Patent ID: 11768451

Abstract:
A belt drive device includes a drive unit, a detection unit, a blade, and a control unit. The drive unit rotates an endless belt. The detection unit detects a position of a connection portion in which both ends of a reinforcing tape, which is provided on an outer surface of an edge of the belt in a width direction orthogonal to a rotation direction of the belt, in a longitudinal direction along the edge of the belt are overlapped and connected. The blade comes into contact with an outer surface of the belt and an outer surface of the reinforcing tape and is provided to extend in the width direction. The control unit controls driving of the drive unit based on a detection result obtained by the detection unit such that when the drive unit rotates the belt by a constant length in a reverse direction from one end of the reinforcing tape overlapped inside toward the other end of the reinforcing tape overlapped outside at the connection portion from a state in which the belt is stopped, the drive unit rotates the belt in a forward direction to a rotation position where the other end of the reinforcing tape does not come into contact with the blade by a reverse rotation and stops the belt before the belt is reversely rotated.