Patent ID: 7052009

Claim:
A sheet deceleration apparatus for reducing the speed of a sheet of material moving along a travel path at a first speed, said apparatus comprising: a first rotatable roller being rotatable about a first axis, said first axis being substantially perpendicular to the travel path and said first roller being positioned on one side of the travel path; a second rotatable roller being rotatable about a second axis, said second axis being substantially perpendicular to the travel path and said second roller being positioned on the other side of the travel path and spaced from said first roller so that the sheet of material can pass between said first and second rollers wherein one of said first and second rollers is driven and the other of said first and second rollers is not driven; at least one of said first and second rollers being moveable relative to and toward the other of said first and second rollers to nip the sheet between said first and second rollers during at least a portion of the travel of the sheet past said first and second rollers wherein said at least one roller is moveable between a retracted position in which said at least one roller is sufficiently spaced from the other roller so as to not nip the sheet of material and an extended position in which said at least one roller is moved toward the other roller a distance sufficient to nip the sheet of material; and a drive mechanism comprising a servo drive for moving said at least one roller from said retracted position to said extended position and for moving said at least one roller from said extended position to said retracted position.