Patent ID: 7168698

Claim:
A sheet sucking/removing method for sucking an uppermost sheet among a plurality of stacked sheets, and separating the uppermost sheet from another sheet therebeneath, and removing the uppermost sheet, and conveying and supplying the uppermost sheet to a subsequent process, said method comprising: carrying out the sucking/removing by a suction device in a first negative pressure state in which a suction negative pressure of the suction device is a minimum pressure needed in order to suck and remove only the uppermost sheet; after the sucking/removing, carrying out the conveying/supplying by the suction device in a second negative pressure state in which the suction negative pressure of the suction device is a pressure needed for the conveying/supplying; and detecting the suction negative pressure of the suction device by a sensor, wherein setting of the suction negative pressure of the suction device in the first negative pressure state includes a step of opening to the atmosphere by operation of an electromagnetic valve, and setting of the suction negative pressure of the suction device in the second negative pressure state includes a step of controlling at least by the operation of the electromagnetic valve.