Document reading apparatus, having a body unit for holding apparatus

Abstract

A document reading apparatus comprises a light transmitting plate in contact with a document, a light source to light the document, a plurality of lenses arranged in line at a specified interval to image light reflected from the document and form a scaled-down document image, a plurality of semiconductor chips having a multiplicity of photoelectric transducer elements arranged in line respectively corresponding to each lens in order to receive the document image, a circuit wiring base plate on which semiconductor chips are placed, and a body unit to hold the light transmitting plate, the light source, and the circuit wiring base plate. The document image is formed in a scaled-down state by the plurality of lenses, and received by the plurality of semiconductor chips respectively corresponding to each lens. Since the document image is formed in a scaled-down state, it is not necessary to arrange the photoelectric transducer elements continuously between adjacent semiconductor chips. Therefore, a clearance can be kept between the semiconductor chips, and it is not necessary to arrange the photoelectric transducer elements substantially with the same length as the document, thereby a document reading apparatus which is handled as a part is constructed.