The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 03, 2006
Filed:
Sep. 29, 2003
Kazuo Otsuka, Nagano, JP;
Masafumi Furuyama, Nagano, JP;
Kazuo Otsuka, Nagano, JP;
Masafumi Furuyama, Nagano, JP;
Seiko Epson Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A paper returner is placed in the vicinity of an end portion of a hopper for stacking a plurality of sheets of paper which faces a paper feeding roller, so as to be pivotable between a first position where the paper returner constitutes a part of the paper transporting passage, and a second position where the paper returner is isolated from the paper transporting passage. A separation pad is provided on a first face of the paper returner. The separation pad has a friction coefficient which is higher than a friction coefficient of the first face of the paper returner. The paper returner is placed at the first position so that a top sheet of paper in the hopper is abutted against the paper feeding roller, and is separated from other sheets of paper by the separation pad. The paper returner is placed at the second position so that the first face of the paper returner returns sheets of paper, which are entered in the paper transporting passage-together with the sheet of paper to be fed, to the hopper.