PAPER SHEET DIVIDING MECHANISM, PAPER SHEET HANDLING DEVICE, AND PAPER SHEET DIVIDING METHOD

摘要

A dividing mechanism (15) capable of dividing banknotes into a large number of directions and also capable of dividing banknotes at high speed. A dividing member (21) pivots to at least three stop positions that are a first stop position where a first conveyance path (11) and a second conveyance path (12) are interconnected to form a first conveyance route, a second stop position where the first conveyance path (11) and a third conveyance path (13) are interconnected to form a second conveyance route, and a third stop position where the conveyance paths other than the first conveyance path (11) are interconnected to form a third conveyance route. The speed of pivoting of the dividing member (21) between the first stop position and the second stop position is lower than its speed of pivoting between the first stop position and the third stop position and than its speed of pivoting between the second stop position and the third stop position. The dividing member (21) enables banknotes conveyed from the first conveyance path (11) to be divided and introduced into the second conveyance path (12) and the third conveyance path (13) at a high speed.