Image forming apparatus with an intermediate transfer body including reference markers for controlling the same

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of image forming sections each including a respective image carrier for forming a toner image on said respective image carrier, a respective optical writing device for optically writing a latent image on said respective image carrier, at least two developing devices each for developing the latent image with toner of particular color, and switching means for selecting one of said two developing devices;
• an intermediate image transfer body to which the toner image is transferred;
• a transferring device for transferring a composite toner image from said intermediate transfer body to a sheet-like recording medium;
• storing means for storing a frequency of use of each of a plurality of regions of said intermediate transfer body;
• and
• selecting means for selecting, in accordance with frequencies of use stored in said storing means, a transfer start position where a transfer of the toner image to said intermediate transfer body should start.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an intermediate transfer belt configured to be driven over rollers and provided with a plurality of reference markers;
• and
• a controller configured to start a new image forming operation upon sensing one of said plurality of markers after a prior image forming operation has been completed,
• wherein said intermediate transfer belt is driven from a first stand-by state position to a second stand-by state position when a stand-by state continues longer than a preselected time period.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an intermediate transfer belt configured to be driven over rollers and provided with a plurality of reference markers;
• a controller configured to start a new image forming operation upon sensing one of said plurality of markers after a prior image forming operation has been completed;
• and
• first and second image forming devices arranged along said intermediate transfer belt at a preselected distance from each other, wherein said first and second image forming devices each comprise a respective image carrier and respective developing device configured to develop latent images sequentially formed on said respective image carrier with developers of at least two colors and said markers are spaced from each other by a same distance as said first and second image forming devices,
• whereby toner images of at least three primary colors are sequentially transferred to said intermediate transfer body one above the other to form a color image.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an image forming section configured to form a toner image on an image carrier;
• an intermediate transfer belt passed over rollers and to which the toner image is transferred from said image carrier;
• and
• a transferring device configured to transfer the toner image from said intermediate transfer belt to a sheet-like recording medium;
• said intermediate transfer belt stopping a movement and entering a stand-by state upon ending a preselected image forming job;
• wherein every time a preselected period of time elapses, said intermediate transfer belt is driven and then stopped at a position shifted from a previous stand-by position to thereby enter the stand-by state.

A method of forming a toner image on a sheet-like recording medium, comprising the steps of:

• forming said toner image on an image carrier,
• transferring said toner image to a rotatable intermediate transfer belt passed over rollers, and
• transferring said toner image from said intermediate transfer belt to said recording medium,
• wherein a plurality of markers are provided over an entire circumference of said intermediate transfer belt at preselected intervals, and when a movement of said intermediate transfer belt is stopped upon ending a preselected image forming operation and said movement is stopped at a same marker used as a reference at an ending time of a previous image forming operation, said movement is stopped by using a marker next to said reference marker.

A method of forming a toner image on a sheet-like recording medium comprising the steps of:

• forming said toner image on an image carrier,
• transferring said toner image to a rotatable intermediate transfer belt passed over rollers, and
• transferring said toner image from said intermediate transfer belt to said recording medium,
• wherein a plurality of markers are provided over an entire circumference of said intermediate belt at preselected intervals, said movement of said intermediate transfer belt is stopped by referencing a marker other then a marker used to reference an end of a previous image forming operation when a movement of said intermediate transfer belt is stopped upon ending a preselected image forming operation, and every time said intermediate transfer belt is held in a stand-by state longer than a preselected period of time, said intermediate transfer belt is driven and then subsequently brought to a stop using a marker situated next to the reference marker used to place the intermediate transfer belt into the stand-by state.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an image forming section configured to form a toner image on an image carrier;
• an intermediate transfer body to which the toner image is transferred from said image carrier;
• a transferring device configured to transfer the toner image from said intermediate transfer body to a sheet-like recording medium;
• a storage device configured to store a frequency of use of each of a plurality of regions of said intermediate transfer body;
• and
• a drum configured to select, in accordance with frequencies of use stored in said storage device, a transfer start position on said intermediate transfer body where a transfer of the toner image to said intermediate transfer body should start.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of image forming sections each including a respective image carrier configured to form a toner image on said respective image carrier, a respective optical writing device configured to write optically a latent image on said respective image carrier, at least two developing devices each configured to develop the latent image with toner of particular color, and switching device configured to select one of said two developing devices;
• an intermediate image transfer body to which the toner image is transferred;
• a transferring device configured to transfer a composite toner image from said intermediate transfer body to a sheet-like recording medium;
• a storage device configured to store a frequency of use of each of a plurality of regions of said intermediate transfer body;
• and
• a drum configured to select, in accordance with frequencies of use stored in said storing device, a transfer start position where a transfer of the toner image to said intermediate transfer body should start.