Bearing arrangement in sheet member feed apparatus for use in

Abstract

A sheet member feed apparatus for use in an electrophotographic copying machine includes a frame with a pair of spaced opposed walls, each wall having therein an elongated hole defined by longitudinally extending inner wall side faces. First and second feed rollers are mounted on first and second shafts, respectively, with each shaft having bearings at opposite ends thereof. The bearings of one shaft are mounted at fixed positions in the opposed frame walls, and the bearings of the other shaft are mounted in the elongated holes with clearance between outer side faces of the bearings and the confronting inner wall side faces, such that the other roller is movable toward and away from the one roller. A spring extends around a portion of each of the bearings of the other roller and biases the bearings in the elongated holes in a direction to urge the other roller toward the one roller. As a result, rotation of the other roller tends to cause the outer side faces of the bearings thereof to repeatedly impact against confronting inner wall side faces of the respective elongated holes. Biasing structure prevents such repeated impacting by biasing the bearings of the other roller such that the resultant force of forces acting on such bearings extend from the center of the shaft of such roller toward one longitudinal inner wall side face of the respective elongated holes at a particular angle of inclination.