Patent ID: 7480470

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image bearing member; toner image forming means for forming a toner image on said image bearing member; an intermediate transferring member that bears a toner image transferred from said image bearing member, said intermediate transferring member being capable of bearing a toner image for detection formed by said toner image forming means, the toner image for detection not being transferred onto a recording material; a detecting member for detecting the toner image for detection formed on said intermediate transferring member; control means for controlling an image forming condition of the toner image of said toner image forming means based on an output of said detecting member; a rotatable transfer member for transferring the toner image on said intermediate transferring member to the recording material, said transfer member contacting the toner image for detection formed on said intermediate transferring member; a rotatable collecting member that contacts said transfer member and collects toner on said transfer member; and a removing member that contacts said collecting member at a contact portion to remove the toner on said collecting member at the contact portion, wherein toner in a first contact area of said transfer member in which a first toner image for detection on said intermediate transferring member contacts said transfer member is collected in a second contact area of said collecting member which contacts the first contact area, and wherein the second contact area overlaps a contact area on said transfer member which previously contacted a second toner image for detection formed on said intermediate transferring member after the first toner image for detection on said intermediate transferring member after the second area at least twice passes through the contact portion.