1. A flashlight that is removably attachable to a magnetic surface, the flashlight comprising:
a body having a bulb end and a clip end;
a light source connected to the bulb end; and
one or more magnets attached to the body flashlight.
2. The flashlight of claim 1, the flashlight further comprising a pocket clip attached to the clip end.
3. The flashlight of claim 2, wherein the one or more magnets are attached to the pocket clip.
4. The flashlight of claim 3, wherein the one or more magnets are secured to an outer surface of the pocket clip.
5. The flashlight of claim 3, wherein the one or more magnets are secured within the pocket clip.
6. The flashlight of claim 1, wherein the flashlight has two or more magnets.
7. The flashlight of claim 6, wherein the two or more magnets are adjacent to each other.
8. The flashlight of claim 6, wherein the two or more magnets are positioned at separate locations on the flashlight.
9. The flashlight of claim 8, wherein the flashlight includes a pocket clip attached to the clip end, and the two or more magnets are spaced along the length of the pocket clip.
10. The flashlight of claim 1, further comprising a switch on the body of the flashlight that turns the flashlight on and off.
11. The flashlight of claim 1, wherein the switch is located at a tip of the clip end.
12. A flashlight that is removably attachable to a magnetic surface, the flashlight comprising:
a body having a bulb end and a clip end;
a light source connected to the bulb end;
a pocket clip attached to the clip end; and
one or more magnets attached to the pocket clip.
13. The flashlight of claim 12, wherein the one or more magnets are secured to an outer surface of the pocket clip.
14. The flashlight of claim 12, wherein the one or more magnets are secured within the pocket clip.
15. The flashlight of claim 12, wherein the flashlight has two or more magnets.
16. The flashlight of claim 15, wherein the two or more magnets are adjacent to each other.
17. The flashlight of claim 15, wherein the two or more magnets are spaced along the length of the pocket clip.
18. The flashlight of claim 15, wherein the flashlight has a first magnet secured to an outer surface of the pocket clip, and a second magnet secured within the pocket clip.
19. The flashlight of claim 12, further comprising a switch on the body of the flashlight that turns the flashlight on and off.
20. The flashlight of claim 12, wherein the switch is located at a tip of the clip end.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A sheet feeding apparatus comprising:
a stacking portion on which sheets are stacked, the stacking portion being movable up and down;
a lifting portion which lifts the stacking portion;
a feeding portion which abuts against a topmost sheet of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion, and feeds the topmost sheet;
a first height detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to a position in a height direction of the topmost sheet of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion;
a sheet presence detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to presence or absence of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion; and
a second height detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to a position in a height direction of the stacking portion,
wherein a lifting operation, of the lifting portion, that the position of the topmost sheet is kept within a certain range by lifting the stacking portion is controlled by a control portion based on the signal from the first height detecting portion and the signal from the sheet presence detecting portion while the second height detecting portion is outputting a signal when the position of the stacking portion is above a predetermined height, and the lifting operation of the lifting portion is controlled by the control portion based on the signal from the first height detecting portion and regardless of the signal from the sheet presence detecting portion while the second height detecting portion is outputting a signal when the position of the stacking portion is below the predetermined height.
2. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the lifting operation of the lifting portion is controlled based on the signal from the first height detecting portion and the signal from the sheet presence detecting portion isn’t used, while the position of the stacking portion is below the predetermined height.
3. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the predetermined height of the stacking portion is a height in which the feeding portion abuts against a topmost sheet of the sheets stacked inclinedly on the stacking portion and the sheet presence detecting portion is capable of detecting the topmost sheet, in a state in which the stacking portion is located in a region above the predetermined height.
4. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the sheet presence detection portion includes
a sheet presence detection lever supported pivotably by an apparatus main body, the sheet presence detection lever which has a distal end portion being disposed contactably with the sheets on the stacking portion, and
a sheet presence detection sensor which outputs a signal corresponding to a pivotal position of the sheet present detection lever.
5. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the sheet presence detecting portion is disposed upstream in a sheet feeding direction of the first height detecting portion.
6. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:
a display portion which displays that there is no sheet when the control portion receives, from the sheet presence detecting portion, a signal indicating that there is no sheet.
7. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
in a state in which the stacking portion is located in a region above the predetermined height, the feeding portion is controlled to stop a sheet feeding operation when the control portion receives, from the sheet presence detecting portion, a signal indicating that there is no sheet,
in a state in which the stacking portion is located in a region below the predetermined height, the feeding portion is controlled to continue the sheet feeding operation when the control portion receives the signal indicating that there is no sheet.
8. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the second height detecting portion includes a position detection member disposed pivotably, the position detection member which is abuttable against the stacking portion to be elevated or lowered, and a position detection sensor which outputs a signal corresponding to a pivotal position of the position detection member.
9. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the lifting portion has a stepping motor as a driving source,
the second height detecting portion outputs a signal corresponding to pulse counts of the stepping motor, and
a height position of the stacking portion is computed by the control portion based on the signal corresponding to the pulse counts of the stepping motor.
10. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the second height detecting portion has an optical sensor emitting light to the stacking portion from above and outputting a signal based on a reflection response of the light reflected by the stacking portion and
a height position of the stacking portion is computed by the control portion based on the signal from the optical sensor.
11. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the feeding portion is a feeding roller pivotably supported,
the first height detecting portion has a sheet height detection sensor which outputs a signal corresponding to a height position of the feeding roller, and
the lifting portion is controlled by the control portion based on a signal from the sheet height detection sensor.
12. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a stacking portion on which sheets are stacked, the stacking portion being movable up and down;
a lifting portion which lifts the stacking portion;
a feeding portion which abuts against a topmost sheet of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion, and feeds the topmost sheet;
a first height detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to a position in a height direction of the topmost sheet of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion;
a sheet presence detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to presence or absence of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion;
a second height detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to a position in a height direction of the stacking portion;
a control portion controlling the lifting portion to perform a lifting operation such that the position of the topmost sheet is kept within a certain range by lifting the stacking portion based on the signal from the first height detecting portion and the signal from the sheet presence detection portion while the second height detecting portion is outputting a signal when the position of the stacking portion is above a predetermined height, and the lifting operation of the lifting portion is controlled by the control portion based on the signal from the first height detecting portion and regardless of the signal from the sheet presence detection portion while the second height detecting portion is outputting a signal when the position of the stacking portion is below the predetermined height; and
an image forming portion forming an image on a sheet fed from the feeding portion.
13. A sheet feeding apparatus comprising:
a stacking portion on which sheets are stacked and which is movable up and down;
a lifting portion which lifts the stacking portion;
a feeding portion which abuts against a topmost sheet of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion, and feeds the topmost sheet;
a first height detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to whether a position in a height direction of the feeding portion is located in a feeding position at which the topmost sheet is fed;
a sheet presence detection portion which outputs a signal corresponding to presence or absence of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion; and
a second height detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to whether a position in a height direction of the stacking portion is located in a first region in which the sheet presence detection portion isn’t used for a lifting operation of the lifting portion or a second region in which the sheet presence detection portion is used for the lifting operation.
14. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 13, wherein:
the second region is a region in which the feeding portion abuts against the topmost sheet of the sheets stacked inclinedly on the stacking portion to be capable of feeding and the sheet presence detecting portion is capable of detecting a topmost sheet.
15. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 13, wherein:
the sheet feeding apparatus is controlled by a control portion in a sheet feeding operation,
the control portion is capable of receiving detecting signals from the first height detecting portion, the sheet presence detection portion and the second height detecting portion,
the control portion prevents the sheet presence detection portion detecting or disables the detection if the signal indicating that the stacking portion is located in the first region is output from the second height detecting portion, and
the control portion permits the sheet presence detection portion detecting if the signal indicating that the stacking portion is located in the second region is output from the second height detecting portion.
16. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a stacking portion on which sheets are stacked and which is movable up and down;
a lifting portion which lifts the stacking portion;
a feeding portion which abuts against a topmost sheet of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion and feeds the topmost sheet;
a first height detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to whether a position in a height direction of the feeding portion is located in a feeding position at which the topmost sheet is fed;
a sheet presence detection portion which outputs a signal corresponding to presence or absence of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion;
a second height detecting portion which outputs a signal corresponding to whether a position in a height direction of the stacking portion is located in a first region in which the sheet presence detection portion isn’t used for a lifting operation of the lifting portion or a second region in which the sheet presence detection portion is used for the lifting operation; and
an image forming portion which forms an image on a sheet fed from the feeding portion.