Patent ID: 8639136

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrying belt, movable along an endless path, for carrying a toner image; a first driver for rotating said image carrying belt along the endless path; an image forming station for forming a toner image on said image carrying belt; a sheet feeding belt, movable along an endless path, for feeding a sheet; a transfer member for transferring the toner image from said image carrying belt onto the sheet fed on said sheet feeding belt; a second driver for rotating said sheet feeding belt along the endless path; and a controller for controlling a moving speed of said image carrying belt and a moving speed of said sheet feeding belt, wherein said controller is capable of controlling a relative speed between said image carrying belt and said sheet feeding belt at a plurality of levels, wherein said image forming station forms a first toner pattern on said image carrying belt in a state that the relative speed is at a first level, and forms a second toner pattern on said image carrying belt in a state that the relative speed is at a second level which is different from the first level, and wherein said transfer member transfers the first toner pattern and the second toner pattern onto the sheet carried on said sheet feeding belt.