Patent ID: 8903286

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductor on which a developer image is formed; an intermediate transfer member arranged such that the developer image formed on the photoconductor is transferred thereto; a cleaning unit arranged to come into contact with the intermediate transfer member and to remove a developer residue; a cleaning unit drive device to move the cleaning unit away from the intermediate transfer member; a first position identification mark and a second position identification mark arranged in a rotation direction of the intermediate transfer member; a position sensing unit arranged on a movement path of the position identification marks to sense at least the first and second position identification marks during rotation of the intermediate transfer member; and a control unit to control the cleaning unit to move away from the intermediate transfer member in response to the first position identification mark being sensed and to form a developer image on the photoconductor and transfer the formed developer image to the intermediate transfer member in response to the second position identification mark being sensed, wherein a sensing time of the second position identification mark is a time when the cleaning unit is spaced apart from the intermediate transfer belt, and wherein the position sensing unit senses a predetermined number of the second position identification marks, such that the sensed first position identification mark is ignored so that the position sensing unit can sense the predetermined number of the second position identification marks.