US 7,549,629 B2
Image forming apparatus
Satohisa Tateishi, Abiko (Japan); Junichi Moteki, Abiko (Japan); Youichi Chikugo, Toride (Japan); Seiichiro Kameda, Abiko (Japan); Kozo Inoue, Toride (Japan); Takashi Fujita, Kashiwa (Japan); Hiroaki Takagishi, Tokyo (Japan); and Nobuto Kamiyama, Kashiwa (Japan)
Assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on May 10, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/746,929.
Claims priority of application No. 2006-140887 (JP), filed on May 19, 2006.
Prior Publication US 2007/0267803 A1, Nov. 22, 2007
Int. Cl. B65H 3/14 (2006.01); B65H 3/08 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 271—98  [271/103; 399/97] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An image forming apparatus in which an image is formed by an image forming unit onto a sheet fed from a sheet feeding apparatus,
wherein the sheet feeding apparatus comprises:
a tray which supports sheets;
an attracting and conveying unit which attracts and conveys a top sheet among the sheets supported by the tray;
a loosening air blowing portion which blows the air to edge portions of the sheets supported by the tray, thereby allowing the sheets to be floated;
a separating air blowing portion which blows air toward an upper side of the sheets on the tray to separate the top sheet among the sheets which are floated by the loosening air blowing portion;
an air supplying portion which supplies the air to the separating air blowing portion;
a first duct through which the air supplied from the air supplying portion passes;
a second duct which branches from the first duct and guides the air supplied by the air supplying portion to the separating air blowing portion;
a third duct which guides the air to the loosening air blowing portion;
an air heating mechanism which is provided in the second duct and heats the air blown by the separating air blowing portion;
another air heating mechanism which is provided in the first duct and heats the air blown to the sheets from the separating air blowing portion and the loosening air blowing portion; and
a control unit which controls the air heating mechanism based on a moisture content in the sheets,
wherein the air from the separating air blowing portion is blown against a lower surface of the sheet conveyed by the attracting and conveying unit.