Paper feed device for image forming apparatus

A paper feed device for an image forming apparatus that is disposed near an opening formed on a portion of a housing of the apparatus, the device comprising:

• a paper feed tray on which papers can be stacked;
• an upper guide plate and a lower guide plate that are disposed at a border between the opening and an inside of the housing, and forms a paper transfer path therebetween;
• a drive shaft that is disposed on an upstream side from the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate so as to extends along a paper width direction perpendicular to the paper transfer direction, and is rotated, by a drive source therefor, in a rotational direction for feeding the papers;
• a paper feed roller that is attached to the drive shaft, and separates a paper from the papers stacked on the paper feed tray to feed the paper to the paper feed path formed between the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate;
• and
• a pair of elastic rollers that are attached to the drive shaft on either side of the paper feed roller coaxially with the paper feed roller, and formed long so as to cover a space between the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate, wherein
• each diameter of the elastic rollers is made slightly smaller than a diameter of the paper feed roller.