JP2002255384A - Sheet feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent a sheet from being double-fed while suppressing the occurrence of wear and vibration by making the contact part of a separating means with a material with a small coefficient of friction. SOLUTION: In this constitution, the uppermost recording paper P of a plurality of recording papers P, P,... held in a paper feeding tray 3 is fed by the rotation of a feeding roller 4 rotated in contact with the recording paper P. The sorting plate 51 of the separating means 5 holding the recording paper P in the clearance thereof from the peripheral surface of the feeding roller 4 is energized by a pressing spring 54 installed between the sorting plate and a holder 50 in the direction reverse to that for feeding the recording paper P.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used, for example, in a paper feeding section of an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, etc., and separates a plurality of stacked sheet materials one by one, The present invention relates to a sheet material feeding device that performs an operation of sequentially feeding sheets to a conveyance path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and facsimile apparatuses have recording paper transport paths extending on both sides of an image forming section, and the recording paper is transported along a transport path (paper feed path) on one side. After a desired image is formed on a recording sheet fed to the image forming unit, the image is sent to the other conveying path (sheet discharging path), and is taken out to a sheet discharging unit provided at the end of the sheet discharging path.

[0003] In such an image forming apparatus, a plurality of recording papers are stacked and held at the starting end of the paper feeding path, and are separated one by one according to a request from the image forming unit. A paper feeding unit is provided which performs an operation of sequentially feeding the paper to a road. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus as an example of an image forming apparatus.

In this ink jet recording apparatus, a platen 21 is disposed below an ink head 2 movably supported along a guide rod 20 inside a main body housing 1, and PS rollers 22, 22 on both sides of the platen 21. A paper feed path including a driven roller 23 and a paper feed guide 24, and a paper discharge path including a paper discharge roller 25 and a paper discharge tray 26 are provided. The paper feed unit including the feed roller 4 and the separation unit 6 is provided.

A plurality of recording sheets P, P,... Stacked in the thickness direction are held on the sheet feed tray 3 in a posture inclined backward. The feed roller 4 is a roller made of a material having a high coefficient of friction, such as a rubber material, and is laid horizontally above and in front of the paper feed tray 3 and is indicated by an arrow in the figure by transmission from a driving unit (not shown). It is designed to be driven to rotate in the direction. The recording papers P, P,... Held in the paper supply tray 3 are pressed by a paper supply plate 32 urged by a pressing spring 31, and the recording paper P superimposed on the uppermost is pressed against the peripheral surface of the feed roller 4. . The separating means 6 is arranged between the paper feed tray 3 and the paper feed guide 24 so as to connect them, and presses and biases a separating plate 61 fixed and supported by a holder 60 by a pressing spring 62 to feed the roller. 4 is pressed against the peripheral surface so as to freely contact and separate.

The ink jet recording apparatus constructed as described above starts an image forming operation in accordance with an operation command from control means (not shown), and the recording paper P superimposed on the uppermost part is rotated by the rotation of the feed roller 4 to form another recording paper. The paper P is separated from the papers P, P,..., And sent out onto the paper feed guide 24 while being sandwiched between the separating plates 61 of the separating means 6, and reaches the rolling contact portion between the PS roller 22 and the driven roller 23. At this time, the PS roller 22 starts rotating, sandwiches the recording paper P with the driven roller 23, and conveys the recording paper P onto the platen 21. The recording paper P is ejected from the ink head 2 by ink ejected from the ink head 2. A desired image is formed. The recording paper P on which image formation has been completed is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 26 by rotation of a paper discharge roller 25, and is taken out.

[0007]

In the ink jet recording apparatus which operates as described above, the separating means 6 provided in the paper feeding section is used when one sheet of recording paper P is sent out by the rotation of the feed roller 4. The separating plate 61 applies frictional resistance to other recording papers to be sent out in a superimposed manner, so that only the desired recording paper P is reliably separated.

Here, in order to reliably prevent unnecessary feeding of the recording paper, it is desirable that the separating plate 61 of the separating means 6 impart as much frictional resistance to the recording paper as possible. In the case where an excessively large frictional resistance can be applied, a large frictional resistance is applied to the regular recording paper fed by the rotation of the feed roller 4 by the separating plate 61 slidably contacting the normal recording paper, so that normal feeding can be performed. There is a risk of being hindered.

That is, the separating plate 61 needs to be made of a material which is appropriately smaller than the rubber-made feed roller 4 and has a sufficient friction coefficient for separating the recording paper. Conventionally, a separating plate made of cork material
61 is widely used. However, the separating plate 61 made of cork material has a problem in that the abrasion accompanying the sliding contact with the fed recording paper P is remarkable, and the desired separating performance is lost at an early stage.

In an image forming apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus described above, an OHP (Over Head Projection) is used.
In many cases, sheet materials other than recording paper, such as resin films used for tor), are handled. When sending out this kind of sheet material having a higher friction coefficient than paper, the frictional resistance between the sheet material and the sliding contact portion is increased. As a result, the separating plate 61 vibrates in the direction in which it comes into contact with and separates from the feed roller 4 together with the holder 60, and there is a problem that abnormal noise called chattering noise is generated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to reliably prevent a plurality of sheet materials from being sent out while forming a contact portion with a sheet material from a material having a small friction coefficient. Provided is a feeding device which is provided with separating means capable of mitigating a decrease in separation performance due to wear, and effectively suppressing generation of vibration accompanying feeding, and stably realizing feeding of sheet materials one by one. With the goal.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding apparatus for holding a plurality of sheets stacked in the thickness direction, and a top portion of the holding portion. A feed roller that is in contact with the surface of the sheet material and rotates to send the sheet material to the conveyance path, and is provided on the peripheral surface of the feed roller so as to be able to freely contact with and separate from the sheet material, and friction is applied to the sheet material overlapping the back surface of the fed sheet material A sheet feeding device comprising: a separation unit that adds resistance and separates the two sheet members; and a biasing unit that biases the separation unit in a direction opposite to a feeding direction of the sheet member. I do.

According to the present invention, there is provided an urging means for urging the separating means provided to be able to come and go with respect to the feed roller in a direction opposite to the sheet feeding direction, and the urging force of the urging means and the sheet are provided. The movement of the separation means caused by the force balance with the frictional force between the sheet material and the sheet material ensures that the sheet materials to be overlapped and fed are shifted in the opposite direction to be reliably separated.

In the sheet feeding apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, at least a portion of the separating means in contact with the sheet material is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the feed roller. I do.

In the present invention, the contact portion of the separating means with the sheet material is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the feed roller for feeding the sheet material, and the regular sheet material is formed by the friction between the separating means. Is prevented from being obstructed.

In the sheet feeding apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention, the separating means according to the first or second aspect of the present invention comprises a separating plate abutting on the sheet member, and the separating plate movably in the feeding direction. And a holder for holding the holder.

According to the present invention, the separating means comprises a separating plate which comes into contact with the sheet material and a holder which movably holds the separating plate, and the separation means is provided between the urging force of the urging means and the sheet material. The movement of the separating means caused by the balance of the frictional force with the frictional force is ensured by the movement of the separating plate in the holder.

A sheet material feeding device according to a fourth invention is characterized in that the separating plate of the third invention is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the feed roller.

In the present invention, the separating plate which comes into contact with the sheet material is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than a feed roller for feeding the sheet material. Prevents delivery from being hindered.

The sheet feeding apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the separating plate in the fourth aspect is made of a resin material containing a cork material.

According to the present invention, the separating plate is made of a resin material including a cork material, so that abrasion due to sliding contact with the sheet material is suppressed, and an early decrease in separation performance is prevented.

In the sheet feeding apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the urging means according to any one of the third to fifth aspects comprises a spring interposed between the separating plate and the holder. It is characterized by having been done.

In the present invention, a spring is interposed between the separating plate and the holder to easily realize the aforementioned biasing of the separating plate.

Further, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to the seventh invention of the present invention, the holding section according to any one of the first to sixth inventions, wherein the holding section presses the plurality of stacked and held sheet materials against the feed roller. It is characterized by comprising a pressing means for urging.

In the present invention, the sheet material is pressed and urged against the feed roller by the pressing means provided on the holding portion for holding the sheet material, so that the feed roller is reliably fed by rotation.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus as an example of an image forming apparatus including a sheet material feeding device according to the present invention.

This ink-jet recording apparatus is shown in FIG.
An ink head 2 as an image forming unit is provided inside a main body housing 1 indicated by a chain line. The ink head 2 is supported by a guide rod 20 laid in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing, and ejects ink downward while being scanned along the guide rod 20 by transmission from driving means (not shown). Has become.

A flat platen 21 is provided under the ink head 2 over the entire length of the movement range of the ink head 2, and a pair of upper and lower members is provided on the rear side (right side in the drawing) of the platen 21. A paper feed path including a PS roller 22 and a driven roller 23, and a paper feed guide 24 is provided. Similarly, a paper discharge path including a paper discharge roller 25 and a paper discharge tray 26 is provided on the front side (left side in the figure). It is.

On the rear side of the paper feed guide 24, which is the starting point of the paper feed path, a paper feed unit including a paper feed tray 3, a feed roller 4, and a separating means 5 is formed. The paper feed tray 3 is bent and formed in an L-shape, and is provided with a support plate 30 fixed in an obliquely rearwardly inclined posture and a press spring 31 urged in a separating direction on a vertical side of the support plate 30. And a paper board 32. FIG.
FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a paper feeding unit, and the respective members constituting the paper feeding unit are arranged so that positioning between them is performed with high precision.
It is supported by a support frame 33 integrally formed with the support plate 30.

The feed roller 4 is a roller provided with large-diameter working portions 40, 40 made of a material having a high friction coefficient, such as a rubber material, at a plurality of locations (two locations in FIG. 2) in the axial direction. The supporting plate 33 is rotatably suspended between both side plates, and faces near the tip of the lateral side of the supporting plate 30. A transmission gear is provided on the protrusion of the feed roller 4 to one side of the support frame 33.
The feed roller 41, which is provided with a support frame 33 and set at a predetermined position inside the main body housing 1 together with the support frame 33, is connected to a drive source (not shown) via the transmission gear 41, and is transmitted by the drive source as shown in FIG. It is designed to rotate in the direction shown by the arrow inside.

The pressing spring 31 of the paper feeding tray 3 is normally restrained in a contracted state by the action of a stopper (not shown), and the paper feeding plate 32 supported by the pressing spring 31 is supported as shown by a solid line in FIG. The standby position close to the plate 30 is maintained. The recording papers P, P... Are stacked on the paper feed plate 32 at the standby position in a thickness direction, and a plurality of
The lower edge is supported and held by the lateral sides of the.

The restraint by the stopper is released when an image forming operation described later is started.
The recording paper 32 is pressed by the spring force of the pressing spring 31 and separated from the support plate 30, moves to an operation position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. , P ...
Is pressed against the peripheral surface of the feed roller 4, more specifically, the peripheral surface of the action portion 40. When the feed roller 4 rotates in this state, the uppermost recording sheet P pressed against the peripheral surface of the action section 40 having a high friction coefficient is sent out by the action of the frictional force with the action section 40.

The separating means 5, which is a feature of the present invention, is provided at a position corresponding to one of the action portions 40 of the feed roller 4 as described above.
A holder 50 disposed so as to bridge between the leading edge of the lateral side of the support plate 30 and the paper feed guide 24, and a separating plate 51 held by the holder 50; A pressing spring 52 interposed between the bottom plate 50 and the support frame 33 urges the separating plate 51 against the peripheral surface of the action portion 40 of the feed roller 4.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the separating means 5.
The holder 50 of the separating means 5 has a rectangular flat plate shape, and a concave portion formed with an appropriate width of the peripheral portion on the surface facing the feed roller 4.
53 are equipped. The separating plate 51 is a rectangular flat plate made of a resin material impregnated with a cork material. The separating plate 51 is fitted into the concave portion 53 by restraining both side edges, and one of the remaining two edges and a corresponding peripheral edge of the concave portion 53 are formed. A pressing spring 54 is interposed therebetween, and is slidably held by the restraining edge as a guide against the spring force of the pressing spring 54.

As shown in FIG. 1, the separating means 5 pushes the interposing side of the pressing spring 54 toward the paper feeding guide 24 and slides the separating plate 51 against the feed roller 4 to push the pressing spring 54. The sliding of the separating plate 51 against the spring force of the spring 54
, In other words, in the direction in which the recording paper P is sent out by the rotation of the feed roller 4. The arrow in FIG. 3 indicates the direction in which the recording paper P is sent out.

A plurality of separating means 5 may be provided in the axial direction of the feed roller 4 or a long separating means 5 extending in the axial direction of the feed roller 4 may be provided. Further, the urging means of the separating plate 51 is not limited to the one pressing spring 54 shown in the above embodiment, but may be a plurality of pressing springs arranged in the width direction of the separating plate 51. The pressing spring 54 is not limited to the illustrated coil spring, but may be another type of spring such as a leaf spring.

After the plurality of recording papers P, P,... Are set on the paper feed tray 3 as described above, the image forming operation is performed in accordance with an operation command from control means (not shown). To start. At this time,
The recording paper P set in the paper supply tray 3 is pushed out by the operation of the paper supply plate 32 as described above, and the recording paper P overlapping the uppermost portion is pressed against the feed roller 4.

The feed roller 4 starts rotating at a predetermined timing in accordance with the operation command, and the rotation causes the uppermost recording paper P to be in friction with the peripheral surface of the working portion 40 having a high friction coefficient. The recording paper P is separated from other recording papers P by the action of the force, and is sent out onto the paper feed guide 24 while being sandwiched between the action portion 40 and the separating plate 51 of the separating means 5. Along the path and reaches the rolling contact portion between the PS roller 22 and the driven roller 23.

Recording paper P fed by feed roller 4
Is detected by a Pin sensor S provided in front of one side of the separating means 5. The switching of the drive source between the PS roller 22 and the feed roller 4 after a lapse of a predetermined time from the detection time of the Pin sensor S causes the timing of the PS roller 22 to coincide with the arrival time of the recording paper P on the paper feed guide 24 in FIG. The rotation of the recording paper P is started as indicated by an arrow in FIG.

The transport of the recording paper P on the platen 21 by the PS roller 22 is performed intermittently at a pitch corresponding to the image forming width of one line by the ink head 2. A desired image is formed by ink ejected from the ink head 2 while being scanned at each timing. The recording paper P on which image formation has been completed in this way is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 26 by rotation of a paper discharge roller 25 disposed in front of the platen 21. The paper discharge tray 26 extends to the outside from an opening provided in the front part of the main body housing 1, and the recording paper P discharged onto the paper discharge tray 26 can be appropriately taken out.

In the image forming operation performed as described above, the separating means 5 is used when the recording paper P which comes into contact with the feed roller 4 is to be sent out together with one or a plurality of recording papers P overlapping the back surface thereof. , Prevent this sending out,
An operation of reliably separating and sending out only one recording sheet P is performed. FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the separating means 5 showing an enlarged contact portion between the feed roller 4 and the separating means 5, and FIG.
4A shows a normal state in which only one sheet of recording paper P is sent out, and FIG. 4B shows a state in which two sheets of recording paper P and P 'are about to be sent out. .

As shown in FIG. 4 (a), when one sheet of recording paper P is fed, the front surface of the recording paper P comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the feed roller 4, and the back surface is also separated by the separating means 5 Abuts the separating plate 51 of At this time, a frictional force F _A in the feed direction acts on a contact point with the peripheral surface of the rotating feed roller 4 on the front surface of the recording paper P, and a contact force with the separating plate 51 is applied on the back surface of the recording paper P. _A friction force FB in the opposite direction to the friction force F _A acts on the entire contact surface.

The feed roller 4 is made of a material having a high coefficient of friction, such as rubber, as described above, whereas the separating plate 51 is made of a resin material impregnated with a cork material. for sufficiently smaller than the friction coefficient of the feed roller 4 of the plate 51, the frictional force F _a, the magnitude relation of F _B, always F _a> F
_B. Therefore, the the recording paper P, the friction force F _A applied to both sides, joined as the difference (= F _A -F _B) the feed force F _B, the separating plate 51, acts on the feed force and the opposite At a position where the spring force of the pressing spring 54 is balanced, the recording paper P is reliably sent out while sliding on the surface of the separating plate 51.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), another recording paper P 'is attracted to the back surface of the recording paper P which comes into contact with the feed roller 4 by, for example, the action of static electricity, and the recording paper P is fed out in an overlapping state. In this case, a frictional force F _{A in the} feed direction acts on the surface of the recording paper P on the feed roller 4 side, and the feed direction is applied on the back surface of the recording paper P ′ on the separation means 5 side. frictional force in the opposite direction F _B acts.

[0045] At this time, the back surface and the surface of the recording paper P 'of the recording paper P, the entire contact portion of each other, the frictional force F _A, F _B and reverse frictional force F _c, F _D is respectively Works. Since the frictional force F _c acting on the back surface of the recording paper P is sufficiently smaller than the frictional force F _A on the surface side, the recording paper P,
Due to the difference between the frictional forces F _A and F _c applied to both surfaces (= F _A −F _c ), the paper is stably fed.

The friction force F _D applied to the surface of the recording paper P ′
Since generally smaller than the frictional force F _B of the back side, separation plate 51 of the separating means 5, the frictional force F _B exerted on both sides, and the difference between the _{F D (= F B -F D} ), which With the interaction with the spring force of the pressing spring 54 applied in the same direction as above, the initial position close to the paper feed tray 3 side can be maintained, and the feeding of the recording paper P 'can be prevented.

[0047] On the other hand, if the frictional force F _D applied to the surface of the recording paper P 'by various disturbances fluctuates and temporarily increased than the frictional force F _B of the back side, the separation plate 51, F _D, F _B
The difference (= F _D -F _B), applied to the opposite direction moves the spring force is balanced position of the compression spring 54, to equilibrate while preventing feeding of the recording sheet P '. Moreover, if the temporary increase of the friction force F _D is released in this state,
The separating plate 51 is moved in the direction shown by the white arrow in the drawing by the spring force of the pressing spring 54, and pushes the recording paper P 'back to the paper feed tray 3 side. Double feed with the recording paper P can be reliably prevented.

As described above, in the present invention, the separating means 5
Has a separating plate 51 urged by a pressing spring 54 in a direction opposite to the direction of feeding of the recording paper P, and the separating plate 51 is
Since the recording paper P 'is moved by the spring force of 54 to prevent the recording paper P' from being sent over the back side of the recording paper P, the separating plate
Double feed of recording paper can be reliably prevented without managing the friction coefficient of 51 with high precision.

The separating plate 51 can be made of a material having a relatively small coefficient of friction, such as the above-described resin material containing cork material, and can be used to feed a non-slip sheet material such as an OHP resin film. Even in the case of the target, the sliding resistance with the separating plate 51 is suppressed to be low, and it is possible to smoothly feed. Further, the degree of abrasion of the separating plate 51 due to sliding contact with a regular sheet material can be reduced, and good separation performance can be maintained for a long period of time.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the paper feeding unit of an ink jet recording apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is applicable to all image forming apparatuses such as copiers and facsimile apparatuses. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied as a sheet material feeding device. Further, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus, and can be applied to various apparatuses that are required to separate and feed a plurality of stacked sheet materials one by one.

[0051]

As described above in detail, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to the first invention of the present invention, the separating means provided so as to be capable of coming and going with respect to the feed roller is opposite to the sheet feeding direction. After being urged, the separating means moves due to the force balance between the frictional force between the sheet material and the urging force, and the sheet material that is about to be sent out while overlapping the regular sheet material is pushed back. The sheet materials can be surely separated, and the occurrence of multiple feeding of a plurality of sheet materials can be effectively prevented.

In the sheet feeding apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the contact portion of the separating means with the sheet material is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the feeding roller. Can be satisfactorily performed without being hindered by the frictional resistance at the sliding contact portion with the separating means, and the wear of the contact portion due to the sliding is slightly suppressed, and the good separating performance over a long period of time. Can be maintained.

Further, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to the third invention, the separating means for separating the sheet material is provided with a separating plate in contact with the sheet material and a holder for holding the separating plate movably. With this configuration, the movement by the force balance between the frictional force between the sheet material and the urging force can be smoothly and reliably performed by the movement of the separating plate in the holder, and the separation can be reliably performed. Action can be performed.

In the sheet feeding apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the separating plate in contact with the sheet is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the feeding roller, the feeding of the sheet by rotation of the feeding roller is performed. It can be performed well without being hindered by the frictional resistance associated with the sliding contact of the separating plate, and also minimizes the wear of the separating plate due to the sliding and maintains good separating performance for a long period of time. be able to.

In the sheet feeding apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since a separating plate made of a resin material including a cork material is used, the occurrence of abrasion due to sliding contact with the sheet material can be reduced.
Moreover, it can be effectively suppressed, and good separation performance can be maintained for a long period of time.

In the sheet feeding apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the biasing of the separating plate is realized by interposing a spring between the separating plate and the holder, so that a reliable operation can be achieved by a simple structure. And it is possible to obtain a desired separation performance.

Further, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the holding section for holding the sheets in a stacked state is provided with a pressing means, and the pressing means presses the uppermost sheet material against the feed roller. Therefore, the present invention has an excellent effect, for example, it is possible to reliably send out a desired sheet material by rotating the feed roller.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus as an example of an image forming apparatus including a sheet material feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a paper feeding unit of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a separating unit which is a characteristic part of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a separating unit.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body housing 2 Ink head 3 Paper feed tray 4 Feed roller 5 Separation means 31 Press spring 32 Paper feed plate 50 Holder 51 Release plate 54 Press spring P Recording paper

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F343 FA02 FB02 FB03 FB04 FC01 GA02 GB01 GC01 GD01 HA07 HA12 HA31 JD04 JD08 JD33 JD35 JD37 KB05 KB16 LA04 LA12 LB08 LC22 LD04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A holding unit for holding a plurality of sheet materials in a stacking direction in a thickness direction, and a feeding unit which rolls on a surface of a sheet material overlapping the top of the holding unit and rotates to send the sheet materials to a conveyance path. A sheet feeding device comprising: a roller; and a separation means provided on the peripheral surface of the feed roller so as to be able to freely contact and separate, and applying frictional resistance to the sheet material overlapping the back surface of the sheet material to be fed to separate the two sheet materials. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising an urging unit that urges the separating unit in a direction opposite to a direction in which the sheet is fed. 2. A sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein at least a contact portion of said separating means with said sheet material is made of a material having a smaller friction coefficient than said feed roller. 3. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the separation means includes a separating plate that contacts the sheet material, and a holder that holds the separating plate movably in the feeding direction. Feeder. 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the separating plate is made of a material having a smaller coefficient of friction than the feed roller. 5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the separating plate is made of a resin material containing a cork material. 6. The biasing means is constituted by a spring interposed between the separating plate and the holder.
The sheet material feeding device according to claim 5. 7. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the holding unit includes a pressing unit that presses and biases the plurality of stacked sheet materials against the feed roller. Feeder.