Patent ID: 7413186

Claim:
A feeding device capable of feeding sheets one after another in a feed direction, comprising: a sheet accommodator capable of accommodating the sheets piled therein and having a surface on which the sheets are to be piled and along which the sheets are to be fed in the feed direction; and a dust remover including a contact portion, which is constantly held in contact with a surface of an uppermost one of the sheets piled in the sheet accommodator, irrespective of the number of sheets remaining in the sheet accommodator, so as to remove dust from the surface of the uppermost sheet that is fed from the sheet accommodator in the feed direction, wherein the dust remover is supported by a dust remover supporter so as to be constantly held in contact with the surface of the uppermost one of the sheets, wherein the contact portion of the dust remover is provided by an end portion of the dust remover, such that the end portion of the dust remover rakes the dust from the surface of the uppermost sheet as the uppermost sheet is fed in the feed direction that is parallel with the surface of the uppermost sheet, wherein the end portion has an extreme end extending straight over an entire width of the sheets in a sheet-width direction, the sheet-width direction being parallel with the surface of the sheet accommodator and perpendicular to the feed direction, wherein the dust remover is held inclined with respect to a rear end portion of the surface of the uppermost sheet as viewed in the feed direction such that the end portion of the dust remover cooperates with a plane perpendicular to the surface of the uppermost sheet to define a positive rake angle.