Image copying apparatus and image copying method

An image copying apparatus comprising:

• a document drawing-in port for drawing a document before reading operation in;
• a document discharging port located above or below the document drawing-in port for discharging the document after reading operation;
• a document feeding path extending from the document drawing-in port to the document discharging port;
• an image reading section provided in a midway of the document feeding path;
• a copied-medium discharging port for discharging a copied-medium on which an image of a document is copied;
• a plurality of trays movable upward and downward within a range covering a document feeding position where a document is fed to the document drawing-in port, a document receiving position where a document is received from the document discharging port, a copied-medium receiving position where a copied-medium is to be received from the copied-medium discharging port, and a bottom region located further lower than the lowest one of these positions;
• placed substance sensors provided to each of the plurality of trays for detecting a placed substance;
• a first tray-controlling section for the time a document is to be placed on a tray, which moves at least one of the trays to a position within the bottom region basing on an operation by the user in case there is no tray within the bottom region;
• a read-document receiving tray setting section for setting one of trays other than the tray on which a document is placed as a read-document receiving tray basing on the result of detection by the placed substance sensors;
• a copied-medium receiving tray setting section for setting one of trays other than the read-document receiving tray as a copied-medium receiving tray;
• a second tray-controlling section for the time a reading operation starts, which moves the tray on which a document is placed to the document feeding position and moves the read-document receiving tray to a document receiving position;
• a third tray-controlling section for the time a copying operation starts, which moves the copied-medium receiving tray to a copied-medium receiving position before the copying operation is started;
• and
• a forth tray-controlling section for the time a copying operation finishes, which moves the read-document receiving tray and the copied-medium receiving tray to positions within the bottom region.

An image copying method in an image copying apparatus including a plurality of movable trays for copying an image of an original document on a medium, comprising the steps of:

• moving a first tray on which an original document is placed from a position where the original document was placed to a document feeding position where the original document is drawn into the image copying apparatus;
• moving one of trays other than the first tray to the document receiving position;
• drawing in and feeding the original document placed on the first tray within the image copying apparatus, and discharging the original document to a second tray located at a document receiving position;
• and
• reading an image of the original document while feeding the original document.