Sheet feeding apparatus

Abstract

A sheet feeding apparatus comprises a loop transport belt defining numerous air passage holes, which are stretched and hung above the recording sheet so that an outer surface of the belt faces to a top surface of the recording sheet and driven to go around; a suction device that depressurizes and sucks air through the air passage holes of the transport belt, causing the recording sheet to adhere to the outer surface of the transport belt; and a corrugator that protrudes beneath the surface of the transport and pushes the recording sheet down, and retracts above the surface of the transport belt, and is installed beside and adjacent to the transport belt in a width direction of the recording sheet, wherein a position where the corrugator contacts with the recording sheet can move between a position where the corrugator protrudes and a position where the corrugator retracts.

1 . A sheet feeding apparatus that draws and feeds a recording sheet from a sheet tray, the sheet feeding apparatus comprising: 
 a loop transport belt defining numerous air passage holes, which are stretched and hung above the recording sheet so that an outer surface of the belt faces to a top surface of the recording sheet and driven to go around;    a suction device that depressurizes and sucks air through the air passage holes of the transport belt, causing the recording sheet to adhere to the outer surface of the transport belt; and    a corrugator that protrudes beneath the surface of the transport belt to which the recording sheet adheres and pushes the recording sheet down, and the corrugator retracts above the surface of the transport belt to which the recording sheet adheres, the corrugator is installed beside and adjacent to the transport belt in a width direction of the recording sheet,    wherein a position where the corrugator contacts with the recording sheet can move between a position where the corrugator protrudes beneath the surface of the transfer belt to which the recording sheet adheres and a position where the corrugator retracts above the surface of the transfer belt to which the recording sheet adheres.    
   
   
       2 . The sheet feeding apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the transport belt feeds a recording sheet to a sheet transport path on which a transport roller is installed, and the corrugator retracts above the surface of the transport belt to which the recording sheet adheres before the recording sheet comes to the transport roller.  
   
   
       3 . The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 
 wherein a plurality of the corrugators are installed in the width direction of the recording sheet and    a part of the corrugators protrude beneath the surface of the transport belt to which the recording sheet adheres when the suction device is driven, and the remaining corrugators retract above the surface of the transport belt to which the recording sheet adheres according to the kind of the recording sheet in the sheet tray.    
   
   
       4 . The sheet feeding apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein a distance of protrusion of the corrugator varies according to the kind of the recording sheet in the sheet tray.  
   
   
       5 . The sheet feeding apparatus according to  claim 1 , 
 wherein a plurality of the corrugators are installed in the width direction of the recording sheet, the sheet feeding apparatus further comprising an air blow device that blows air onto an edge of the recording sheet adhered to the transport belt from downside of the sheet transport path and from forward end of the sheet tray in a direction that the recoding sheet is fed, and    the air blow device blows air between a plurality of positions of protrusions of the corrugators.