Patent ID: 7852525

Claim:
An image reading apparatus comprising: a transparent plate adapted to support an original thereon; a reading unit adapted to read the original supported on said transparent plate through the transparent plate; a first moving mechanism adapted to move said reading unit to scan said original; an illuminating unit equipped with a visible light source and an infrared light source to illuminate said original; and a second moving mechanism adapted to move said illuminating unit, and having a drive source configured to move said illuminating unit and a drive controlling circuit configured to control said drive source, wherein said original is a transparent original film including a plurality of images, said illuminating unit has an area of light emitting surface adapted to illuminate an area having a size covering one image area of said transparent original film, and said second moving mechanism is controlled by said drive controlling circuit and is adapted to keep, while said reading unit is reading one image of said transparent original film to obtain a visible image signal and an infrared image signal of the one image, said illuminating unit at a position at which said illuminating unit illuminates a whole area of said one image and to move, after completion of reading of the one image of said transparent original film by said reading unit, said illuminating unit to a position at which said illuminating unit illuminates a whole area of another image of said transparent original film.