Sheet ejection apparatus with gap setting unit according to sheet thickness

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a sheet ejection apparatus includes an ejection unit, a thickness detection unit, a thickness storage unit, a sheet detection unit, an acquisition unit, a setting unit, and an adjustment unit. The ejection unit ejects a sheet. The thickness detection unit measures a thickness of the sheet. The thickness storage unit stores thickness information. The acquisition unit acquires a thickness of a preceding sheet. The setting unit sets a gap between the preceding sheet and the sheet in accordance with the thickness of the preceding sheet. The adjustment unit adjusts timing for supplying the sheet to a conveyance path in accordance with the gap.

1 . A sheet ejection apparatus comprising:
 an ejection unit which ejects a sheet to be delivered to a conveyance unit;   a thickness detection unit which measures a thickness of the sheet ejected by the ejection unit;   a thickness storage unit which stores thickness information detected by the thickness detection unit;   a sheet detection unit which detects the sheet ejected by the ejection unit;   an acquisition unit which acquires from the thickness storage unit a thickness of a preceding sheet delivered to the conveyance unit immediately before the sheet ejected by the ejection unit;   a setting unit which sets a gap between the preceding sheet and the sheet ejected by the ejection unit in accordance with the thickness of the preceding sheet acquired by the acquisition unit; and   an adjustment unit which adjusts timing for delivering the sheet detected by the sheet detection unit to the conveyance unit in accordance with the gap set by the setting unit, wherein   the thickness detection unit detects a thickness of the sheet before the sheet is delivered to the conveyance unit at the timing adjusted by the adjustment unit.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a setting storage unit which stores setting information indicating that the gap between the preceding sheet and a following sheet becomes wider as the thickness of the preceding sheet increases,
 wherein the setting unit sets the gap associated with the thickness of the preceding sheet based on the setting information stored in the setting storage unit.   
     
     
         3 - 9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the setting unit sets the gap between the preceding sheet and the sheet in accordance with a difference between the thickness of the preceding sheet acquired by the acquisition unit and the thickness of the sheet detected by the thickness detection unit.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus according to  claim 10 , further comprising a setting storage unit which stores setting information indicating that the gap between the preceding sheet and a following sheet becomes wider as the thickness of the preceding sheet increase,
 wherein the setting unit sets the gap associated with the difference between the thickness of the preceding sheet and the thickness of the sheet based on the setting information stored in the setting storage unit.   
     
     
         12 . A sheet processing apparatus which sequentially processes sheets, comprising:
 a supply unit in which the sheets as processing targets are set;   an ejection unit which ejects the sheets from the supply unit one by one;   a thickness detection unit which measures a thickness of each sheet ejected by the ejection unit;   a thickness storage unit which stores thickness information detected by the thickness detection unit;   a sheet detection unit which detects a leading end of the sheet ejected by the ejection unit;   an acquisition unit which acquires from the thickness storage unit thickness information of a preceding sheet ejected immediately before the sheet ejected by the ejection unit;   a setting unit which sets a gap between the preceding sheet and the sheet having the leading end detected by the sheet detection unit in accordance with the thickness of the preceding sheet acquired from the acquisition unit;   an adjustment unit which adjusts timing for delivering the sheet having the leading end detected by the sheet detection unit in accordance with the gap set by the setting unit;   a conveyance unit which conveys the sheet delivered at the timing adjusted by the adjustment unit; and   a processing unit which sequentially processes the sheet conveyed along the conveyance unit,   wherein the thickness detection unit detects a thickness of the sheet before the sheet is delivered at the timing adjusted by the adjustment unit.