Patent ID: 7194232

Claim:
An intermediate transfer device comprising: an intermediate transfer belt which is formed endlessly, supported by a plurality of belt support members, and is capable of circulating, with elasticity at least in a circulation direction; a cleaning member that comes in contact with a toner carrying surface of the intermediate transfer belt to remove a toner on the toner carrying surface of the intermediate transfer belt; and a cleaning member support mechanism movably supporting the cleaning member to make a cleaning surface of the cleaning member come in contact with or out of contact with the toner carrying surface, wherein the cleaning member is arranged so that a rear surface of the intermediate transfer belt at a contact position, at which the cleaning surface is brought into contact with the toner carrying surface by the cleaning member support mechanism, is at a position away from the belt support members so that there is an empty space directly on the rear surface side of the intermediate transfer belt at the contact position and a portion of the intermediate transfer belt bent by the cleaning member enters the empty space; and wherein a bending amount of the intermediate transfer belt is set smaller than a thickness of the intermediate transfer belt.