An image reading apparatus includes a conveyance unit and a reading unit. The reading unit includes a transparent member, a sensor unit including a substrate to which an image reading element is connected, and configured to read an image of the sheet through the transparent member, a fan configured to blow air, a supporting member including an opening formed at a position where the opening faces the sensor unit, and supporting the sensor unit, and a casing accommodating the sensor unit, the fan, and the supporting member. The fan is disposed in a manner of facing the opening on a side, with respect to the opening, different from a side on which the sensor unit faces the opening. The sensor unit and the supporting member are disposed such that a flow path of air that has passed through the opening is formed between the sensor unit and the supporting member.

An image reading apparatus comprises a driving control part which detects a driving abnormality of a motor which drives a moving unit configured to be movable. Further, the image reading apparatus comprises a HP sensor an output of which changes in accordance with a position of the moving unit, and a CPU(A) which moves the moving unit by controlling operation of the motor based on the output change of the HP sensor. The CPU(A) determines that a driving abnormality occurs in a case where the driving control part detects an abnormality while moving the back surface glass unit. The CPU(A) determines that a position detection abnormality occurs if the output of the HP sensor does not change even when the moving unit is moved by a predetermined distance (ON reference moving amount and OFF reference moving amount) or more in a state where no abnormality is detected by the driving control part.

An image forming device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes an image reader, a sheet conveyance passage, a transparent body, an opposing body, and multiple curved opposing portions. The image reader is configured to read an image formed on a target object. The sheet conveyance passage is a passage through which the target object is conveyed. The transparent body is disposed between the sheet conveyance passage and the image reader. The opposing body is disposed facing the transparent body on a side opposite the image reader. The multiple curved opposing portions have respective outwardly curving reference planes. The multiple curved opposing portions are sequentially switched and located at a predetermined image reading position at which the multiple curved opposing portions face the transparent body with a gap through which the target object passes the predetermined image reading position.

An image reading apparatus according to the present invention includes: a conveyor which conveys an original in a first direction; a light transmitting member which is provided with coating in a first region of a surface facing the original; a reading unit which reads an image at a reading position of the original through the light transmitting member; and a controller which performs processing on the image and which changes the reading position by moving the reading unit when abnormality is detected in the processing. The coating includes a silicon-containing perfluoropolyether compound. An electrically-conductive member is provided in a second region located on the surface of the light transmitting member, upstream of the first region in a conveyance direction of the original. A contact angle of the coating at a position corresponding to the reading position in the first region is appropriately set.

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 document reading device (20) includes: a document conveyance section (6) and a document reading device (5). A conveyed document reading region (161b) has: a document discharge guide (51) arranged downstream of an image reading position (163a) in a document conveyance direction; and a transparent reading sheet (52) provided along a surface of the contact glass (161) and a surface of the document discharge guide (51), the document conveyance section (6) has a reading guide (62) forming a document conveyance path oppositely to the conveyed document reading region (161b), and the reading guide (62) has, on part of a surface opposing the conveyed document reading region (161b), a black reference member (620) optically read by an image reading section (163) for the purpose of correcting black reference data of an image of the document conveyed by the document conveyance section (6) and read by the document reading device (5).

An image reading apparatus includes a reading unit, a cover, and a hinge mechanism connecting the cover to the reading unit pivotably about a pivot axis which extends in a first direction. A center of gravity of the cover is closer to a first end of the cover in a first direction than to a second end of the cover. A first hinge is spaced from the center of gravity toward the second end of the cover in the first direction. A second hinge is disposed closer to the center of gravity in the first direction than the first hinge. The first hinge includes a base member disposed movably in the reading unit, a pivot member coupled to the cover, and an urging member exerting an urging force between the base member and the pivot member so as to maintain the cover at a pivoted position.

Provided is a more desirable product. A scanner has a first sensor configured to read a document on a platen glass; a second sensor configured to read a first side of a moving document; and a third sensor configured to read a second side, which is the opposite side as the first side, of a moving document. The first sensor forms a reduced size image of the document; and the second sensor and third sensor image form a same-size image of light from the document.

An image reading device includes: a scanner glass; photo-sensors arranged at intervals in a main scanning direction to read a document conveyed in a sub-scanning direction; an adjuster that adjusts the size of an overlapping area between a first and second image obtained by neighboring photo-sensors, the overlapping area constituting a first area of the first image and a second area of the second image; a superimposing portion that shifts either one of images of the first and second area to the other one; a judgment portion that judges whether the images having different focal depths exist based on the degree of matching between the first and second area; and a detector that detects a foreign body on the scanner glass platen by detecting a continuous image stretching in a document conveying direction in both of the images having different focal depths, if the images having different focal depths exist.

An image reading apparatus, including: a conveyance unit configured to convey a document along a conveyance path; a transparent plate provided to the conveyance path; a reading unit configured to read an image of the document passing the transparent plate; a detector configured to detect a foreign substance on the transparent plate from image data output from the reading unit; a light source provided to one end side face of the transparent plate; and a controller configured to control lighting-up of the light source based on a detection result of the detector.