Patent ID: 8971752
Filing Date: 2015-03-03
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. A belt device comprising: a belt that has an endless shape and sequentially passes through a plurality of image forming units, each of the image forming units including a transfer member and an image carrier as a pair, and the transfer member being movable in a direction in which the transfer member comes into contact with the belt and in a direction in which the transfer member is separated from the belt; a cleaning unit that cleans an outer periphery of the belt after the belt passes through all the image forming units; and a pressing member that is disposed between the cleaning unit and the image forming unit located on the most upstream side of the plurality of image forming units in a direction of rotation of the belt and that presses the outer periphery of the belt, wherein when the transfer member of at least one of the image forming units moves in the direction in which the transfer member is separated from the belt, the transfer member of a rest of the image forming units and the pressing member support the belt, wherein the at least one of the image forming units are the image forming units other than the image forming unit located on the most downstream side of the plurality of image forming units in a direction of rotation of the belt, wherein the rest of the image forming units is the image forming unit located on the most downstream side of the plurality of image forming units in a direction of rotation of the belt, and wherein, when the transfer member of the at least one of the image forming units is separated from the belt, a line extending through a rotation center of the image carriers of the image forming units other than the image forming unit located on the most downstream side is parallel to a portion of the belt that extends between the pressing member and the image forming unit located on the most downstream side.