Patent ID: 6862115

Claim:
An image reading apparatus for reading an image on a sheet, comprising: a sheet transporting device configured to transport the sheet along a sheet guide path; an image reading device configured to optically read the image on the sheet; a dirt trapping device comprising a dirt trap hollow configured to trap dirt carried on the sheet and a dirt trap box disposed in and separate from the dirt trap hollow, the dirt trapping device being positioned upstream from the image reading device relative to a direction in which the sheet is transported by the sheet transporting device; and a dirt guide member configured to guide dirt from a position in the image reading apparatus between the image reading device and the dirt trapping device to the dirt trapping device, the dirt guide member comprising a sloped surface having a first end disposed adjacent the image reading device and a second end disposed at a lower elevation adjacent the dirt trapping device, the sloping surface configured to guide the dirt from adjacent the image reading device to the dirt trapping device.