Patent ID: 7593662

Claim:
An image-forming device comprising: a casing that has a wall formed with an air inlet port and defines an inner space, the air inlet port having a top end portion and a bottom end portion; a driving roller that is provided in the casing and defines an axial direction; a conveying belt that is movably supported on the driving roller and is configured to convey a recording sheet in a sheet conveying direction perpendicular to the axial direction; a photosensitive unit that is provided above the conveying belt and has at least one photosensitive drum configured to form a developer image to be transferred onto the recording sheet on the conveying belt, the photosensitive unit being configured to form a predetermined pattern on the conveying belt; a fixing unit that is disposed to receive the recording sheet conveyed by the conveying belt and is configured to fix the developer image on the recording sheet by heat, the fixing unit having a top edge portion and a bottom edge portion; a reading unit that is provided adjacent to the driving roller and is configured to read the predetermined pattern formed on the conveying belt; a fan that is provided in an upper section of the inner space separated from a lower section of the inner space by an upper part of the conveying belt moving toward the fixing unit, the fan configured to transfer air from inside the casing to outside thereof; and a first partition wall that is located in the upper section of the inner space, the fan being provided on one side of the first partition wall and the fixing unit being provided on another side thereof, the first partition wall having a bottom end, wherein the bottom end of the first partition wall is positioned below the top edge portion of the fixing unit and above the upper part of the conveying belt, and the air inlet port is vertically in a lower position than the fan, and wherein the air inlet portion is configured to direct air below the bottom edge portion of the fixing unit toward the reading unit.