A sheet cassette includes a bottom portion, a pair of side walls, a lift plate and an auxiliary supporting portion. The pair of side walls stand from the bottom portion. The lift plate is arranged on the bottom portion, and a sheet to be fed in a conveying direction is placed on the upper surface of the lift plate. The lift plate includes a pair of fulcrum portions arranged on an upstream side in the conveying direction and is moved to a sheet feeding position for feeding the sheet by being moved upward from a bottom position with the fulcrum portions. The auxiliary supporting portion is arranged inwardly of the pair of fulcrum portions in a sheet width direction, is arranged between the lift plate arranged at the bottom position and the bottom portion and supports the lift plate.

An image forming apparatus includes a storing-device body that is drawable from an image-forming-apparatus body, a supporting member attached to the storing-device body and that supports a stack of recording media from below, a feeding member that feeds a top one of the recording media on the supporting member into the image-forming-apparatus body, a moving mechanism that moves the supporting member such that the top one of the recording media on the supporting member comes into contact with the feeding member, a connecting mechanism that connects the moving mechanism to a drive source in conjunction with attaching of the storing-device body to the image-forming-apparatus body, an image forming section that forms an image on the recording medium fed by the feeding member, and a disabling mechanism that disables connection between the drive source and the moving mechanism in conjunction with pushing of the storing-device body into the image-forming-apparatus body.

A gear engagement mechanism of a life device includes a lifting member interlocking with a lifting tray to linearly move in a vertical direction, and a gear train having a pinion engaged with the rack to transmit a rotary motion to the rack and transmitting the rotation torque of a lift motor M to the pinion. When the lifting member has over-run an upper limit stop position and a lower limit stop position, engagement of the pinion and the rack is released.

A sheet feeder includes a sheet stacker, a sheet feed roller, a separation roller pair, and a lifter. Sheets are conveyed and stacked on the sheet stacker. The sheet feed roller feeds the sheets. The separation roller pair separates the sheets fed by the sheet feed roller one by one. The lifter lifts and lowers the sheet stacker depending on a stack amount of the sheets. The sheet stacker includes a first stacking face, a second stacking face, and a bent portion integrally connecting the stacking faces such that the stacking faces form a specified angle. The sheet stacker stacks the sheets such that a center of gravity of the sheets is positioned above the first stacking face and integrally displaces the stacking faces when the lifter operates.

A linkage mechanism for opening and closing an inputting tray and an outputting tray together includes a base, an outputting tray which includes an intermediate outputting tray pivotally connected to a rear of the base, and a terminal outputting tray pivotally connected to a tail end of the intermediate outputting tray, an inputting tray pivotally connected to a top of the base, at least one first linkage bar and at least one second linkage bar. Two ends of the at least one first linkage bar are pivotally connected to one side of the inputting tray and one side of the intermediate outputting tray, respectively. Two ends of the at least one second linkage bar are pivotally connected to one side of the base and one side of the terminal outputting tray, respectively.

An image reading device includes: a transport unit configured to transport a medium; an emission unit configured to emit an ultrasonic wave in accordance with a driving voltage and a reception unit configured to receive the ultrasonic wave, the emission unit and the reception unit being disposed so that a transport path for the medium transported by the transport unit is interposed therebetween; a reading unit configured to read the medium; and a control unit configured to detect presence or absence of multi-feed of the medium on the basis of a signal received by the reception unit. The image reading device is configured to switch a posture into any of a first posture or a second posture. The first posture is a posture in which the transport path is sloped relative to a mounting surface. The second posture is a posture in which an angle of the transport path relative to the mounting surface is smaller than that in the first posture. The control unit sets a first driving voltage as the driving voltage when the posture is the first posture, and sets a second driving voltage lower than the first driving voltage as the driving voltage when the posture is the second posture.

A sheet storage device includes a lift plate, a push-up member, a first gear, a second gear which meshes with the first gear, a transmission mechanism which includes a third gear that meshes with the second gear and a turning restriction member. The first gear includes a support portion. The turning restriction member includes: an annular portion which is slidable on the outer circumferential surface of the support portion in a direction of rotation; and a protrusion portion which protrudes outward in a radial direction from the annular portion to be able to engage with the second gear. The protrusion portion has a shape such that the protrusion portion cannot pass through a gap between the second gear and the annular portion and is located, relative to the gap, on a downstream side in a direction of rotation of the second gear caused by the power of a motor.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet storage portion that stores sheets. The sheet storage portion has a bottom wall portion and a circumferential wall portion. The circumferential wall portion has a pair of support protruding portions and a groove portion. The pair of support protruding portions protrude from opposite inner circumferential faces facing each other along the axial direction of a pivot axis to be inserted in through holes, and pivotably support the sheet stacking plate. The groove portion is concave outward along the axial direction from the opposite inner circumferential faces facing each other along the axial direction of the pivot axis, and extends along the pivoting direction of the projection portion. With the sheet stacking plate raised, the projection portion is disposed in the groove.

A feeding cassette includes a hopper, a side guide, and a lift plate. The lift plate rotates with one end portion thereof serving as a rotational fulcrum, and, using a tip portion thereof, supports an under surface of the hopper from below and moves the hopper upward. The hopper includes a constricted portion for reinforcement protruding to an under side, in at least an extension portion. The constricted portion for reinforcement includes a supporting constricted portion with which the tip portion of the lift plate comes into contact when the lift plate supports the under surface of the hopper in a swingable range of the hopper. The supporting constricted portion includes a first constricted portion that is a path including a component in a feeding direction, and at least a part of the first constricted portion is provided in the extension portion. The lift plate supports the first constricted portion.

A sheet feeding device has a sheet stacking tray, a sheet stop portion, a sheet feed roller, a separation member, a first urging member, an eccentric cam, a cam follower, a sheet detection mechanism, and a holding mechanism. The holding mechanism holds the separation member at a position away from the sheet feed roller after a half-moon-shaped feed surface has passed across the separation member as the sheet feed roller rotates. Immediately before a sheet starts to be fed, the sheet stacking tray is kept on standby at a standby position radially inward of the outer diameter of the feed surface so that the feedable distance between the feed start position and the sheet stop portion is larger than the detectable distance as the maximum distance between the detectable position at which the sheet can be detected by the sheet detection mechanism and the sheet stop portion.