A sheet feed device includes: a conveyor roller that rotates in a first
direction; a separation roller rotatable in a second, reverse to the
first direction, that nips a sheet with the conveyor roller; a sheet
detector provided at a detecting position to detect a number of sheets; a
pressure generator that generates a pressure to press the separation
roller against the conveyor roller; a separation torque generator that
generates a separation torque to convey the sheet on the separation
roller in the second direction; and a controller that, if two or more
sheets are detected, applies the pressure and/or the separation torque to
the separation roller to separate the sheets until the detected number of
sheets is decreased to be one, and that, after the number of sheets
becomes one, controls the pressure and/or the separation torque to adjust
a position of the sheet on the separation roller to a target position.