Patent ID: 7706712

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming mechanism configured to form a toner image on a recording sheet; a toner fixing mechanism configured to heat the toner image on the recording sheet for fixing; and a cooling mechanism configured to cool down the heated recording sheet having the fixed toner image, the cooling mechanism including a duct including first and second air flow structures, each including an air inlet, an air supply path, an air exhaust path, and an air outlet, in this order to take in air through the air inlet and to eject the air through the air outlet via the air supply path and the air exhaust path in each of the first and second air flow structures, a radiating fin arranged in the duct between the air supply path and the air exhaust path of each of the first and second air flow structures, and having a plurality of fins each radially extending in parallel to a flow of air in the duct, and a heat pipe having one side connected to the radiating fin and another side arranged in a vicinity to an exit of the toner fixing mechanism, and configured to rotate to draw heat from the heated recording sheet having the fixed toner image, wherein the first and second air flow structures are arranged reversely side by side such that the air inlet, the air supply path, the air exhaust path, and the air outlet of the first air flow structure are adjacent to the air outlet, the air exhaust path, the air supply path, and the air inlet of the second air flow structure, respectively, and such that a flow of air through each of the first and second air flow structures is directed forwards relative to a rotation of the radiating fin and in same direction as the rotation of the radiating fin.