Sheet detecting apparatus and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a conveying portion which conveys the sheet in a sheet conveying path;
• a lever member having an abutting surface that abuts against a leading end of a sheet conveyed by the conveying portion;
• a biasing portion that applies a biasing force to the lever member to position the lever member at a first position where the abutting surface abuts against the leading end of the sheet;
• a supporting mechanism that movably supports the lever member so that the lever member moves in an order of the first position, a second position to which the lever member moves by the sheet being conveyed against the biasing force of the biasing member, and a third position where the lever member abuts on a surface of the sheet being conveyed and waits in order to move to the first position when a trailing end of the sheet passes the lever member, while keeping the abutting surface facing upstream in a sheet conveying direction;
• an interlocking portion that interlock with the lever member;
• a detector that detects a position of the interlocking portion;
• and
• an image forming portion which forms an image on the conveyed sheet.