PURPOSE: To reduce both duplicate or multiple feeding and vacant feeding (a state wherein a paper sheet is not fed even when a paper feed roller is rotated) when the paper feed roller conveys stacked paper sheets one by one.

CONSTITUTION: Several sheets in an upper layer part of stacked paper sheets A are delivered onto a separating pad 5a by rotation of a paper feed roller 4. In order to prevent vacant feeding, a clearance between a protruding part 5d upstream of the separating pad 5a and the paper feed roller 4 is formed sufficiently wide for easy entrance of the paper sheet A. A protruding part 42 is provided at a position on a side of the separating pad 5a and apart in the axial direction from the paper feed roller 4 to form a protrusion and a recess along the axial direction. Accordingly, even when a large quantity of the paper sheets A are infiltrating between the paper feed roller 4 and the separating pad 5a, only an appropriate quantity of the paper sheets A which passed over the protruding part 42 are interposed between the two 4, 5a so that reliable paper sheet separating operation is performed between the them 4, 5a so as to prevent duplicate or multiple feeding.