Patent ID: 8336870

Claim:
A separation and extraction apparatus comprising: a support unit configured to support a stack of paper sheets stacked in a stacking direction, the stack having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a plurality of side surfaces extending in the stacking direction; an extraction unit configured to extract one or more paper sheets from the stack and convey the one or more paper sheets; a separation unit configured to separate one paper sheet from the other paper sheet or paper sheets of the one or more paper sheets; an air supply mechanism configured to supply air toward a first surface selected from the side surfaces; a detector configured to detect a bundle state of the stack, the bundle state being related to a contact state between the paper sheets; and a controller configured to set an extraction condition depending on the bundle state, the extraction condition including a drive condition for the extraction unit, a drive condition for the separation unit, and a drive condition for the air supply mechanism.