcrum of said first sheet stacking plate, and when said second sheet stacking plate is rotated according to the rotation of said first sheet stacking plate, a rotation angle of said second sheet stacking plate is smaller than a rotation angle of said first sheet stacking plate.