An image reading apparatus includes a document support portion, a cover portion which is capable of opening and closing, a first surface of which forms an apparatus top surface, and a second surface of which forms a support surface which supports the document, and a base frame which forms the apparatus top surface, in which the document support portion is provided to be capable of rotational movement and is capable of switching between a first posture and a second posture, in which the first surface of the cover portion forms the apparatus top surface which runs along a horizontal direction together with a top surface of the base frame in the closed state, and in which, in the first posture, a portion of the document support portion is at a height position running along the second surface of the cover portion in the closed state.

It is an object of the present invention to provide method for receiving sheets for a sheet supplying apparatus. The method includes converting an up and down motion of a tray to a rotational motion of a rotary member by a movement conversion mechanism, converting the rotational motion of the rotary member around a rotational axis to a linear motion of a cylindrical member parallel to the rotational axis by the rotary member and a cam and slider mechanism, and elastically pressing an end portion of the cylindrical member of the cam and slider mechanism in the rotational axis direction to lift the tray by a compression spring.

A medium placement device includes a placement unit configured to have cut single paper thereon, a cover member configured to have single paper supplied to or discharged from an opening portion thereon, and a movement unit configured to move the cover member between a first position and a second position that is lower than the first position.

A media tray may include a lift plate to lift a number of sheets of media, a spool, and a first plurality of cables and a second plurality of cables each mechanically coupling the lift plate to the spool wherein the first and second plurality of cables cause the sheets of media to interface with a media pick-up roller at a horizontally divergent angle relative to a pick-up roller.

It is an object of the present invention to provide method for receiving sheets for a sheet supplying apparatus. The method includes converting an up and down motion of a tray to a rotational motion of a rotary member by a movement conversion mechanism, converting the rotational motion of the rotary member around a rotational axis to a linear motion of a cylindrical member parallel to the rotational axis by the rotary member and a cam and slider mechanism, and elastically pressing an end portion of the cylindrical member of the cam and slider mechanism in the rotational axis direction to lift the tray by a compression spring.

A medium supply apparatus includes a box member, a bottom plate, and a rotary portion. A medium is stored inside the box member. The box member is inserted into and extracted from a body of an image forming apparatus. The bottom plate is disposed at a bottom portion of the box. member. The medium is placed on the bottom plate. The bottom plate is lifted up by an elastic force of an elastic member. The rotary portion is attached to a side wall, among walls of the box member, positioned on a lateral side with respect to a front side toward which the box member is extracted from the image forming apparatus. The rotary portion is rotatable about a location of attachment of the rotary portion. The rotary portion includes a rear portion and a front portion. The rear portion is positioned on a rear side, in contrast to the front side, with respect to the location of attachment. The rear portion is moved upward by a reaction force applied from the body when the box member is extracted. The front portion is positioned on the front side with respect to the location of attachment. The front portion is moved downward by rotation of the rotary portion due to upward movement of the rear portion to lower the bottom plate against the elastic force.

A sheet feeding device includes a lift plate, a feeding portion, a lifting member lifting the lift plate, a motor coupled to a pivot shaft serving as the pivot fulcrum of the lifting member, a control portion, and an encoder outputting a pulse signal according to the rotation of the pivot shaft. The encoder includes a rotary member and an optical sensor. The control portion recognizes the remaining quantity of sheets on the lift plate based on the count value of the pulse signal. When the motor stops being driven, the control portion thereafter does not count the pulse signal until a predetermined period elapses.

A recording apparatus includes a housing having a feeding port through which a medium is introduced into the housing, a feeding tray for supporting the medium fed through the feeding port, and a rotary damper configured to generate torque, in which the feeding tray includes a rotation shaft about which the feeding tray is rotatable, relative to the housing, between a close position at which the feeding tray holds the feeding port in a close state and an open position at which the feeding tray holds the feeding port in an open state, and the rotation shaft and the rotary damper are interlocked with each other.

A sheet accommodating device includes a first plate member on which sheets are mounted, a first biasing member that presses up the first plate member, a second plate member disposed on a side of the first plate member opposite to a side of the first plate member on which the sheets are mounted; and a second biasing member that presses up the second plate member, and has a configuration in which, according to a size of the sheets, the first biasing member presses up the first plate member or both the first and second biasing members press up both the first and second plate members. An area of the first plate member is smaller than an area of the second plate member.

The image forming apparatus may include a main body and a cassette to enter or exit the main body along a first direction to be mounted in or released from the main body, respectively. The cassette may include a supporter extendable in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction to protrude from an exterior of the main body. The main body may include a lever which is movable in the first direction between a supporting position at which the lever supports the main body and a release position at which to allow the cassette to enter or exit the main body along the first direction.