FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART

The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device, an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus which includes a stacking tray for stacking a sheet and include a first restricting member and a second restricting member which restrict a position of the sheet with respect to a widthwise direction of the sheet.

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a multi-function machine, an automatic document feeder (ADF) for feeding an original, which is a sheet, to an image reading portion is provided in some instances. In an ADF disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2018-8766, an original tray for stacking an original (sheet) is provided with two side restricting plates (side guiding mechanisms) for restricting a widthwise position of the original in contact with opposite ends of end portions of the original with respect to a widthwise direction of the original. A user stacks the original on the original tray and slides (moves) the two side restricting plates so as to contact the side ends (end portions) of the original. By this, a widthwise position of the original set on the original tray (stacking tray) is restricted, so that an attitude of the original when the original is fed and an image on the original is read by an image reading apparatus can be satisfactorily maintained.

Each of the side restricting plates as described above, includes a restricting surface contacting a side end (portion) of the original and a supporting portion for supporting the restricting surface in contact with an upper surface of the stacking tray. The supporting portion is provided inside the side restricting plate with respect to the widthwise direction of the sheet.

In recent years, there is a demand such that a user wishes to read an original, such as a business card or a receipt, small in size with respect to a widthwise direction of the original (sheet), through the ADF. In this case, in order to restrict the side ends of the original small in size with respect to the widthwise direction, there is a need that the two side restricting plates are brought near to each other with respect to the widthwise direction. For that purpose, there is a need that a length of each of the supporting portions with respect to the widthwise direction is made short.

However, in the case where the length of the supporting portions with respect to the widthwise direction is made short, a degree of inclination of the restricting surfaces becomes large by the influence of variations in dimension and tolerance of constituent component parts. In the case where the supporting portions are inclined inward between the two side restricting plates, when a bundle of originals is set on the stacking tray, the originals are sandwiched between the two side restricting plates particularly at upper portions of the restricting surfaces. In this case, a feeding resistance when the sheet (original) is fed becomes large, so that there is a liability that improper feeding is caused. On the other hand, in the case where the restricting surfaces are inclined outward with respect to the two side restricting plates, a gap is formed between the widthwise end of the original and the associated restricting surface particularly at the upper portion of the restricting surface. In this case, there is a liability that the original is inclined with respect to a feeding direction thereof and thus causes oblique movement thereof during feeding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device, an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus which are capable of reducing a degree of occurrences of improper feeding and oblique movement of a sheet small in size with respect to a widthwise direction of the sheet.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device comprising: a stacking tray configured to stack a sheet; a feeding portion configured to feed the sheet stacked on the stacking tray; a first restricting member which includes a first restricting surface for restricting one end side of the sheet provided on an upper surface of the stacking tray and a first supporting portion for supporting the first restricting surface in contact with the upper surface of the stacking tray and which is movable in a widthwise direction of the sheet perpendicular to a feeding direction of the sheet; a second restricting member which includes a second restricting surface for restricting the other end side of the sheet, opposite from the one end side of the sheet, provided on the upper surface of the stacking tray and a second supporting portion for supporting the second restricting surface in contact with the upper surface of the stacking tray and which is movable in the widthwise direction of the sheet perpendicular to the feeding direction of the sheet; and interrelating means configured to interrelate the first restricting member and the second restricting member with each other so that with respect to the widthwise direction of the sheet, a distance from a center line, of the stacking tray, extending in the feeding direction of the sheet to the first restricting surface and a distance from the center line to the second restricting surface are equal to each other, wherein in a state in which the first restricting surface and the second restricting surface are brought closest to each other, a part of the first supporting portion is positioned on a second restricting surface side with respect to the center line, and a part of the second supporting portion is positioned on a first restricting surface side with respect to the center line.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

