JP4427424B2 - Radiation image information reader - Google Patents

Description

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

  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).

JP 2002-156716 A

  By the way, in the apparatus configured as described above, when a cassette in which radiation image information is recorded is erroneously loaded into the cassette discharge section, a necessary reading and erasing process is performed on the stimulable phosphor panel held in the cassette. It becomes impossible to do. In addition, when an inappropriate cassette is loaded in the cassette discharge unit, there is a possibility that a space for discharging the cassette for which appropriate processing has been completed cannot be secured.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a radiological image information reading apparatus capable of avoiding a situation in which a cassette is erroneously loaded into a cassette discharge section and smoothly performing processing on the cassette. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a discharge side lid member in the cassette discharge portion, detects the presence / absence of the cassette discharge space in the cassette discharge portion by the discharge space detection means, and closes when there is a discharge space. The closed state of the discharge-side lid member is held by the state holding means to avoid erroneous loading of the cassette into the cassette discharge portion. On the other hand, when there is no discharge space, it is necessary to take out the processed cassette that has been discharged to the cassette discharge section, so it is possible to release the closed state of the discharge side lid member by the closed state holding means and take out the cassette State.

  In the radiographic image information reading apparatus of the present invention, when the cassette discharge section has a discharge space, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the cassette is erroneously loaded into the cassette discharge section by holding the closed state of the discharge side lid member. Thereby, it is possible to smoothly perform an appropriate process for the cassette.

  Further, when the discharge-side lid member is opened, the cassette discharge process from the inside of the apparatus is prohibited, and a situation in which the cassette is discharged during the cassette removal operation can be avoided.

  In addition, a loading side lid member is provided in the cassette loading unit, and the cassette loading operation is performed on the cassette loading unit by prohibiting the loading process of the cassette into the apparatus when the loading side lid member is opened. During this time, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the cassette is taken into the apparatus.

  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 22 accommodated in the cassette 16 shown in FIG. 2, erases the remaining radiographic image information, and stores it in the cassette 16. It has a function to discharge.

  Here, the cassette 16 has an opening 24 for inserting / removing the stimulable phosphor panel 22 at one end, and discharge described later for discharging the stimulable phosphor panel 22 from the cassette 16 at the other end. It has insertion holes 26a and 26b for inserting pins. In addition, on the side of the cassette 16, an information recording unit 28 including an RFID tag (Radio Frequency Identification) capable of recording captured information of radiographic image information as well as ID information such as imaging conditions and subject information is recorded. Arranged. Furthermore, holding holes 30 a and 30 b for holding the stimulable phosphor panel 22 with respect to the cassette 16 are formed on both side surfaces near the opening 24 of the cassette 16.

  On the other hand, as the stimulable phosphor panel 22 accommodated in the cassette 16, for example, a hard panel formed by evaporating a columnar stimulable phosphor layer 34 on a support substrate 32 made of a hard material such as glass is used. be able to. The stimulable phosphor layer 34 is formed by using a vacuum vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, or an ion fretting method in which the stimulable phosphor is heated to evaporate in a vacuum container and is deposited on the support substrate 32. Can be formed. The stimulable phosphor layer 34 thus formed has a columnar shape in which the phosphor is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the stimulable phosphor panel 22, and each is optically independent, and the radiation to be irradiated In contrast, the image graininess can be reduced, and the scattering of excitation light can be reduced to make the image quality clearer.

  Holding leaf springs 36 a and 36 b are attached to both sides of the stimulable phosphor panel 22. When the stimulable phosphor panel 22 is inserted into the cassette 16, the retaining leaf springs 36 a and 36 b are attached. The cassette 16 is locked in the holding holes 30a and 30b. Thereby, the stimulable phosphor panel 22 can be fixedly held on the cassette 16. Further, the storage phosphor panel 22 can be unlocked by inserting a lock release pin (not shown) into the holding holes 30a and 30b.

  The radiation image information reading device 10 operates the cassette loading unit 38 that can load a plurality of cassettes 16, the cassette discharge unit 40 that discharges a plurality of processed cassettes 16, and the radiation image information reading device 10. And an operation display unit 42 for displaying the processing status.

  The cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette discharge unit 40 are provided with a load-side lid member 48 and a discharge-side lid member 50 that can be opened and closed, and the cassette 16 loaded in the cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette discharge unit 40. Lamps 52 and 54 such as LEDs for displaying the status are arranged. The cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette discharge unit 40 include lock mechanisms 44 and 46 (blocking state holding means) that hold the closed state of the loading side lid member 48 and the discharge side lid member 50.

  FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the radiation image information reading apparatus 10.

  The cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette discharge unit 40 can accommodate a plurality of cassettes 16 in an upright state with the opening 24 facing upward, and are disposed on the upper left and right sides of the casing 56 constituting the radiographic image information reading apparatus 10. The The cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette discharge unit 40 are provided with information reading units 58 and 60 that read ID information from the information recording unit 28 provided on the side of the cassette 16. The information reading unit 60 disposed in the cassette discharge unit 40 detects the cassette 16 discharged to the cassette discharge unit 40, thereby detecting the presence / absence of a discharge space in the cassette discharge unit 40. Function as. In addition, shutters 62 and 64 are disposed at the bottom of the cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette discharge unit 40.

  A first transport mechanism 66 that transports the cassette 16 downward and a second transport mechanism 68 that transports the cassette 16 upward are disposed below the cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette discharge unit 40. Below the first transport mechanism 66 and the second transport mechanism 68, a third transport mechanism 70 capable of transporting by selecting the cassette 16 in the arrow A direction is disposed. The third transport mechanism 70 has two parallel guide rails 72a and 72b extending in the direction of arrow A, and a cassette holding member 74 is movably supported by the guide rails 72a and 72b. The cassette holding member 74 has a bracket 76 that supports the lower end of the cassette 16 and is movable in the vertical direction. The bracket 76 is provided with discharge pins 78 that are inserted into the insertion holes 26 a and 26 b of the cassette 16 and discharge the internal stimulable phosphor panel 22.

  A fourth transport mechanism 80 capable of transporting the cassette 16 in the vertical direction is disposed between the first transport mechanism 66 and the second transport mechanism 68, and an erasing unit 82 is disposed along the fourth transport mechanism 80. Established. The erasing unit 82 includes a plurality of erasing light sources 84 including a halogen lamp, a cold cathode tube, and the like that erase radiation information remaining on the stimulable phosphor panel 22 by irradiating the erasing light Q.

  Between the cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette discharge unit 40, and above the erasing unit 82, a reading unit 86 that reads the radiation image information accumulated and recorded on the stimulable phosphor panel 22 is disposed. The reading unit 86 includes a laser beam for the panel transport mechanism 88 that sandwiches the stimulable phosphor panel 22 and transports it in the vertical direction, and the stimulable phosphor panel 22 transported by the panel transport mechanism 88. An excitation light scanning unit 90 that irradiates the excitation light L in the main scanning direction, and a photomultiplier that converts the stimulated emission light R obtained from the stimulable phosphor panel 22 by being irradiated with the excitation light L into an electrical signal; And a photoelectric conversion unit 92 composed of a CCD line sensor or the like.

  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 with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The user prepares the cassette 16 that holds the stimulable phosphor panel 22 on which the radiation image information is recorded, and loads the cassette 16 into the cassette loading unit 38. At this time, when the radiographic image information reading apparatus 10 is performing a process of taking the cassette 16 into the apparatus from the cassette loading unit 38 (step S1), the lock mechanism 44 sets the loading side lid member 48 in a locked state (step S2). ), The loading-side lid member 48 cannot be opened. The operation display unit 42 can display information indicating that the cassette 16 is being loaded.

  When the cassette 16 is not loaded in the cassette loading unit 38, or when there is a loading space in the cassette loading unit 38 and the cassette 16 is not being taken into the apparatus, the lock mechanism 44 unlocks the loading side lid member 48. (Step S3). The presence or absence of the loading space can be determined by reading the ID information from the information recording unit 28 of the cassette 16 by the information reading unit 58 disposed in the cassette loading unit 38. Further, the state of the cassette 16 loaded in the cassette loading unit 38 can be notified to the user using the lamp 52.

  After the loading-side lid member 48 is unlocked, the user opens the loading-side lid member 48 (step S4), and loads the cassette 16 into the cassette loading unit 38 (step S5). Next, when the loading side lid member 48 is closed (step S6), the loading side lid member 48 is locked again by the lock mechanism 44 (step S7).

  After the loading side lid member 48 of the cassette loading unit 38 is locked by the lock mechanism 44, the shutter 62 is opened and the cassette 16 is taken into the apparatus (step S8). In this case, since the loading side lid member 48 is in a locked state while the cassette 16 is being taken into the apparatus, the user accidentally inserts a hand or the like into the cassette loading unit 38, or a new cassette 16 A situation where the loading process is performed can be avoided.

  The cassette 16 taken into the apparatus is transported downward by the first transport mechanism 66 and is held by the bracket 76 of the cassette holding member 74 constituting the third transport mechanism 70 waiting in the lower part. The cassette holding member 74 moves in the direction of arrow A, and conveys the cassette 16 to the lower part of the erasing unit 82. When a lock release pin (not shown) is inserted into the holding holes 30a and 30b on the side of the cassette 16, the holding of the stimulable phosphor panel 22 by the holding leaf springs 36a and 36b is released. Next, the discharge pin 78 disposed on the bracket 76 is inserted into the insertion holes 26a and 26b at the lower end of the cassette 16, whereby the stimulable phosphor panel 22 is taken out from the cassette 16 (step S9).

  The stimulable phosphor panel 22 taken out from the cassette 16 is transported upward by the fourth transport mechanism 80 and supplied to the reading unit 86. In the reading unit 86, the stimulable phosphor panel 22 is sub-scanned and transported vertically upward while being sandwiched by the panel transport mechanism 88, while being main-scanned and excited by the excitation light L from the excitation light scanning unit 90. The emitted light R is obtained. The stimulated emission light R is converted into an electrical signal by the photoelectric conversion unit 92, whereby radiation image information is obtained (step S10).

  The stimulable phosphor panel 22 from which the radiation image information has been read is supplied to an erasing unit 82 disposed below the reading unit 86. In the erasing unit 82, the erasing light Q output from the erasing light source 84 is irradiated onto the stimulable phosphor panel 22, whereby the remaining radiation image information is erased (step S11).

  The stimulable phosphor panel 22 for which the erasing process has been completed is transported downward by the fourth transport mechanism 80 and stored in the standby cassette 16 (step S12). The cassette 16 storing the stimulable phosphor panel 22 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the cassette holding member 74 and moves to the lower part of the cassette discharge section 40.

  Here, the information reading unit 60 arranged in the cassette discharging unit 40 reads the ID information recorded in the information recording unit 28 of the cassette 16, thereby the number of the cassettes 16 discharged to the cassette discharging unit 40. Can be detected. Therefore, the information reading unit 60 determines whether or not there is a discharge space in the cassette discharge unit 40 based on the allowable discharge number of the cassette 16 in the cassette discharge unit 40 and the detected ID information (step S13).

  If it is determined that there is a discharge space in the cassette discharge unit 40, the discharge-side lid member 50 is locked by the lock mechanism 44 so that it cannot be opened (step S14), the second transport mechanism 68 is driven, and the cassette 16 is moved. The paper is conveyed upward and discharged to the cassette discharge unit 40 via the shutter 64 (step S15). In this case, since the discharge-side lid member 50 is closed and locked, it is possible to avoid a problem that the cassette 16 is erroneously loaded into the discharge space of the cassette discharge portion 40 from the outside.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S13 that there is no discharge space in the cassette discharge unit 40, the lock state of the discharge-side lid member 50 by the lock mechanism 46 is released (step S16). Therefore, the user opens the discharge side cover member 50 (step S17), and takes out the cassette 16 discharged to the cassette discharge unit 40 (step S18). While the discharge side cover member 50 is opened, the discharge process of the cassette 16 by the second transport mechanism 68 is prohibited. Thereby, the situation where the cassette 16 is discharged | emitted from the inside of an apparatus during taking-out of the cassette 16 can be avoided.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, Of course, it can change freely in the range which does not deviate from the main point of this invention.

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 of the radiographic image information reading apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a process flowchart in the radiographic image information reading apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Radiation image information reader 16 ... Cassette 22 ... Storage phosphor panel 28 ... Information recording part 38 ... Cassette loading part 40 ... Cassette discharge part 42 ... Operation display part 44, 46 ... Lock mechanism 48 ... Loading side cover member 50 ... discharge side cover members 58, 60 ... information reading section 66 ... first transport mechanism 68 ... second transport mechanism 70 ... third transport mechanism 80 ... fourth transport mechanism 82 ... erasing section 86 ... reading section 88 ... panel transport mechanism

Claims (3)

A cassette loading unit for loading a cassette for holding a stimulable phosphor panel in which radiation image information is stored and recorded, and excitation light for the stimulable phosphor panel detached from the cassette loaded in the cassette loading unit And reading the obtained stimulated emission light photoelectrically to acquire the radiation image information, and irradiating the stimulable phosphor panel with erasing light to erase the remaining radiation image information In a radiographic image information reading apparatus comprising an erasing unit and a cassette discharging unit for discharging the cassette holding the stimulable phosphor panel,
The cassette discharging section is
A discharge-side lid member that opens and closes the cassette discharge unit;
A discharge space detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the discharge space of the cassette in the cassette discharge section;
A closed state holding means for holding a closed state of the cassette discharge portion by the discharge side lid member when the discharge space is present;
A radiation image information reading apparatus comprising: The apparatus of claim 1.
2. The radiographic image information reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cassette discharging section does not discharge the cassette from the apparatus when the discharge-side lid member is opened. The apparatus of claim 1.
The cassette loading unit includes a loading side lid member that opens and closes the cassette loading unit, and the cassette loading unit performs a loading process of the cassette into the apparatus when the loading side lid member is opened. A radiographic image information reading apparatus, characterized in that there is no radiographic information.

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