Patent ID: 7380786

Claim:
A recording medium alignment apparatus, comprising: an ejector that ejects a transported recording medium; a loading device that loads the recording medium ejected by the ejector; an aligning device that aligns the recording medium loaded on the loading device by contacting end faces of the recording medium substantially parallel with a direction of ejection of the recording medium by the ejector to sandwich the end faces; a sorting device that sorts the recording medium by moving the loading device by a predetermined distance in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the ejection of the recording medium by the ejector; a returning device including a rotating body that aligns the recording medium by moving the recording medium against an end surface positioned substantially perpendicular to the direction of the ejection and provided at an alignment position; and a controller that variably controls a speed of the ejection of the recording medium by the ejector such that an interspace between the recording medium and the subsequent recording medium to be ejected is correlated to an operating time required for treatment by the sorting device, the returning device and aligning device.