CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-061608, filed on Mar. 27, 2019, the entire subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

An aspect of the present disclosure is related to an image reading apparatus.

Related Art

An image reading apparatus including a sheet conveying apparatus is known. The sheet conveying apparatus may include a feed tray, a conveyance guide, a feed roller, a separation roller, a separation pad, and a reading sensor.

The feed tray may support sheets to be fed. The conveyance guide may be a part of an upward surface of an upper chute member and may guide the sheets being conveyed from the feed tray. The feed roller may feed the sheet supported on the feed tray along the conveyance guide. The separation roller and the separation pad may separate the sheets fed by the feed roller from one another and convey the separated sheets one by one along the conveyance guide. The reading sensor may stay still at a stationary reading position and read images of the sheets being conveyed along the conveyance guide.

SUMMARY

While a user may occasionally use different types of sheets such as thinner sheets with more pliability or sheets that may curl easily in the sheet conveying apparatus, leading edges of those sheets may be caught by or collide with irregularities in the conveyance guide, such as small bumps, uneven surfaces, and bends. In other words, a variety of types of sheets may not be conveyed along the conveyance guide suitably or smoothly.

The present disclosure is advantageous in that an image reading apparatus, in which a variety of types of sheets are conveyable along a conveyance guide smoothly, is provided.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an image reading apparatus, having a feed tray, a conveyance guide, a feed roller, a separator, a reading sensor, and a controller, is provided. The feed tray is configured to support sheets for being fed. The feed tray includes a movable plate configured to move in a vertical direction between a standby position and a feedable position being higher than the standby position according to an amount of the sheets supported by the feed tray. The conveyance guide is configured to guide the sheets conveyed from the feed tray. The feed roller is movable in the vertical direction. The feed roller is configured to feed the sheets supported by the feed tray to be conveyed along the conveyance guide. A positional relation between the feed roller and an uppermost sheet in the sheets supported by the feed tray is maintained within a predetermined range by the movable plate located at the feedable position. The separator is configured to nip and separate the sheets fed by the feed roller from one another and convey the sheets separately along the conveyance guide. The reading sensor is configured to read images of the sheets conveyed along the conveyance guide. The controller is configured to control at least rotating-and-stopping movements of the feed roller and the separator and ascending-and-descending movements of the movable plate. While the feed roller feeds the sheets, the controller is configured to conduct a vibrating action, in which the movable plate located at the feedable position is moved to ascend and descend for a plurality of times.

