IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND SHEET STRAIGHTENING DEVICE USED THEREFOR

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively straighten curl while surely avoiding failure associated with mechanical straightening of the curl, that is, a defect in traveling property relative to a sheet such as cardboard and damage to a sheet and an image. SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a fixing device 1 for fixing the image G on the sheet 2 by utilizing at least heat, and the sheet straightening device 3 provided on the downstream side of the fixing device 1 in a sheet conveying direction and straightening the curl of the sheet 2. The sheet straightening device 3 is equipped with a suction means 4 sucking air from the vicinity of one side of the sheet 2 on which the image has been fixed by the fixing device 1 or equipped with a first suction means 5 sucking air from the vicinity of one side of the sheet 2 on which the image has been fixed by the fixing device 1 and a second suction means 6 sucking air from the vicinity of the other side of the sheet 2 on which the image has been fixed by the fixing device 1. COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT