Patent ID: 8020851

Claim:
A sheet supplier comprising: a sheet tray to load a plurality of sheets; and a sheet separator to separate an uppermost sheet from the plurality of other sheets loaded on the sheet tray, and feed the separated uppermost sheet, the sheet separator comprising: a friction separator to separate the uppermost sheet with a friction force; an electrostatic separator to separate the uppermost sheet from the plurality of other sheets with an attraction force based on a non-uniform electric field; and a conveyance member provided downstream from the friction separator and the electrostatic separator in a sheet conveyance direction to feed the uppermost sheet separated, wherein the friction separator and the electrostatic separator are arranged in such a manner that a first figure of the friction separator projected in a projecting direction on a single plane overlaps or coincides with a second figure of the electrostatic separator projected in the projecting direction on the single plane, the projecting direction is perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction and parallel to a sheet surface, and the single plane is perpendicular to the projecting direction, and wherein the friction separator and the electrostatic separator are configured to contact the uppermost sheet simultaneously while the uppermost sheet is in contact with the plurality of other sheets loaded on the sheet tray.