Patent ID: 6966966

Claim:
A protective sheet peeling device which separates a protective sheet which is superposed with a sheet, the device comprising: a conveying mechanism conveying the sheet and the protective sheet, which is superposed with one surface of the sheet, in a superposed state in a predetermined conveying direction along a predetermined path; a free roller disposed so as to be freely rotatable at a downstream side, in the conveying direction, of the conveying mechanism, the free roller thereby curving conveying of the sheet and the protective sheet toward a protective sheet side; and a displacement roller provided at a downstream side, in the conveying direction, of the free roller at a side of the predetermined path which side corresponds to the protective sheet which is being conveyed, and movable between a position at which a surface of the displacement roller reaches the path and a position at which the surface of the displacement roller is withdrawn from the path, and rotating in a direction opposite to the conveying direction, wherein, after a leading end of at least one of the sheet and the protective sheet passes by the free roller, the displacement roller is moved to the position at which the surface of the displacement roller reaches the path, and the sheet and the protective sheet are partly curved along the free roller, and the protective sheet is thereby peeled off from the sheet.