An image forming apparatus includes feeding, conveying, and separating members, and detecting, image forming, and control units. The feeding member feeds a recording material placed on a tray. The separating member and the conveying member separate recording materials at a nip. The detecting unit detects that the recording materials have been fed to the nip. The image forming unit forms an image on fed recording material. The control unit switches between a first and second control. Under the first control, the feeding member starts feeding a recording material placed on the tray, and ends feeding before a recording material trailing end passes through the feeding member. Under the second control, the feeding member starts feeding a recording material placed on the tray, and ends feeding after a recording material trailing end passes through the feeding member when the detection unit detects that the recording materials are fed to the nip.

A sheet conveyance apparatus is equipped with a stacking portion on which sheets are stacked, a rotator conveying a sheet by rotating in a contact state with the sheet stacked on the stacking portion, a separating member pressing the rotator and separating the sheets one by one at a contact portion where the rotator and the separating member contact each other, and a holder holding the separating member. A guide portion is rotatably provided with the holder and capable of guiding a front end of the sheet to the contact portion, and a regulating portion regulates the guide portion from rotating in a direction approximating the rotator in a state where the guide portion contacts against the regulating portion. The guide portion can be rotated in a direction separating from the rotator in a state where the separating member presses the rotator.

An image forming apparatus includes a paper tray, an elevating plate, a cam, and a shutter. The paper tray is configured to hold sheets. The elevating plate on the paper tray is arranged to ascend and descend between a descended position and an ascended position higher than the descended position. The cam is movable between a first position and a second position. The shutter includes a shielding portion. The shielding portion is located at a shielding position when the cam moves to the first position. The shielding position is a position that overlaps with a region in a height direction occupied by the cam at the second position. The shielding portion retracts from the shielding position when the cam has moved from the first position to the second position.

A medium feeding apparatus includes a mounting section on which a medium to be fed is mounted, a feeding roller configured to feed the medium mounted on the mounting section, a separation roller configured to nip and separate the medium with the feeding roller therebetween, and a regulation section disposed downstream of the nipping position between the feeding roller and the separation roller, the regulation section being configured to regulate the contact of the medium to be fed and the separation roller by coming into contact with the medium from the side of the separation roller.

A sheet feeding device includes a stacking portion, a feeding portion, a contact and separation mechanism, a separation conveying portion, a detecting portion, a size acquiring portion, and a controller. In a first mode, in a case that the detecting portion detects passing of a trailing end of the current sheet after the separating operation, the controller causes the contact and separation mechanism to start a contact operation in which the feeding portion is contacted to a sheet stacked on the stacking portion in order to feed a subsequent sheet. In a second mode, before the detecting portion detects passing of a trailing end of the current sheet after the separating operation, the controller causes the contact and separation mechanism to start, on the basis of a distance in which the current sheet is fed by the separation conveying portion, the contact operation to feed the subsequent sheet.

The rotation of a lifting and lowering plate 56 is controlled such that, in a case where the height of the sheet loaded in a manual feed tray 50 is maximum, a feed roller 51 abuts the sheet at a first abutment position at a first moving velocity slower than a second moving velocity at a position upstream in the movement direction of the feed roller 51 from the first abutment position, and, in a case where the height of the sheet loaded in the manual feed tray 50 is minimum, the feed roller 51 abuts the sheet at a second abutment position at a third moving velocity slower than the first moving velocity at the first abutment position.

A medium conveying apparatus includes medium conveying apparatus includes a housing including a locking portion, a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion, a feed roller, a separation roller located to face the feed roller, and a guide mechanism including a locked portion locked with the locking portion, a first shaft portion supported by the first supporting portion, a second shaft portion supported by the second supporting portion, and a conveyance guide portion to regulate a medium fed between the feed roller and the separation roller. The guide mechanism is swingably supported by the housing about the first shaft portion in a state where the locked portion is locked with the locking portion. The guide mechanism is swingably supported by the housing about the second shaft portion in a state where a locking of the locking portion and the locked portion is released.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a storage portion, a sheet supporting portion, a feed portion, a drive portion to output driving force that lifts the sheet supporting portion, and a rotation shaft rotatably supported by the storage portion and including an engaging portion disposed on one end side in an axial direction of the rotation shaft. The engaging portion engages with the drive portion, and a pressing portion is fixed to the rotation shaft and presses the sheet supporting portion from below when the rotation shaft is rotated by the drive portion. A rotary damper joins with the rotation shaft on another end side of the rotation shaft and reduces rotary motion of the rotation shaft. The pressing portion is disposed between the engaging portion and the rotary damper in the axial direction.

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a shaft portion, a roller member, and a guide member. The roller member includes a hole portion with an opening through which the shaft portion is fitted with the hole portion. At least a part of the guide member is located upstream of an end of the shaft portion in an attaching direction of the roller member. A distance between rotation axes of the roller member and the shaft portion is smaller than a difference between a radius of the opening and a radius of the end of the shaft portion in a state where an outer circumferential surface of the roller member is in contact with the guide member at a position upstream of the end of the shaft portion in the attaching direction.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes an opening/closing unit including a stacking portion, a moving unit including a feed roller and a moving member supporting the feed roller, an urging portion, and a transmitting portion configured to transmit urging force of the urging portion to the moving member. The opening/closing unit is configured to press and move the moving unit in the second direction against the urging force while the opening/closing unit moves from the open position to the closed position. A force that the opening/closing unit receives from the moving unit in a state where the opening/closing unit is at the closed position is smaller than a maximum force that the opening/closing unit receives from the moving unit that is urged in the first direction by the urging portion while the opening/closing unit moves from the open position to the closed position.