Patent ID: 7597321

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a chassis having first and second side plates; a feed roller rotatably supported between the first and second side plates for conveying the paper; a feed roller gear relatively unrotatably coupled to the feed roller; a motor configured to drive the feed roller; a drive gear arranged to receive driving force from the motor; and an intermediate gear having a gear portion that engages the drive gear and the feed roller gear and an axle portion that is rotatably supported to the chassis via intermediate gear bearings, at least one of the intermediate gear bearings including a substantially circular inner surface and an elevated stepped portion that is elevated from the circular inner surface, the axle portion of the intermediate gear being arranged to be supported by the elevated stepped portion while the intermediate gear transmits driving force in one direction of the motor from the drive gear to the feed roller gear, the elevated stepped portion including first and second direction ends and a single inner surface that continuously extending between the first and second direction ends and is formed into a substantially arcuate shape concentric to an outer peripheral surface of the axle portion of the intermediate gear with the outer peripheral surface of the axle portion of the intermediate gear being supported only by the inner surface of the elevated stepped portion, with an inside diameter of the inner surface of the elevated stepped portion being substantially the same as an outside diameter of the axle portion of the intermediate gear, the elevated stepped portion being located in a direction of a resultant force with respect to the axle portion, the resultant force being a resultant force of forces received from the drive gear and the feed roller gear when the intermediate gear transmits the driving force in the one direction of the motor from the drive gear to the feed roller gear, the first and second direction ends of the elevated stepped portion being disposed at two locations spaced from the direction of the resultant force by a specific angle in both circumferential directions of the axle portion of the intermediate gear and are located at different heights from each other that are lower than a rotational center of the axle portion.