JP4151638B2 - Image reading apparatus and image copying apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that reads an image of a document and an image copying apparatus that forms a copy image based on the read image data. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image reading apparatus and an image copying apparatus capable of reading on both sides.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image reading apparatus for reading both sides of an original is used in an image copying apparatus capable of duplex copying (see, for example, Patent Document 1). FIG. 8 shows a schematic configuration of a general image input apparatus capable of reading both sides. The image input apparatus 100 includes a document feed unit 101 and a document discharge unit 102. Then, the sheets are pulled one by one from the bundled document placed on the document feeder, and conveyed onto the document glass 103 as described below to read the image data on both sides thereof.

  The document is drawn from the document feeder 101 along the arrow A in FIG. 8, and one side is first read at the position of the arrow C via the arrow B. When the reading is completed up to the end of the paper, the original is temporarily stopped and conveyed in the direction of arrow D. Further, it is inverted via arrows E and F. Then, it is conveyed along the same path as that of the arrow C with the back surface facing. This is an arrow G where the back side is read. Further, the document is discharged to the document discharge unit 102 via an arrow H.

In addition, an image input device having a document reading device on both the front and back sides of the document conveyance path has been devised. In this way, a complicated path for inverting the document is not necessary. However, this method requires two image reading members such as a CCD, so that the cost cannot be avoided. On the other hand, an image reading apparatus that reciprocally conveys a document through a simple reciprocating path has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this image reading apparatus, the image sensor is rotated 180 degrees on the forward path and the return path. As a result, it is said that a double-sided original can be read at low cost.
JP-A-5-24736 JP-A-5-30305

  However, when the image reading apparatus described in Patent Document 1 or FIG. 8 is provided attached to an image forming apparatus or the like, it is generally provided on a document cover at the top of the main body. For this reason, document covers tend to be larger and heavier. This imposes a burden on the user when lifting the document cover for storage or jam processing. Furthermore, there is a limit to increasing the size of the paper supply / discharge tray in terms of the burden on the user. For this reason, there is a problem that large-capacity originals cannot be received.

  Further, these image reading apparatuses have a long document conveyance path. Furthermore, the document is turned upside down on the switchback path. In general, it is difficult for a manuscript sheet to ensure transport reliability as compared to image forming paper. This is due to the wide variety of paper types in the manuscript. For example, there are many cases where the edge of the paper is bent or the whole paper is bent. Furthermore, the distribution of the friction coefficient on the paper surface is often not constant depending on the presence or absence of ink. In the unlikely event that a jam or the like occurs in the transport path, there is a risk that important documents will be damaged. For this reason, there has been a demand for a short and simple original transport path.

  Further, the image reading apparatus described in Patent Document 2 requires a mechanism for inverting the image sensor. For this reason, there is a problem that the configuration of the reader is complicated and it is difficult to read accurately.

  The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the conventional image reading apparatus described above. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus and an image copying apparatus capable of receiving a large-capacity original without increasing the weight of the original cover and capable of reading both sides with a simple original conveyance path.

  In order to solve this problem, the image reading apparatus of the present invention includes a document drawing port for drawing a document before reading, a document discharge port for discharging a document after reading, located above or below the document drawing port. , It has a document transport path that guides the document from the document drawing port to the document discharge port without changing its direction, and an image reading unit provided in the middle of the document transport path to acquire image data of the document drawn from the document drawing port An image reading apparatus that includes at least three trays that are vertically movable over a range including a document supply position to a document drawing port and a document reception position from a document discharge port, and at least three trays , One from the beginning of the direction of viewing the document supply position from the document receiving position (hereinafter referred to as “forward”) For the placed document, the tray on which the document is placed (hereinafter referred to as the “departure tray”) is moved to the document supply position, and one of the trays that is on the document receiving position side of the departure tray and that is not the front leading one. One (hereinafter referred to as “intermediate tray”) is moved to the document receiving position, and in that state, the first side of the document is read by the image reading unit, and then the intermediate tray is moved to the document supply position. Either one of the trays on the side of the document receiving position from the intermediate tray (hereinafter referred to as “end tray”) is moved to the document receiving position, and in this state, the second side of the document is read by the image reading unit. And a reading control unit.

  According to the image reading apparatus of the present invention, the document is conveyed from the document drawing port to the document discharge port. The document drawing port and the document discharge port are arranged vertically. An image reading unit may be provided between them, and the document transport path is not lengthened. Also, no switchback path is provided. Therefore, this is a simple document conveyance path. Further, since each tray is not on the document cover, the size of the tray can be increased without increasing the weight of the document cover. If documents are placed on the third and subsequent trays from the front facing forward, there are at least two trays closer to the document receiving position than that tray. They can be used as an intermediate tray and an end tray. Since these trays can move up and down over a range including the document supply position and the document reception position, it is possible to transport documents from the start tray to the intermediate tray or from the intermediate tray to the final tray. Furthermore, if the paper of the original is turned upside down by this conveyance, a different side of the original is read during each conveyance. As a result, a large-capacity original can be received without increasing the weight of the original cover, and the image reading apparatus is capable of reading both sides with a simple original conveyance path.

Further, according to the present invention, before starting the processing by the original sensor provided in each tray and the double-sided reading control unit, the original is placed on any one of the third and subsequent trays from the front. It is desirable to have a start determination unit that confirms and performs processing by the duplex reading control unit only when confirmation is obtained.
In this way, since the tray on which the document is placed is the third or subsequent tray from the front facing forward, it has been confirmed that there are at least two trays on the rear side (document receiving position side). . Therefore, there is no possibility of running out of trays after the reading process is started.

Further, according to the present invention, before starting processing by the original sensor provided on each tray and the double-sided scanning control unit, it is confirmed that nothing is placed on the tray to be an intermediate tray, and confirmation can be made. It is desirable to have a start determination unit that performs processing by the double-sided reading control unit only when the
In this way, it is confirmed that nothing is placed on the intermediate tray on which the document is once placed after the first surface is read. Therefore, there is no possibility that another sheet or the like is mixed when reading the second surface.

Further, according to the present invention, at least three trays are arranged so that the sides of the document drawing port and the document discharging port are inclined, and each has a stopper that prevents the placed object from dropping to the document drawing port and the document discharging port side. It is desirable to have a retracting member for retracting the stopper of the tray at the document supply position.
In this way, the document placed on each tray moves to the document drawing port or the document discharge port by its own weight. At this time, since the fall is prevented by the stopper, there is no possibility that the document falls from the tray while the tray is moving. On the other hand, at the document supply position, the stopper is retracted by the retracting member. Accordingly, the document is supplied to the document drawing port by its own weight.

  The present invention also provides a document drawing port for drawing a document before reading, a document discharge port for discharging a document after reading, and a document discharging port from the document drawing port to the document discharging port. An image copying apparatus having an original conveying path that guides without turning in the middle and an image reading unit provided in the middle of the original conveying path, and for copying an image of the original drawn from the original drawing port onto a medium, At least three trays that can move in the vertical direction over a range including the document supply position to the mouth and the document reception position from the document discharge port, and the document supply position is viewed from the document reception position among at least three trays. For a document placed in any of the third and subsequent items from the beginning (hereinafter referred to as “forward-facing”), the tray on which the document is placed is placed. (Hereinafter referred to as “departure tray”) is moved to the document supply position, and any one of the trays that are closer to the document reception position than the departure tray and that is not the leading front (hereinafter referred to as “intermediate tray”) is the document reception position. In this state, the image reading unit reads the first surface of the document, then moves the intermediate tray to the document supply position, and moves one of the trays on the document receiving position side from the intermediate tray. The present invention also extends to an image copying apparatus having a double-sided reading control unit that moves to the original receiving position and causes the image reading unit to read the second side of the original in that state.

  According to the image reading apparatus and the image copying apparatus of the present invention, a large-capacity document can be received without increasing the weight of the document cover, and both sides can be read by a simple document transport path.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an image copying apparatus provided with an image input device capable of reading a double-sided document.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the image copying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a document transport unit 10, a document reading unit 20, an image forming unit 30, and a sheet supply unit 40 in order from the top. The document transport unit 10 transports documents one by one through the document transport path 13 from the upper insertion port 11 in the figure to the lower discharge port 12 in the figure. The document conveyance path 13 is bent into a U shape in the middle, and faces the reading position 21 of the document reading unit 20 on the downstream side of the curved portion. As a result, so-called panning is performed in which the document is read while being conveyed. In addition to this, the image copying apparatus 1 further includes a document cover 14 and a document glass 15 so that a set-up can be read by reading a horizontally placed document on the document glass 15. Here, the insertion port 11 corresponds to a document drawing port, and the discharge port 12 corresponds to a document discharge port. The document transport path 13 corresponds to the document transport path.

  The document reading unit 20 includes an illumination device 22, a plurality of mirrors 23, and an image sensor 24. As a result, the image of the document passing through the reading position 21 is read and acquired as image data. The image forming unit 30 forms an image on a sheet based on the image data acquired by the document reading unit 20. In this example, the charging unit 31, the exposure unit 32, the developing unit 33, the transfer unit 34, and the fixing unit 35 are used to perform electrophotographic image formation. The sheet on which the image is formed is discharged from the sheet discharge port 36 to the outside of the image copying apparatus 1. Furthermore, it has a controller 37 that controls the entire image copying apparatus 1. The paper supply unit 40 includes a paper cassette 41 that can store various types of paper. Then, paper is selectively supplied in synchronization with the image forming operation of the image forming unit 30.

  In the image copying apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the insertion port 11 and the discharge port 12 of the document conveying unit 10 and the paper discharge port 36 of the image forming unit 30 are all arranged on the same side surface. And four movable trays 51, 52, 53, 54 are arranged outside the side surface. Here, each of the movable trays 51, 52, 53 can be moved up and down along the outer surface of the image copying apparatus 1 as a whole or independently. The movable distance is at least from the position where the movable tray 52 faces the insertion port 11 and the movable tray 51 is arranged in the upper part of the figure, and the movable tray 52 faces the discharge port 12 and the movable tray 53 It is to the position arrange | positioned below in the figure. The movable tray 54 does not necessarily need to move.

  As a configuration for moving each tray, for example, a configuration similar to that conventionally used for the finisher can be used. The movable trays 51, 52, 53, 54 are arranged so as to become lower toward the side surface of the image copying apparatus 1. For this reason, the placed object such as paper is moved by gravity in the lower right direction in the figure.

  The movable trays 51, 52, 53, 54 are provided with stoppers 55, 56, 57, 58, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, the stoppers 55, 56, 57, and 58 have a base portion that is disposed substantially horizontally and a fence portion that protrudes upward from both ends of the stopper. The base is biased upward in the figure by a spring or the like. Therefore, in the natural state, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, the fence portion of the stopper 55 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the movable tray 51. Therefore, in this state, the sheet placed on the movable tray 51 is brought into contact with the stopper 55 and stopped. Thereby, it is held on the upper surface of the tray. The same applies to the other trays.

  On the other hand, a stopper releasing unit 60 is provided in the vicinity of the insertion port 11 of the document conveying unit 10. The stopper release part 60 has a solenoid 61 and a lever 62 as shown in FIG. Further, the convex portion of the lever 62 is engaged with a groove 63 provided in the image copying apparatus 1. When the movable tray 52 is disposed in the insertion slot 11, the stopper 56 is pulled down and released by the stopper releasing portion 60 as shown in FIG.

  That is, in that case, the lever 62 is pulled down by the solenoid 61. As a result, the convex portion of the lever 62 is guided by the groove 63. Therefore, the tip of the lever 62 is inclined in the rear direction in the figure. Furthermore, the tip of the lever 62 engages with the base of the stopper 56. As a result, the stopper 56 is pulled down in the figure. Accordingly, the paper can be pulled in. This stopper release part 60 corresponds to a retracting member.

  A sheet sensor 59 is provided on the upper surface of the movable trays 51, 52, 53, 54. The sheet sensor 59 may be a claw mechanism as shown in FIG. When the paper is placed on the tray, the claw is pushed down. Therefore, it can be detected by the detection device provided in the lower part thereof. This paper sensor 59 also reacts to a single sheet. In addition to the claw mechanism, an optical sensor, an electrical interruption sensor, or a sensor based on a change in capacitance or resistance can be used. This paper sensor 59 corresponds to a document sensor. Alternatively, instead of providing the sheet sensor 59 in the movable trays 51, 52, 53, 54, the user may be instructed to place a document by a push button or the like.

  Next, the double-sided original reading operation of the image copying apparatus 1 will be described. In the image copying apparatus 1, the discharge port 12 is provided below the insertion port 11. Therefore, the direction in which the movable trays 51 to 53 are counted from the one arranged on the lower side to the one arranged on the upper side corresponds to “forward”. The forward leading tray is the movable tray 54. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, when the movable tray 54 is disposed at the paper discharge port 36, the original is placed on the third or subsequent movable tray from the front of the movable tray except the movable tray 54. Is desirable. Here, the movable tray 51 corresponds to this and functions as a “departure tray”. Therefore, in the case of a double-sided document, the user places a bundle of documents on the movable tray 51.

  Here, the third or later is because at least two empty trays are required on the discharge port 12 side from the tray on which the document is placed. Therefore, before starting the double-sided copying process, the image copying apparatus 1 confirms that there are two empty trays that can be used for reading the document below the tray (movable tray 51) on which the document is placed. To do. Here, the movable trays 52 and 53 correspond to this. That is, the movable tray 52 functions as an “intermediate tray”, and the movable tray 53 functions as an “end tray”.

  When it is confirmed that the movable trays 52 and 53 are empty, the image copying apparatus 1 starts a document reading process. Alternatively, at least the movable tray 52 must be empty. This is because if there is a sheet in the movable tray 52, it will be mixed with the original that has been discharged after reading on one side. When the document reading process is started, the image copying apparatus 1 causes the movable tray 51 to face the insertion port 11 and the movable tray 52 to face the discharge port 12, respectively. Further, the stopper 55 of the movable tray 51 is retracted. As a result, the document on the movable tray 51 can be drawn from the insertion slot 11.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the front surface (first surface) of the document is read. The original is pulled in from the insertion slot 11 one by one, and the image is read at the reading position 21. The read image data is temporarily stored in the storage unit of the controller 37. The document after reading is discharged from the discharge port 12 to the movable tray 52. Since the stopper 56 of the movable tray 52 is not retracted, the document is held on the movable tray 52. At this time, since the document transport path 13 is U-shaped as shown in the drawing, the image on the upper surface when it is placed on the movable tray 51 is read. Then, it is placed on the movable tray 52 face down, that is, with the read surface facing downward. Also, the first document is placed at the bottom of the bundle.

  When the entire surface of the original is read, the movable tray 51 becomes empty. This can be determined by the paper sensor 59 of the movable tray 51. Next, preparation for reading the back surface is performed. For this purpose, the movable trays 51, 52, 53 are moved as shown in FIG. That is, the movable tray 52 is moved to the insertion port 11 and the movable tray 53 is moved to the discharge port 12. The movable tray 51 is moved to the upper part of the movable tray 52. Then, the stopper 56 of the movable tray 52 is retracted. The stoppers 55 and 57 of the other movable trays 51 and 53 are not retracted.

  In this state, the back side (second side) of the document is read. In other words, the images are pulled one by one from the movable tray 52, read at the reading position 21, and discharged to the movable tray 53. The read image data is temporarily stored in the storage unit of the controller 37. Thereby, it can be set as the image data of both sides together with the image data of the surface read before. When reading the back side, the stacking order of the original bundle is opposite to that for the front side. That is, the last sheet of the document is read first. Therefore, in the image copying apparatus 1, after all the images have been read, image formation is started by combining the images on the front and back surfaces. In the image copying apparatus 1, the double-sided copied medium is formed by the image forming unit 30 based on the double-sided image data read in this way.

  Next, document reading processing by the image copying apparatus 1 will be described using the flowcharts shown in FIGS. Here, only the part related to document reading will be described. This process is executed by the controller 37. When this process is started, it is first determined whether or not a user inputs a double-sided document copy instruction (S101). In the case of a double-sided document (S101: Yes), the process proceeds to S102. In this case, the controller 37 functions as a double-sided reading control unit.

  Next, it is determined by the paper sensor 59 of the movable tray 51 whether a document is placed on the movable tray 51 (S102). If the document is not placed (S102: No), a display prompting the placement of the document is displayed on the operation panel or the like (S103). If a document is placed (S102: Yes), it is next determined whether or not there is a sheet on the movable tray 52 (S104). If there is a sheet (S104: Yes), a display prompting the user to remove the sheet is displayed (S105). If there is no sheet (S104: No), the process proceeds to S106. At this time, the controller 37 functions as a start determination unit.

  Next, the movable tray 51 on which the document is placed is set as a document feed tray. Then, the empty movable tray 52 is set as a document discharge tray. With this setting, the single-sided document reading process of FIG. 7 is performed (S107). This process is a process for reading all images on one side of a bundle of documents. Details of this processing will be described later. By this processing, all images on the front side of the document are read.

  When the single-sided document reading process is completed, all the documents facing down are placed on the movable tray 52. Therefore, next, the movable tray 52 is set as a document feed tray, and the movable tray 53 is set as a document discharge tray (S108). Then, the single-sided document reading process of FIG. 7 is performed again (S109). By this processing, all images on the back side of the document are read. Since the reading of both sides of the document is now complete, this process ends.

  If a double-sided document is not instructed first (S101: No), it may be read as a single-sided document. Therefore, first, it is determined whether or not a document is placed on one of the movable trays 51 and 52 (S110). If the document is not placed (S110: No), the user is prompted to place the document (S111).

  When a document is placed (S110: Yes), the tray is set as a document feed tray (S112). Further, an empty tray below the tray is set as a document discharge tray (S113). With this setting, the single-sided document reading process of FIG. 7 is performed (S114). By this process, one side of the original is completely read. This completes the reading of the single-sided document, and the description of the processing in FIG. 6 ends.

  Next, the single-sided document reading process shown in FIG. 7 will be described. First, the tray set as the document feed tray is moved to the insertion slot 11. Further, the tray set as the document discharge tray is moved to the discharge port 12 (S201). Further, the stopper of the document feed tray is retracted (S202). As a result, the document placed on the document feed tray enters the insertion slot 11 at its leading end due to its own weight. Stop the stoppers of trays other than the document feed tray.

  Then, the original conveying unit 10 conveys the original one by one to the reading position 21 (S203). Further, the document reading unit 20 reads an image of the document (S204). The scanned originals are discharged one by one to the original discharge tray (S205). For example, as shown in FIG. 4, documents are conveyed one by one from the movable tray 51, read, and discharged to the movable tray 52.

  Further, it is determined whether or not there is a document on the document feed tray (S206). If there is still a document (S206: Yes), further reading is continued (S203 to S205). When all the documents placed on the document feed tray have been read (S206: No), the stopper of the document feed tray is returned to the original position (S207). This completes the single-sided document reading process of FIG. Above, description of the processing of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 is completed.

  As described above in detail, the image copying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has four movable trays 51, 52, 53, and 54. Accordingly, both sides of the original placed on the movable tray 51 can be read. For this purpose, first, the movable tray 51 is opposed to the insertion port 11 and the movable tray 52 is opposed to the discharge port 12. Then, the surface of the original is read and discharged to the movable tray 52. At this time, the document is discharged face down. Therefore, next, the movable trays 51, 52, 53 are moved, and the originals on the movable tray 52 are read and discharged to the movable tray 53. Thereby, the back surface is read. The document transport path 13 itself is a simple path. In this embodiment, the arrangement of these movable trays 51, 52, 53 is not on the document cover 14. Therefore, it is easy for the user to lift the document cover 14 for setting up. Further, since each tray can be enlarged without increasing the burden on the user, a large-capacity document can be read. As a result, a large-capacity document can be received without increasing the weight of the document cover 14, and the image copying apparatus 1 is capable of reading both sides with a simple document conveyance path 13.

In addition, this form is only a mere illustration and does not limit this invention at all. Therefore, the present invention can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof.
For example, in the above embodiment, after reading the entire front surface of the document, the tray is moved to read the back surface of the document. Alternatively, the tray may be moved up and down for each sheet, and both sides of the document may be read for each sheet.
Further, for example, in the image copying apparatus 1 of the above-described form, the lower movable tray 54 is always dedicated for paper discharge. Therefore, the movable tray 54 may not move. In that case, instead of the retractable stopper 58, the stopper 58 may always protrude.
Further, for example, FIG. 1 shows an image forming unit 30 provided with one set of each device, but the present invention may be applied to a color image copying apparatus provided with a plurality of sets of devices having different color toners. it can.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the image copying apparatus of this form. It is explanatory drawing which shows a stopper. It is explanatory drawing which shows a paper sensor. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of an image copying apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of an image copying apparatus. 3 is a flowchart showing a copying process of the image copying apparatus. 3 is a flowchart showing a copying process of the image copying apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional image copying apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image copying machine 11 Insertion slot (original entry slot)
12 Exit (original exit)
13 Document transport path (document transport path)
20 Document reading unit (image reading unit)
37 Controller (Double-sided scanning control unit, start determination unit)
51, 52, 53, 54 Movable tray (tray)
55, 56, 57, 58 Stopper 59 Paper sensor (document sensor)
60 Stopper release part (retraction member)

Claims (5)

A document entry port for drawing a document before reading, a document discharge port located above or below the document drawing port for discharging a document after reading, and a direction change of the document from the document drawing port to the document discharge port In an image reading apparatus that has a document transport path that guides the document and an image reading unit provided in the middle of the document transport path and acquires image data of the document pulled in from the document pull-in port,
At least three trays that are vertically movable over a range including a document supply position to the document drawing port and a document reception position from the document discharge port;
Of the at least three trays, a document placed on any one of the third and subsequent trays from the top in the direction of viewing the document supply position from the document receiving position (hereinafter referred to as “forward-facing”).
The tray on which the document is placed (hereinafter referred to as “departure tray”) is moved to the document supply position, and one of the trays that are located on the document receiving position side of the departure tray and that is not the leading front (hereinafter referred to as “intermediate”). The tray) is moved to the document receiving position, and in that state, the first side of the document is read by the image reading unit,
The intermediate tray is moved to the document supply position, and one of the trays on the document receiving position side of the intermediate tray (hereinafter referred to as “end tray”) is moved to the document receiving position, and in this state, the second side of the document is moved. And a double-sided reading control unit that causes the image reading unit to read the image. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,
A document sensor provided for each tray,
Before starting the processing by the double-sided reading control unit, it is confirmed that a document is placed on any one of the third and subsequent trays from the front, and the double-sided reading control unit is only confirmed. An image reading apparatus comprising: a start determination unit that performs processing according to the above. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,
A document sensor provided for each tray,
Before starting processing by the double-sided scanning control unit, confirm that nothing is placed on the tray to be an intermediate tray, and start processing by the double-sided scanning control unit only when it is confirmed An image reading apparatus comprising: a determination unit. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,
The at least three trays are
The document drawing port and the document discharge port side are arranged at a low inclination,
Each has a stopper for preventing the placed object from falling to the side of the document drawing port and the document discharge port;
An image reading apparatus having a retracting member for retracting a stopper of a tray at a document supply position. A document entry port for drawing a document before reading, a document discharge port located above or below the document drawing port for discharging a document after reading, and a direction change of the document from the document drawing port to the document discharge port In an image copying apparatus that includes a document transport path that guides the document and an image reading unit that is provided in the middle of the document transport path, and that copies an image of the document that has been drawn in from the document drawing port to a medium.
At least three trays that are vertically movable over a range including a document supply position to the document drawing port and a document reception position from the document discharge port;
Of the at least three trays, a document placed on any one of the third and subsequent trays from the top in the direction of viewing the document supply position from the document receiving position (hereinafter referred to as “forward-facing”).
The tray on which the document is placed (hereinafter referred to as “departure tray”) is moved to the document supply position, and one of the trays that are located on the document receiving position side of the departure tray and that is not the leading front (hereinafter referred to as “intermediate”). The tray) is moved to the document receiving position, and in that state, the first side of the document is read by the image reading unit,
The intermediate tray is moved to the document supply position, and one of the trays on the document receiving position side of the intermediate tray is moved to the document receiving position, and in this state, the second side of the document is read by the image reading unit. An image copying apparatus comprising a double-sided reading control unit.

Images