Patent ID: 8374406

Claim:
An image reading apparatus comprising: a 2-dimensional image sensor having a plurality of light receiving elements arranged in a matrix, and configured to detect an image of a detection target; a plurality of partition walls provided on said 2-dimensional image sensor and configured to hold said detection target in a non-contact state in a predetermined distance from an upper surface of said 2-dimensional image sensor, thereby forming a plurality of slits, where a length of each slit spans more than one light receiving element in the matrix comprising the plurality of light receiving elements; and a light source configured to illuminate the detection target from a back side of said 2-dimensional image sensor, wherein said light source comprises a plurality of planar light sources which are arranged in a vertical scanning direction of said 2-dimensional image sensor and which can be individually turned off or on at different time intervals, and when read rows are sequentially scanned, the planar light sources corresponding to a target read row being actively scanned and read are turned off and the planar light sources not corresponding to the target read row are turned on.