Patent ID: 7959150

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a controller; a media path operatively connected to said controller, said media path feeding sheets in a process direction; a laterally movable sheet registration carriage positioned within said media path and being operatively connected to said controller, said sheet registration carriage being movable in a lateral direction perpendicular to said process direction; said sheet registration carriage aligning said sheets to a predetermined lateral position within said media path by simultaneously unevenly activating nips within said sheet registration carriage and moving said sheet registration carriage in said lateral direction, when said sheet is within said sheet registration carriage, said controller determines a lateral movement distance said sheet registration carriage will move in said lateral direction during said aligning of said sheet; if said lateral movement distance exceeds a predetermined distance, said controller moves said sheet registration carriage toward a starting position after said nips have released said sheet, but before said sheet has passed by said nips; and if said lateral movement distance does not exceed said predetermined distance, said controller delays moving said sheet registration carriage toward said starting position until after said sheet has passed by said nips.