To secure a smooth pressure-contact state lying between a paper feed roller and a separate pad and simultaneously, after the uppermost paper is fed, to reduce any load acting on this paper.
This paper feeder is provided with a paper feed roller 20 contacting with a sheet of paper and feeding it, and a separate pad 50 separating the paper to be fed by the paper feed roller 20 from the next positioned paper by holding the paper between under pressure in an interval between a hopper 30 holding plural pieces of paper to be fed in contact with the paper feed roller 20, and making the paper forcibly pressing toward the paper feed roller 20 in time of rotation of this roller 20, and the paper feed roller 20 being roatably supported by a shaft 55 and energized toward this roller 20 by an energizing means 56, and in this constitution, the shaft 55 rotatably supporting this separate pad 50 is set up on an extension line E of an opposed surface 55a with the paper feed roller 20 of the separate pad 50.
SHIMOMURA MASAKI
OKI SHIGEHIRO
