Patent ID: 8636283

Claim:
A sheet transport apparatus for transporting a sheet along a transport path, comprising: a sheet transport mechanism having a plurality of transport rollers for transporting a sheet; and a jam clearing mechanism for removing the sheet when the sheet causes a transport failure and is jammed on the transport path, wherein the jam clearing mechanism has a jam clearing dial rotatable in two directions and a coupling device for transferring a rotation of the jam clearing dial to the transport rollers, and the coupling device is arranged not to transfer driving transmission between the jam clearing dial and the transport rollers at a time of transporting the sheet, and to transfer the driving transmission between the jam clearing dial and the transport rollers at a time of clearing a jam wherein the jam clearing mechanism has at least two coupling devices, each of the coupling devices including first and second coupling members connecting to and separating from each other, and a switching device to switch the coupling device between a state in which the jam clearing dial does not transfer the driving transmission to the transport rollers and a state in which the jam clearing dial transfers the driving transmission to the transport rollers, the switching device comprises a holder rotatably holding each of the first coupling members of the two coupling devices and a plurality of rotation transfer members that transfers rotation of the jam clearing dial to each of the first coupling members, the holder is arranged to be swingable about a rotating shaft of the jam clearing dial between a position in which each of the fast coupling members separates respectively from each of the second coupling members and a position in which each of the first coupling members is respectively coupled to each of the second coupling members, and the holder is structured to couple each of the first coupling members and the second coupling members at the time of transferring the sheet, and to separate each of the first coupling members and the second coupling members at the time of clearing the jam.