Patent ID: 7561313

Claim:
An image scanning apparatus comprising: a transportation mechanism for transporting a medium along a substantially straight transportation path from an insertion opening through which the medium is inserted; an image sensor for scanning an image of the medium along the transportation path, the image sensor having a focal position at which the image is scanned; a driving assembly for driving the transportation mechanism to transport the medium in a forward direction along the transportation path from an insertion opening toward an indexing position downstream of the focal position and to transport the medium in a reverse direction, opposite the forward direction, toward the insertion opening to discharge the medium, a length detector for detecting the distance traveled by the medium along the transportation path relative to the insertion opening; a control unit for controlling the transportation mechanism to transport the medium to a position to be scanned by the image sensor when the length detector detects a distance within a first specified range defined by a first specified value (L 1 ) and a second specified value (L 2 ) greater than the first specified value (L 2 >L 1 ) and wherein the control unit controls the transportation mechanism to discharge said medium from said insertion opening when the detected distance detected by said length detector is greater than or equal to a second specified distance defined by the second specified value (L 2 ).