Patent ID: 8422091

Claim:
An image reading apparatus comprising: (i) a light source section which directs light to a document, the light having a visible wavelength and an infrared wavelength; (ii) a light receiving section which receives the light reflected from the document and converts the reflected light to an electric signal, so as to prepare document image data that is image data of the document; (iii) a visible light cut filter which blocks light having the visible wavelength; (iv) a filter moving section which moves the visible light cut filter by changing states in which (a) the visible light cut filter is provided in an optical path in which the light is directed from the light source section to the document, reflected from the document, and then received by the light receiving section and (b) no visible light cut filter is provided in the optical path; (v) a color correction section which corrects a color of an image in the document image data; and (vi) a control section which controls operations of the respective sections (i) through (v) so that an infrared light scanning process, a visible light scanning process, and a color correction process are carried out, the infrared light scanning process being a process in which the light is directed from the light source section to at least a part of the document in a state in which the visible light cut filter is provided in the optical path, so that the light receiving section receives the reflected light from the document and prepares first image data which is document image data that corresponds to a result of receiving, by the light receiving section, light having the infrared wavelength, the visible light scanning process being a process in which the light is directed from the light source section to the document in a state in which no visible light cut filter is provided in the optical path, so that the light receiving section receives the reflected light from the document and prepares second image data which is document image data that corresponds to a result of receiving, by the light receiving section, light having the visible wavelength and light having the infrared wavelength, and the color correction process being a process in which the color correction section corrects a color of an image in the second image data in accordance with the first image data so as to remove or reduce, from the second image data, an influence of the light having the infrared wavelength.