Patent ID: 8226084

Claim:
A sheet-conveying device for feeding a sheet of paper, comprising: first and second conveyance guides that define a sheet conveyance path, each having a conveying member designed to feed the sheet, the first conveyance guide includes a blower opening facing the sheet conveyance path for blowing air into the sheet conveyance path; an exhaust opening provided on a downstream side in a sheet feeding direction with respect to the blower opening for removing air that has been blown into the sheet conveyance path and discharging it outside the device; a ventilation opening provided between the blower opening and the exhaust opening in the sheet feeding direction; a blower duct designed to feed air through the blower opening into the sheet conveyance path, having a sloping wall that changes the flow of air such that air fed through the blower opening toward the sheet conveyance path flows from the upstream side toward the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction; and an exhaust duct designed to remove the air in the sheet conveyance path through the exhaust opening and discharge the air outside of the device, having a sloping wall that changes the flow of air such that air fed from the upstream side toward the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction through the sheet conveyance path is drawn into the exhaust duct from the sheet conveyance path through the exhaust opening.