A sheet feeding unit, attached to a sheet feeding apparatus that feeds a sheet, includes an endless belt, first and second rotary members, and a holding device. The endless belt contacts a sheet stacked on a stacking device to feed the sheet. The first and second rotary members contact an inner periphery of the endless belt to support the endless belt. The second rotary member faces, via the endless belt, a separation device that separates the sheet from the endless belt. The holding device holds the first and second rotary members. The endless belt includes protruding and depressed portions on the inner periphery. The second rotary member includes protruding and depressed driving portions that mesh with the protruding and depressed portions to transmit a driving force to the endless belt to, in turn, rotate the endless belt to feed the sheet in contact with the endless belt.

A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A retard adjacent the feeder is operable in first and second positions. In the first position the retard forms a nip with the feeder so that the retard is operable to impede the progress of one or more documents in the packet while the feeder feeds one of the documents in the packet. In the second position, the retard is spaced apart from the feeder to form a gap between the feeder and the retard. The system further includes a sensor for detecting a characteristic of the documents in a packet indicative of whether the number of documents in the packet exceeds a predetermined threshold. A drive mechanism automatically drives the retard pad between the first and second positions in response to the detected characteristic

A sheet handling apparatus (e.g., banknote insertion/discharge mechanism 20) includes a transport unit (e.g., first transport unit 30) configured to transport a sheet (e.g., banknote) in a first transport path 30a; and driving units 36m and 38m configured to move, along the width direction of the first transport path 30a, at least portions of guiding members 36 and 38 forming edges of the first transport path 30a.

A sheet feeding unit, attached to a sheet feeding apparatus that feeds a sheet, includes an endless belt, first and second rotary members, and a holding device. The endless belt contacts a sheet stacked on a stacking device to feed the sheet. The first and second rotary members contact an inner periphery of the endless belt to support the endless belt. The second rotary member faces, via the endless belt, a separation device that separates the sheet from the endless belt. The holding device holds the first and second rotary members. The endless belt includes protruding and depressed portions on the inner periphery. The second rotary member includes protruding and depressed driving portions that mesh with the protruding and depressed portions to transmit a driving force to the endless belt to, in turn, rotate the endless belt to feed the sheet in contact with the endless belt.

Disclosed herein is a sheet processing apparatus comprising a sheet tray configured to hold a bundle composed of the sheets fed from conveyance rollers, a wait path configured to keep waiting following sheets upstream the conveyance rollers, an accumulating tray configured to hold a sheet bundle, delivery rollers configured to nip the sheet bundle mounted on the sheet tray and the following sheets, to set off from one another, and to deliver them to the accumulating tray, and to switch back the following sheets to the sheet tray, and a conveyance member configured to convey the following sheets from the sheet tray.

A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A drop feeder conveys the document packets to the feeder. A sensor provides information related to the thickness of the document packets and the drop feeder is controlled in response to the information related to the thickness of a packet in the feeder. The method includes the control of the drop feeder in response to information related to the thickness of a document packet at the feeder.

A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A retard adjacent the feeder is operable in first and second positions. In the first position the retard forms a nip with the feeder so that the retard is operable to impede the progress of one or more documents in the packet while the feeder feeds one of the documents in the packet. In the second position, the retard is spaced apart from the feeder to form a gap between the feeder and the retard. The system further includes a sensor for detecting a characteristic of the documents in a packet indicative of whether the number of documents in the packet exceeds a predetermined threshold. A drive mechanism automatically drives the retard pad between the first and second positions in response to the detected characteristic.

A paper sheet handling apparatus (for example, a banknote handling apparatus (10)) includes a first transporting unit (30) configured to transport a plurality of paper sheets in a stacked state in a horizontal state, a feeding unit (40) configured to feed the paper sheets one by one, and a second transporting unit (50) configured to transport to the feeding unit (40) the stacked paper sheets transported by the first transporting unit (30). The second transporting unit (50) causes the stacked paper sheets being in the horizontal state to be inclined at angle to a horizontal plane.

To provide a technique by which, in cutting apparatus and a method for cutting into a small block such as a paper money or a postcard out of a large sheet, the cutting accuracy of a manufactured small block can be improved, and steps can be simplified and cutting equipment can have a smaller size simultaneously. A cutting apparatus comprises: a first pusher for pushing and conveying the left side of the cut large sheet block, of which two adjacent reference sides that have been jogged as an upper side and a left side are placed on the cutting apparatus, toward the right side direction; a second cutting means for cutting the right side of the large sheet block pushed and conveyed by the first pusher and sequentially cutting the right end of the large sheet block while interacting with the pushing conveyance by the first pusher to divide the sheet into long column unit blocks in the up-and-down direction; a right side removal means for removing the remaining portion after the right side cutting by the second cutting means; a column unit block conveyance means for conveying the column unit blocks in the right side direction while maintaining a predetermined interval thereamong; a second pusher for pushing and conveying the upper sides of the cut column unit blocks toward the lower side direction; a fourth cutting means for cutting the lower side of the column unit block pushed and conveyed by the second pusher and sequentially cutting the lower end of the column unit block into small blocks while interacting with the pushing conveyance by the second pusher; and a lower side removal means for removing the remaining portion after the lower side cutting by the fourth cutting means.

Provided is the sheet bundle transport apparatus including: an abutment unit that performs switching between an abutment state at a predetermined position and a non-abutment state; first and second press units that press the sheet bundle against first and second transport units; a press switching unit that performs switching between a first press state where the first and second press units press the sheet bundle in a predetermined region located upstream from the predetermined position in the transport direction and a second press state where the first press unit does not press the sheet bundle in the predetermined region; and a control unit that controls the abutment unit and the press switching unit to switch the non-abutment state to the abutment state and switch the first press state to the second press state so as to change an angle relative to the width direction of a predetermined sheet bundle.