PURPOSE: To provide a front loading sheet feeder excellent in fitting/removing operability by providing a sheet feed roller, a separating roller, a guide member on the sheet feed side of a tray inclined with a sheet stacking face downward on a sheet feed face, and pushing up a bottom plate so that the upper face of a sheet bundle is brought into pressure contact with the sheet feed roller.

CONSTITUTION: A sheet feed tray 20 is provided with front/rear side fences 10, 11 and an end fence 12 restricting the stacking of a sheet bundle 19, a moving bottom plate 21 rocked while a rotating fulcrum 23 near the rear end serves as the axis and movable in the vertical direction, a sheet feed roller 51 feeding the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle 19 mounted on the bottom plate 21 in the sheet feeding direction, a separating roller holding a shaft 53, pressed to the sheet feed roller 51 across an upper guide member guiding the upper face of the fed sheet and a feed path, and rotatable only in the opposite direction to the sheet feeding direction, and a housing 81 holding it, guiding it in the approaching/separating direction from the sheet feed roller 51, and having a lower guide section 13 of sheets. No electric parts are provided on the tray 20.