Patent Publication Number: US-2010109228-A1

Title: Device for feeding paper sheets or the like

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims benefit of priority from Japanese application number JP 2008-281579 filed Oct. 31, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a device for feeding paper sheets or the like that feeds paper sheets (documents or forms) to a stacking unit. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Conventional feeding devices are capable of feeding paper sheets of a large number of different types and distributing these sheets before stacking them in a stacking unit. Techniques have been disclosed for respectively gripping these fed paper sheets by a gripping claw unit comprising spiral tooth members and placing these in an inverted fashion in the stacking unit: an example is to be found in Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. Tokkai 2005-263453 (hereinbelow referred to as Patent Reference 1). 
     However, the spiral tooth members must be at least of a size matching the maximum size of the paper sheets that are to be fed. Also, in cases where the paper size is large, or where the paper sheets are folded, the paper sheets may become bent, or may be placed with the edges of sheets of different size not lined up with each other. In such cases, the paper sheets must be lined up by hand. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention was made in order to solve the above problem, its object being to provide a device for feeding paper sheets or the like whereby stacking of paper sheets of different size can be reliably performed and the blade wheel that grips the sheets can be made of small size. 
     In order to achieve the above object, a device for feeding paper sheets or the like according to the present invention is constructed as follows. Specifically, in a device for feeding paper sheets or the like having 
     a feed path whereby paper sheets are fed, 
     a distribution unit for distributing said paper sheets that are fed thereto, and 
     a stacking unit that holds aforementioned distributed paper sheets, 
     aforementioned stacking unit comprises: 
     a rotary feed unit having a rotary shaft; 
     a plurality of gripping claws that extend in a spiral fashion with respect to the rotary shaft and grip and feed one edge of a paper sheet therebetween; 
     an extraction unit that extracts aforementioned paper sheets fed by aforementioned rotary feed unit from aforementioned gripping claws; 
     a stage that conforms with aforementioned rotary feed unit and that holds between itself and aforementioned rotary feed unit one edge of aforementioned paper sheet that has been extracted from aforementioned gripping claws; and 
     a stopping element that abuts one edge of a paper sheet that is held on aforementioned stage. 
     With the present invention, there is provided a device for feeding paper sheets or the like whereby stacking of paper sheets of different sizes can be performed in a reliable fashion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view showing a device for feeding paper sheets or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is likewise a side view to a larger scale showing part of the side face of a device for feeding paper sheets or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the construction of a drive system of a device for feeding paper sheets or the like. 
         FIG. 4  is an internal layout diagram viewing the blade wheel side from the side of the stacking unit. 
         FIG. 5  is a view showing the arrangement relationship of the blade wheel arranged in accordance with paper size. 
         FIG. 6  is a top view showing a stage. 
         FIG. 7  is a side view showing the arrangement relationship of the blade wheel and the stage. 
         FIG. 8  is a front view to a larger scale showing part of the front face of the blade wheel and the stage. 
         FIG. 9  is a view showing the condition in which a form is held by the blade wheel and the stage. 
         FIG. 10  is a view showing the condition in which forms of different size are held by the blade wheel and the stage. 
         FIG. 11  is a view showing the relationship in which the blade wheel and a suction feed unit are arranged. 
         FIG. 12  is a view showing the action of feeding forms of small paper size. 
         FIG. 13  is a view showing the action of feeding forms of large paper size. 
         FIG. 14  is a view showing the condition in which forms of different paper size are stacked in the stacking unit. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention is described by way of example below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same structural elements are indicated by the same reference symbols and further detailed description thereof is omitted. 
       FIG. 1  is a side view showing a device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like comprises for example a horizontal feed path  11 , a vertical feed path  13 , feed rollers  14 , branch gates  15 , discharge rollers  17 , blade wheel  18 , extracting plate  19 , stage  20 , stopping element  21 , stacking unit  23 , suction feed unit  24 , and drive units for the various units, not shown; forms that are fed in from a paper supply unit, not shown, are fed to the stacking unit  23 . In the device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like shown in  FIG. 1 , the stacking unit  23  has a plurality of levels in the vertical direction. 
     The distribution unit is constituted by the feed rollers  14 , branch gates  15  and discharge rollers  17 . 
     It may be noted that it is also possible to provide additional stacking units  23  by connecting a mutual horizontal feed path  11  with this device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view to a larger scale showing part of the side face of this device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like.  FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the construction of the drive system of the device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like. The horizontal feed path  11  is a guide for feeding forms A that are fed in from a paper supply unit, not shown, in the horizontal direction of the device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like. A feed belt  12  is provided on the horizontal feed path  11 . The feed belt  12  is driven in one direction and feeds forms A that are supplied thereto to the vertical feed path  13  or to the next device for feeding paper sheets or the like. The feed belt  12  is driven by rotational, operation of a motor  31  whose rotation is controlled by a driver  30 . The operation of the driver  30  is controlled by a control unit  25 . 
     The vertical feed path  13  is a guide for feeding forms A to a stacking unit constituting the discharge destination. 
     A plurality of feed rollers  14  are arranged on the vertical feed path  13 . The feed rollers  14  feed forms A upwards by rotating in one direction (clockwise direction in  FIG. 2 ). Thus the forms A are successively fed to the designated stacking unit  23 . Which stacking unit  23  the forms are discharged to is determined for example in accordance with the result of recognition processing of an image read by a form reading unit, not shown. It should be noted that the paper feed speed of the feed rollers  14  and the paper feed speed of the discharge rollers  17  are set to be substantially the same. The feed rollers  14  are rotated by rotational operation of the motor  33 , whose rotation is controlled by the driver  32 . The operation of the driver  32  is controlled by the control unit  25 . 
     The branch gates  15  are provided at the branch positions of the horizontal feed path  11  and the vertical feed path  13  and at the branch position of the vertical feed path  13  and the stacking units  23 . The feed direction of the branch gates  15  is changed over by means of relay circuits  42  to the vertical feed path  13  or stacking unit  23  so that the forms A that are supplied are distributed to the designated stacking unit  23 . Distribution of the forms A can be achieved by changing over the branch gate  15  to the horizontal feed path  11  or a vertical feed path  13  by means of a relay circuit  42 . The relay circuits  42  are started up by operation control performed by the control unit  25 . 
     As the paper detection unit  16 , for example optical sensors are respectively arranged on the feed paths  11 ,  13  and between the branch gates  15  and discharge rollers  17 , so as to detect the forms A. The optical sensors detect passage of the forms A along the feed path when the light that is output from a light emitting unit to a photodetection unit is interrupted by a form A that has been fed thereto, and detect arrival of the leading end of a form A at the position of discharge to the stacking unit  23 . The control unit  25  commences drive control of the blade wheel  18  provided in the designated stacking unit, a suction fan  24   a,  and a suction feed belt  24   b,  when the paper detection unit  16  detects a form. It may be noted that the control unit  25  may also calculate the feed length of a form (length in the feeding direction) L=v·t from the time t at which the light of the paper detection unit  16  is interrupted and the preset feed speed v of a form. 
     The discharge rollers  17  are arranged between the paper detection unit  16  and the blade wheel  18 . These discharge rollers  17  rotate in one direction (clockwise direction in  FIG. 2 ) and feed the supplied forms A to the designated stacking unit  23 . The paper feed speed of the discharge rollers  17  is set to be faster than the paper feed speed of the blade wheel  18 . The leading ends of the forms A can therefore be fed to the roots of the gripping claws  18   b  of the blade wheel  18 , where they are gripped. The discharge rollers  17  are rotated by rotational operation of the motor  33 , whose rotation is controlled by the driver  34 . The operation of the driver  34  is controlled by the control unit  25 . 
     The blade wheel  18  comprises a rotary shaft  18   a  and a plurality of gripping claws  18   b  that are arranged with a prescribed separation about this rotary shaft  18   a.    FIG. 4  is an internal layout diagram viewing the blade wheel side from the side of the stacking unit.  FIG. 5  is a view showing the arrangement relationship of the blade wheels arranged in accordance with paper size. A plurality of blade wheels  18  are arranged in the form width direction with respect to each stacking unit  23 , in accordance with the paper width that can be fed by the device  10  for feeding paper or the like (for example the maximum paper width). 
     The rotary shaft  18   a  rotates in the direction of winding up the forms A (i.e. the anticlockwise direction in  FIG. 2 ). The plurality of gripping claws  18   b  extend in the form of involute curves at prescribed intervals about the rotary shaft  18   a  and effect feed by gripping one end of the form in the gaps  18   c  formed between these claws. These gaps  18   c  are formed with a width such as to be capable of gripping a form A. The blade wheel  18  is rotated by the rotational operation of the motor  37 , whose rotation is controlled by the driver  36 . The operation of the driver  36  is controlled by the control unit  25 . The blade wheel  18  functions as a rotary feed unit comprising a rotary shaft and a plurality of gripping claws that extend in a spiral fashion with respect to this rotary shaft and that grip the forms therebetween at one edge thereof and thereby effect feeding of the forms. 
     The extracting plates  19  extend in the peripheral direction from the rotary shaft  18   a  and are arranged in an interpolated fashion between the blade wheels  18  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The leading ends of the forms A that are gripped between the gripping claws  18   b  (gaps  18   c ) of the rotating blade wheels  18  make contact with the extracting plates  19 . The blade wheels  18  continue to rotate even after these forms A make contact with the extracting plates  19 , so the forms A can thereby be extracted from the blade wheels  18 . The forms A move downwards from above these extracting plates  19  in a condition with their leading edges in contact with the extracting plates  19 . The extracting plates  19  function as an extraction unit for extracting the gripped forms from the gripping claws  18   b.    
       FIG. 6  is a top view showing a stage.  FIG. 7  is a side view showing the arrangement relationship of the blade wheel and the stage.  FIG. 8  is a front view to a larger scale showing part of the front face of the blade wheel and the stage.  FIG. 9  is a view showing the condition in which a form is held by the blade wheel and the stage. The stage  20  is formed in a concave shape facing the periphery of the blade wheel  18  and is arranged between the blade wheel  18  and the stacking unit  23 . A single stage faces a single blade wheel. The stage  20  holds the leading end of a form A extracted from the blade wheel  18  between itself and the blade wheel  18 . Specifically, the stage  20  holds a form A that is bent into a concave shape conforming with the rotatable blade wheel  18  (i.e. the leading ends of the gripping claws  18   b ) and the groove  20   a  between itself and the blade wheel  18 . It should be noted that the length of the stage  20  is for example the minimum value of the feed length of the forms, of the forms that can be fed by this device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like. 
     In the initial condition, in which no forms A are gripped between the stage  20  and the leading ends of the blade wheels  18 , as shown in  FIG. 8 , the leading ends of the gripping claws  18   b  conform therewith in a rotatable fashion, with height D/2 with respect to for example the height D of the grooves  20   a.  In this way, a gap  20   b  of height s=D/2 is formed between the groove  20   a  and the leading ends of the gripping claws  18   b.  The leading end of a form A that is extracted from the gripping claws  18   b  is held in the gap  20   b.  Preferably the height D of the grooves  20   a  is the height at which a form can be bent and held with at least the maximum thickness of the forms that may be fed. Specifically, if the height s of this gap  20   b  is greater than D/2, the restraint which is exerted at the periphery of the blade wheel  18  becomes weak, with the result that the holding force applied to the forms A by the stage  20  and the blade wheel  18  becomes weak. Also, if the height s of this gap  20   b  becomes lower than D/2, the restraint at the periphery of the blade wheel  18  becomes strong, resulting in the possibility of occurrence of paper jamming of the forms that are held, or of a condition being generated in which the forms cannot be fed in this gap  20   b.    
     The blade wheels  18  and stages  20  are constituted as a pair and a plurality of these are arranged corresponding to the paper size of the forms that are fed by the device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like. The stages  20  are respectively independent and are raised and lowered in accordance with the weight/thickness of the forms to be held (see  FIG. 2 ). The stages  20  have a spring mechanism comprising for example an extension/compression spring (not shown). If the number of form sheets that are to be held is large, the springs are respectively contracted so as to gradually lower the stages in accordance with the weight/thickness of the sheets. Specifically, if a plurality of form sheets of different sheet size are to be held, the weights of the forms that are held are different for the respective pairs of blade wheels and stages  20 , so the amounts of extension/compression of the respective springs are different depending on the weight/thickness thereof. Also, when for example a form that was held therein is removed by the operator, the spring will become extended, causing the stage  20  to rise. It should be noted that, so long as the leading end of a form A can be held between the stage  20  and the peripheral surface of the blade wheel  18 , this raising/lowering action of the stage  20  could also be performed by utilizing pressure such as gas pressure or could be performed mechanically using for example a motor. 
       FIG. 10  is a view showing the condition in which forms of different size are held by the blade wheel and the stage. Since the stages  20  are raised or lowered independently for each pair of blade wheel  18  and stage  20 , even when forms of different paper size are stacked in the same stacking unit, these forms can be held with the leading ends of the forms aligned. 
     Stopping elements  21  (or stopper  21 ) are arranged substantially in the vertical direction below one end of the extracting plates  19 , so that the leading ends of the forms A that are held on the stages  20  respectively make contact with these stopping elements. With the rotation of the blade wheel  18 , a form A that is in contact with the extracting plates  19  moves downwards from above the extracting plate  19  so as to make contact with the stopping element  21 . Thus the forms are stacked on the stage  20  in a condition with the leading ends of the forms making contact with the stopping element  21  and held in a condition with the leading ends of the forms A aligned. 
     The stacking units  23  are arranged below the stages  20  and hold the other end (rear ends) of forms A that are longer than the stages  20 . A plurality of stacking units  23  are provided (eight levels in the vertical direction in the case shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
     The suction feed unit  24  comprises a suction fan  24   a  that applies suction to the forms and is arranged above the blade wheel  18 , on the line of extension thereof in the discharge direction, and a suction feed belt  24   b  for feeding the forms to which suction was thus applied.  FIG. 11  is a view showing the relationship in which the blade wheel and suction feed unit are arranged. For example in  FIG. 11 , the suction feed belt  24   b  is arranged in correspondence with the blade wheel and two suction fans  24   a  constituting a single group are arranged in series. The suction force on the forms A in the suction direction (upwards in  FIG. 2 ) is increased by providing a plurality of holes  24   c  whereby suction is applied to the forms by the suction fan  24   a,  in the feed surface of the suction feed unit  24 . This suction fan  24   a  is rotated with rotary operation of the motor  39 , whose rotation is controlled by the driver  38 . Preferably, a plurality of these suction fans  24   a  and suction feed belts  24   b  are arranged corresponding to the maximum paper size (width) of the forms employed by this device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like. 
     Suction is applied to the forms by the suction fan  24   a,  in the feed surface of the suction feed unit  24 ″ means that holes  24   c  are provided in a feed guide  24   e  (plate-shaped and non-moving), and suction is applied to the forms by the suction fan  24   a  through these holes  24   c.    
     The suction feed belt  24   b  is an open belt that effects feeding by applying suction to the rear end of the forms A whose leading ends are gripped by the blade wheel  18 . The suction feed belt  24   b  is provided with a plurality of holes  24   d  connected with the suction fan  24   a  in order to increase the suction produced by the suction fan  24   a.  The suction feed belt  24   b  is driven by the rotary operation of a motor  41 , whose rotation is controlled by a driver  40 . The operation of the driver  30  is controlled by the control unit  25 . 
     Also, as shown in the Figure, a plurality of holes  24   d  are provided in the suction belt  24   b  and holes (not shown) are also provided in the feed guide  24   e  at prescribed intervals with respect to these holes  24   d.  Consequently, suction is of course also applied to the forms A at the holes  24   c  of the suction belt  24   b.    
     The suction feed belt  24   b  rotates in the feed direction (clockwise direction in  FIG. 2 ), to feed the rear ends of the forms A in the opposite direction of the stopping element  21  with respect to the stage  20  i.e. in the direction remote from the blade wheel  18  (see the arrows in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 11 ). When the rear end of a form A has passed the suction feed unit  24 , it drops under its own weight, and lands in the stacking unit  23 . The paper feed speed of the suction feed belt  24   b  and the paper feed speed of the blade wheel  18  are set to be substantially the same. As a result, the leading ends of the forms A are lined up by the stopping element  21  and the forms are held on the stage  20 , with their rear ends held by the stacking unit  23 . 
     Since the leading end of the forms is held by the blade wheel  18  and stage  20  and their rear ends are suction-fed by the suction feed unit  24 , there is no need to match the size of the blade wheel  18  to the maximum size of the forms: in this way, the size of the blade wheel  18  can be reduced. Also, even when the paper size is large (long feed length), or even when the paper is folded, stretching of the paper means that it can still be reliably placed in the stacking unit  23 . 
     The control unit  25  performs feed control of the forms A by controlling the operation of various types of drivers and relay circuits (not shown) in the device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like, in accordance with the instructions from a control host  100 . 
     The control host  100  is loaded with and starts up an OCR application software program. It also gives instructions to the control unit  25  so that, after reading processing of the forms has been carried out, designation of the stacking unit that is the destination of discharge of the forms, and printing of numbering data, are performed for each form, in accordance with the results of recognition processing of the images obtained by such reading. The control unit  25  performs control of the operation of the various drivers and relay circuits in accordance with these instructions. It should be noted that it would also be possible for the control unit  25  to be loaded with this OCR application software program and to perform the recognition processing of the images as described above. 
     Next, the operation of feeding forms using this device  10  for feeding paper sheets or the like will be described. 
     First of all, the case where the forms A that are fed are forms of small paper size i.e. the length of these forms (feed length) is shorter than the length of the blades of the blade wheel  18  will be described. 
       FIG. 12  is a view showing the action of feeding forms of small paper size. 
     The control unit  25  performs drive control of the feed belt  12  on the horizontal feed path  11 , and the feed rollers  14  and branch gate  15  on the vertical feed path  13 , and performs feeding of the forms A in accordance with instructions to execute paper feed that are input from the control host  100 . The forms A are fed to the designated discharge destination stacking unit  23 . 
     When the paper detection units  16  that are arranged on the feed paths  11 ,  13  and in the vicinity of the designated stacking unit  23  detect an incoming form A that is being fed, the control unit  25  performs drive control of the blade wheel  18 , suction fan  24   a  and suction feed belt  24   b  of the designated stacking unit  23 . 
     At the start of rotation, control is performed at such that the speed of rotation of the blade wheel  18  is slower than the paper feed speed of the discharge rollers  17 . As a result, the forms A are gripped by the gripping claws  18   b  when they are inserted in the gaps  18   c  of the blade wheel  18 . In this condition in which such gripping is effected, the blade wheel  18  is rotated, thereby feeding the forms A to the position of arrangement of the stage  20  (see paper feeding, in the upper part of  FIG. 12 ). 
     Next, the control unit  25  ascertains whether or not the suction fan  24   a  and the suction feed belt  24   b  are being driven. To achieve this, the control unit  25  for example calculates L=v·t, where t is the time for which a form A blocks the passage of light to the paper detection unit  16 , v is the paper feed speed of the forms, which is set beforehand, and L is the feed length of a form (length in the direction of feeding). Then, if the feed length of the form that is being fed is less than a preset feed length, for example if the feed length of this form is less than the length of the blades of the blade wheel  18 , a stationary condition is maintained without driving the suction fan  24   a  or the suction belt  24   b.  In this case, since the feed length of the form is shorter than the length of the blades of the blade wheel  18 , the suction fan  24   a  and suction feed belt  24   b  maintain a stationary condition. 
     Next, when the leading end of this gripped form A comes into contact with the extracting plate  19 , this extracting plate  19  arrests the feeding of the form A accompanying the rotation of the blade wheel  18 . It should be noted that, even after feeding of the form A has been arrested, the blade wheel  18  continues to rotate in the feed direction (anticlockwise direction in  FIG. 12 ). As a result, the form A is extracted from the rotating blade wheel  18 , and the leading end of the form A moves downwards from above, along the extracting plate  19 , until it comes into contact with the stopping element  21 . 
     The leading end of the extracted form A is placed on the stage  20 . The leading end of this form A is restrained by the stage  20  and the periphery of the blade wheel  18  (leading end portion of the gripping claws  18 ) in a condition in which rotation of the blade wheel  18  can still be performed, and the form A is thus held on this stage  20 . Then, when the next form is fed, a feeding operation identical to that described above is performed, and the forms are thus held, overlaid in a sequential fashion, on the stage  20 . When a plurality of forms are thus held, the stage  20  is lowered in response to their weight, and a plurality of forms can thus be held with their leading ends aligned, between the stage  20  and the gripping claws  18   b.    
     Next, the case where the forms A that are fed are forms of larger paper size i.e. the length of these forms (feed length) is longer than the length of the blades of the blade wheel  18  will be described. 
       FIG. 13  is a view showing the action of feeding forms of large paper size. Only the difference in operation from the feed operation in the case where the size of the forms is small described above will be described. 
     The control unit  25  drives the suction fan  24   a  and the suction feed belt  24   b  of the discharge destination stacking unit  23 . In this way, the suction fan  24   a  and the suction feed belt  24   b  effect suction and feeding of the rear end of the form. The form length is calculated based on the detection result of the paper detection unit  16  and the paper feed speed. Based on this calculated form length, the suction fan  24   a  and the suction feed belt  24   b  are driven with the timing with which the rear end of the form reaches the suction feed belt  24   b.    
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , the rear end of a form A that has reached the vicinity of the suction feed belt  24   b  is sucked upwards by the suction fan  24   a  and sucked onto the suction feed belt  24   b.  The suction feed belt  24   b  feeds the rear end of the form A, that has thus been attached thereto by suction, in the feed direction (direction of the arrow shown in  FIG. 13 ). The rear end of the form A that has thus been fed by the suction feed belt  24   b  is fed so as to describe an arc (see the feed condition in the middle of  FIG. 13 ): any risk of folding of this form A is thus excluded. After the form A has passed through the suction feed unit  24 , its rear end is separated from the suction feed belt  24   b  and descends due to its own weight, describing an arc before landing in the stacking unit  23 . 
     The form A comes into contact with the stopping element  21  and its leading end is held between the stage  20  and the periphery of the blade wheel  18 . As a result, the forms A are held on the stage  20  with their leading ends aligned by the stopping element  21  and their rear ends held by the stacking unit  23 . 
     In this way, it is possible to feed forms of longer feed length than the size of the blade wheel. In other words, the blade wheel  18  in the feed device for paper sheets or the like according to this embodiment can be made smaller than the size of the conventional blade wheel, which matched the forms in size. Even though the blade wheel is made small, forms of a size which was conventionally difficult to feed can be reliably fed to the stacking unit  23 . 
     Also, even when the feed length of the forms is long, the forms can be reliably placed in the stacking unit  23  thanks to being stretched by the suction feed unit  24 . 
     In this way, in the device for feeding paper sheets or the like according to this embodiment, the leading ends of the forms that are fed by the blade wheel are held between the stage and the periphery of the blade wheel, and alignment of the leading ends of the forms is performed by the stopping element. In this way, alignment of the leading ends of the forms can be reliably performed.  FIG. 14  is a view showing the condition in which forms of different paper size are stacked in the same stacking unit. 
     Also, since, in the device for feeding paper sheets or the like according to this embodiment, the leading ends thereof are held between the stage and the periphery of the blade wheel, the forms can be prevented from getting out of sequence. 
     Also, conventionally, the limit in respect of feed length of the forms that was achievable was about ¾ of the blade wheel periphery. In contrast, in the case of the device for feeding paper sheets or the like according to the present embodiment, the leading ends of the forms are held on the stage and the rear ends of the forms are sucked onto the suction feed unit (suction fan, suction feed belt), so that these rear ends are fed in the opposite direction to the stopping element with respect to the stage. As a result, feeding of forms having a feed length equal to or exceeding the periphery can be achieved, for a blade wheel of the same size as conventionally. 
     Also, as described above, by forcibly feeding the rear ends of the forms in the opposite direction to the stopping element with respect to the stage, by using a suction feed unit (suction fan and suction feed belt), feeding of the forms can be achieved irrespective of the feed length of the forms, and the occurrence of paper jamming can thereby be prevented. 
     Also, in the device for feeding paper sheets or the like according to this embodiment, the blade wheel can be made smaller than the size of a conventional blade wheel, which matched the size of the forms. Forms of a size that was conventionally difficult to feed can thus be reliably discharged into a stacking unit even with a small blade wheel. 
     Also, since it is possible to make the blade wheel smaller, the number of forms that can be stacked on a single level of the stacking unit can be increased. Also, by making the height of a single stacking unit stage lower, the device can be reduced in size. Also, if the device is made of the same size as conventionally, more stacking units can be installed therein. 
     It should be noted that the present invention is not restricted to the above embodiment and extensions or modifications thereof are possible: such extended or modified embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.