Patent ID: 8235384

Claim:
A sheet-material transporting device comprising: a transporting belt configured to attract a sheet material and transport the sheet material along a transporting direction, the transporting belt including a plurality of electrodes arranged at predetermined intervals along the transporting direction, wherein the electrodes are sized and shaped extending in a direction intersecting the transporting direction; a pressing roller configured to press the sheet material against an attraction starting position of the transporting belt; a pair of rollers, disposed upstream of the pressing roller, that correct the skew of the sheet material; and a charging unit configured to apply a voltage to the electrodes, wherein the application of the voltage to the electrodes does not generate an attraction force, between the transporting belt and the sheet material, upstream of a nip of the pressing roller, wherein the sheet material is attracted to the transporting belt after the leading edge of the sheet material is pressed against the transporting belt by the pressing roller, and wherein a transport distance from the nip of the pressing roller to an uppermost stream end of the charging unit is equal to or larger than a width of each electrode.