JP2006091661A - Radiographic image information reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radiographic image information reader having a very simple configuration, which is capable of preventing foreign matters and external light from infiltrating into the reader, regardless of the size of the cassette to be loaded. <P>SOLUTION: A cassette loading part 30 is moved in a direction of an arrow B, and a cassette 12 is loaded from a cassette loading hole 38 of a second holding sleeve 36 via a shutter member 40, and then the cassette loading part 30 is moved in a direction of an arrow A. Next, a stimulable phosphor panel 14 is taken out from the cassette 12 and is carried to a read part 48 and is read, and then is carried to an erasing part 50 and is erased and is stored in the cassette 12 in stand-by state above. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a radiographic image information reading apparatus that reads radiographic image information stored and recorded on a rigid-type stimulable phosphor panel held in a cassette, and then erases and discharges the remaining radiographic image information.

  Conventionally, a radiation image using a stimulable phosphor panel that accumulates part of the irradiated radiation energy while emitting excitation light such as visible light according to the stored radiation energy. Information reading devices are known. As the stimulable phosphor panel, for example, a columnar stimulable phosphor layer is formed on a support substrate made of a hard material such as glass, and a rigid-type stimulable phosphor having high sensitivity and high image quality is provided. Body panels are known.

  The radiation image information reading apparatus includes, for example, a cassette loading unit in which a cassette holding a stimulable phosphor panel in which radiation image information of a subject such as a human body is accumulated and recorded, and a stimulable phosphor panel separated from the cassette A reading unit for irradiating excitation light to the radiation image information, an erasing unit for irradiating the storable phosphor panel from which the radiation image information has been read to erase the remaining radiation image information, and an erasing process The cassette is configured to include a cassette discharge section that holds and discharges the completed stimulable phosphor panel in the cassette (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this case, in Patent Document 1, a cassette is inserted from above into a cassette insertion slot disposed at the top, and is conveyed obliquely downward and taken into the apparatus. Next, after the stimulable phosphor sheet (accumulative phosphor panel) is separated from the cassette and supplied to the reading means and the erasing means for processing, the cassette is again held with the stimulable phosphor sheet, Drain to the upper cassette outlet.

JP 2002-156716 A

  By the way, in the apparatus of Patent Document 1, since the cassette is inserted from above into the cassette insertion opening arranged at the upper part, for example, foreign matter including falling dust or the like enters the apparatus. There is a risk that. Further, when a cassette with a small width is loaded into the cassette insertion slot, foreign matter may enter through the gap between the cassette insertion slot and the cassette, or external light may enter the apparatus.

  In addition, since the cassette insertion slot is fixed to the upper part of the apparatus, for example, when the apparatus is high, there is a risk of hindering the loading operation of the cassette. In addition, even when the cassette is taken out from the cassette outlet provided in the upper part, the cassette must be pulled out upward, so that it may not be possible to easily perform the discharging operation.

  It is also conceivable that a cassette insertion port and a cassette discharge port are arranged on the side of the apparatus so that the cassette can be inserted and removed from the side. However, the cassette, the insertion port, the discharge port, etc. protrude in the lateral direction, resulting in a problem that the work space is narrowed. Further, when the stimulable phosphor panel is a rigid type, the stimulable phosphor panel cannot be bent and transported, so the cassette loading unit, reading unit, erasing unit, and cassette discharge unit are arranged in a substantially straight line. Therefore, there is a problem that the floor area occupied by the apparatus increases accordingly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and a radiological image information reading apparatus having a very simple configuration capable of avoiding entry of foreign matter and external light into the apparatus regardless of the size of the cassette to be loaded. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a shutter member at a loading port of a cassette loading portion in which a cassette for holding a rigid-type stimulable phosphor panel is loaded, and corresponds to the width of the loaded cassette. Thus, the loading port can be opened and closed, and the loading port is opened by an amount necessary for the width of the cassette to be loaded. In this case, since there is no gap between the loaded cassette and the loading port, foreign matter and external light do not enter the apparatus, and the reading process and the erasing process can be performed in a good state. In particular, since the rigid-type storage phosphor panel cannot be bent and conveyed, the conveyance path is formed substantially linearly to the reading unit. However, a shutter member is provided at the loading port. Therefore, no foreign matter or outside light reaches the reading unit.

  In addition, the shutter member is configured so that one end portion is pivotally supported by the loading port, and the other end portion is displaced by the cassette loaded in the loading port, so that the shutter member is loaded in an amount necessary for the width of the cassette. The mouth can be opened.

  Also, the orientation of the cassette loading section can be changed, and after the cassette is loaded into the cassette loading section from the lateral direction, the cassette loading section is moved upward to bring the cassette upright, and the stimulable phosphor panel in the cassette is The image is taken into the apparatus, read by the reader and erased by the eraser, and stored again in the cassette of the cassette loading unit.

  In this case, since a shutter member that opens by an amount corresponding to the width of the loaded cassette is disposed in the loading port, foreign matter and external light do not enter the apparatus from the loading port that has moved upward. Moreover, the insertion / removal operation of the cassette with respect to the cassette loading section can be easily performed from the lateral direction of the apparatus.

  In addition, a holding sleeve having a loading port is disposed in the cassette loading portion, and by holding the cassette in the holding sleeve, the cassette can be loaded into the apparatus in a stable state, and the inside of the apparatus can be light-tightened. Can be held.

  Further, by forming the holding sleeve to be extendable and retracting the holding sleeve when the cassette is not loaded, the protruding portion from the apparatus can be eliminated.

  In addition, by moving the cassette loading unit upward and arranging the cassette loading unit, reading unit, and erasing unit in a substantially straight line from the top to the bottom of the device, it is possible to achieve slimming of the device. A rigid storage phosphor panel having no flexibility can be processed without being bent and conveyed.

  In the radiological image information reading apparatus of the present invention, a shutter member that is opened by an amount corresponding to the width of the cassette is provided at the loading port of the cassette loading unit in which the cassette holding the rigid-type stimulable phosphor panel is loaded. Regardless of the width of the cassette, it is possible to avoid a situation in which foreign matter or external light enters the apparatus, and to perform good reading processing and erasing processing on the stimulable phosphor panel. In particular, in a device that uses a rigid-type stimulable phosphor panel that cannot be bent and transported, and the transport path must be formed in a substantially straight line, foreign matter and external light do not reach the deep part of the device.

  In addition, since the posture of the cassette loading unit can be converted from a horizontally installed state to a standing state, the cassette can be inserted into and removed from the device very easily, and the loaded storage phosphor panel can be treated and processed. It is possible to provide a radiological image information reading apparatus that does not interfere with surrounding work.

  Furthermore, by providing a holding sleeve for holding the cassette in the cassette loading section, the cassette can be held and processed in a stable state. By making the holding sleeve extendable, it is possible to eliminate the protruding portion from the apparatus in a state where the cassette is not loaded.

  Furthermore, the cassette loading unit, reading unit, and erasing unit can be arranged in a substantially straight line from the upper part to the lower part, thereby achieving downsizing of the apparatus and rigid-type storage fluorescence. A structure that can be processed without bending and transporting the body panel can be easily realized. In addition, since a shutter member is disposed at the loading port of the cassette loading unit that has moved upward, there is a possibility that external light may reach a deep part in the apparatus via a substantially straight conveyance path. Absent.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a radiation image information reading apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.

  The radiographic image information reader 10 reads the radiographic image information recorded on the stimulable phosphor panel 14 accommodated in the cassette 12 shown in FIG. 2, erases the remaining radiographic image information, and stores it in the cassette 12. It has a function to discharge.

  Here, the cassette 12 includes a main body portion 16 that houses the stimulable phosphor panel 14 and a lid member 18 that can be opened and closed with respect to the main body portion 16. The phosphor panel 14 is inserted and removed. Lock mechanisms 22 a and 22 b that close the lid member 18 and lock it to the main body 16 are disposed on both sides of the main body 16. The locked state of the lid member 18 by the lock mechanisms 22a and 22b can be released by inserting a lock release pin (not shown) into the holes 24a and 24b formed at the ends of the main body portion 16. Also, on the side surface of the cassette 12, an identification unit 26 made of a barcode or the like on which the identification information for management for specifying the size of the cassette 12 and the storage phosphor panel 14 to be stored is recorded is disposed. .

  On the other hand, the stimulable phosphor panel 14 accommodated in the cassette 12 is an inflexible rigid type formed by evaporating a columnar stimulable phosphor layer on a support substrate made of a hard material such as glass, for example. Panels can be used. Note that the stimulable phosphor layer is formed using a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, or an ion fretting method in which the stimulable phosphor is heated and evaporated in a vacuum vessel, and these are deposited on the support substrate. be able to. The stimulable phosphor layer formed in this manner has a columnar shape in which the phosphor is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the stimulable phosphor panel 14, and each of them is optically configured independently of the irradiated radiation. On the other hand, it is highly sensitive and the image granularity can be reduced, and the scattering of excitation light can be reduced to make the image quality clear.

  A cassette loading unit 30 for loading the cassette 12 is disposed on the upper portion of the housing 28 constituting the radiation image information reading apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cassette loading unit 30 is curved along the inner peripheral surface of the housing 28 and is movable in the directions of arrows A and B. A first holding sleeve 34 connected to the central portion, a second holding sleeve 36 connected to the first holding sleeve 34, and a cassette loading port 38 that is an opening of the second holding sleeve 36 are disposed to be openable and closable. Shutter member 40. As shown in FIG. 5, the width W of the cassette loading port 38 is formed corresponding to the cassette 12a having the largest width. As shown in FIG. 5, the shutter member 40 extends in the width direction of the cassette 12, and is configured such that one end is pivotally supported by the cassette loading port 38 and the other end can be displaced. The shutter member 40 is biased in a direction to close the cassette loading port 38 by an elastic member such as a coil spring (not shown). The second holding sleeve 36 engages with the first holding sleeve 34 and is configured to be movable in the directions of arrows C and D.

  Inside the radiographic image information reading apparatus 10, a suction plate 42 that sucks and takes out the stimulable phosphor panel 14 from the loaded cassette 12, and a plurality of the stimulable phosphor panels 14 that convey the stimulable phosphor panel 14 in a substantially straight line in the vertical direction. Transport mechanism 46 constituted by the rollers 44a to 44c, a reading unit 48 for reading the radiation image information stored and recorded on the stimulable phosphor panel 14, and the radiation remaining on the stimulable phosphor panel 14 after the reading process. And an erasing unit 50 for erasing the image information. The erasing unit 50 is disposed between the reading unit 48 and the suction board 42. Note that guide plates 52 a and 52 b are disposed between the rollers 44 a to 44 c constituting the transport mechanism 46.

  The reading unit 48 irradiates the stimulable phosphor panel 14 transported in the sub-scanning direction by the transport mechanism 46 with the excitation light scanning unit 54 that irradiates the excitation light L made of a laser beam in the main scanning direction, and the excitation light L And a photoelectric conversion unit 56 including a photomultiplier, a CCD line sensor, and the like that convert the stimulated emission light R obtained from the stimulable phosphor panel 14 into an electrical signal.

  The erasing unit 50 disposed above the reading unit 48 irradiates the storable phosphor panel 14 supplied from the reading unit 48 with the erasing light Q, and thereby the radiation image remaining on the storable phosphor panel 14. A plurality of erasing light sources 58 such as halogen lamps and cold cathode tubes for erasing information are provided.

  The radiation image information reading apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described next.

  First, the operator loads the cassette 12 containing the stimulable phosphor panel 14 in which the radiation image information is accumulated and recorded in the cassette loading unit 30. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the cassette loading unit 30 moves the first holding sleeve 34 and the second holding sleeve 36 in the direction of the arrow B and sets them in a horizontal state. Therefore, the operator can easily load the cassette 12 from the lateral direction through the shutter member 40 into the cassette loading port 38 of the second holding sleeve 36.

  When the cassette 12 is loaded into the cassette loading section 30, as shown in FIG. 5, the shutter member 40 is pressed and displaced by the cassette 12, and the cassette loading port 38 is opened. In this case, since the cassette loading port 38 is opened by an amount corresponding to the width of the loaded cassette 12, an unnecessarily large gap is not formed between the cassette 12 and the second holding sleeve 36.

  After loading the cassette 12 into the cassette loading section 30, the first holding sleeve 34 and the second holding sleeve 36 are moved together with the cassette 12 in the direction of arrow A, and the cassette 12 is set upright (see FIG. 4). In this case, since the cassette loading port 38 is closed by the loaded cassette 12 and the shutter member 40, there is no possibility that dust or the like enters the inside of the radiation image information reading apparatus 10. Further, since the periphery of the cassette 12 is surrounded by the first holding sleeve 34 and the second holding sleeve 36, there is no possibility that external light may enter the radiation image information reading apparatus 10 through the cassette loading unit 30. Further, by setting the cassette loading unit 30 in an upright state, a substantially linear conveyance path capable of conveying the rigid storage phosphor panel 14 from the cassette loading unit 30 to the reading unit 48 via the erasing unit 50 is provided. It is formed.

  After the cassette 12 is in the standing state, the lock member 18 is unlocked by inserting a lock release pin (not shown) into the holes 24a and 24b, and the lid member 18 is opened.

  Therefore, the suction plate 42 sucks the stimulable phosphor panel 14 in the cassette 12 and supplies the stimulable phosphor panel 14 to the transport mechanism 46. The transport mechanism 46 sandwiches the stimulable phosphor panel 14 with the rollers 44 a to 44 c and transports it to the reading unit 48. In addition, since the cassette 12 is supported by the first holding sleeve 34 and the second holding sleeve 36 constituting the cassette loading unit 30, the stimulable phosphor panel 14 is taken out from the cassette 12 without being affected by vibration or the like. Therefore, it can be suitably conveyed to the reading unit 48.

  In the reading unit 48, the stimulable phosphor panel 14 is sub-scanned and transported vertically by the transport mechanism 46, while being main-scanned by the excitation light L from the excitation light scanning unit 54 to obtain the stimulated emission light R. . The stimulated emission light R is converted into an electrical signal by the photoelectric conversion unit 56, whereby radiation image information is obtained.

  During the reading process, the cassette loading unit 30 is disposed on the upper part of the radiation image information reading device 10, so that an operator can move the cassette 12 protruding outward from the radiation image information reading device 10. The reading process can be performed in a good operating environment without the possibility of contact and without being affected by vibration or the like.

  The stimulable phosphor panel 14 from which the radiation image information has been read is supplied to the erasing unit 50 disposed above the reading unit 48. In the erasing unit 50, the remaining radiation image information is erased by irradiating the stimulable phosphor panel 14 with the erasing light Q output from the erasing light source 58.

  In this case, since the reading unit 48 and the erasing unit 50 perform the reading process and the erasing process while transporting the stimulable phosphor panel 14 in the vertical direction in the standing state, the radiation image information reading is performed regardless of the size of the cassette 12. It is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus by minimizing the occupied floor area of the apparatus 10.

  The storable phosphor panel 14 for which the erasing process has been completed is transported vertically upward by the transport mechanism 46, and is stored in the cassette 12 waiting in the cassette loading unit 30, and the lid member 18 is closed.

  When the stimulable phosphor panel 14 is stored in the cassette 12, the operator moves the first holding sleeve 34 and the second holding sleeve 36 together with the cassette 12 in the direction of arrow B, and sets the cassette 12 in a horizontal state. (See FIG. 3), the cassette loading unit 30 is removed. In this case, the operator can easily remove the cassette 12 from the lateral direction.

  When the cassette 12 is extracted, the shutter member 40 is closed and the cassette loading port 38 of the second holding sleeve 36 is closed. Accordingly, there is no possibility that dust or the like enters the inside of the radiation image information reading device 10 in a state where the cassette 12 is not loaded.

  On the other hand, when the radiographic image information reading apparatus 10 is not used, the second holding sleeve 36 is displaced in the direction of arrow D and stored in the first holding sleeve 34. As a result, the cassette loading unit 30 does not protrude in the lateral direction of the radiation image information reading device 10, and a sufficient space can be secured around the radiation image information reading device 10. If the second holding sleeve 36 is housed in the first holding sleeve 34 and the cassette loading unit 30 is moved in the direction of arrow A, further space can be secured.

1 is an external view of a radiation image information reading apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a block diagram of the cassette applied to the radiographic image information reading apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is an internal block diagram at the time of cassette loading of the radiographic image information reading apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is an internal block diagram at the time of the reading process of the radiographic image information reading apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a section explanatory view of a cassette loading part in a radiation image information reading device concerning this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Radiation image information reading device 12, 12a ... Cassette 14 ... Storage phosphor panel 30 ... Cassette loading part 34 ... 1st holding sleeve 36 ... 2nd holding sleeve 40 ... Shutter member 48 ... Reading part 50 ... Erase part

Claims (6)

A cassette loading unit in which a cassette containing a rigid-type stimulable phosphor panel in which radiation image information is accumulated and recorded is loaded, and the stimulable phosphor panel taken out from the cassette is irradiated with excitation light, and the excitation The reading unit that receives and reads the stimulated emission light related to the radiation image information excited by the light, and the storable phosphor panel from which the radiation image information is read is irradiated with erasing light, and the remaining radiation image information In a radiation image information reading apparatus comprising an erasing unit for erasing
The radiographic image information reading apparatus, wherein the cassette loading unit includes a shutter member that opens and closes a loading port corresponding to the width of the cassette to be loaded. The apparatus of claim 1.
The radiographic image information reading apparatus, wherein the cassette loading unit is configured to be able to convert a posture of the loaded cassette from a horizontal state to a standing state. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The radiographic image information reading apparatus, wherein the cassette loading unit, the reading unit, and the erasing unit are arranged in a substantially straight line from the upper part to the lower part of the apparatus. The apparatus of claim 1.
The shutter member has one end pivotally supported by the loading port, and opens the loading port when the other end is displaced by the cassette loaded in the loading port. apparatus. The apparatus of claim 1.
The radiographic image information reading apparatus, wherein the cassette loading unit includes a holding sleeve that has the loading port and holds the cassette. The apparatus of claim 5.
The radiographic image information reading apparatus, wherein the holding sleeve is configured to be extendable and contractible.

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