Patent Publication Number: US-6702275-B2

Title: Paper-leaves separating/supplying method and apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a paper-leaves separating/supplying method and apparatus suitable for use in a paper-leaves division system and properly employable in separating a plurality of paper leaves such as mail, deposited together in a bundle, to convey them one by one to a partitioning section. 
     2) Description of the Related Art 
     In the recent years, a mail division apparatus, which includes a recognizing function for reading a bar-code attached to mail or a character recognizing function for reading destination information such as a postal code to divide the mail automatically on the basis of these destination information, has been put in practical use. Such a paper-leaves division apparatus, which is made to handle mail or the like (which will be referred to hereinafter to “paper leaves (sheets)”), has been required to meet requirements such as space-saving, labor-saving, cost reduction and fast operation (speed-up). A means to realize the fast operation of these requirements has been required to eliminate the occurrence of troubles such as overlap transportation in the middle of the conveyance and further to accomplish the conveyance and the partitioning operation promptly and accurately. 
     In general, such a type of paper-leaves division apparatus is designed to separate a plurality of paper leaves to be divided, deposited together in a bundle in a stand-up condition, from each other in a separating/supplying section and subsequently send them successively toward the downstream side. Accordingly, if the separating/supplying section cannot achieve the separation of the paper leaves properly and promptly, then this has great influence on the subsequent reading of the address information and the accuracy and speed of the partitioning operation. In addition, the proper and prompt separation in the separating/supplying section provides an effect to enhance the handling ability of a large number of paper leaves. Accordingly, for achieving the fast separation of the paper leaves, a simple-structure paper-leaves arrival detecting means is provided at a paper-leaves feeding (transferring) position to detect the arrival of the paper leaves. 
     Meanwhile, the fast and continuous conveyance of a large quantity of paper leaves may cause slight operational discordance in the paper-leaves conveyance path to develop instability factors so that the interval between one paper leaf and the subsequent another paper leaf lengthens and shortens, thus leading to the occurrence of overlap transportation so that difficulty is experienced in correctly conducting the partitioning operation of the paper leaves to be done after the conveyance. One of the instability factors is that, in a case in which paper leaves are fed in a collectively set condition and in a stand-up condition, if a paper leaf (which will be referred to hereinafter as a “succeeding paper leaf”) traveling afterward falls down to lean against a paper leaf (which will be referred to hereinafter as a “preceding paper leaf”) running ahead of the succeeding paper leaf, the weight of the succeeding paper leaf is placed on the preceding paper leaf, thus generating a contact pressure between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf. In addition, this contact pressure develops a load at the feed of the preceding paper leaf to hinder the smooth feeding operation, or the succeeding paper leaf is dragged by the preceding paper leaf to fall into an irregular condition so that the further feeding of the succeeding paper leaf can be conducted in an unstable state. Still additionally, the sucking paper leaf is dragged by the preceding paper leaf to be sent in a state where two pieces overlap with each other, that is, the so-called overlap transportation occurs. Accordingly, in order to solve these problems, there is a need to reduce the contact pressure between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf by as much as possible in feeding (letting out) the preceding paper leaf. 
     Furthermore, a key to fast and continuous conveyance of a large quantity of paper leaves is that the system accurately recognizes the arrival of paper leaves at a separating/feeding belt surface and appropriately feeds the paper leaves successively or continuously. A conventional mechanical paper-leaves arrival detecting means is placed immediately before the separation/supply section and is designed to make a decision on the arrival in a manner that a paper leaf is brought into point (or line) contact with the paper-leaves arrival detecting means. In addition, this paper-leaves arrival detecting means can fail to detect the arrival of the paper leaves depending upon situations such as the weight, thickness, surface roughness or supplying posture of the paper leaves, which interferes with the prompt separation/supply. In this respect, the conventional paper-leaves arrival detecting means does not fulfill its purpose sufficiently. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been developed with a view to eliminating these problems, and it is therefore an object of the invention to provide a paper-leaves separating/supplying method and apparatus, capable of, in feeding paper leaves, reducing the contact pressure occurring between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf to certainly feed the paper leaves one by one for accomplishing the conveyance of the paper leaves with high accuracy without exerting adverse influence on the succeeding paper leaf, such as overlap transportation. 
     Another object of the invention is to a paper-leaves separating/supplying method and apparatus capable of precisely detecting the paper leaves conveyed up to a paper-leaves feeding position to successively feed the paper leaves with accuracy. 
     A further object of the present invention is to accurately accomplish the conveyance of paper leaves without troubles such as overlap transportation. 
     For these purposes, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper-leaves separating/supplying method comprising the steps of placing a belt surface of a separating/supplying belt in a state substantially perpendicular to a conveying direction of a plurality of paper leaves set together and conveyed in a stand-up condition or in a state inclined toward the paper leaves conveyed, taking up the paper leaves, conveyed up to a position at which the paper leaves come into contact with the belt surface, by vacuum suction on the belt surface side so that the paper leaf adheres onto the belt surface, and feeding the one paper leaf taken up toward the downstream side in accordance with the rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt. 
     Thus, the preceding paper leaf coming previously into contact with the belt surface is attracted and held on the separating/supplying belt in a state parallel with or inclined toward the succeeding paper leaf, and then fed in accordance with the rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt. Accordingly, the weight of the succeeding paper leaf hardly fall on the preceding paper leaf when the preceding paper leaf is fed to the downstream side, thus minimizing the contact pressure between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf to achieve smooth feeding thereof. In addition, it is possible to prevent the succeeding paper leaf from being dragged by the preceding paper leaf to be disarranged in posture, which assures that the paper leaves are conveyed with accuracy without the occurrence of troubles. 
     Furthermore, in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus comprising a rotary separating/supplying belt, vacuum suction means for taking up a plurality of paper leaves, set together and conveyed in a stand-up condition, through the use of vacuum suction so that they are attached onto a belt surface of the separating/supplying belt, and separating/supplying means for feeding the paper leaves, attached onto the belt surface by the vacuum suction, one by one to the downstream side in accordance with the rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt, wherein the belt surface of the separating/supplying belt is placed in a state substantially perpendicular to a conveying direction of the paper leaves or in a state inclined toward the paper leaves. With this construction, the paper leaf (preceding paper leaf) coming previously into contact with the belt surface is sucked to be held on the separating/supplying belt in a state parallel to the paper leaf (succeeding paper leaf) coming afterward or in a state inclined toward the succeeding paper leaf, and fed by the rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt. Accordingly, the weight of the succeeding paper leaf hardly fall on the preceding paper leaf when the preceding paper leaf is fed to the downstream side; therefore, this minimizes the contact pressure between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf to enable the smooth feeding of the paper leaves. In addition, it is possible to prevent the succeeding paper leaf from being dragged together by the preceding paper leaf to be disarranged in posture, which assures that the paper leaves is conveyed with accuracy without the occurrence of troubles. 
     Still furthermore, in accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper-leaves separating/supplying method comprising the steps of vacuum-sucking a plurality of paper leaves, set together and conveyed in a stand-up condition, one by one toward a belt surface of a separating/supplying belt of separating/supplying means, bringing a lower end portion of the paper leaf, conveyed to the belt surface, into contact with an auxiliary contact surface placed under the separating/supplying means for feeding the paper leaves to the downstream side in accordance with rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt, attracting the lower end portion of the paper leaf onto the auxiliary contact surface through the use of auxiliary vacuum suction means, and measuring a negative pressure of the auxiliary vacuum suction means for detecting that the paper leaf arrives at the belt surface. 
     With this method, even though a paper-leaves arrival sensor does not detects that the paper leaf has arrived at the position of the belt surface because it shifts during conveyance, when the paper leaf is brought into contact with the auxiliary contact surface and is attracted thereonto by vacuum suction, the negative pressure exceeds a predetermined value, so the arrival of the paper leaf is detectable on the basis of the measured negative pressure, which secures a continuous paper-leaves feeding operation by the separating/supplying means. 
     Moreover, in accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus comprising separating/supplying means including a rotary separating/supplying belt and first vacuum suction means for vacuum-sucking each of a plurality of paper leaves, set together and conveyed in a stand-up condition, through a belt surface of the separating/supplying belt to suction-hold the paper leaf on the belt surface, with separating/supplying means feeding the paper leaves suction-held on the belt surface one by one to the downstream side in accordance with rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt, auxiliary separation means including an auxiliary contact surface placed under the separating/supplying means for receiving a lower end portion of the paper leaf transferred to the belt surface and second vacuum suction means for generating a vacuum suction force to attract the lower end portion of the paper leaf onto the auxiliary contact surface, a paper-leaves arrival detecting means for detecting the arrival of the paper leaf when the paper leaf is transferred to the belt surface, and negative pressure measuring means for measuring a negative pressure in the second vacuum suction means. 
     Also with this construction, even though a paper-leaves arrival sensor fails to detect that the paper leaf has arrived at the position of the belt surface because it shifts during conveyance, when the paper leaf is brought into contact with the auxiliary contact surface and is attracted thereonto by the second vacuum suction means, the negative pressure in the second vacuum suction means exceeds a specified value, so the arrival of the paper leaf is detectable on the basis of the measured negative pressure, which secures a continuous paper-leaves feeding operation by the separating/supplying means. 
     Still moreover, in accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper-leaves separating/supplying method comprising the steps of vacuum-sucking a plurality of paper leaves, set together and conveyed up to a paper-leaves feeding position in a stand-up condition, one by one toward a belt surface of a separating/supplying belt of separating/supplying means, bringing a lower end portion of the paper leaf, transferred to the belt surface, into contact with an auxiliary contact surface placed under the separating/supplying means for feeding the paper leaves to the downstream side in accordance with rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt, attracting the lower end portion of the paper leaf onto the auxiliary contact surface through the use of auxiliary vacuum suction means, when the paper leaf is suction-attracted onto the auxiliary contact surface, making a central portion of the paper leaf protrude to the auxiliary contact surface side and making both sides of the paper leaf warp so that its horizontal cross section forms a generally arch-like configuration. 
     With this method, the preceding paper leaf is bent into an arch-like configuration so that its both end portions protrude toward the succeeding paper leaf, and at this time, this protrusion of both the end portions of the preceding paper leaf separates the succeeding paper leaf, conveyed in a state brought into contact with the preceding paper leaf, from the preceding paper leaf, thus preventing the overlap transportation of the paper leaves and securing regular conveyance thereof. 
     In addition, according to this paper-leaves separating/supplying method, air is supplied to the paper leaf, bent into the arch-like configuration, from the under to separate the succeeding paper leaf from the preceding paper leaf. Thus, in addition to the flipping or separation effect stemming from the protrusion of the preceding paper leaf, this air blowing can more certainly achieve the separation between the paper leaves, thus enabling more positively feeding the paper leaves one by one. 
     Furthermore, in accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus comprising separating/supplying means including a rotary separating/supplying belt and first vacuum suction means for vacuum-sucking each of a plurality of paper leaves, set together and conveyed in a stand-up condition to a paper-leaves feeding position, through a belt surface of the separating/supplying belt to suction-hold the paper leaf on the belt surface, with separating/supplying means feeding the paper leaves suction-held on the belt surface one by one to the downstream side in accordance with rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt, and auxiliary separation means including an auxiliary contact surface placed under the separating/supplying means to confront a lower end portion of the paper leaf conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position and second vacuum suction means for generating a vacuum suction force in the inside of the auxiliary contact surface to attract the lower end portion of the paper leaf onto the auxiliary contact surface, wherein the auxiliary contact surface has an irregular member whereby, when the paper leaf is attracted onto the auxiliary contact surface, a central portion of the paper leaf protrudes toward the auxiliary contact surface side and both end portions thereof protrude toward the succeeding paper leaf coming afterward so that a horizontal cross section of the paper leaf is formed into a generally arch-like configuration. 
     Likewise, with this construction, the preceding paper leaf is bent into an arch-like configuration so that its both end portions protrude toward the succeeding paper leaf, and at this time, this protrusion of both the end portions of the preceding paper leaf separates the succeeding paper leaf, conveyed in a state brought into contact with the preceding paper leaf, from the preceding paper leaf, thus preventing the overlap transportation of the paper leaves and securing regular conveyance thereof. 
     In addition, according to this paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus, the auxiliary contact surface is disposed to make a predetermined angle between the auxiliary contact surface and the belt surface of the separating/supplying belt so that the paper leaf attracted onto the auxiliary contact surface is bent toward the succeeding paper leaf. Accordingly, the paper leaf bent into the arch-like configuration is further bent into a doglegged configuration to form a gap with respect to the succeeding paper leaf, thereby more positively securing the separation between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf. 
     Still additionally, the irregular member of the auxiliary contact surface is formed so that its lower end portion has a flat configuration. This structure makes a larger gap between the lowermost portion of the paper leaf attracted onto the auxiliary contact surface and the succeeding paper leaf, which enables more efficient separation of the preceding paper leaf from the succeeding paper leaf when air is supplied into the enlarged gap between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf. 
     Furthermore, in accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus comprising separating/supplying means including a rotary separating/supplying belt and first vacuum suction means for vacuum-sucking each of a plurality of paper leaves, set together and conveyed in a stand-up condition to a paper-leaves feeding position, through a belt surface of the separating/supplying belt to suction-hold the paper leaf on the belt surface, with separating/supplying means feeding the paper leaves suction-held on the belt surface one by one to the downstream side in accordance with rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt, and auxiliary separation means including an auxiliary contact surface placed under the separating/supplying means to confront a lower end portion of the paper leaf conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position, second vacuum suction means for generating a vacuum suction force in the inside of the auxiliary contact surface to attract the lower end portion of the paper leaf onto the auxiliary contact surface and an irregular member whereby, when the paper leaf is attracted onto the auxiliary contact surface, a central portion of the paper leaf protrudes toward the auxiliary contact surface side and both end portions thereof protrude toward the succeeding paper leaf coming afterward so that a horizontal cross section thereof is warped in a generally arch-like configuration, and air blowing means for supplying air between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf from under the paper leaves to make separation between the preceding paper leaf, attracted onto the auxiliary contact surface, and the succeeding paper leaf. 
     With this construction, the preceding paper leaf is bent into an arch-like configuration so that its both end portions protrude toward the succeeding paper leaf, and at this time, this protrusion of both the end portions of the preceding paper leaf separates the succeeding paper leaf, conveyed in a state brought into contact with the preceding paper leaf, from the preceding paper leaf. In addition, air is supplied between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf, thus achieving more positive separation between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf and securing regular conveyance thereof. 
     Moreover, the irregular member is made so that its lowermost portion corresponding to the lowermost portion of the paper leaf brought into contact with the auxiliary contact surface has a flat configuration. This structure makes a larger gap between the lowermost portion of the paper leaf attracted onto the auxiliary contact surface and the succeeding paper leaf, which enables more efficient separation of the preceding paper leaf from the succeeding paper leaf when air is supplied into the enlarged gap between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other objects and features of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire construction of a paper-leaves division system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the entire construction of the paper-leaves division system according to this embodiment; 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a composition of the interior of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment, viewed perceptively from a side direction; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an essential construction of a paper-leaves supplying section of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an essential construction of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an essential construction of a depositing section of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line A—A of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view entirely showing a paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an essential construction of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 10 is a front elevational view showing the essential construction of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing the essential construction of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 12 is a side elevational view showing a partitioning arm device of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the partitioning arm device of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the partitioning arm device of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view showing the partitioning arm device of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 16 is an illustration of an operation of the partitioning arm device of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 17 is an illustration of an operation of the partitioning arm device of the paper-leaves conveying means of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing an essential construction of a depositing section of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view showing a paper-leaves vibrating device of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIGS. 20A and 20B illustratively show a peripheral construction of a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 21 is a perspective view entirely showing the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 22 is a front elevational view showing the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 23 is a top view showing the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing an essential construction of a separation auxiliary device of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow line B—B of FIG. 24; 
     FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow line C—C of FIG. 24; 
     FIG. 27 is an illustration useful for explaining an unacceptable posture detecting operation of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing of the entire circuit arrangement of a paper-leaves conveying apparatus of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; 
     FIGS. 29A and 29B are parts of a flow chart showing an essential operation of the paper-leaves division system according to the embodiment; and 
     FIG. 30 is an illustrative view showing an essential construction of a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus according to the embodiment. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire construction of a paper-leaves division system using a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the entire construction of this paper-leaves division system, and FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a composition of the interior of this paper-leaves division system, viewed perceptively from a side direction. 
     (A) Entire Construction of Paper-Leaves Division System 
     In FIGS. 1 to  3 , this paper-leaves division system is roughly made up of a paper-leaves supplying section  1 , a reading unit  2 , a paper-leaves partitioning section  3 , a paper-leaves conveying means  4 , a transfer truck  5 , a storage shelf  6  and others. 
     The paper-leaves supplying section  1  is for conveying a plurality of paper leaves  10  (see FIGS. 3,  20 A and  20 B), set together in a bundle and in a stand-up posture, to up a paper-leaves feeding position  8 , and a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 , placed at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , is for separating the paper leaves  10  from each other and feeds them successively to the downstream side at which the reading unit  2  exists. The reading unit  2  reads the destination information of a bar code (alternatively, a postal code or the like) attached to each of the paper leaves  10  separated from each other in the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 , and sends that destination information to a computer. 
     The paper-leaves partitioning section  3 , in this embodiment, is constructed into a three-step arrangement in a vertical direction. The paper-leaves partitioning section  3  includes a plurality of (in this embodiment, 33) partitioning/stacking units  3   a  for temporarily accumulating and storing the paper leaves  10  divided and distributed on the basis of the destination information, in a state aligned in a horizontal direction. 
     The paper-leaves conveying means  4  is for conveying the paper leaves  10 , fed one by one from the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9  of the paper-leaves supplying section  1 , through the reading unit  2  to the paper-leaves partitioning section  3 . In front of (on the upstream side of) each of the partitioning/stacking units  3   a  of the paper-leaves partitioning section  3 , there is placed a distributing section (not shown) for distributing the paper leaves  10  to the partitioning/stacking unit  3   a , disposed in the form of three stages, of the paper-leaves partitioning section  3 . 
     The transfer truck  5  accepts and accommodates the paper leaves  10  discharged from the partitioning/stacking units  3   a  of the paper-leaves partitioning section  3 , and a paper-leaves relaying passage  5   a , constructed into a vertical three-step arrangement, is provided to each of the partitioning/stacking units  3   a  of the paper-leaves partitioning section  3 . 
     The storage shelf  6  is constructed into a three-stage arrangement according to the partitioning/stacking units  3   a  of the paper-leaves partitioning section  3 , and is such that paper-leaves storage passages  6   a  are lined up in a horizontal direction, with each line comprising eleven paper-leaves storage passages  6   a.    
     (A-1) Outline of Construction of Paper-Leaves Supplying Section 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an essential construction of the paper-leaves supplying section  1 , and FIG. 5 is an partially enlarged and perspective view showing a construction around the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in the paper-leaves supplying section  1 . In FIGS. 4 and 5, the paper-leaves supplying section  1  is equipped with a depositing section  11  in which a plurality of paper leaves  10  bundled are deposited in a stand-up posture. 
     (A-2) Construction of Depositing Section 
     The depositing section  11 , as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, is composed of a bottom wall  11   a  for supporting the bottom surfaces of the deposited paper leaves  10  and a back wall  11   b  for supporting the back surface portions of the paper leaves  10 . The bottom wall  11   a  and the back wall  11   b  are made to intersect with each other at generally right angles to form a generally L-shaped cross section, and the entire back wall  11   b , together with the bottom wall  11   a , is set in a state inclined or turned backwardly by θ degrees (approximately 15 degrees) (see FIGS.  3  and  7 ). FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing an essential construction of the depositing section  11 , and FIG. 7 is an illustrative cross-sectional view taken along a line A—A of FIG.  6 . 
     A further description will be given hereinbelow of a peripheral structure of the depositing section  11 . 
     On the back wall  11   b  side, a paper-leaves conveying means  12  is provided which is capable of sending the paper leaves  10  on the depositing section  11  toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8  horizontally in a stand-up condition. In addition, the back wall  11   b  is formed in a manner that three plates of an upper back plate  13   a , an intermediate back plate  13   b  and a lower back plate  13  are combined into one back wall in a state where slits  14   a  and  14   b  are defined between the upper back wall  13   a  and the intermediate back plate  13   b  and between the intermediate back plate  13   b  and the lower back plate  13   c , respectively. The back plates  13   a  to  13   c  are made to have different widths, that is, the upper back wall  13   a  is wider in width than the intermediate back plate  13   b  while the intermediate back plate  13   b  is wider than the lower back wall  13   c . Still additionally, the back plates  13   a  to  13   c  are not placed on the same plane, but are, as shown in FIG. 7, disposed stepwise so that the intermediate back plate  13   b  is slightly set backwardly by a distance “t” with respect to the upper back plate  13   a , while the lower back plate  13   c  is slightly set backwardly by a distance “t” with respect to the intermediate back plate  11   b , that is, so that the back wall  11   b  recedes successively as it approaches the bottom wall  11   a . The reason that the positions of the three back plates  13   a  to  13   c  having different widths and constituting the back wall  11   b  are successively shifted rearwardly in this way is to, when the paper leaves  10  being vibrated to be put in order jump up and then drop, prevent the corners (intersections between the bottom surfaces and the back surfaces) of the paper leaves  10  from being caught by the upper surfaces of the back plates  13   b  and  13   c  constituting the slits  14   a  and  14   b  to cause the paper leaves  10  to be put in disorder. That is, in a case in which the back plates  13   a  to  13   c  disposed to define the slits  14   a  and  14   b  are disposed on the same plane, the back plate  13   c  tends to develop a protrusive step, and when the paper leaves  10  drop along the back wall  11   b  in this state, the paper leaves  10  are blocked by the protrusive step so that they turn, thereby being put in disorder. On the other hand, in this embodiment, in a case in which the back plates  13   a  to  13   c  are disposed to stepwise recede more backwardly as the position in the back wall  11   b  approaches the bottom side, such a protrusive step disappears. Accordingly, the paper leaves  10  come down along the back plate  13   a  smoothly drop to the bottom wall  11   a  without being caught by the upper surfaces of the back plates  13   b  and  13   c , thus certainly putting the paper leaves  10  in order without disorder during the arrangement thereof. Moreover, even if the paper leaves  10  are returned while being turned clockwise in FIG. 7, since each of the upper surfaces of the back plates  13   b  and  13   c  is shifted backwardly with respect to the back plate  13   a  or  13   b  just above, it is possible to prevent the paper leaves  10  from being caught by the corners thereof, which secures the certain arrangement of the paper leaves  10  without again disordering them during the arrangement. 
     Furthermore, on the bottom wall  11   a  side, there are provided a paper-leaves vibrating means  15  (see FIGS. 4,  5  and  19 ) for vibrating the paper leaves  10  placed on the depositing section  11  to brought two edges (lower side edges and back side edges) of the paper leaves  10  into contact with the bottom wall  11   a  and the back wall  11   b  for arranging the paper leans  10  and a second paper-leaves conveying means  16  for horizontally sending the paper leaves  10  on the depositing section  11  to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in a stand-up condition in cooperation with the paper-leaves conveying means  12 . 
     (A-3) Construction of Paper-Leaves Conveying Means 
     As FIG. 8 shows generally, the aforesaid paper-leaves conveying means  12  is composed of an endless chain  21  for successively joining, through chains  20 , partitioning arm devices  19 , each having two upper and lower arms  18   a  and  18   b  passing through the slits  14   a  and  14   b  of the back wall  11   b  and forwardly protruding at generally right angles from the back wall  11   b , into an endless condition and disposing them at a substantially equal interval, a driving means  22  for placing this endless chain  21  in rotary motion, a cam device  23  for controlling the advancing/retracting operations of the partitioning arm devices  19  in placing the endless chain  21  in rotary motion, and other components. The driving means  22  includes a motor  42  as a drive source. In addition, the partitioning arm devices  19  are for subdividing the paper leaves  10 , deposited together in the depositing section  11 , in the depositing section  11  and for supporting the subdivided paper leaves  10  from both the sides to hold them in a stand-up condition, and further conveying them to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in this condition in cooperation with a second paper-leaves conveying means  16  which will be mentioned later. When positioned on the upper half side of the endless chain  21  by the rotary motion of the endless chain  21 , the arms  18   a  and  18   b  of each of the partitioning arm devices  19  pass through the slits  14   a  and  14   b  and move toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in a state protruding forwardly at generally right angles from the back wall  11   b , and when arriving at a position (end portion  12 A) immediately before the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , retract backwardly from the back wall  11   b . Thereafter, they are positioned on the lower half side of the endless chain  21  turned downwardly to move toward an end portion  12 B opposite to the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , and are again turned upwardly from the end portion  12 B. Still additionally, immediately before the end portion  12 B, the arms  18   a  and  18   b  of the partitioning arm device  19  are guided by the cam device  23  to again pass through the slits  14   a  and  14   b  for protruding forwardly from the back wall  11   b , and then are guided to move toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8  on the upper half side of the endless chain  21 . 
     (A-4) Structure of Cam Device 
     As shown in detail in FIGS. 9 to  11 , the cam device  23  is composed of a first cam  23 A disposed along the traveling path of the partitioning arm devices  19  guided on the upper half side of the endless chain  21 , and a second cam  23 B disposed along the traveling path of the partitioning arm device  19  at the end portion  12 B of the endless chain  21  opposite to the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . The second cam  23 B has a generally U-like configuration and an inclined surface  23   b  tilted so that it gradually protrudes forwardly as the turning to the upper side proceeds, and the inclined surface  23   b  is made to shows the maximum protrusion quantity at the time of the completion of the turning to the upper side. On the other hand, the first cam  23 A is made in the form of one rail member having a column-like configuration, and is disposed in a state continuously joined to an end portion (the maximum protruding portion of the inclined surface  23   b ) of the second cam  23 B and extends straight toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8  (end position  12 A) in a state where the maximum protrusion quantity is maintained. On the paper-leaves feeding position  8  side, the first cam  23 A is positioned so that a roller  40  of the partitioning arm device  19  is brought into contact therewith until the arms  18   a  and  18   b  of the partitioning arm device  19  moved to the nearest position to the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , accommodating one or more paper leaves  10  therebetween, come to a position immediately before coming into contact with a belt contact surface  67   a  of a separating/supplying belt  67  of the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 . In the vicinity of the location of the first cam  23 A, a pair of guide bars  24   a  and  24   b  are placed along the first cam  23 A (see (FIGS.  10  and  11 ). The pair of guide bars  24   a  and  24   b  are held in parallel with each other through a spacer  25  fixed on the apparatus body side to support, from the under, the upper half of the endless chain  21  traveling toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in a state brought into contact with the first cam  23 A after the completion of the turning from the lower side. 
     (A-5) Construction of Partitioning Arm Device 
     As shown in detail in FIGS. 12 to  17 , the partitioning arm device  19  is composed of a fitting plate  26  fixedly secured to extend between a pair of chains  20 , a pair of guide bars  28   a ,  28   b  and center bar  29  whose both end portions are fixed to brackets  27   a  and  27   b  fixed to both end portions of the fitting plate  26 , a slider  30  attached to the guide bars  28   a ,  28   b  and the center bar  29  to be slidable forwardly and backwardly, an arm holder  31  fixedly secured onto the slider  30 , the aforesaid pair of arms  18   a  and  18   b  fixedly secured onto the arm holder  31 , and other components. The slider  30 , as shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 15, has through holes  30   a  and  30   b  made at right and left positions and a through-hole  30   c  made at a central position. A cylindrical slide bush  32  is inserted into each of the through holes  30   a  and  30   b,  and the slide bush  32  is fixed to the slider  30  through snap rings  33  mounted over the slide bush  32  before and after the slider  30 . In addition, the guide bars  28   a  and  28   b  penetrate the slider  30  after passing through the slide bushes  32 , and both end portions thereof fixedly secured to the brackets  27   a  and  27   b  by means of vises  34  so that the slider  30  is slidable forwardly and backwardly. In this case, when the slider  30  are fitted over the guide bars  28   a  and  28   b , a ring-like spacer  35  is placed between the slider  30  and the bracket  27   b  in order to limit the sliding amount of the slider  30 . The center bar  29  penetrates the through hole  30   c  of the slider  30  and is disposed to be in parallel with the guide bars  28   a  and  28   b , and both the end portions thereof penetrate the brackets  27   a  and  27   b , respectively, and are positioned by E rings  36  in the exterior of the brackets  27   a  and  27   b . Moreover, a coil spring  37  is set on the center bar  29  between the bracket  27   a  and the slider  30  in a state compressed to press the slider  39  against the bracket  27   b  side at all times (see FIGS.  12  and  13 ). The arm holder  31  has a generally L-shaped configuration, and a vertical portion  31   a  is turned forwardly and a horizontal portion  31   b  bent backwardly from the lower end side of the vertical portion  31   a  at substantially right angles is fixedly secured onto the upper surface of the slider  30 . The pair of arms  18   a  and  18   b  separated vertically is fitted to the vertical portion  31   a  in a state of protruding forwardly at substantially right angles. On the other hand, the roller  40  is fitted to the rear end side of the horizontal portion  31   b  to be rotatable horizontally around a rotary shaft  39  extending upwardly at right angles from the horizontal portion  31   b . This roller  40  is in conjunction with the first cam  23 A and the second cam  23 B, and is allowed to come into contact with the first cam  23 A and the second cam  23 B. 
     The driving means  22  is equipped with rotary drums  41 A and  41 B rotatably disposed separately right and left end portions of the depositing section  11 , with toothed wheels (not shown) to be engaged with the chains  20  being formed on the outer circumferences of the rotary drums  41 A and  41 B. In addition, on the rotation of the rotary drums  41 A and  41 B, the toothed wheels are successively engaged with the chains  20  so that the endless chain  21 , together with the partitioning arm devices  19 , travels endlessly in the rotating direction of the rotary drums  41 A and  41 B. Of the rotary drums  41 A and  41 B, the rotary drum  41 A acts as a driving drum while the rotary drum  41 B acts as an idler drum, and the rotary drum  41 A is made to rotate in response to a rotational driving force from a motor  42 . That is, the rotation of the motor  42  causes the rotation of the rotary drum  41 A, and makes the rotation of the rotary drum  41 B according to the rotation of the rotary drum  41 A through the chains  20 , thus accomplishing the endless rotation of the endless chain  21 . 
     Secondly, a description will be given hereinbelow of an operation of the partitioning arm device  19  in the construction of the aforesaid paper-leaves conveying means  12 . 
     When the partitioning arm device  19  confronts the first cam  23 A, the roller  40  is brought into contact with the first cam  23 A, and the slider  30  is pressed toward the bracket  27   a  against the repulsion of the coil spring  37  as shown in portions of FIGS. 14 and 16 so that the arms  18   a  and  18   b  protrude forwardly a great deal from the back wall  11 B. In addition, the arms  18   a  and  18   b  are shifted from the end  12 B side to the end  12 A side (paper-leaves feeding position  8 ) in the slits  14   a  and  14   b  in accordance with the rotary motion of the endless chain  21  in the protruding condition. At this time, the paper leaves  10 , subdivided between the partitioning arm devices  19  and  19  and supported by the arms  18   a ,  18   b  and the arms  18   a ,  18   b  from both the sides so that a plurality of paper leaves are deposited together in the depositing section  11  in a state stood in a bundle, are shifted toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , coupled with the conveyance due to the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the vibration due to the paper-leaves vibrating means  15 , which will be described hereinafter, in a state pressed by the arms  18   a  and  18   b . Still additionally, when the partitioning arm device  19  is shifted to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  and the roller  40  is separated from the first cam  23 A, the slider  30  is instantaneously moved to the bracket  27   b  side by the repulsion of the coil spring  37  in a state guided by the guide bars  28   a  and  28   b  as shown partially in FIGS. 12,  13  and  16 . That is, with this movement, the tip portions of the arms  18   a  and  18   b  retreat to a position behind the back wall  11   b . FIG. 16 illustrates a peripheral structure around the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , and shows a state in which that arms  18   a  and  18   b  of the partitioning arm device  19 , which are not separated from the first cam  23 A, protrude forwardly and the arms  18   a  and  18   b  of the partitioning arm device  19 , separated from the first cam  23 A, retreat up to the position behind the back wall  11   b . 
     Furthermore, at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , the partitioning arm device  19  whose arms  18   a  and  18   b  retreat up to the position behind the back wall  11   b  is shifted up to the other end portion  12   b  through the endless chain  21  in a state where the arms  18   a  and  18   b  are retreated, and the roller  40  is brought into contact with a minimum height portion of an inclined surface  23   b  of the second cam  23 B immediately before the other end portion  12 B. Moreover, when the roller  40  is moved together with the endless chain  21  in a state brought into contact with the inclined surface  23   b , the height of that inclined surface  23   b  becomes gradually higher and the cam action of the inclined surface  23   b  causes the slider  30  to be gradually shifted to the bracket  27   a  side while compressing the coil spring  37  so that the arms  18   a  and  18   b  again protrude forwardly a great deal with respect to the back wall  11   b . FIG. 17 is an illustration of a state in which the arms  18   a  and  18   b  protrude with the roller  40  being brought into contact with the inclined surface  23   b  of the second cam  23 B at the other end portion  12 B. This protrusion reaches a maximum at a portion adjacent to the first cam  23 A, and when arriving at an end of the second cam  23 B, they are shifted to the first cam  23 A and conveyed toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8  while being again brought into contact with the first cam  23 A. Immediately before shifting from the second cam  23 B to the first cam  23 A, the arms  18   a  and  18   b  again confront the slits  14   a  and  14   b , and then pass through the slits  14   a  and  14   b  and reach the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . 
     Accordingly, in the construction according to this embodiment, when the roller  40  is moved in a state brought into contact with the first cam  23 A, the arms  18   a  and  18   b  are shifted toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in a state where they protrude from the back wall  11   b , and when the partitioning arm device  19  approaches the paper-leaves feeding position  8  and the roller  40  separates from the first cam  23 A, the arms  18   a  and  18   b , together with the slider  30 , retreat to the position behind the back wall  11   b . In addition, the arms  18   a  and  18   b  are moved toward the other end portion  12 B in a state of the retreat, and when they approach the other end portion  12 B, the roller  40  comes into contact with the second cam  23 B. When they are shifted continuously, the same cycle takes place repeatedly, that is, the slider  30 , together with the arms  18   a  and  18   b , is again carried to above the first cam  23 A while protruding forwardly. With this operation, the paper leaves  10  placed on the depositing section  11  are successively shifted toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . 
     In this construction according to this embodiment, the position of the first cam  23 A on the paper-leaves feeding position  8  side is set such that the arms  18   a  and  18   b  support the paper leaves  10  until reaching a position immediately before a position at which the last paper leaf  10  being carried toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8  can lightly touch the separating/supplying belt  67  of the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 , which will be described later, at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . Concretely, as mentioned above, the arms  18   a  and  18   b  are designed to retreat instantaneously when the paper leaves  10  lightly touch the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 . With this structure, the last paper leaf is conveyed until lightly touching the belt contact surface  67   a  of the separating/supplying belt  67  of the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9  at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , thus securing the certain delivery. On the other hand, the paper-leaves conveying means of the conventional apparatus cannot achieve the retreat of the arms immediately before the paper-leaves feeding position. In addition, since the mechanism is made to select the retreating operation, the traveling speed of the retreating arms to the paper-leaves feeding position increases or decreases with respect to the arms traveling behind to lengthen or shorten the arm interval, which can cause the overlap transportation of the paper leaves. Still additionally, the arms themselves cannot retreat instantaneously, but the arms gradually and slowly retreat before arriving at the paper-leaves feeding position. That is, since the arms of the paper-leaves conveying means of the conventional apparatus is not designed to reach a position immediately before the paper-leaves feeding position in a state where they protrude, the operator is required to directly support the paper leaves in order to bring the paper leaves, falling down rearwardly, into contact with a separating/feeding surface (belt contact surface), and this creates a problem on safety and a problem in that difficulty is encountered in performing the work by one person. The construction according to this embodiment, by contrast, is made such that the arms  18   a  and  18   b  protrude until reaching a position immediately a position at which the last paper leaf  10  comes into contact with the belt contact surface  67   a  of the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 ; therefore, it is possible to eliminate the transfer failures that the paper leaves  10  fall down rearwardly before coming into contact with the belt contact surface  67   a . This can eliminate the need for the stationing of full-time operators who belong exclusively to this operation, which is required in the case of the conventional apparatus, and hence, it is possible to reduce the staff and further to slice the cost. In addition, with the construction according to this embodiment, the position of the first cam  23 A on the paper-leaves feeding position  8  side, that is, the position at which the roller  40  of the partitioning arm device  19  is separated from the first cam  23 A to allow the arms  18   a  and  18   b  to retreat, is arbitrarily adjustable. 
     Furthermore, a description will be given hereinbelow of a structure of the paper-leaves vibrating means  15  and a structure of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 . 
     First, the description will start at the structure of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 . FIG. 18 illustrates the details of the structure of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 . 
     The second paper-leaves conveying means  16  is composed of a pair of conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B extending in right and left directions in parallel with the endless chain  20  on the back wall  11   b  side, and a pair of auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B extending in right and left directions between the pair of conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B and the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in a state partially overlapping with the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B. The pair of auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B are placed between the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B. 
     Each of the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B is composed of a driving pulley  46   a , an idler pulley  46   b  and an endless belt  47  stretched between the driving pulley  46   a  and the idler pulley  46   b.  The endless belt  47  has a teeth-like configuration, and is disposed so that its upper surface protrudes upwardly from an opening  11   c  (see FIG. 6) of the bottom wall  11   a  of the depositing section  11 , and the endless belt  47  directly receives the paper leaves  10  put on the depositing section  11 , and the rotary motion of the endless belt  47 , together with the conveyance by the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , sends the paper leaves  10  toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . In addition, the driving pulley  46   a  rotates by receiving a driving force of the motor  42 , which drives the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , through a power conveying belt (not shown), and hence, the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  is operated at a speed synchronized fully with the paper-leaves conveying means  12 . In addition, the endless belt  47  and the idler pulley  46   b  are also driven rotationally in accordance with the rotation of the driving pulley  46   a.    
     Each of the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B is composed of a driving pulley  49   a,  an idler pulley  49   b  and an endless belt  50  extending between the driving pulley  49   a  and the idler pulley  49   b.  The surface of the endless belt  50  is made smooth unlike that of the endless belt  47  of the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B in order to lessen the frictional force with respect to the paper leaves  10 . In addition, the endless belt  50  is disposed so that its upper surface protrudes upwardly from an opening  11   d  (see FIG. 6) of the bottom wall  11   a  of the depositing section  11 , and the endless belt  50  directly receives the paper leaves  10  put on the depositing section  11 , and the rotary motion of the endless belt  50 , together with the conveying by the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , transfers the paper leaves  10  toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . In this case, the endless belt  50  can also be revolved in a direction opposite to the normally feeding direction, that is, in a direction separating from the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . The rotary motion of the endless belt  50  depends upon that, when the driving pulley  49   a  is rotationally driven forwardly or backwardly by a driving force of a motor  51  rotatable in two directions of forward and reverse directions, the endless belt  50  and the idler pulley  49   b  are rotationally driven forwardly or backwardly in accordance with the rotation of the driving pulley  49   a . The traveling speed of the endless belt  50  is the same as that of the paper-leaves conveying means  12  when the paper leaves  10  move toward the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , while it is set to be higher, irrespective of the speed of the paper-leaves feeding means  12 , when the paper leaves  10  separate from the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . 
     The reason for rotating the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B in the forward and reverse directions is because, when the paper leaves  10  are conveyed successively into an excessively pressed condition in the area of the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , the conveyance by the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B is ceased and the endless belt  50  is put in rotary motion in the reverse direction immediately before separation for once returning the paper leaves  10  to relieve the excessively pressed condition of the paper leaves  10  at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . That is, normally, the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  are put in rotary motion at a high speed (a speed higher than that at which the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B convey the paper leaves  10 ) in the same direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 20A) as the direction in which the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  transfer the paper leaves  10 , to produce the skidding with respect to the paper leaves  10 , and a counterclockwise force is also given to the paper leaves  10  immediately before the paper-leaves feeding position  8  so that the upper edge sides of the paper leaves  10  undergo a falling-down action toward the belt surface  67   a  of the separating/supplying belt  67  immediately before the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . Accordingly, the contact of the paper leaves  10  with the separating/supplying belt  67  becomes easy. In addition, when the first paper leaf  10  is pressed too strongly against the separating/supplying belt  67  for some reasons, an over-press sensor  94 , which will be mentioned later, detects this fact. If the over-press sensor  94  detects the excessively pressed condition, the motor  51  is driven rotationally in the reserve direction to place the endless belt  50  in rotary motion in the opposite direction (clockwise in FIG.  20 B), and when the endless belt  50  is revolved counterclockwise, the endless belt  50  is revolved at a high speed to produce the skidding with respect to the paper leaves  10  so that a counterclockwise force is likewise given to the paper leaves  10  pressed against the separating/supplying belt  67  so that the upper edge sides of the paper leaves  10  undergo a turning and falling-down action in a direction separating from the belt surface  67   a  of the separating/supplying belt  67 . Accordingly, the one paper leaf  10  is separated from the paper leaves  10  conveyed up to a position immediately before the separating/supplying belt  67  so that it becomes easy to take by the separating/supplying belt  67 , which will be mentioned hereinafter, and to feed toward the downstream side. The reason for forming a smooth surface of the endless belt  50  to relieve the frictional force with respect to the paper leaves  10  is because there is a possibility that a large frictional force damages the lower surfaces of the paper leaves  10  at the peeling-off since the endless belt  50  is placed in rotary motion at a speed higher than a speed, at which the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B transfer the paper leaves  10 , at all times as mentioned above, whereas the reduction of the friction due to the smooth surface solves this problem. In addition, in a case in which no skidding occurs with respect to the paper leaves  10  because of a large frictional force relative to the paper leaves  10 , when the endless belt  50  is placed in rotary motion in the same forward direction as the direction in which the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B transfer the paper leaves  10 , the lower edge portions of the paper leaves  10  is kicked so that the upper edge portions of the paper leaves  10  are turned in a direction separating from the separating/supplying belt  67  side immediately before the separating/supplying belt  67 , while when being turned in the opposite direction, it kicks the lower edge portions of the paper leaves  10  and travels while tripping them, which makes it difficult to separate the upper edge portions a great deal from the separating/supplying belt  67 . 
     Another reason for rotating the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B in the forward and reverse directions is because the paper leaves deposited in the depositing section  11  in a state tilted rearwardly does not reach a position at which the paper leaves  10  are sufficiently attracted by the belt contact surface  67   a  before being fed while still pressing the an arrival sensor  93  (which will be described herein later) connected to an arrival detecting means  106  and hence the arrival detecting means  106  makes a decision that the paper leaf  10  has arrived at the paper-leaves feeding position  8  and, although the higher-speed feeding operation is to be conducted, the feeding speed becomes lower by being synchronized with the feeding operation of the separating/supplying device  63  to cause the wasteful time which makes it difficult to promptly feed the paper leaves  10 , so the paper leaves  10  conveyed up to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in a rearwardly inclined posture is shifted to the forwardly inclined condition for reducing this wasteful time. In addition, the reason that the surface of the endless belt  50  is made smooth to reduce the frictional force with respect to the paper leaves is because, in a case in which the paper leaves  10  deposited in the depositing section  11  in a rearwardly inclined posture are conveyed up to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in this posture, there is a need to reverse only the endless belt  50  in a state where stopped are the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 . That is, if the belt surface shows a large frictional force or has an irregular or teeth-like configuration, when the endless belt  50  is reversed at a high speed in a state where stopped are the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 , the paper leaf  10  retreating from the paper-leaves feeding position  8  is interposed between the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the endless belt  50  so that only the lower surface of the paper leaf  10  has nowhere to go, which naturally causes the paper leaf  10  to be separated from the belt surface. Although this separation or peeling can damage the lower surface of the paper leaf  10 , since the belt surface is made smooth to reduce the friction, it is possible to eliminate the possibility of the damages of the paper leaves. 
     (A-6) Structure of Paper-Leaves Vibrating Means 
     The paper-leaves vibrating means  15  is, as shown in detail in FIG. 19, composed of elongated vertically-movable members  52   a  and  52   b  extending in right and left directions in parallel with the endless belt  47  between the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B, and a vibration generating means  53  for alternately and vertically moving the movable members  52   a  and  52   b . Each of the movable members  52   a  and  52   b  is made to protrude a great deal from the bottom wall  11   a  through an opening  11   e  (see FIG. 6) made in the bottom wall  11   a  and to retreat therefrom. 
     The vibration generating means  53  includes a rotary shaft  54  which integrally has eccentric cams  54   a  and  54   b  on its circumferential surface, a driving means  55  for rotating this rotary shaft  54 , and cam rings  56   a  and  56   b  acting as a link member for transmitting the cam actions of the eccentric cams  54   a  and  54   b  to the movable members  52   a  and  52   b . The cam ring  56   a  is rotatably fitted to the eccentric cam  54   a , while the cam ring  56   b  is rotatably fitted to the eccentric cam  54   b . In this embodiment, the eccentric cams  54   a  and  54   b  are disposed in a state shifted by 180 degrees from each other in the rotating direction. In addition, the cam rings  56   a  and  56   b  are connected through brackets  56   c  and rotary shafts  56   d  to the central portions of the movable members  52   a  and  52   b , respectively. When the rotary shaft  54  is put in rotation so that the eccentric cams  54   a  and  54   b  vertically move the cam rings  56   a  and  56   b , the movable members  52   a  and  52   b  are moved vertically in connection with the cam rings  56   a  and  56   b . In addition, on both the right and left sides of each of the movable members  52   a  and  52   b , pulling means  58  are provided each of which has a coil spring  57  for pulling the movable member  52  or  52   b  downwardly at all times. 
     The driving means  55  includes a motor  59 , a pulley  60  attached to an output shaft  59   a  of the motor  59  to be rotatable together, a pulley  61  fitted to the rotary shaft  54  to be rotatable together, and a power transmitting belt  62  set to extend between the pulley  60  and the pulley  61 . The rotation of the motor  59  is transferred to the output shaft  59   a , the pulley  60 , the power transmitting belt  62  and the pulley  61  so that the rotary shaft  54  is rotatable together with the pulley  61 . 
     In the paper-leaves vibrating means  15  thus constructed, on the rotation of the rotary shaft  54  by the motor  59 , the movable members  52   a  and  52   b  are alternately moved vertically such that the eccentric cams  54   a  and  54   b  pushes up one of the movable members  52   a  and  52   b  through the cam rings  56   a  and  56   b  and pull down the other. That is, one of the movable members  52   a  and  52   b  passes through the opening  11   e  to protrude from the bottom wall  11   a , while the other movable member  52   a  or  52   b  retreats downwardly with respect to the bottom wall  11   a . In addition, the entire depositing section  11  is in a state inclined backwardly by approximately 15 degrees, and the self-weight of the paper leaf  10  is divided in the back surface direction and the bottom surface direction, and when the paper leaf  10  is pushed up from the under by the movable member  52   a  or  52   b , the paper leaf  10  is vibrated in a state turned around the corner forming the intersection of the bottom surface and back surface thereof. Still additionally, since the two movable members  52   a  and  52   b  are disposed in a state separated from each other, they hit against the paper leaf  10  at different positions, and different amplitudes take place for when the front side movable member  52   b  protrudes to vibrate the paper leaf  10  and for when the rear side movable member  52   a  protrudes to vibrate the paper leaf  10 , and slight rotating force is given thereto, thus achieving proper arrangement with high efficiency in a short time. 
     (A-7) Construction of Paper-Leaves Separating/Supplying Apparatus 
     Furthermore, a description will be given hereinbelow of a construction of the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9  which is for separating the paper leaves  10 , conveyed as far as the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , from each other and for feeding them toward the paper-leaves conveying means  4 . The detail of the construction of the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9  is shown in FIGS. 5 and 20A to  23 . FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a peripheral structure of the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9  of the paper-leaves supplying section  1  at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , FIGS. 20A and 20B illustratively show an operation of the peripheral construction of a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 , FIG. 21 is a perspective view entirely showing the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 , FIG. 22 is a front elevational view showing the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 , and FIG. 23 is a top view showing the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 . In FIGS. 5 and 20A to  23 , the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9  is made up of a separating/supplying device  63  for taking up the paper leaves  10 , conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  in a stand-up condition by the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the second conveying means  16 , one by one by vacuum suction and for conveying the paper leaf  10  in a generally perpendicular condition to the paper-leaves conveying means  4  existing on the downstream side, a separation auxiliary device  64  for facilitating the separation of the paper leaves  10  from each other in the separating/supplying device  63 , a paper-leaves detecting means (which is an abbreviation of paper-leaves arrival detecting means)  106  (see FIG. 28) for detecting the presence or absence of the paper leaf  10  conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , and a paper-leaves excessive-pressing detecting means  105  (see FIG.  28 ). 
     (A-8) Structure of Separating/Supplying Device 
     The separating/supplying device  63  is composed of an endless separating/supplying belt  67  stretched around three guide rollers  66   a ,  66   b  and  66   c,  a vacuum suction means  68  for vacuum-catching the paper leaves  10 , transferred up to this separating/supplying belt  67 , to hold them on the separating/supplying belt  67 , and three sensors  69   a ,  69   b  and  69   c  for detecting the size of the paper leaves  10  transferred to the separating/supplying device  63 , and the presence of paper leaves  10  transferred in a state put in posture disorder or placed in misarrangement, and for sending output information to a posture-disorder detecting means  115  (see FIG.  28 ). 
     Of the three guide rollers  66   a ,  66   b  and  66   c,  the two guide rollers  66   a  and  66   b  are disposed in a state separated vertically along a direction of feeding the paper leaves  10 , while the remaining one guide roller  66   c  is located therebehind. Accordingly, a portion  67   a  (which will be referred to hereinafter as a “belt contact surface  67   a ”) of the separating/supplying belt  67  stretched by the three guide rollers  66   a ,  66   b  and  66   c,  confronting the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , is made to have a flat plane (perpendicular plane), thus straight traveling vertically. In addition, the guide rollers  66   a  and  66   b  are idler rollers rotatably attached to rotary shafts  70   a  and  70   b , respectively, while the guide roller  66   c  is a driving roller fitted to a driving shaft  70   c , rotated by a motor  71 , to be rotatable together. When the driving shaft  70   c , together with the guide roller  66   c , is rotated by the motor  71 , the separating/supplying belt  67 , together with the guide roller  66   c , is revolved in accordance with the rotation of the guide rollers  66   a  and  66   b . The rotating direction thereof is the counterclockwise direction in FIGS. 5 and 20A to  23 . 
     In addition, the driving shaft  70   c  is mounted on a movable holding plate  72   b  unlike a fixed holding plate  72   a  to which attached are the rotary shafts  70   a  and  70   b  for supporting the guide rollers  66   a  and  66   b . This movable holding plate  72   b , together with the motor  71  and the driving shaft  70   c , is made to be movable in a direction approaching the guide rollers  66   a  and  66   b , indicated by an arrow S in FIG. 22 (direction to the interior of the separating/supplying belt  67 ) and in a direction of separating therefrom, indicated by an arrow L in FIG.  22 . When it is moved in the separating direction indicated at the arrow L, the separating/supplying belt  67  around the guide rollers  66   a ,  66   b  and  66   c  is tightened, and when being moved in the approaching direction indicated at the arrow S, the separating/supplying belt  67  loses the tightness. In addition, the position of the movable holding plate  72   c  can be fixed, but releasable, by a locking means  73  having a locking lever  73   a . Accordingly, with the structure of the separating/supplying device  63  according to this embodiment, when the movable holding plate  72   b  is released from the locked state by the locking means  73  and the guide roller  66   c , together with the movable holding plate  72   b , is shifted in the inside direction of the separating/supplying belt  67  so that the separating/supplying belt  67  loses the tightness, the replacement of the separating/supplying belt  67  or the like becomes possible in this state. After the replacement, the guide roller  66   c , together with the movable holding plate  72   c , is returned to the original position and locked there. Thus, it is possible to easily accomplish the replacement of the separating/supplying belt  67  or the like. 
     In the case of a conventional separating/supplying belt, in order to achieve certain separating/supplying operations, there is a need for the outer circumferential surface of the belt to have irregularities. Therefore, there may be a problem in that, in a case in which a tension roller is provided in the exterior of the belt to produce the inward tension, the irregularities on the outer circumferential surface of the belt can damage the tension roller. In addition, there has been known an auto-tension mechanism in which the tension roller is made to be movable and a spring is put to use. However, in this case, a continuous load acts on the spring itself so that the spring can be broken. Still additionally, in the case of a conventional belt replacement method, after the replacement, a belt tension depends on operator&#39;s sensation, and hence, a value is hard to set uniformly, or this requires a special tool. On the other hand, with the construction according to this embodiment, the movable holding plate  72   b  is released from the locked state by the locking means  73 , and the guide roller  66   c , together with the movable holding plate  72   b , is shifted to the inside of the separating/supplying belt  67  so that the separating/supplying belt  67  loses the tightness, which enables easy replacement of the separating/supplying belt  67  and others. In addition, after the replacement, since the guide roller  66   c , together with the movable holding plate  72   b , can be returned to the original state and locked there, it is possible to easily accomplish the replacement of the separating/supplying belt  67 , and others. 
     Furthermore, in the construction according to this embodiment, the guide rollers  66   a  and  66   b  forming the belt contact surface  67   a  pointing in the direction of conveying the paper leaves  10  are designed to take a fixed state after performing positional adjustment, which will be described later, in cooperation with the fixed holding plate  72 . That is, since the guide rollers  66   a  and  66   b  is designed not to move at the belt replacement, the location of the belt contact surface  67   a  does not shift even at the belt replacement. If the belt contact surface  67   a  shifts at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , three is a need to again adjust the positional relationship between the aforesaid arms  18   a  and  18   b  of the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the belt contact surface  67   a , which causes the operation to become complicated. In the construction according to this embodiment, the position of the belt contact surface  67   a  does not shift at the belt replacement; therefore, it is maintainable at the same position and in the same state. In addition, the guide roller  66   c  is designed to be moved together with the motor  71 , the driving shaft  70   c  and the movable holding plate  52   c , and irrespective of the movement of the guide roller  66   c , the positional relationship with the motor  71  and the driving shaft  70   c  is securable at all times, which eliminates the need for re-adjusting (or re-assembling) the positional relationship with respect to the motor  71  and the driving shaft  70   c  after the replacement. 
     Moreover, the separating/supplying belt  67  is disposed so that the belt contact surface  67   a  is placed at right angles to the horizontal plane (bottom wall  11   a ) or placed in a state slightly (θ1) inclined toward the depositing section  11  side. The angular adjustment of the belt contact surface  67   a  can arbitrarily be made with respect to the bottom surface  11   a  by rotating the fixed holding plate  72   a , which holds the guide roller  66   a  and  66   b  to allow them to be rotatable, clockwise or counterclockwise in FIG.  22 . Usually, this angular adjustment is made once at manufacturing and assembling, and thereafter, it is placed in a fixed condition. In the construction according to this embodiment, the reason that the belt contact surface  67   a  is placed at right angles to the bottom wall  11   a  or placed in a state inclined toward the depositing section  11  side is to eliminate the contact pressure between the preceding paper leaf  10  and the succeeding paper leaf  10  which occurs when, subsequent to the preceding paper leaf brought into contact with the belt contact surface  67   a  of the separating/supplying belt  67 , the succeeding paper leaf  10  come and the weight (self-weight) of the succeeding paper leaf  10  falls on the preceding paper leaf  10 . That is, in a case in which the preceding paper leaf  10  is held prependicularly or in a state inclined at the belt contact surface  67   a , it is possible to prevent the weight of the succeeding paper leaf from being applied to the preceding paper leaf  10 . Accordingly, since the construction of the separating/supplying device  63  according to this embodiment can eliminate the external force which is a large contact pressure between the preceding paper leaf  10  and the succeeding paper leaf  10  occurring when the weight of the succeeding paper leaf  10  falls on the preceding paper leaf, the separating/supplying belt  67  can smoothly feed the preceding paper leaf  10 . In addition, it is possible to prevent the succeeding paper leaf  10  from being put in disorder because of being dragged by the preceding paper leaf  10 , and when the succeeding paper leaf  10  is fed subsequently, the succeeding paper leaf  10  is preventable from being fed in an unstable posture. This secures smooth feeding of the paper leaf  10  without the occurrence of troubles. Incidentally, two paper-leaves suction-holding members  67   b  each having a pair of suction windows  74  for attracting the paper leaves  10  by vacuum suction are placed on the separating/supplying belt  67  in a state disposed separately by 180 degrees, with no air communication being made at portions other than the suction windows  74 . 
     The vacuum suction means  68  of the separating/supplying device  63  has suction ducts  75  placed behind the belt contact surface  67   a  in the interior of the separating/supplying belt  67 , with the suction ducks  75  being connected to a vacuum pump  78 . In addition, the suction ducts  75  are placed to confront the suction windows  74  of the paper-leaves suction-holding members  67   b  of the separating/supplying belt  67 , and an intake opening is covered with the separating/supplying belt  67  when the separating/supplying belt  67  is placed in rotary motion so that the suction windows  74  disappear in front of the suction ducts  75 , and when the suction windows  74  arrive in front of the suction ducts  75 , the intake opening is opened so that air comes in the suction ducts  75  due to the suction force from the vacuum pump  78 . At this time, the paper leaf  10  transferred to a position adjacent to the paper-leaves suction-holding member  67   b  is taken up in a state adhering onto a surface of the paper-leaves suction-holding member  67   b  to again cover the intake opening, and is transferred by the separating/supplying belt  67  in an upward direction, that is, it is transferred vertically toward the paper-leaves conveying means  4 . The suction duct  75  has an elongated configuration in the traveling direction of the separating/supplying belt  67 , and the paper leaf  10 , being transferred upwardly with the separating/supplying belt  67  in a state attracted through the suction windows  74 , is carried until it is held between conveying belts  95   a  and  95   b  of the paper-leaves conveying means  4 . In addition, the separating/supplying belt  67  is not placed in rotary motion at all times, but commonly stands by at the home position where the paper-leaves suction-holding member  67   b  is separated from the front surface of the suction duct  75 , and it covers the front surface of the intake opening of the suction duct  75 . When a sensor (arrival sensor)  93  detects that the paper leaf  10  arrives at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , the motor  71  is rotated to revolve the separating/supplying belt  67 , and when this separating/supplying belt  67  is revolved 180 degrees to reach the home position, the rotation of the motor  71  stops to cease the separating/supplying belt  67 . In addition, while the separating/supplying belt  67  makes 180-degree revolution, the suction windows  74  once pass by the suction ducts  75 , thus performing the feeding of the paper leaves  10  once. That is, one paper leaf  10  is fed according to 180-degree movement. Incidentally, in this embodiment, although two paper-laves suction-holding members  67   b  are provided on the separating/supplying belt  67  at an interval of 180 degrees, in the case of the use of one paper-leaves suction-holding member  67   b , one paper leaf  10  is fed according to 360-degree revolution. Moreover, depending on the dimension of the separating/supplying belt  67 , it is also possible to use three or more paper-leaves suction-holding members  67   b.    
     The three sensors  69   a ,  69   b  and  69   c  for the posture-disorder detecting means  115  is of a reflection type, and as illustratively shown in FIG. 27, they are disposed to be scattered along the conveying direction in the substantially maximum width portion of a conveyance area  120  into which the paper leave  10 A available in this paper-leaves division apparatus is normally fed in a state attracted by the separating/supplying belt  67 . The posture-disorder detecting means  115  using these sensors  69   a  to  69   c  makes a decision that the paper leaf  10 A is in a properly positioned condition, indicated by a solid line in FIG. 27, when the three sensors  69   a  to  69   c  detect it simultaneously. On the other hand, the posture-disorder detecting means  115  makes a decision that the paper leaf  10 A is in a posture-disorder condition because of being pushed down or titled, as indicated by a dashed line or two-dot chain line in FIG. 27, when only one sensor  69   a  of the three sensors  69   a  to  69   c  detects it (the paper leaf  10 A indicated by the dashed line) or when only two sensors  69   a  and  69   b  detect it (the paper leaf  10 A indicated by the two-dot chain line). At this time, the output information from the posture-disorder detecting means  115  is forwarded to a system control section  100  (FIG. 28) which will be described later, and the system control section  100  issues alarm or the like and, at the same time, stops the apparatus, thus informing the operator of this trouble. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the paper leaves  10  from being fed in a posture-disordered condition from the separating/supplying device  63 . 
     The separation auxiliary device  64  is positioned under the separating/supplying device  63 , and includes a housing  81  having an auxiliary suction window  80  (which will be referred to hereinafter as an “auxiliary contact surface  80 ”) serving as an auxiliary contact surface open to a direction in which the paper leaves  10  are conveyed by the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , and an intake opening of a suction duct  84   a  acting as an auxiliary vacuum suction means  84  is made in the housing  81 . The suction duct  84   a  uses, as a suction source, the vacuum pump  78  as well as the suction ducts  75  of the vacuum suction means  68 , and the suction passage from the vacuum pump  78  is halfway branched into an intake passage extending to the suction duct  75  side and an intake passage extending to the suction duct  84   a  side. A negative-pressure sensor  87  is provided in the suction duct  84   a  to measure a negative pressure in the interior of the suction duct  84   a . In addition, in the relationship between the intake area of the suction duct  84   a  in the auxiliary suction means  84  and the intake area of the suction duct  75  in the vacuum suction means  68 , the intake area of the suction duct  84   a  in the auxiliary suction means  84  is set to be larger than the intake area of the suction duct  75  in the vacuum suction means  68 . Still additionally, the auxiliary contact surface  80  is not arranged in a linear relation to the belt contact surface  67   a  of the separating/supplying belt  67 , but the lower side thereof somewhat protrudes toward the depositing section  11  side, and the contact surface  67   a  and the auxiliary contact surface  80  are disposed in a generally doglegged condition. Moreover, as shown in detail in FIGS. 24 to  26 , a net  82  with an air permeability is placed in front of the auxiliary contact surface  80  to cover the front surface thereof, and a U-shaped frame  83  is placed outside. This frame  83  forms an irregular portion outside the auxiliary contact surface  80 , and the frame  83  makes a convexity while the internal area surrounded by the frame  83  makes a concavity. The lower end portion of the frame  83  is set not to reach a lower portion  83   a  of the auxiliary contact surface  80 . 
     When the paper leaf  10  arrives at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , a lower end portion of the paper leaf  10  is vacuum-sucked by the suction duct  84   a  and is attracted to adhere onto the auxiliary contact surface  80 , which covers the intake opening of the suction duct  84   a . Due to this attraction, the lower end portion thereof is bent as shown in FIGS. 24 to  26 . FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view showing an essential construction, and showing a state in which a lower end portion of the paper leaf  10  is attracted by the auxiliary contact surface  80 , FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow line B—B of FIG. 24, and FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow line C—C of FIG.  24 . In FIGS. 24 to  26 , since the frame  83  forms convex portions at the both end portions and upper portion of the auxiliary contact surface  80 , the central portion of the paper leaf  10  protrudes to the auxiliary contact surface  80  side and both the end portions of the paper leaf  10  protrude to the succeeding paper leaves  10  side, which forms a horizontal cross-section bent into a generally arch-like configuration to produce a warp. In this case, since the frame  83  is not placed at a lower end portion  80   a  of the auxiliary surface  80  to form a plane, the lowermost portion of the paper leaf  10  forms a flat portion  10   a.  If the flat portion  10   a  is made under the arched portion, a gap  88  established with respect to the succeeding paper leaf  10  is prolonged, and air for peeling, which will be described later, is given to this gap  88 . Accordingly, in the structure of the auxiliary contact surface  80  thus made, when the lower end portion of the paper leaf  10  conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  is suction-adhered to the auxiliary contact surface  80  to be warped, even if the succeeding paper leaf  10  is conveyed in an overlapping condition, the warping produces a flipping effect for the peeling and forms the gap  88  (see FIGS. 25 and 26) with respect to the succeeding paper leaf  10 , thus preventing the adhesion between the preceding paper leaf  10  and the succeeding paper leaf  10 . At the same time, since, at a portion  96  (see FIGS. 26 and 30) between the auxiliary contact surface  80  and the belt contact surface  67  of the separating/supplying belt  67 , an angle is made to form a doglegged configuration, the paper leaf  10  suction-adhered to the auxiliary contact surface  80  is bent between the auxiliary contact surface  80  and the belt contact surface  67 , and as illustratively shown in FIGS. 25 and 30, this bent portion  96  also defines a gap with respect to the succeeding paper leaf  10 . 
     In addition, a blast duct  85  associated with the gap  88  is located under the gap  88  portion to jet air toward the gap  88 . The air from the blast duct  85  strikes on the gap  88  from the under to positively make the separation between the paper leaves  10  and  10  so that the first paper leaf  10  is held and transferred by the separating/supplying belt  67 . Still additionally, since the aforesaid flat configuration is made at the lower end portion of the paper leaf  10  brought into contact with the auxiliary contact surface  80  to secure a large opening for accommodating air, the gap  88  can accept a large amount of air from the blast duct  85 , thus efficiently achieving the peeling of the succeeding paper leaf  10 . The blast duct  85  is connected through a valve  89  to an air blower  90 . 
     The paper-leaves detecting means  106  and the paper-leaves over-press detecting means  105  are located under the separation auxiliary device  64 . A contact  92  is placed to extend to the interior of the depositing section  11  in the paper-leaves conveying direction, and a paper-leaves sensor  93  for the paper-leaves detecting means  106  and an over-press sensor  94  for the paper-leaves over-press detecting means  105  are placed behind the contact  92 . In addition, a shade  92   a  for the paper-leaves sensor  93  and a shade  92   b  for the over-press sensor  94  are placed in a part of the contact  92 . When the paper leaf  10  is absent at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , the contact  92  protrudes a great deal to the interior of the depositing section  11 , and each of the shades  92   a  and  92   b  is positioned at a position separated from each of the paper-leaves sensor  93  and the over-press sensor  94 . When the paper leaf  10  is conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  by means of the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the contact  92  is pressed by that paper leaf  10  to retreat, and the shade  92   a  is first put in the interior of the paper-leaves sensor  93  so that the paper-leaves sensor  93  detects that the paper leaf  10  arrives at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . The paper-leaves sensor  93  forwards a detection signal to the paper-leaves detecting means  106  (see FIG.  28 ), thereby detecting the presence or absence of the paper leaf  10 . In addition, when the paper leaf  10  is transferred in a proper condition without being excessively pressed to the separating/supplying belt  67  side, the contact  92  is maintained in that state without further retreating. On the other hand, if the paper leaves  10  are conveyed successively in an overlapped condition and then stopped up, the contact  92  further retreats and the shade  92   a  advances to the interior of the over-press sensor  94  and, hence, the over-press sensor  94  detects the fact that the paper leaf  10  is in an excessively pressed condition, and sends a detection signal to the over-press detecting means  105  (see FIG.  28 ). Thus, the over-press detecting means  105  detects the over-press condition. 
     (A-9) Construction of Paper-Leaves Conveying Means Side 
     The paper-leaves conveying means  4  includes a driving system side conveying belt means  95   a  and an idler system side conveying belt means  95   b  placed to be adjacent to the belt contact surface  67   a  of the separating/supplying belt  67  and to be in opposed relation to each other. This paper-leaves conveying means  4  is made such that the paper leaves  10  fed vertically by the separating/supplying belt  67  are led to between the driving system side conveying belt means  95   a  and the idler system side conveying belt means  95   b  to be carried through the reading unit  2  to the partitioning/stacking units  3   a  side. 
     In addition, inside the conveying belt means  95   b , there is provided a thickness sensor  70  for the paper-leaves thickness detecting means  113  (see FIG.  28 ), which is for detecting the thickness of the paper leaf  10  fed by the separating/supplying belt  67  to pass between the conveying belt means  95   a  and  95   b . The thickness sensor  79  is of a reflection type, and is made to send, to the paper-leaves thickness detecting means  113 , a signal corresponding to a rising quantity of the belt of conveying belt means  95   b  when the paper leaf  10  passes between the conveying belt means  95   a  and  95   b . The paper-leaves thickness detecting means  113  detects the thickness of the paper leave  10  on the basis of the output information from the thickness sensor  79  and sends the thickness information to the system control section  100 . The system control section  100  calculates, on the basis of the information from the paper-leaves thickness detecting means  113 , an optimum speed to be taken in continuously sending the paper leaves  10  to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  by means of the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 , and performs feedback control on the basis of the calculation result. In this case, different gaps between the succeeding paper leaf  10  and the belt contact surface  67   a  take place at the paper-leaves feeding position  8  for when high-thickness paper leaves  10  are fed by the separating/supplying belt  67  and for when low-thickness paper leaves  10  are fed thereby. That is, among the paper leaves  10  being transferred, there are high-thickness paper leaves to low-thickness paper leaves. Accordingly, there is a need to execute the conveying speed control of the paper-leaves conveying means  12  for sending the paper leaves by a quantity corresponding to the thickness of the paper leaf  10 . If the paper-leaves conveying means  12  sends the paper leaves  10  at a given speed irrespective of the thickness information, it is required to uniformly send the paper leaves  10  at a conveying speed corresponding to the thinnest paper leaves  10 . However, in this case, when thick paper leaves are fed, a wasteful time, such as several seconds, is taken thereafter. For this reason, in order to enhance the mechanical handling ability, the thickness information is used for the control of the paper-leaves conveying means  12 . Thus, in the construction according to this embodiment, the thickness of the paper leaves  10  immediately after fed is detected to employ that thickness information for controlling the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , thus enhancing the mechanical handling ability. 
     (A-10) Circuit Arrangement 
     FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing the entire circuit arrangement of the paper-leaves conveying apparatus of the paper-leaves division system. In FIG. 28, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to  27  represent the same parts. In FIG. 28, the entire paper-leaves conveying apparatus is under control of the system control section (CPU)  100 , and to the system control section  100  there are connected the reading unit  2 , the paper-leaves partitioning section  3 , the paper-leaves conveying means  4 , the depositing section  11  and the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 . In addition, the motor  42  for driving the endless chain  21  in the depositing unit  11  is also connected through a motor drive control unit  101  to the system control section  100 , while the motor  51  for operating the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B is connected through a motor control unit  103  to the system control section  100 , and further, the motor  59  operative to drive the paper-leaves vibrating means  15  is connected through a motor drive control unit  104  to the system control section  100 . Still additionally, in the paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus  9 , the over-press sensor  94  is connected through the over-press detecting means  105  to the system control section  100 , the sensor  93  for detecting the presence or absence of the paper leaf  10  is connected through the paper-leaves detecting means  106  to the system control section  100 , the vacuum pump  78  is connected through a vacuum pump control means  110  to the system control section  100 , the air blower  90  is connected through an air blower control means  111  to the system control section  100 , the thickness sensor  79  for detecting the thickness of the paper leaves  10  is connected through the paper-leaves thickness detecting means  113  to the system control section  100 , and the motor  71  operative to drive the separating/supplying belt  67  of the separating/supplying device  63  is connected through a motor drive control unit  114  to the system control section  100 . 
     (A-11) Essential Part Control Operation 
     FIGS. 29A and 29B are parts of a flow chart showing an operation of an essential part of the paper-leaves supplying section of the paper-leaves division system. Referring to the flow chart of FIGS. 29A and 29B, a description will be given hereinbelow of a paper-leaves supplying operation according to this embodiment. 
     Prior to the description of the operation, in the construction according to this embodiment, the suction source for the suction duct  75  (vacuum suction means  68 ) on the separating/supplying device  63  side and the suction source for the suction duct  84   a  (auxiliary suction means  84 ) on the separation auxiliary device  64  side are made using one supply source and the principle of the operation in this construction will first be described. 
     In this construction, the suction duct  75  and the suction duct  84   a  are halfway branched from the same suction source (vacuum pump  78 ), and when the openings of the suction duct  75  and the suction duct  84   a  appear, both the suction block internal pressures are in the balanced condition and equal to each other. Even though an environment variation occurs, for example, even if any one of them falls into the open or closed condition, although the internal pressures become different from before, they instantaneously return to the balanced condition, that is, become equal to each other. In addition, when the intake opening of any one of them is in an open condition, since a large amount of air is supplied for the vacuum attraction at that intake opening, the vacuum attraction effect is neutralized so that both are balanced at the smaller internal pressure value. This is called leak or atmospheric pressure release. 
     Accordingly, the operation to be taken from when the paper leaf  10  arrives at the paper-leaves feeding position  8  until the paper leaf  10  is fed through the separating/supplying belt  67  toward the paper-leaves conveying means  4  is as follows (1) to (4). The separating/supplying belt  67  of the separating/supplying device  63  is placed at a position (which will be referred to hereinafter as a “home position”) where the suction window  74  of the paper-leaves suction-holding member  67   b  separates from the front surface of the suction duct  75  and a portion of the separating/supplying belt  67  other than the suction window  75  closes the suction opening of the suction duct  75 , until the paper leaf  10  is detected by the paper-leaves detecting means  92  or the negative-pressure detecting means  109  at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . 
     (1) When the paper leaf  10  does not reach the paper-leaves feeding position  8  and the suction opening of the suction duct  75  is covered with the separating/supplying belt  67 , that is, the separating/supplying belt  67  is in the stand-by condition, since the suction duct  84   a  is open to the atmosphere, both the internal pressures are balanced at the smaller value. Therefore, an excessive load does not act on the vacuum pump  78  serving as the suction source. 
     (2) When the paper leaf  10  is conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  to come into contact with the auxiliary contact surface  80 , since the suction duct  75  and the suction duct  84   a  are in a hermetically sealed condition, both the internal pressures are balanced at the higher value. Following this, when the separating/supplying belt  67  is put in rotary motion so that the suction window  74  of the paper-leaves suction holding member  67  confronts the paper leaf  10  in front of the suction duct  75 , the paper leaf  10  is attracted by the suction window  74  to keep the covered condition of the front surface of the suction duct  75 . In this case, since the intake opening area of the suction duct  75  of the vacuum suction means  68  is set to be larger than the intake opening area of the suction duct  84   a  of the auxiliary suction means  84 , on the revolution of the separating/supplying belt  67 , the preceding paper leaf  10  is fed in a state adhered to the suction window  74  owing to a large attracting force generated by the vacuum suction means  68  (suction duct  75 ). ((attracting force=(suction opening internal pressure)×(suction opening area)) 
     (3) Since the preceding paper leaf  10  is fed in a state suction-adhered onto the separating/supplying belt  67  by the vacuum suction means  68  (suction duct  75 ), when the separation of a bundle of paper leaves  10  starts, the suction duct  84   a  of the auxiliary suction means  84  is released from the hermetically sealed condition, slight atmospheric pressure release occurs to reduce the internal pressure. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly conduct the operation that the preceding paper leaf  10  is released from the attraction by the auxiliary suction means  84 . 
     (4) The succeeding paper leaf  10  transferred by the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B of the paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B immediately after that is brought into contact with the auxiliary contact surface  80 . Therefore, the suction duct  75  and the suction duct  84   a  fall into the hermetically sealed condition and, hence, both the internal pressures thereof are balanced at the higher value. Accordingly, the succeeding paper leaf  10  suction-attracted through the suction duct  84   a  is held so as not to be not fed at an unstable timing, and the preceding paper leaf  10  is separated and fed with a large force. In other words, the paper-leaves feeding is achieved by substantially valve opening/closure control using the paper leaf  10  itself. 
     Furthermore, when a plurality of paper leaves  10  are deposited together in a bundle in the depositing section  11  of the paper-leaves supplying section  1 , they are subdivided and set between the partitioning arm device  19  and the partitioning arm device  19  in a stand-up condition and supported from both the sides by the arms ( 18   a ,  18   b  and  18   a ,  18   b ) of the partitioning arm devices  19 . When no paper leaf  10  is detected by the paper-leaves detecting means  92  or the negative-pressure detecting means  109  at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , each of the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , the conveying belt means  43   a ,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A,  44 B is operated at a higher speed than that in the ordinary state, and the paper leaves  10  deposited in the depositing section  11  undergo the vibrations by the paper-leaves vibrating means  15  to be put in order, and are conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  at the higher speed in the stand-up condition by means of the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A,  44 B. When the paper leaf  10  is conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position  8  at the higher speed and is detected by the paper-leaves detecting means  92  or the negative-pressure detecting means  109 , then the speed of the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , the conveying belt means  43   a ,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A,  44 B is synchronized with that of the paper-leaves feeding operation in the separating/supplying device  63 . 
     On the other hand, the separating/supplying belt  67  of the separating/supplying device  63 , as mentioned above, stays at the home position until the paper leaf  10  arrives at the paper-leaves feeding position  8  and is detected by the paper-leaves detecting means  92  (paper-leaves arrival detecting means  106 ) or the negative-pressure detecting means  109 , and a suction hole  75  is covered with the separating/supplying belt  67  of the separating/supplying device  63  in order to prevent the paper leaves from jumping to the suction hole  75  and being separated and fed. At this time, the output of the vacuum pump  78  is placed in a saving condition (low-speed operation). Thus, when the vacuum suction is not required actually, the output of the vacuum pump  78  is placed in the saving condition, thereby reducing unnecessary noise and the power consumption. At the same time, this can lengthen the life of the vacuum pump  78 . Accordingly, while the suction duct  75  is not required to conduct the suction operation, without lowering the suction force on the suction duct  84  side, it is possible to reduce the noise and avoid the waste on power consumption, and further to lengthen the life of the vacuum pump  78 . In addition, when the paper leaf  10  arrives at the paper-leaves feeding position  8  and is detected by the paper-leaves detecting means  92  (paper-leaves arrival detecting means  106 ), the vacuum pump  78  is released from the output saving condition to enter in the ordinary operation. In addition, the separating/supplying belt  67  is placed in rotary motion to separate and feed the paper leaves  10 . On the other hand, when it is detected by the negative-pressure detecting means  109 , since both the intake openings of the suction ducts  75  and  84   a  are already in the covered condition so that the internal pressures become high, the separating/supplying belt  67  is put in rotary motion to feed the paper leaves  10  in a state where the vacuum pump  78  is kept in the saving condition (low-speed operation). Moreover, even when both the intake opening of the suction duct  75  and the intake opening of the suction duct  85  are put in the covered condition, the internal pressures increase rapidly and the negative pressure detecting means  109  detects the negative pressure so that a decision is made that the paper leaf  10  has arrived at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , with the result that the vacuum pump  78  is released from the controlled output, and the separating/supplying belt  67  is put in the rotary motion to separate and feed the paper leaves  10 . 
     The control to be implemented thereafter involves handling (pattern A) to be taken for when the paper leaf  10  conveyed to the feeding position is detected by the paper-leaves detecting means  106 , handling (pattern B) to be conducted for when, although the paper leaf  10  is detected by the paper-leaves detecting means  106 , an over-press condition is detected by the paper-leaves over-press detecting means, and handling (pattern C) to be conducted for when, although the paper leaf  10  is not detected by the paper-leaves detecting means  106 , the negative-pressure sensor  87  indicates a negative pressure value exceeding a predetermined value and the negative-pressure detecting means  109  detects that negative pressure condition. The handling in these patterns A, B and C will be described hereinbelow. 
     (Pattern A) 
     When the paper leaf  10  arrives at the paper-leaves feeding position  8  and strikes on the contact  92 , the contact  92  is retracted so that the shade  92   a  enters the sensor  93 . At this time, the output information from the sensor  93  indicates the presence of the paper leaf  10  conveyed to the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . When the paper-leaves detecting means  106  detects the paper leaf  10 , the speed of conveyance by the paper-leaves conveying means  12 , the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A,  44 B is returned to the ordinary speed synchronized with the feeding operation of the paper leaves  10  by the separating/supplying belt  67 . Simultaneously, the vacuum pump  78  is released from the saving (limited) operation. In addition, the separating/supplying belt  67  is placed in rotary motion, and the paper leaves  10  are suction-held halfway by the paper-leaves suction-holding members  67   b  and are fed between the conveying belt means  95   a  and  95   b  of the paper-leaves conveying means  4 . While passing between the conveying belt means  95   a  and  95   b  of the paper-leaves conveying means  4 , the paper leaves  10  undergo the thickness detection on the basis of the output information from the paper-leaves thickness sensor  79 , and the system control section  100  corrects, on the basis of the thickness, the conveying speed of the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 , that is, the above-mentioned feedback control is implemented, thereby establishing the synchronization between the feeding by the separating/supplying belt  67  and the feeding by the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 . In this case, the feeding speeds of the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A and  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  are equal to each other, and are set to the feeding capability of the separating/supplying belt  67 . Incidentally, if the separating/supplying belt  67  fails to feed the paper leaves  10 , the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  are stopped, and the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B are reversed at a higher speed for a given period of time to once separate the paper leaf  10  from the belt contact surface  67   a , and then the feeding operation is again conducted by the separating/supplying belt  67 . If this feeding operation fails several times, an alarm is issued to an operator for necessary handling. 
     (Pattern B) 
     When the contact  92  is pressed excessively (more than necessary) by the paper leaf  10  at the paper-leaves feeding position  8  and the shade  92   b  enters the interior of the sensor  94 , the over-press detecting means  105  detects, on the basis of the output information from the sensor  94 , that the paper leaf  10  is pressed excessively at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 . Upon this detection, the system control section  100  conducts the feeding operation of the paper leaves  10  through the use of the separating/supplying belt  67  in a state where stopped are the feeding by the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the feeding by the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B. When the feeding of the paper leaves  10  by the separating/supplying belt  67  is accomplished successfully, as with the case of the pattern A, the paper leaves  10  are transferred between the conveying belt means  95   a  and  95   b  to be conveyed to the downstream side while the thickness thereof is detected by the paper-leaves thickness sensor  79  on the way. On the other hand, if the feeding operation of the paper leaves  10  by the separating/supplying belt  67  fails, the higher-speed reverse revolution of the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B is made for a given period of time in a state where stopped are the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16 , in order to once separate the paper leaf  10  from the belt contact surface  67   a , and then the feeding operation by the separating/supplying belt  67  is again conducted. If this feeding operation fails several times, an alarm is issued to the operator for necessary handling. 
     (Pattern C) 
     In a case in which, although the paper leaf  10  arrives at the paper-leaves feeding position  8 , the paper leaf  10  somewhat shifts so that the paper-leaves detecting means  106  cannot detect the paper leaf  10  because it does not strike against the contact  92  but the paper leaf  10  comes into contact with the auxiliary contact surface  80 , the negative pressure in the interior of the suction duct  84   a  of the separation auxiliary device  64  exceeds a specified value. For this reason, when the negative pressure detected by the negative pressure sensor  87  is below the specified value, a decision is made that the paper leaf  10  does not arrive at the paper-leaves feeding position  8  yet, and the separating/supplying belt  67  and the vacuum pump  78  are placed in the stand-by condition. On the other hand, when the negative pressure exceeds the specified value, a decision is made that the paper leaf  10  exists thereat. Upon this decision, the feeding is conducted by the separating/supplying belt  67  in a state where stopped are the feeding by the paper-leaves conveying means  12  and the conveying belt means  43 A,  43 B of the second paper-leaves conveying means  16  and the feeding by the auxiliary conveying belt means  44 A and  44 B. Following this, as in the case of the pattern A, the paper leaf  10  is sent between the conveying belt means  95   a  and  95   b  and further conveyed to the downstream side while the thickness thereof is measured by the paper-leaves thickness sensor  79  on the way. The other operation is the same as that in the pattern A. 
     As described above, in accordance with the present invention, a belt surface of a separating/supplying belt is provided in a state perpendicular to a traveling plane of a plurality of paper leaves set together and conveyed in a stand-up condition or in a state inclined toward the paper leaves conveyed, and the paper leaves, conveyed as far as a position at which they come into contact with the belt surface, are taken up by one by vacuum suction on the belt surface side so that the paper leaf adheres onto the belt surface, and the one paper leaf taken up is fed toward the downstream side in accordance with the rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt. Thus, the preceding paper leaf coming previously into contact with the belt surface is attracted and held on the separating/supplying belt in a state parallel with or inclined toward the succeeding paper leaf and then fed in accordance with the rotary motion of the separating/supplying belt. Accordingly, the weight of the succeeding paper leaf hardly fall on the preceding paper leaf when the preceding paper leaf is fed to the downstream side; therefore, it is possible to provide a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus which is capable of minimizing the contact pressure between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf to achieve smooth feeding thereof. In addition, it is possible to prevent the succeeding paper leaf from being dragged by the preceding paper leaf to be disarranged in posture, which assures that the paper leaves are conveyed with accuracy without the occurrence of troubles. 
     In addition, as described above, in a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus according to the present invention, under a separating/supplying means for holding a plurality of paper leaves, set together and conveyed up to a position of a belt surface of a separating/supplying belt in a stand-up condition, one by one on the belt surface of the separating/supplying belt, put in rotary motion, by means of vacuum suction, there are placed an auxiliary contact surface for receiving a lower end portion of each of the paper leaves conveyed thereto and a second vacuum suction means for vacuum-sucking the lower end portion of the paper leaf to the auxiliary contact surface. Accordingly, even though a mechanical paper-leaves arrival sensor fails to detect that the paper leaf has arrived at the position of the belt surface and outputs no signal representative of the arrival of the paper leaves, the negative pressure in the second vacuum suction means is measured and, when the measured negative pressure exceeds a specified value, a decision is made to the arrival of the paper leaf on the basis of the measured negative pressure to implement the paper-leaves feeding operation by the separating/supplying means. Owing this construction and control, it is possible to provide a paper-leaves separating/supplying apparatus capable of detecting the paper leaves conveyed to the feeding position with higher accuracy than that of the conventional apparatus, and of continuously feeding the paper leaves properly and promptly. 
     Still additionally, according to the present invention, as described above, since the preceding paper leaf arriving previously at the paper-leaves feeding position is warped into an arch-like configuration so that both end portions thereof protrude toward the succeeding paper leaf, when the succeeding paper leaf is conveyed in a state brought into contact with the preceding paper leaf, this warping flips or pushes the succeeding paper leaf to set up the separation between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf, thus achieving regular conveyance of the paper leaves without the occurrence of overlap transportation. 
     Moreover, when air is supplied to the arched paper leaf from the under at the paper-leaves feeding position to set up the separation with respect to the succeeding paper leaf, the air supply more positively makes the separation between the preceding paper leaf and the succeeding paper leaf in cooperation with the protrusion of both the end portions of the preceding paper leaf. 
     It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the embodiments of the invention herein which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.