Patent ID: 7380781

Claim:
A sheet feeding device having an air loosening mechanism for blowing air to placed sheets so as to loosen the sheets, the sheet feeding device comprising: a sheet containing portion which contains the sheets; an air blowing portion which blows air to ends of the sheets contained in the sheet containing portion; and an air supply unit which supplies air to the air blowing portion, wherein the air supply unit has a plurality of centrifugal fans, wherein a connecting member connects an air supply opening of the centrifugal fan on an upstream side with respect to a direction of air flow and an air suction opening of the centrifugal fan on a downstream side with respect to the direction of air flow, wherein the centrifugal fans are connected serially by a spiral flow passage formed by the connecting member, and wherein a rotational flow direction of the air in the spiral flow passage is set so as to be the same as a rotating direction of an impeller of the centrifugal fan on the downstream side.