In a copier, printer, or similar device, paper is loaded in large quantities. To separate a top sheet of a stack of sheets from the next adjacent sheet, a dam is used, which is an element having an inclined surface in the path of the top sheet. This invention addresses devices with variably compliant separation strips, preferably a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer such as Pellethane, that are part of the dam, so that the leading edge of a media sheet will strike the inclined surface of the separation strip. By adjusting the compliance of the separation strip, different weights of media may be accommodated while minimizing the multi-feeds that may cause jamming of the device.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a stacking member having a separation unit and an opening portion disposed upstream from the separation unit, a feeding member, and a moving device that includes a slope portion having a slope along which sheets are guided toward the separation unit. The moving device moves the stacking member between a first position where the feeding member and sheets stacked on the stacking member are in contact with each other, and a second position where the feeding member and the sheets are not in contact with each other. When the stacking member is at the first position, the slope portion is disposed at a position lower than the separation unit in a vertical direction. When the stacking member is at the second position, the slope portion is disposed to protrude via the opening portion to be higher than a stacking surface of the stacking member.

A sheet feed apparatus includes a sheet separation unit, and the sheet separation unit includes a separation roller that is provided so as to be brought into contact to an outer peripheral surface of a sheet feed roller, and separates a sheet fed by the sheet feed roller into one. The sheet separation unit comprises a hook for rotatably supporting the sheet separation unit in a main body casing of the sheet feed apparatus and an engaging claw that makes the sheet separation unit engage with the main body casing. Therefore, the sheet separation unit is held in the main body casing detachably.

A sheet feed device includes a housing, a tray, a feed roller, an arm, a pad, and a protruding portion. The housing has a sheet conveyance path. The tray includes a bottom plate having a sheet support surface that supports a sheet. The sheet conveyance path extends upward from the sheet support surface. The feed roller rotates about a rotational axis and feeds the sheet supported on the sheet support surface in a first direction. The arm rotatably supports the feed roller. The arm swingably moves about an axis parallel to the rotational axis of the feed roller. The pad is disposed on the bottom plate. The pad has a higher friction coefficient than a friction coefficient of the sheet support surface. The protruding portion protrudes upward from the sheet support surface at a position shifted from the pad in a second direction opposite from the first direction.

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet feeding body, a sheet separating body, a loading body, a support, and a pressing body. The sheet feeding body is configured to feed a recording sheet. The sheet separating body is configured to separate the recording medium and convey the recording medium together with the sheet feeding body. The loading body is configured to load the recording medium to be fed by the sheet feeding body. The support is disposed above the sheet separating body. The pressing body is made of metal and rotatably supported by the support between the loading body and the sheet separating body. The pressing body includes a part-shaped face to contact or face the recording medium. A surface of the part is covered with a metal plating.

A sheet feed device includes a pair of sheet feed rollers, a pair of separation pads, and a first contact portion. The pair of sheet feed rollers are provided in alignment with an interval between them in a width direction perpendicular to a feeding direction in which sheets placed on a sheet placing portion are fed, and feed a sheet from the sheet placing portion. When an overlapping sheet overlaps under a target sheet that is in contact with the pair of sheet feed rollers, the pair of separation pads separate the overlapping sheet from the target sheet. The first contact portion is provided on the holder at a position between the pair of separation pads and projecting more than contact surfaces of the pair of separation pads, and comes in contact with the lower surface of the sheet.

A sheet conveyor includes a feed roller configured to contact a sheet from above and feed the sheet in a sheet feed direction, a frictional member disposed downstream from the feed roller, a separation roller disposed downstream from the feed roller and facing the frictional member from above, and a guide portion located downstream from the feed roller and upstream from the separation roller. The guide portion includes a pointed portion located above a portion of a common tangent to the feed roller and the separation roller when viewed in a cross section that is orthogonal to an axial direction of the feed roller and an axial direction of the separation roller. The pointed portion is located along a width direction of the sheet. The guide portion is configured to guide the sheet fed over the pointed portion toward a nip between the separation roller and the frictional member.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet supporting portion including a supporting surface, an abutment portion against which a leading edge of the sheet abuts, a feeding rotator configured to feed the sheet, and a first friction member provided on the supporting surface so as to face the feeding rotator. The first friction member includes a first friction surface having a static friction coefficient greater than that of the supporting surface, a trailing end supporting portion configured to support a trailing end portion of the sheet curved upward, and a second friction member disposed upstream of the first friction member in the sheet feeding direction on the supporting surface. The second friction member includes a second friction surface which has a static friction coefficient greater than that of the supporting surface and is configured to be in contact with the sheet supported by the supporting surface.

Separation strips in a dam aid in the separation of adjacent sheets of media being fed from a stack of sheets so that only one sheet is fed to a process station and, more particularly, to separating the uppermost or top sheet of a stack of sheets from the next adjacent sheet during feeding of the top sheet from the stack of sheets of media. When a lift plate is present that adjusts the height of the media stack, rotation of the separation strips to maintain a constant separation angle improves media feed reliability. Curvature of the separation strips may also maintain the separation angle as the lift plate raises the position of the top media sheet.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a disengagement mechanism to disengage a rotary feeding member and a separation member to be apart from each other, a pressing portion to press an upper face of a sheet supported on a sheet supporting portion, and a detector to detect displacement of the sheet pressed by the pressing portion. A controller executes one mode among a plurality of modes to feed the sheet supported on the sheet supporting portion based on a detection result of the detector. In a first feed mode, a leading edge of the sheet passes a position of a separation portion with the rotary feeding member and the separation member disengaged by the disengagement mechanism. In a second feed mode, the leading edge of the sheet passes the separation portion with the rotary feeding member and the separation member engaged.