Patent ID: 7159862

Claim:
A sheet delivery mechanism comprising: offset rollers rotatably supported for discharging a sheet in a sheet transport direction; a roller turning force generator for turning the offset rollers via a driving force transmission mechanism; an offset mechanism comprising a unitary structure rotatably supporting the offset rollers, the offset mechanism including a support structure, mounting means for rotatably mounting the offset rollers on the support structure in the form of opposing offset roller pairs that together define a sheet transport pathway, part of the driving force transmission mechanism, and drive means engaging said part of said transmission mechanism for positively driving opposing offset rollers of each offset roller pair in opposite directions so as to direct a sheet along said sheet transport pathway; and an offsetting force generator for shifting the offset mechanism along a direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction, the offsetting force generator being connected to the offset mechanism; wherein the offset mechanism is caused to move along the direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction without alteration of the engagement of said part of said transmission mechanism with said drive means when the offsetting force generator is operated.