JP2000289873A - Paper feeder and paper feed method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To prevent double feeding of paper, and to set the feeding speed,
That is, the feeding throughput is improved, and the paper feeding accuracy and the printing quality are further improved. SOLUTION: When feeding of paper P is started, a paper feed roller 1 and a hopper cam 3 rotate clockwise, and the hopper cam 3 is rotated.
The contact between the cam follower 4 and the cam follower 4 is once released, whereby the hopper 9 is displaced to the paper feed position, and the paper return lever 7 is rotated counterclockwise to be displaced to the feed position. When the paper feed roller 1 and the hopper cam 3 further rotate, the hopper cam 3 and the cam follower 4 come into contact again, the hopper 9 returns to the standby position at the start of feeding, and the paper return lever 7 is connected to the lever engaging means 8 and the hopper The sheet is rotated clockwise by contact with the combining means 11, and the next and subsequent sheets between the sheet feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5 are returned to the hopper 9. Thus, the sheet return operation is performed during the sheet feeding.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeding device and a paper feeding method used for a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine, etc., and more particularly to a paper (plain paper, coated paper, OHP sheet, glossy paper, glossy film, etc.). And a hopper in which a plurality of cut sheets are stacked in an inclined state, and rotated during the paper feeding operation,
A paper feed roller for contacting the paper stacked on the hopper and feeding the paper, and among the paper stacked on the hopper, paper other than the paper to be fed by the paper feed roller, The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device provided with a sheet returning means for returning a sheet to a hopper stacking position and a sheet feeding method in the sheet feeding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a plurality of sheets stacked on a hopper are fed one by one from a top sheet by a feed roller, the next (second) and subsequent sheets are overlapped with the top sheet. May be sent. In order to prevent such double feeding, the sheet feeding device is provided with a sheet return lever for returning the sheet to the hopper side.

As a conventional paper feeder having such a paper return lever, there is one disclosed in JP-A-10-181904 and JP-A-10-181905.

The paper feeders disclosed in these publications are:
After feeding the top sheet of paper stacked on the hopper,
Before feeding the next sheet, the sheet feed roller is once rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the sheet return lever toward the hopper, thereby returning the next sheet to the hopper stacking position.

[0005] Further, these paper feeders are provided with a small idle roller beside the paper feed roller, and after the paper is fed, the idle roller separates the rear portion of the paper being conveyed by the paper feed roller or the like into a separation pad. To prevent the next paper from entering between the paper feed roller and the separation pad and from being double-fed.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional paper feeding apparatus, before the paper feeding is started, the paper feeding roller is once reversely rotated to rotate the paper returning lever and return the paper. Therefore, time is required for this, and the paper feeding operation is delayed by that much. That is, there is a problem that the paper feeding throughput is reduced.

Further, the paper fed from the paper feed roller is
The paper is conveyed by a paper feed roller positioned downstream in the paper feeding direction, and is printed by a print head or the like. In order to prevent the paper from entering and double feeding, the rear part of the paper that is being nipped and conveyed by the paper feed roller is nipped between the separation pad and the paper. For this reason, the rear portion of the paper being conveyed by the paper feed roller receives a load (back tension) caused by the nip pressure of the idle roller, and the load reduces the paper feed accuracy by the paper feed roller, and the print quality is reduced. Is also reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeder and a paper feeder which can prevent double feeding of paper, improve the feeding speed, that is, the feeding throughput, and further improve the paper feeding accuracy and printing quality. It is to provide a paper feeding method.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeder comprising: a hopper on which a plurality of sheets are stacked in an inclined state; A paper feed roller that contacts the paper stacked on the hopper and feeds the paper; and a sheet other than the paper to be fed by the paper feed roller among the paper stacked on the hopper. A sheet return device for returning the sheet to a stacking position of the hopper, wherein the sheet return device is configured to rotate the sheet while the sheet feed roller is feeding a sheet to be fed. The paper other than the paper to be fed is returned to the hopper stacking position.

According to the present invention, while the paper feed roller is feeding the paper to be fed, the paper return means returns the paper other than the paper to be fed to the stacking position of the hopper. Therefore, the sheet return operation is completed while the sheet is being fed, and there is no need to return the sheet to the hopper after the end of the feeding and before the start of feeding the next sheet. As a result, the time required for the sheet return operation before starting the feeding of the next sheet can be omitted, and the throughput of the sheet feeding can be improved.

Further, since the sheet returning operation by the sheet returning means is completed while the sheet to be fed is being fed, the next sheet is advanced while the sheet is being conveyed by the sheet feed roller or the like. And there is no danger of double feed,
An idle roller for preventing this can be dispensed with. As a result, the load (back tension) of the idle roller can be eliminated, so that the paper transport by the paper feed roller after feeding is stabilized, and the paper feeding accuracy and print quality can be improved. Further, the mechanism of the sheet feeding device can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced by eliminating the mechanism of the idle roller.

Here, "while the paper to be fed is being fed" means a period from the start of feeding of one sheet to the end of feeding, and the feed roller rotates forward. The paper feed roller is feeding paper while the paper feed roller is temporarily stopped, or is in a state where it is once reversely rotating, in addition to the state in which the paper feed roller is feeding paper. Including interval. The same acronym in the paper feeding method according to the invention described in claim 7 of the present application has the same meaning.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the hopper is displaced to a sheet feeding position for pressing the stacked sheets against the sheet feeding roller at the start of sheet feeding. And after the feeding of the paper is started, the stacked paper is displaced to a standby position where the stacked paper is not pressed against the paper feed roller, and the paper return unit is configured to move the hopper from the paper feeding position to the paper feeding position. The operation of returning the sheet is performed in conjunction with the displacement to the standby position.

According to the present invention, the paper return means includes:
Since the operation of returning the paper is performed in conjunction with the return of the hopper from the paper feeding position to the standby position, the paper other than the paper to be fed can be reliably returned to the standby position of the hopper. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the next sheet from entering the paper feed roller and to prevent double feeding by the paper feed roller.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeder according to the second aspect, the hopper and the paper return means each have an engagement means which engages with each other. The operation of returning the sheet is performed via the engaging means of the hopper and the engaging means of the sheet returning means.

According to this invention, the operation of returning the sheet by the sheet return means is performed through the engagement of the engagement means of the hopper and the engagement means of the sheet return means. The paper return means can be operated using the displacement between the position and the position. This eliminates the need to provide a unique drive unit that operates only the paper return unit,
One drive unit can drive both the hopper and the paper return unit, and the drive mechanism can be simplified and the timing control of the interlocking operation can be facilitated.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeder according to the second or third aspect, the paper feed roller and the hopper each have engagement means for engaging with each other. The displacement between the paper feed position and the standby position of the hopper is performed using the rotation of the paper feed roller via the engagement means of the hopper and the engagement means of the paper feed roller. It is characterized by.

According to the present invention, the displacement between the paper feed position and the standby position of the hopper is performed by using the rotation of the paper feed roller via the engagement means of the hopper and the engagement means of the paper feed roller. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a unique driving means for displacing the hopper, and both the sheet feeding roller and the hopper can be driven by one driving means.
Further, when the paper return means is operated in conjunction with the hopper, the operation of the paper return means can also be performed by utilizing the rotation of the paper feed roller. It is not necessary to provide the driving means. That is, the three members of the sheet feeding roller, the hopper, and the sheet returning unit can be driven by one driving unit, and the driving mechanism can be simplified and the timing control of the interlocking operation can be facilitated.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the paper feeding roller is disposed in a lower front portion of the hopper, and is stacked in the inclined state. The sheet is fed in contact with the lower front surface of the uppermost sheet, and the sheet return means is configured to return the sheet to the stacking position by pushing up the lower end of the sheet. .

According to the present invention, the sheet returning means pushes up the lower end of the sheets stacked in an inclined state,
Because the paper is returned to the stacking position, it is possible to reliably return the paper that is being multi-fed together with the paper to be fed to the stacking position due to the weight of the paper, friction between the papers, and static electricity between the papers. it can.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the sheet return means is formed of a lever-like member rotatably supported about a fulcrum, and the paper return means is provided at the center of the fulcrum. , The lower end of the sheet is pushed up.

According to the invention, the paper return means is a lever-shaped member which is fixed and supported so as to be rotatable about a fulcrum,
By pivoting about the fulcrum, the lower end of the paper is pushed up. Therefore, there is no need to provide an elastic member (spring or the like) for pushing up the paper. The return means can be constituted, and by a simple operation of its rotation operation,
Paper can be reliably returned.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding method, a paper feeding roller is rotated during a paper feeding operation, and a plurality of sheets on a hopper stacked in an inclined state are brought into contact with the paper feeding roller. Of the sheets stacked on the hopper, other than the sheet to be fed by the sheet feed roller, while feeding the sheet to be fed, The sheet is returned to the stacking position of the hopper by a sheet returning unit.

Thus, the same function and effect as the first aspect can be obtained.

[0025]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of a paper feeder according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the paper feeder shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration of the paper feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to these drawings.

The feed roller shaft 2 is engaged with a drive motor (not shown) (not shown) through a gear train.
It rotates with the rotation of the drive motor. A substantially D-shaped paper feed roller 1 is attached to the paper feed roller shaft 2, and the paper feed roller 1 rotates together with the paper feed roller shaft 2 to form the uppermost sheet P of the stacked paper P. Feed things. A hopper cam 3 is attached to an end (both ends) of the feed roller shaft 2 at a position outside the end of the paper P so as not to hinder the feeding of the paper P. It rotates together with the feed roller shaft 2.

A plurality of stacked sheets P are placed on a hopper 9 provided in an inclined state. A hopper spring (compression spring), not shown, is provided on the back surface of the hopper 9 (the back surface of the surface on which the sheets P are stacked). By the urging force of the hopper spring, the hopper 9 and the paper P are urged to press against the paper feed roller 1. On the other hand, the hopper 9 is provided with the cam follower 4 integrally therewith.
When the hopper cam 3 comes into contact with the cam follower 4 and presses the cam follower 4 against the urging force of the hopper spring, the hopper 9 is pushed back to feed the paper P to the paper feed roller 1.
Is maintained at the standby position (the position shown in FIG. 1) in which it is not pressed against the surface. On the other hand, when the hopper cam 3 rotates and stops contacting the cam follower 4, the hopper 9 is biased by the hopper spring.
Is displaced to a paper feed position where the paper P is pressed against the paper feed roller 1.

A hook-shaped lever engaging means 8 is formed integrally with the lower portion of the cam follower 4, and
And the cam follower 4 is displaced. When the hopper 9 is displaced from the sheet feeding position to the standby position, the lever engaging means 8 comes into contact with a hook-shaped hopper engaging means 11 attached to an end of the lever rotating shaft 10.

In the vicinity of the root of the lever engaging means 8, there is provided a hole 8b through which the tip end 11a of the hopper engaging means 11 penetrates. The tip 11a penetrates the hole 8b.

The arm unit 6 is provided with a separation pad 5 for separating the uppermost sheet of the sheet P together with the sheet feeding roller 1 from the next and subsequent sheets and for carrying the sheet under pressure. here,
Assuming that the friction coefficient between the paper feed roller 1 and the paper P is μ1, the friction coefficient between the separation pad 5 and the paper P is μ2, and the friction coefficient between the papers is μ3, μ1>μ2> μ3. The roller surface member of the paper feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5
Are selected.

The paper return lever 7 is attached to the lever rotation shaft 10 on the path through which the paper P passes so as to come into contact with the front end of the paper P during the paper return operation. The number may be one, but a plurality is more preferable in order to more reliably return the sheet. Further, the lever rotation shaft 10 is rotatably attached to the frame 12 of the sheet feeding device. Therefore, the paper return lever 7 rotates together with the rotation of the lever rotation shaft 10. As described above, the end (both ends) of the lever rotation shaft 10 is provided at a position where it comes into contact with the lever engagement means 8 and the hopper engagement means 11.
Is attached. The paper return lever 7 is rotated to a paper return position (the position shown in FIG. 1) by the contact of the two engagement means, and is released from the contact, thereby to a position other than the paper return position (see FIG. 5 (hereinafter, referred to as “feeding position”). The rotation of the paper return lever 7 to the feed position is performed by the weight of the paper return lever 7. To ensure the rotation, a shaft spring (for urging the paper return lever 7 to rotate to the feed position) is used. (Not shown) to the lever rotation shaft 10.
It may be attached to.

As described above, by the rotation of the paper feed roller 1,
The displacement of the hopper 9 between the standby position and the sheet feeding position and the displacement of the sheet returning lever 7 between the sheet returning position and the feeding position are performed in conjunction with each other. With such a configuration,
The hopper 9 and the paper return lever 7 can be operated only by the drive motor that rotates the paper feed roller 1, eliminating the need to provide a separate drive mechanism for each of them, and simplifying the drive mechanism of the paper feeder. can do. Further, the paper feed roller 1 and the hopper 9
And the operation timing of the paper return lever 7 can be easily controlled.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, in the paper feeding device according to the present invention, the idle roller (the paper P by a paper feed roller or the like downstream of the paper feed roller) is used.
Is not provided in place of the paper feed roller 1 during the conveyance of the paper P.

Next, a paper feeding operation and a paper returning operation of the paper feeding device will be described with reference to FIGS. In each of these drawings, (A) mainly shows the positional relationship between the paper P and the paper return lever 7, and (B) mainly shows the positional relationship between the paper return lever 7, the hopper cam 3, the cam follower 4, and the hopper 9. I have. In addition,
FIG. 2A also shows a paper feed roller 20 (a driving roller and a driven roller) for squeezing and transporting the paper after the paper is fed by the paper feed roller 1.

First, FIG. 3 shows a state before starting the sheet feeding operation. The linear portion of the substantially D-shaped paper feed roller 1 when viewed from the side faces the separation pad 5. The hopper cam 3 is in contact with the cam follower 4, whereby the cam follower 4 and the hopper 9 are pushed down and maintained at the standby position. The leading end 8a of the lever engaging means 8 comes into contact with the leading end 11a of the hopper engaging means 11 and pushes it down, so that the paper return lever 7 is maintained at the paper return position.

When the sheet feeding operation is started, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet feeding roller 2 and the hopper cam 3 rotate clockwise with the rotation of the sheet feeding roller shaft 2 in the clockwise direction. Thereby, the contact position of the hopper cam 3 with the cam follower 4 moves to the rear end portion. At this stage, since the hopper cam 3 has pushed down the cam follower 4, the hopper 9 is at the standby position, and the paper return lever 7 is at the paper return position.

Upon further rotation, the cam follower 4 slides along the inclined surface at the rear end of the hopper cam 3, as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the hopper 9 is displaced to the sheet feeding position by the urging force of the hopper spring, and the sheets P stacked on the hopper 9 are pressed against the arc portion of the sheet feeding roller 1. Then, the uppermost sheet P is pinched by the arc portion of the sheet feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5, and the feeding of the sheet is started. Since the lever engaging means 8 is also displaced together with the hopper 9, the contact between the lever engaging means 8 and the hopper engaging means 11 is released. As a result, the paper return lever 7 rotates counterclockwise by its own weight and is displaced to the feeding position.

At this time, in addition to the uppermost sheet, the sheets subsequent to the next sheet may also enter the pressure portion between the sheet feeding roller 1 and the separation pad 5. However, as described above, since the roller surface member of the paper feed roller 1 and the member of the separation pad 5 are selected so that the friction coefficient satisfies μ1>μ2> μ3, the uppermost sheet and the next and subsequent sheets are selected. When both sheets are sandwiched between the arc portion of the paper feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5, the subsequent sheets are inhibited from moving by the frictional force with the separation pad 5. Therefore, the next and subsequent sheets are separated from the uppermost sheet while being sandwiched between the feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5, and only the uppermost sheet is fed.

On the other hand, the next and subsequent sheets that have entered these pinching portions are the same as those described in the prior art (JP-A-10-181904).
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-181905 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-181905, it is necessary to return the hopper 9 to the hopper 9 from the clamping portion before the feeding, because it causes double feeding. This return operation is performed by the sheet return operation of the sheet return lever 7 as described later.

When the paper feed roller 1 and the hopper cam 3 further rotate, as shown in FIG. 6, the front end of the hopper cam 3 starts to contact the cam follower 4 again.
The pushing of the cam follower 4 is started. At this time, paper P
The uppermost part has its leading end slightly fed from the paper feed roller 1 and faces the paper feed roller 20. The lever engaging means 8 and the hopper engaging means 11 have not yet contacted.

When the hopper 9 further rotates, the hopper 9 is displaced to the standby position as the cam follower 4 is pushed down by the hopper cam 3, as shown in FIG.
Thereby, the tip 11a of the hopper engaging means 11 enters the hole 8b provided near the root of the lever engaging means 8, and the tip 8a of the lever engaging means 8 Abut The fed paper P further approaches the paper feed roller 20.

With further rotation, the cam follower 4 and the hopper 9 are pushed down by the hopper cam 3, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, whereby the tip 8a of the lever engaging means 8 is moved to the hopper engaging means. 11, the paper return lever 7 is rotated clockwise to be displaced to the paper return position. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the paper feed roller 1, the paper feed roller shaft 2 and the hopper cam 3 make one rotation, the hopper 9 is displaced to the standby position, and the paper return lever 7 is displaced to the paper return position. Return to the same state as shown. On the other hand, the leading end of the fed paper P reaches the paper feed roller 20.

When the paper return lever 7 is rotated to the paper return position, the paper following the next position enters the nip portion between the paper feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5, and stops at this nip portion. However, the front ends of these sheets come into contact with the sheet return lever 7 and are pushed up to the hopper 9 side. Then, the sheet is returned to the stacking position of the hopper 9 by the pushing operation and the weight of the sheet itself.

When the return operation is performed, the operation shown in FIG.
Since the hopper 9 is displaced to the standby position as shown at 0, the paper P returned by the paper return lever 7 is returned to the standby position, that is, a position where the paper P does not contact the paper feed roller 1. In this way, it is possible to prevent the returned paper P from entering the space between the paper feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5 again, and further prevent double feeding.

Further, as can be seen from FIGS. 8 to 10, this sheet returning operation is performed in parallel with the feeding operation during the feeding of the uppermost sheet, so that the sheet returning operation is performed separately from the time of the feeding operation. No special time is required for the return operation. Also,
After feeding the top sheet and before feeding the next sheet, it is not necessary to perform a sheet return operation, and the feeding of the next sheet can be started immediately. Therefore, the paper feeding throughput is improved.

Further, after reaching the state shown in FIG. 10, the paper feed roller 1 stops in this state, and the paper feed roller 2
Even when the sheet P conveys the sheet P, the linear part of the sheet feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5 are separated from each other, but the subsequent sheets P are already returned to the standby position of the hopper 9. Therefore, the sheet does not enter the space and is not fed again. This makes it possible to eliminate the need for an idle roller, which was necessary to prevent double feeding of the next and subsequent sheets when the sheet is conveyed by the sheet feed roller 20. And by eliminating the idle roller, the back tension by this roller is eliminated,
The feed accuracy of the paper feed roller 20 can be improved, and the print quality can be improved.

At the stage shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 in which the paper return lever 7 is displaced to the paper return position, the separation pad 5 may be configured to be temporarily separated from the paper feed roller 1. preferable. As a result, the next and subsequent sheets entering between the sheet feed roller 1 and the separation pad 5 are released from the pinched state, and these sheets can be returned to the hopper 9 smoothly.

[0048]

According to the present invention, while the paper feed roller is feeding the paper to be fed, the paper return means causes the paper other than the paper to be fed to be stacked at the hopper stacking position. , The sheet return operation is completed during sheet feeding, and there is no need to return the sheet to the hopper after the end of sheet feeding and before starting feeding of the next sheet. As a result, the time required for the sheet return operation before starting the feeding of the next sheet can be omitted, and the throughput of the sheet feeding can be improved.

Further, since the sheet returning operation by the sheet returning means is completed while the sheet to be fed is being fed, the next sheet is fed and double fed during the subsequent sheet conveyance by the sheet feed rollers and the like. There is no danger, and an idle roller for preventing this is not required. As a result, the load (back tension) of the idle roller can be eliminated, so that the paper conveyance by the paper feed roller after feeding is stabilized, and the paper feeding accuracy and print quality can be improved. Further, the mechanism of the sheet feeding device can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced by eliminating the mechanism of the idle roller.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of a sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a flow of a sheet feeding operation and a sheet returning operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flow of a sheet feeding operation and a sheet returning operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a flow of a sheet feeding operation and a sheet returning operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a flow of a sheet feeding operation and a sheet returning operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a flow of a sheet feeding operation and a sheet returning operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a flow of a sheet feeding operation and a sheet returning operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a flow of a sheet feeding operation and a sheet returning operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a flow of a sheet feeding operation and a sheet returning operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 paper feed roller 2 paper feed roller shaft 3 hopper cam 4 cam follower 5 separation pad 7 paper return lever 8 lever engaging means 10 lever rotating shaft 11 hopper engaging means P paper

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A hopper on which a plurality of sheets are stacked in an inclined state, a sheet feed roller which rotates during a sheet feeding operation and contacts the sheets stacked on the hopper and feeds the sheets, A sheet return unit that returns a sheet other than the sheet to be fed by the sheet feed roller out of a plurality of stacked sheets to a stacking position of the hopper; The means returns the paper other than the paper to be fed to the hopper stacking position while the paper feed roller is feeding the paper to be fed. Paper feeder. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hopper is displaced to a sheet feeding position where the stacked sheets are pressed against the sheet feeding roller at the time of starting sheet feeding, and after the sheet feeding is started, The stacked paper is displaced to a standby position where the stacked paper is not pressed against the paper feed roller, and the paper return unit moves the paper in conjunction with the displacement of the hopper from the paper supply position to the standby position. A sheet feeding device for performing a returning operation. 3. The hopper according to claim 2, wherein the hopper and the paper return unit each have an engagement unit that engages with each other. The sheet feeding device is performed through an engaging unit of the sheet returning unit. 4. The paper feed roller and the hopper according to claim 2, wherein the paper feed roller and the hopper have engagement means for engaging with each other, and the displacement of the hopper between a paper feed position and a standby position. Is performed by utilizing the rotation of the paper feed roller via the engagement means of the hopper and the paper feed roller. 5. The paper feed roller according to claim 1, wherein the paper feed roller is disposed in front of a lower portion of the hopper, and is in contact with a lower front surface of an uppermost one of the sheets stacked in the inclined state. A sheet feeding device for feeding a sheet, wherein the sheet returning means returns the sheet to a stacking position by pushing up a lower end of the sheet. 6. The paper return means according to claim 5, wherein said paper return means comprises a lever-shaped member rotatably supported about a fulcrum, and pivots about said fulcrum to push up the lower end of the paper. A sheet feeding device, characterized in that: 7. A paper feed roller is rotated during a paper feed operation, a plurality of sheets on the hopper stacked in an inclined state are brought into contact with the paper feed roller to start feeding, and a plurality of sheets are stacked on the hopper. Paper feeding means for returning the paper other than the paper to be fed by the paper feed roller to the stacking position of the hopper by the paper return means while feeding the paper to be fed. Method.