A light sensing apparatus includes a sheet passage, a first sensing assembly and a first background sheet. The sheet passage has a scan window. The first sensing assembly disposed on a first side of the scan window outputs first scan light to the scan window. The first background sheet disposed on a second side of the scan window has a first reflective surface reflecting the first scan light, passing through the scan window, back to the first sensing assembly through the scan window. The first reflective surface of the first background sheet and the scan window are disposed in a non-parallel manner. Therefore, a light sensing method is also provided to achieve the effects of brightness calibration and boundary detection of the first sensing assembly.

An image reading apparatus, includes an image sensor, a drive mechanism configured to cause the image sensor to move in a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction, a reference plate, and a control unit configured to execute a first reading method of detecting a first reference position by driving the image sensor in the first direction and reading the reference plate, thereafter reading a document by driving the image sensor in the first direction, and a second reading method of detecting a second reference position by driving the image sensor in the second direction and reading the reference plate, and thereafter reading a document by driving the image sensor in the second direction.

A medium conveying apparatus includes an imaging unit provided to be movable in a direction perpendicular to a conveying surface for conveying a medium, to image the medium, a roller pair provided on an upstream side of the imaging unit in a medium conveying direction, the roller pair including a first roller provided to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface, and a second roller facing the first roller, and a conveyance guide provided on a rotation shaft of the first roller, to move in conjunction with a movement of the first roller. The conveyance guide includes a guide surface extending at least from a downstream end portion of a nip portion of the roller pair to an upstream end portion of the imaging unit in the medium conveying direction and being flush with a lower surface of the imaging unit.

An operation unit is provided on a front side of the image forming apparatus. A document feeding portion feeds a document supported by a document supporting portion in a document feeding direction from a front side of the image forming apparatus toward the rear side of the image forming apparatus. A document discharge portion discharges the document in a document discharge direction from the rear side toward the front side. The operation unit is disposed on one side with respect to an apparatus center of the image forming apparatus in a left-right direction orthogonal to a direction from the front side to the rear side. A conveyance center of the document feeding portion in the left-right direction is disposed on the other side with respect to the apparatus center in the left-right direction.

In one example, a document scanner has a fixed-position scan bar and a built-in translatable calibration target. The scan bar has a linear array of imaging elements aimed in an imaging direction. The calibration target is spaced apart from and parallel to the linear array, and has a planar surface orthogonal to the imaging direction spanning the length of the linear array. The target is translatable during a calibration in a direction in a plane of the surface.

An image reading device includes a contact plate, a frame, a carriage, and a flexible flat cable. The carriage includes a reading mechanism and a resin-made slider projectedly provided at both end portions of the reading mechanism in its extending direction, and reciprocally moves in a sub-scanning direction at a bottom surface side of the contact plate while the slider slides the bottom surface of the contact plate in the frame. The flexible flat cable is connected to an one side surface of the carriage so that a width direction thereof matches the main-scanning direction, is arranged so that a part continued from a portion where the flexible flat cable connects with the one side surface is curved in a U-shape to go around toward an underside of the carriage, and transmits an electric signal of the reading mechanism. The contact plate is applied with a fluorine coating.

A medium transporting device including: a main body; an opening/closing body; and a holding unit, in which the holding unit includes a rotation member that has a supporting portion which can be displaced between raised up and dropped down by rotation thereof and supports the opening/closing body and applies a force to the opening/closing body in an opening direction by the supporting portion engaging with the opening/closing body, and a pressing unit that presses the rotation member in the raised direction, and in which the holding unit further includes a configuration in which a force which is applied to the opening/closing body in the opening direction due to a pressing force to the rotation member generated by the pressing unit and a force that the opening/closing body tries to close are balanced with each other according to a predetermined rotation angle of the rotation member.

An image sensor unit includes a light condenser that collects light from an object to be read, an image sensor that receives the light collected by the light condenser and outputs an image, and a housing that houses the light condenser and the image sensor. The housing includes a plurality of spacer attachment portions to which a first spacer that keeps a distance between the housing and a mount member can be detachably attached and for which distances between the housing and the mount member in a state where the attached first spacer abuts against the mount member differ from each other.

A sensor mounting structure includes a positioning member, a holding member, and a biasing member. The positioning member is a mounting reference of a sensor. The holding member is attachable to and detachable from the positioning member so as to form a space in which the sensor is disposed with respect to the positioning member. The biasing member includes an arched part which is overhung between a pair of engaging parts engaging with the holding member. The biasing member, while the holding member is attached to the positioning member, elastically deforms the arched part that is sandwiched between the holding member and the sensor that is disposed in the space so as to bias the sensor to the positioning member.

An image reading apparatus includes: a transport unit that transports a sheet including an image; and a reading unit that includes a mirror plate of which both end portions in a longitudinal direction are held, reflects reflected light, which is obtained by illuminating the sheet transported by the transport unit with light, by a reflecting surface of the mirror plate, and reads the image, in which a vibration-resistant member, which imparts vibration resistance, is disposed on a part of some surfaces of the mirror plate other than the reflecting surface not to protrude from the reflecting surface.