| US 7,537,208 B2 | ||
| Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus | ||
| Tetsuro Fukusaka, Abiko (Japan); Yuzo Matsumoto, Abiko (Japan); and Naoki Ishikawa, Kashiwa (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Jun. 14, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/763,345. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2006-171510 (JP), filed on Jun. 21, 2006. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0296136 A1, Dec. 27, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. B65H 3/12 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 271—96 [271/94] | 10 Claims |
| 1. A sheet feeding apparatus comprising:
a storage unit configured to store a plurality of sheets;
a sheet feeding unit configured to suction a sheet stored in the storage unit with a negative pressure and to feed the suctioned
sheet;
a sheet conveyance unit disposed on a downstream side of the sheet feeding unit and configured to convey the sheet fed out
from the sheet feeding unit;
a suction duct connected to the sheet feeding unit;
a suction fan configured to generate a negative pressure in the suction duct;
a shutter disposed in the suction duct and configured to allow and shut off communication between the sheet feeding unit and
the suction fan; and
a communicating mechanism configured to cause a space in the suction duct between the shutter and the sheet feeding unit to
communicate with an outside of the suction duct;
wherein after a sheet fed out from the sheet feeding unit has reached the sheet conveyance unit, the shutter shuts off communication
between the sheet feeding unit and the suction fan, the communicating mechanism communicates the space with the outside of
the suction duct, and the sheet feeding unit stops a sheet feeding operation.
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