In an example, a load stop may comprise a stop paddle, a paddle link, a swingarm engaged with a motive element, and a cam gear to engage the swingarm with the paddle link. The paddle link may move the stop paddle from a locked position, to a gathering position, and to a stowed position. The swingarm may transfer the motion of the motive element to the cam gear such that the cam gear is to move in a first direction, the cam gear to drive the paddle link to move the stop paddle from the locked position, to the gathering position, and to the stowed position when the motive element moves in a first drive direction, and the swingarm moves the cam gear in the first direction.

A sheet feeder includes a separation roller, a retard roller, and a return latch. The separation roller rotates in a forward direction to separate a sheet and transport the separated sheet in a sheet transport direction. The retard roller forms, together with the separation roller, a nip point and rotates in a reverse direction to return a sheet in a direction opposite to the sheet transport direction. The return latch moves from a retracted position to a protruding position to return a sheet remaining after separation by the separation roller to a position upstream of the nip point in the sheet transport direction. The return latch, when at the retracted position, is retracted from a sheet transport path and, when at the protruding position, protrudes to the sheet transport path.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a tray on which a sheet is to be placed, a feeding roller, a separating portion that forms a separation nip to separate sheets, a rotating member provided between the feeding position and the separation nip in a sheet conveying direction, a first detecting sensor, a second detecting sensor, a driving source, and a control portion. The rotating member rotates by being pushed by a leading end of the sheet. The control portion detects a position of a trailing end of a preceding sheet separated by the separating portion by using the second detecting sensor, and detects presence or absence of a subsequent sheet placed on the tray by using the first detecting sensor. Based on detection results of the first detecting sensor and second detecting sensor, the control portion controls the driving source such that the feeding roller starts to feed the subsequent sheet.

A spring kicker element for a kicker unit within a print device is described. In one example, the spring kicker element is fitted onto the kicker unit. The spring kicker element comprises a planar extension extending radially from its base portion, such that when fitted, the planar extension extends away from the kicker unit.

A sheet feeding device includes a contact member and a lock member. The contact member is configured to rotate from a retracted position to a contact position while a sliding portion of the lock member is sliding on a sliding target portion of the contact member and to rotate to the contact position to release the sliding portion of the lock member from the sliding target portion of the contact member. The lock member is configured to rotate between a locked position and a lock released position by a lock biasing force when the lock member moves in a lock direction of the lock member from the lock released position toward the locked position. The contact member has the lock target body and the sliding target portion at different positions from each other in a rotation center axial direction of the contact member.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a support member having a support surface, a feed roller rotatable about a rotation axis located below a portion of the support surface, a separation roller disposed downstream from the feed roller, a separator disposed upstream from the separation roller, a stopper, when viewed in a direction of the rotation axis, disposed at least partially overlapping the separator and movable between a first position in which the stopper crosses the support surface and restricts leading edges of the sheets supported on the support surface and a second position, downstream from the first position in a conveying direction, in which the stopper is spaced apart from the support surface, and a restriction member configured to hold the stopper in the first position and to restrict movement of the stopper while continuing to support the stopper moving from the first position to the second position.

The sheet feeding apparatus includes a stacking device on which a sheet is stacked, a feeding device, which is configured to feed the stacked sheet, a contact portion arranged at a position at which the stacked sheet is brought into contact with the contact portion, and a moving member, which is movable in a direction in which a protruding amount of the stacked sheet changes.

A sheet feeding device includes a feeder, a contact member, a movement restricting member, a moving mechanism, and control circuitry. The feeder is configured to feed a sheet. A leading end of the sheet in a feeding direction is to contact the contact member. The movement restricting member is configured to lock the contact member to restrict movement of the contact member from a contact position where the contact member contacts the sheet. The moving mechanism is configured to move the movement restricting member between a locking position and a lock releasing position. The contact member is configured to take the contact position by gravity or a biasing force of a biasing part. The control circuitry is configured to control the moving mechanism to move the movement restricting member to the lock releasing position and then to the locking position when a feeding operation of the sheet is finished.

A medium feeding device includes an imaging unit which images a medium tip end portion from a position of facing a face of the medium on a downstream side of a nipping position of the medium using a feeding unit and a separating unit; and a determining unit which determines whether or not there is transport disorder by evaluating a state of a boundary between a path member which forms a medium transport path and a medium tip end from image data obtained by the imaging unit, in which the determining unit sets a rectangular determining region including at least a part of the boundary with respect to the image data, and determines whether or not there is transport disorder based on a length of a boundary in the determining region.

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet stacking unit to stack a plurality of sheets, a feeding unit to feed sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit, a separation unit, and a moving unit provided with at least a first moving member and a second moving member. The separation unit contacts the sheets fed by the feeding unit and separates a sheet from the sheets. The moving unit contacts the first and the second moving members to move a sheet contacting the first and the second moving members to an upstream side in a feeding direction. A leading edge of the sheet is positioned between the separation unit and the feeding unit. When pressed by the sheet, the first and the second moving members are configured to thrust-move independently of each other.