Patent 7611144 was granted and assigned to Komori on November, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A sheet guide device has: a delivery chain for holding and transporting a sheet; first and second piles for piling the sheets transported by the delivery chain; a sheet release mechanism for switching between a first state, where the sheet held by the delivery chain is delivered to the first pile, and a second state, where the sheet held by the delivery chain is passed above the first pile and transported downstream in a sheet transport direction; and a guide rail which, in the second state, stretches out to above the first pile by an air cylinder to guide the sheet being passed. A wire moving between a guide position, where the wire guides the sheet between the first and second piles, and a retreat position, where the wire has receded from the guide position, is included. In the second state, the wire has moved to the guide position.