A document feeding device includes a document placement unit at which a document is placed, a feeding roller for feeding the document, and a ranging sensor for measuring a distance to the document located most upward on the document placement unit. A control unit stops feeding the document by the feeding roller based on post-processing distance data obtained by statistically processing time series data of the distance measured by the ranging sensor.

A sheet supplying apparatus includes an alignment member pivotable to an alignment location for blocking and aligning fore-ends of media contained on a loading table, and a transport-allowing location for allowing a medium picked up by a pickup member to be transported, a cam gear including a gear portion partially including a tooth-omitted portion, and a cam portion for switching the alignment member between the alignment location and the transport-allowing location at first and second rotating locations, a swing arm pivotable about a same axis as a rotation axis of a main gear, and first and second swing gears supported by the swing arm to interlock with the main gear, selectively interlocking with the gear portion according to a rotating direction of the main gear, and rotating the cam gear to the first and second rotating locations.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet supporting portion to support a sheet, a feeding member to contact an upper surface of the sheet supported on the sheet supporting portion and feed the sheet, and a drive motor to rotate in a first direction and in a second direction opposite to the first direction. In addition, a lifting mechanism is connected to the drive motor to lift the sheet supporting portion and lower the feeding member in a case where the drive motor rotates in the first direction, and to lower the sheet supporting portion and lift the feeding member in a case where the drive motor rotates in the second direction.

A media processing device includes: a hopper for supporting a stack of media units (e.g. cards), the hopper including (i) a gate wall configured to abut leading edges of the media units and (ii) an outlet defined at an end of the gate wall; a pick roller at the outlet for engaging an outer one of the media units in the stack and dispensing the outer media unit from the hopper to a media processing path; the gate wall including a flexible gate at the outlet, the flexible gate configured to deflect toward the media processing path responsive to the outer media unit being driven into the flexible gate by the pick roller, wherein the outer media unit deflects when passing by the flexible gate, permitting the outer media unit to be dispensed from the hopper.

A sheet feeding device includes a pickup roller, a lifting/lowering mechanism, and a driver device. The lifting/lowering mechanism includes a restricting member that releasably restricts the pickup roller from being lowered from a lifted position of the pickup roller at the lifted position. In the sheet feeding device, the driver device drives the lifting/lowering mechanism so that the pickup roller is lowered from the lifted position of the pickup roller, and a drive suspend operation is performed in which the driving of the lifting/lowering mechanism by driver device is suspended after a predetermined time during which the pickup roller does not contact a sheet loading tray or a sheet on the sheet loading tray elapses from a time point when the pickup roller is released from being restricted by the restricting member at the lifted position.

A paper feeding device includes a pickup roller mechanism disposed at an entrance of a paper feeding path, and a separation mechanism disposed to a rear end of the pickup roller mechanism. The pickup roller mechanism includes a first pickup unit positioned at the entrance of the paper feeding path, a second pickup unit mounted to a rear end of the first pickup unit, and a third pickup unit disposed to a rear end of the second pickup unit. The second pickup unit includes a first driving gear. The third pickup unit includes a second driving gear, and a transmission belt looped around an outer periphery of the first driving gear and an outer periphery of the second driving gear.

A sheet conveyance device includes a first conveyance member, and a drive transmission mechanism. The first conveyance member is configured to convey a sheet toward a second conveyance member. The drive transmission mechanism is configured to transmit a driving force of a driving source to the first conveyance member. The drive transmission mechanism includes a first drive transmitter and a second drive transmitter disposed coaxially with the first drive transmitter. The driving force is transmitted from the first drive transmitter to the second drive transmitter. The second drive transmitter is rotatable relative to the first drive transmitter within at least a predetermined angular range.

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet loading portion which is capable of elevating operation and on which a sheet is loaded, a feeding member for feeding the sheet loaded on the sheet loading portion, the feeding member being capable of elevating movement between a contacting position in contact with the sheet and a distanced position distanced upward from the sheet, and a control portion that controls the elevating operation of the sheet loading portion and the elevating movement of the feeding member. When the feeding member at the contacting position moves to the distanced position, the feeding member is distanced upward from the sheet loaded on the sheet loading portion after the sheet loading portion starts a descending operation.

A sheet conveying device includes a sheet loader, a sheet feeder, an optical sensor, and a rotary member. The sheet loader is configured to load a sheet. The sheet feeder is configured to feed the sheet loaded on the sheet loader. The optical sensor is configured to detect the sheet at a predetermined position on the sheet loader in a width direction of the sheet and at a predetermined position in a sheet conveyance passage in the width direction of the sheet. The rotary member is configured to rotate to a first position when the sheet is not at the predetermined position on the sheet loader and a second position when the sheet is at the predetermined position. The rotary member has a detection target portion configured to be detected by the optical sensor when the rotary member is located at the first or second position.

A control unit is capable of selectively executing a first mode and a second mode, the first mode being a mode in which a plurality of sheets having different sizes including a non-standard size are fed by the feeding unit, and the second mode being a mode in which a plurality of sheets having different sizes including only standard sizes are fed by the feeding unit. If the detection unit detects a sheet in a state where the supporting portion is located at the second position and the first mode is selected, the control unit waits for an instruction to start sheet feeding without causing the lifting unit to lift the supporting portion to the first position, and causes the lifting unit to lift the supporting portion to the first position in response to the instruction to start sheet feeding.