Patent ID: 8639173

Claim:
A lubricant supply device comprising: a solid lubricant; a supply member that makes contact with the solid lubricant and supplies a lubricant being scraped off by rubbing the solid lubricant, to a lubricant supply target; and a pressing mechanism that presses the solid lubricant against the supply member, wherein the pressing mechanism includes a single biasing unit, and a plurality of pressing members that receive the biasing force of the single biasing unit and press the solid lubricant at symmetric positions with respect to the center of a contact portion of the solid lubricant, each of the plurality of pressing members changes a contacting point against a contact place to a contacting portion by rotating around a fulcrum with the biasing force, the pressing mechanism is configured such that an angle formed between a direction connecting an action point where each pressing member contacts the contacting portion and the fulcrum and a pressing direction of the solid lubricant decreases, and an angle formed between a direction connecting a force point of each pressing member receiving the biasing force of the single biasing unit and the fulcrum and a direction of the biasing force increases, according to the decrease of the solid lubricant by the rubbing, and from an initial stage where the solid lubricant starts to be scraped off by rubbing to a last stage after a predetermined amount or more of the solid lubricant is scraped off via an intermediate stage, the pressing force in the pressing direction of the solid lubricant that is generated at the action point in the last stage becomes greater than the pressing force in the intermediate stage.