Sheet-supply device

A sheet supply method using a sheet-supply device that includes a hopper portion that has an inclined wall for holding a stack of sheets in an inclined position and a lower edge receiving portion capable of receiving lower leading edges of the sheets that form the stack of sheets, a sheet feed mechanism that includes a sheet-supply roller which separates and feeds a topmost sheet from the stack of sheets held by the hopper portion, a stopper member that is provided to a bottom plate of the hopper portion so that a position of the stopper member can be changed between a protruding position where the stopper member protrudes from an upper surface of the bottom plate and a retracted position where the stopper member retracts below the upper surface of the bottom plate, and applies a resistance to movement of the sheets in a sheet feed direction, and a position change mechanism that changes the position of the stopper member between the protruding position and the retracted position and changes the position of the stopper member from the protruding position to the retracted position at least when a sheet feed operation is performed by the sheet-supply roller, the sheet-supply method comprising:

• changing the protruding position of the stopper member to the retracted position from the protruding position by the position change mechanism;
• supplying the topmost sheet from the stack of sheets held by the hopper portion by driving the sheet-supply roller of the sheet feed mechanism;
• and
• changing the position of the stopper member to the protruding position from the retracted position when a leading edge of the fed sheet passes the stopper member.

A sheet supply method using a sheet-supply device that includes a hopper portion that has an inclined wall for holding a stack of sheets in an inclined position and a lower edge receiving portion capable of receiving lower leading edges of the sheets that forms the stack of sheets, a sheet feed mechanism that includes a sheet-supply roller which separates and feeds a topmost sheet from the stack of sheets held by the hopper portion, a stopper member that is provided to a bottom plate of the hopper portion so that a position of the stopper member can be changed between a protruding position where the stopper member protrudes from an upper surface of the bottom plate and a retracted position where the stopper member retracts below the upper surface of the bottom plate, and applies a resistance to movement of the sheets in a sheet feed direction, and a position change mechanism that changes the position of the stopper member between the protruding position and the retracted position and changes the position of the stopper member from the protruding position to the retracted position at least when a sheet feed operation is performed by the sheet-supply roller, the sheet-supply method comprising:

• changing the protruding position of the stopper member to the retracted position from the protruding position by the position change mechanism;
• supplying the topmost sheet from the stack of sheets held by the hopper portion by driving the sheet-supply roller of the sheet feed mechanism;
• and
• moving the stopper member up and down several times via the position change mechanism at a time between after the sheet feed operation is completed and before a next sheet feed operation is performed.