Patent ID: 8855521

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming section including a photoreceptor, a charging section for charging the photoreceptor, an exposing section for exposing the photoreceptor charge by the charging section to form an electrostatic latent image, a developing section for developing the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image, an intermediate transfer body, a primary transfer section for transferring the toner image onto the intermediate transfer body, a secondary transfer section for transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer body onto a sheet of paper, and a photoreceptor cleaning section having a lubricant applying section for applying a lubricant onto the photoreceptor; a cleaning section for removing residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer body by bringing a cleaning blade into close contact with the intermediate transfer body, and a control section for controlling a rotation of the intermediate transfer body so as to carry out a return action of a blade configuration which stops or reverses the rotation of the intermediate transfer body when a rotation amount of the intermediate transfer body, which continuously rotates, reaches a first predetermined value, wherein the control section carries out the return action of the blade configuration when the rotation amount of the intermediate transfer body in a current printing job reaches a second predetermined value which is smaller than the first predetermined value, in a case where a plurality of previous printing jobs, which were carried out prior to the current printing job at work, is determined to be intermittent printing in which the developing section has a high stop rate during rotation of the intermediate transfer body; wherein the previous printing job is determined to be the intermittent printing or not, or the second predetermined value is set, based on a first rotated distance which is a total amount of distance in which the intermediate transfer body rotated in a plurality of previous printing jobs which fall under a range in which the rotation amount of the intermediate transfer body goes back by a predetermined amount from a job just before the current printing job, and a second rotated distance which is a total amount of distance in which the intermediate transfer body rotated during rotation of the developing section in the plurality of previous printing jobs which fall under a range in which the rotation amount of the intermediate transfer body goes back by a predetermined amount from a job just before the current printing job.