Patent ID: 8417164

Claim:
A transfer device, comprising: a plurality of rollers including at least two support rollers and a backup roller; a rotatable intermediate transfer belt wound around and stretched between the plurality of the rollers; a transfer member disposed in an inner loop of the intermediate transfer belt and facing an image bearing member of an image forming apparatus within which the transfer device is installed, the image bearing member disposed at an outer circumference of the intermediate transfer belt, to transfer an image formed on a surface of the image bearing member when contacting the intermediate transfer belt; and a position adjuster to adjust a position of the intermediate transfer belt at a plurality of positions relative to the image bearing member, the position adjuster including a support member that rotatably supports the transfer member and the backup roller, with the backup roller moving in conjunction with the transfer member when the support member moves to adjust the position of the intermediate transfer belt relative to the image bearing member, the plurality of positions including a contact state in which the intermediate transfer belt having a first predetermined tension contacts the image bearing member, a first separation state in which the intermediate transfer belt having a second predetermined tension separates from the image bearing member, and a second separation state in which the intermediate transfer belt separates further away from the image bearing member than in the first separation state, wherein, in the first separation state, transfer processing is in a standby state or a lubricating agent is automatically applied to the intermediate transfer belt.