Patent ID: 7513493

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: a document loading unit configured to support a document sheet; a recording-sheet loading unit configured to support a recording sheet; a supply roller configured to supply the document sheet from the document loading unit or supply the recording sheet from the recording-sheet loading unit; a feeding path in which both the document sheet or the recording sheet pass; a reading unit that reads an image on the document sheet supplied by the supply roller; a recording unit that records an image on the recording sheet supplied by the supply roller; a feeding roller provided downstream from the supply roller configured to feed the document sheet or the recording sheet supplied by the supply roller in a sheet feeding direction or a reverse direction opposite to the feeding direction, a driving motor that drives the supply roller and the feeding roller; a clutch that switches between a state in which a driving force is transmitted from the driving motor to the supply roller and a state in which the driving force is not transmitted, depending on forward and reverse rotations of the driving motor, wherein the transmission of the driving force to the supply roller by the clutch is cut off by rotating the driving motor in reverse after the document sheet reaches the feeding roller; and a control unit controlling the reading unit to start a reading operation when the document sheet supplied from the document loading unit by the supply roller reaches the reading unit via the feeding roller, the reading operation and the driving motor are stopped after the document sheet is conveyed through a predetermined distance after the reading operation starts, the driving motor is rotated in reverse to disengage the clutch, and the reading operation is restarted after the document sheet is conveyed, by rotating the driving motor forward, to a position where the document sheet is placed before the reverse rotation of the driving motor, and the control unit controlling the recording unit to start performing a recording operation after the recording-sheet is separated from the supply roller, and the feeding roller feeds the recording sheet in the reverse direction in order to align the leading edge of the recording sheet before the recording operation starts.