Driving mechanism that controls state of motion conversion mechanism in desired state, and image forming apparatus including the same

A driving mechanism comprising:

• a first gear mechanism connected to a motor to transmit a rotational power of the motor to a first drive target;
• a motion conversion mechanism that converts a rotational motion with one rotation of the first gear mechanism to a reciprocation motion with one reciprocation when the motion conversion mechanism receives the rotational power from the first gear mechanism, the motion conversion mechanism transmitting a power of the reciprocation motion to a reciprocatingly displaceable reciprocation drive target;
• an actuator that includes a displaceable displaced portion, the actuator displacing the displaced portion to a first position and a second position corresponding to an input control signal;
• and
• a mechanical clutch that includes an input gear, the input gear rotating by receiving the rotational power from the first gear mechanism, the input gear including a plurality of engaging portions engageable with the displaced portion on the first position, the mechanical clutch switching to a connected state and a non-connected state corresponding to whether or not the engaging portions each engage with the displaced portion of the actuator, the connected state being a state where the rotational power of the first gear mechanism is transmitted to the motion conversion mechanism, the non-connected state being a state where the rotational power of the first gear mechanism is not transmitted to the motion conversion mechanism,
• wherein the plurality of engaging portions are formed on a plurality of positions within a range of a default center angle less than 180 degrees in a circumferential direction of the input gear.