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AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsPaul N. Richards, Lawrence R. Benedict, Brian R. Ford, David A. D'Angelantonio
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A sheet handling system for a sheet transport path of a reproduction apparatus having a sheet skew correction system being fed image substrate sheets in the process direction by a sheet transport system, wherein it is desired to positively feed and yet effectively deskew a wide range of different lengths of sheets in the process direction. A plurality of identical but independent sheet transport units may be provided spaced along the sheet transport path in the process direction engageable with a sheet being fed through sheet transport path for positively feeding even very short sheets from one sheet transport unit to another and to the skew correction system. Yet these sheet transport units provide independently automatically disengageable nips for automatically releasing even a very long sheet from any unit when that long sheet is in the skew correction system. A different selected number of the sheet transport units are disengaged in response to a different sheet length control signal. A single stepper motor rotating a common camshaft in each unit may be used to reliably lift all the idlers of all the nips to be disengaged.
In a sheet handling method for correcting the skew of sequential image substrate sheets to be moved downstream in a process direction in a sheet transport path for a reproduction apparatus, in which selected said image substrate sheets are deskewed by being partially rotated by a sheet deskewing system, the improvement for increasing the operative range of effective deskewing of image substrate sheets of different lengths in said process direction, from a preset short sheet length to a very much greater sheet length, comprising:
In a sheet handling system for a sheet transport path of a reproduction apparatus, said sheet transport path having a sheet transport system and a skew correction system for deskewing image substrate sheets moving in a process direction in said sheet transport path by partially rotating selected said sheets for said deskewing thereof, said skew correction system being fed said sheets in said process direction by said sheet transport system in said sheet transport path, and wherein said image substrate sheets have a range of different sheet lengths in said process direction, the improvement in said sheet handling system for increasing said range of different sheet lengths which can be effectively deskewed by said skew correction system wherein:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.