Sheet conveyance device with conveyance roller pair capable of conveying sheet
A sheet conveyance device includes a conveyance roller pair and a support portion that supports a driven roller of the conveyance roller pair. The driven roller includes a rotary shaft and a roller body supported rotatably by the rotary shaft. The support portion includes: a groove that is formed along a crosswise direction crossing an axial direction of the rotary shaft and receives the rotary shaft along the crosswise direction; a hook which is provided to project inwardly with respect to the groove and against which the rotary shaft is pressed; a biasing member that biases the rotary shaft toward the hook; and an elastically deformable lever disposed between the biasing member and the rotary shaft.
1 . A sheet conveyance device comprising:
a conveyance roller pair comprising a drive roller capable of being driven into rotation and a driven roller that follows a periphery of the rotating drive roller to rotate;
a support portion that supports the driven roller; and
a cover member configured to be openable and closable with respect to an interior of the sheet conveyance device and provided with the support portion,
the driven roller comprising a rotary shaft and a roller body supported rotatably by the rotary shaft,
the support portion comprising:
a groove that is formed along a crosswise direction crossing an axial direction of the rotary shaft and receives the rotary shaft along the crosswise direction;
a hook which is provided to project inwardly with respect to the groove and against which the rotary shaft is pressed;
a biasing member that biases the rotary shaft toward the hook; and
an elastically deformable lever including a base portion fixed to the cover member and a branched portion connected to an end of the base portion and extending toward the support portion, the branched portion having a distal end portion disposed between the biasing member and the rotary shaft,
wherein the branched portion elastically deforms in accordance with a pressing force applied from the biasing member to the distal end portion, thereby causing the distal end portion to press the rotary shaft toward the hook.
2 . The sheet conveyance device according to claim 1 , wherein
the support portion is made of an elastically deformable material,
when the hook is pushed by the rotary shaft in course of insertion of the rotary shaft into the groove, the support portion bends and deforms toward guiding the rotary shaft into the groove, and
when the hook is released from being pushed by the rotary shaft, the support portion returns to an original shape before being pushed by the rotary shaft and, in this state, the biasing member biases the rotary shaft toward the hook.
3 . The sheet conveyance device according to claim 1 , wherein
the rotary shaft has a flat surface formed by cutting away a portion of an outer periphery of the rotary shaft along a direction parallel to the axial direction of the rotary shaft,
the distal end portion has a flat distal end surface, and
when the rotary shaft rotates until the flat surface of the rotary shaft meshes with the distal end surface of the distal end portion, rotation of the rotary shaft is restricted.
4 . The sheet conveyance device according to claim 1 , wherein the support portion comprises a projection that is provided on a side opposite to the biasing member across the distal end portion, and limits an elastic deformation movement of the branched portion.
5 . The sheet conveyance device according to claim 4 , wherein the biasing member is disposed between the distal end portion and the cover member and biases the distal end portion toward the projection.