Patent ID: 8190052

Claim:
An intermediate transfer body comprising: an endless intermediate transfer belt rotatably disposed by being supported around a plurality of supporting rollers with tension, the endless intermediate transfer belt bearing and transporting an toner image in an outer peripheral surface thereof, the endless intermediate transfer belt including: a base material, an elastic layer formed on a surface of the base material, and a plurality of projecting portions projecting outwardly from a surface of the elastic layer, provided in a rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt, the plurality of projecting portions each extending from a widthwise end to another widthwise end of the intermediate transfer belt so as to have a predetermined angle with respect to the width direction, the projecting portions each having a minimum projection height of 2.0 μm or more, and a maximum projection height of 6.0 μm or less, a minimum top face width of 2.0 μm or more, and a maximum top face width of 6.0 μm or less; and a belt cleaning section which removes a residual toner remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt after transferring the toner image to a recording medium, the belt cleaning section including: a cleaning blade formed of a plate-like elastic member, having an abutting side which is a straight end side abutting on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt, and removing a residual toner by abutting on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt, the cleaning blade being provided so as to be parallel to the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and a side length of the abutting side being longer than a width of the elastic layer in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and a housing which supports end sides other than the abutting side of the cleaning blade and contains a residual toner removed by the cleaning blade.