Exit roller shield for duplex printing

Abstract

In a reproduction apparatus outputting copy sheets via exit rollers to be stacked in an adjacent stacking tray, which exit rollers are also reversible to feed a selected copy sheet still in the nip back into the reproduction apparatus to be further processed, the previously outputted and stacking copy sheets are prevented from being recaptured by these reversed rotation exit rollers, by automatically interposing a one-way gate or trap and baffle between the stacking copy sheets and the exit rollers, to prevent accidental reacquisition of those sheets into the reversed rollers, but which gate or trap is automatically deflected out of the way of a sheet being outputted from the nip of the exit rollers by the outputted sheet itself, without requiring any other actuating mechanism. Preferably this is a deflectable portion of a unitary shield member, with a sheet edge catching lip on top thereof positioned and adapted to ride against the bottom of the selected sheet being reverse fed, to catch the edge of, and deflect into an integral concave sheet edge trap, any other sheet being dragged back with the selected sheet towards the nip of the rollers. Preferably an arcuate baffle portion also extends outside of the periphery of the bottom exit roller, which may also be so deflectable.