Patent ID: 8385777

Claim:
A drive transmission mechanism comprising: a drive shaft; a rotational driving member having at least two first protrusions and provided to the drive shaft; a driven member having at least two second protrusions and provided to a rotary shaft of a rotary member, lateral surfaces of the second protrusions contacting lateral surfaces of the first protrusions to couple the rotational driving member to the driven member and connect the drive shaft and the rotary shaft to transmit a rotational driving force to the rotary member; deformable connecting parts provided to at least one of portions between the first protrusions and the rotational driving member and portions between the second protrusions and the driven member, to displace one of the first and second protrusions integrally formed with the deformable connecting parts relative to one of the rotational driving member and the driven member integrally formed with the deformable connecting parts in a direction tangential to a direction of rotation of the rotational driving member and the driven member upon contact of the first protrusions with the second protrusions; and an elastic member covering the deformable connecting parts, the deformable connecting parts formed as a single integrated unit together with one of the first protrusions and the rotational driving member, and the second protrusions and the driven member.