Patent ID: 7448618
Filing Date: 2008-11-11
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
1. A sheet transport apparatus comprising: (a) a sheet supply section to supply one sheet at a time by the leading edge from a plurality of sheets whose leading edges are aligned; (b) a sheet transport section operatively connected to the sheet supply section for transporting the sheets supplied from the sheet supply section; (c) a first eject tray into which the sheets are ejected by the sheet transport section after the sheets transported by the sheet transport section are subjected to predetermined processing; and (d) a detecting section for detecting on an occasion of the transporting of the sheets, whether or not the sheets have different sheet lengths in a sheet transporting direction, wherein the first eject tray is located in such a manner that front and back surfaces of the sheets being ejected are not reversed after the sheets are subjected to the predetermined processing and an order of the sheets is retained from when the sheets were placed on the sheet supply section, wherein the first eject tray includes a first eject tray operation section for aligning the leading edges of the sheets ejected to the first eject tray by changing a positional relation in a vertical direction between an upstream side and a downstream side of the first eject tray in the sheet transporting direction, wherein the first eject tray operation section moves the first eject tray either to (i) a first set position where the downstream side of the first eject tray in the sheet transporting direction is higher than the upstream side of the first eject tray in the sheet transporting direction or (ii) a second set position where the downstream side of the first eject tray in the sheet transporting direction is lower than the upstream side of the first eject tray in the sheet transporting direction, and wherein when the detecting section detects that the sheets have different sheet lengths, the first eject tray operation section sets the first eject tray to the second set position so that the leading edges of the sheets ejected to the first eject tray are aligned at the downstream side of the first eject tray in the sheet transporting direction, and when the detecting section does not detect that the sheets have different sheet lengths, the first eject tray operation section sets the first eject tray to the first set position so that trailing edges of the sheets ejected to the first eject tray are aligned at the upstream side of the first eject tray in the sheet transporting direction.