JP2001281774A - Device for loading container for sheet-like recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent foreign matter from needlessly falling down into a device main body with a simple constitution. SOLUTION: This device is equipped with an opening/closing means 30 provided at a loading port 25, preventing foreign matter 80 from entering the device main body 12 from the outside and guiding the foreign matter 80 when a cassette 14 is inserted, and a foreign matter storing means 32 surely storing the foreign matter 80 guided by the means 30 and introduced in the main body 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet recording medium container loading apparatus for removably loading a sheet recording medium container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, stimulable phosphors (stimulable phosphors)
There is known a system that once records radiation image information of a subject such as a human body, reproduces the radiation image information on a photographic photosensitive material such as a photographic film, or outputs a visible image on a CRT or the like. I have.

The stimulable phosphor is composed of radiation (X-ray, α-ray, γ
(Rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc.), a part of this radiation energy is accumulated, and after irradiation with excitation light such as visible light, a phosphor that emits stimulated emission according to the accumulated energy is referred to. The stimulable phosphor is usually used as a sheet-shaped stimulable phosphor sheet (sheet-shaped recording medium) because of its easy handling.

In the above-mentioned system, for example, a loading section (loading device) for loading a cassette (container) containing a stimulable phosphor sheet in which radiation image information is recorded in advance, and the stimulable phosphor removed from the cassette An image information reading apparatus incorporating a reading unit for reading the radiation image information carried on the phosphor sheet and an erasing unit for erasing the radiation image information remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet is employed.

Further, in the above system, an image information reproducing apparatus for recording radiation image information read from a stimulable phosphor sheet on a photographic film (sheet-shaped recording medium) is used. The image information reproducing apparatus includes a loading unit (loading device) for loading a container such as a cassette or a magazine in which a photo film is stored, and a recording unit for recording radiation image information on the photo film.

[0006]

By the way, on the above-mentioned cassette, various kinds of information relating to the subject to be photographed, for example, a lead character describing a name, a photographing date and a photographing part, etc. are pasted corresponding to each subject. May be attached. For this reason, when the cassette is loaded into the loading section, there is a problem in that the lead characters stuck on the cassette enter the loading section, which causes a transport failure of the stimulable phosphor sheet or the photographic film.

Further, in particular, in a structure in which the cassette is loaded from above or in a posture inclined upward, in addition to the fall of the lead character, foreign matter such as dust easily enters the inside of the apparatus from the upper part of the apparatus, resulting in poor conveyance. It has been pointed out that a problem arises in that the reading and recording processes of radiation image information are hindered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve this kind of problem, and it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a defect due to foreign matter in the apparatus main body and to effectively simplify the structure of the sheet-shaped recording medium container. It is an object of the present invention to provide a loading device.

[0009]

In the apparatus for loading a container for a sheet-shaped recording medium according to the present invention, an opening / closing means is provided at a loading port into which the container is inserted, and the inside of the apparatus main body is externally connected via the loading port. Foreign matter is prevented from entering the vehicle. Then, when foreign matter enters the apparatus main body from the loading port when the container is inserted into the loading port, the opening / closing means guides the foreign substance to the foreign substance receiving means. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the foreign matter from falling into the apparatus main body and causing a conveyance failure or the like.

Here, the opening / closing means has a lid member which can swing toward the foreign matter accommodating means side, so that the foreign matter can be smoothly guided to the foreign matter accommodating means with a simple structure. . Further, the foreign matter accommodating means includes a pocket portion provided in the apparatus main body so as to extend in the width direction of the container,
With a simple configuration, foreign matters can be reliably accommodated.

The foreign matter accommodating means has a cover member provided on the apparatus main body so as to be openable and closable. By opening the cover member, foreign matter in the pocket portion can be easily removed from the outside. . Therefore, the work of removing the foreign matter is easily and efficiently performed.

Further, the loading port loads the container in a vertical posture or a posture inclined in a vertical direction. For this reason, in particular, foreign substances easily enter the apparatus main body from the loading port, but the foreign substances entering from the loading port are reliably collected via the opening / closing means and the foreign substance storage means, and troubles caused by the foreign substances are reduced. The occurrence can be prevented as much as possible.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal structure of an image information reading apparatus 10 in which a sheet-like recording medium container loading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated.

A cassette 14 accommodating a stimulable phosphor sheet (sheet-shaped recording medium) S in which radiation image information of a subject has been once recorded is loaded in an apparatus main body 12 constituting the image information reading apparatus 10. A cassette loading unit (loading device) 16; and a reading unit 18 that irradiates the stimulable phosphor sheet S on which the radiation image information is recorded with laser light L as excitation light and photoelectrically reads the radiation image information.
And an erasing unit 20 for erasing radiation image information remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet S after reading.

The cassette 14 has a housing 22 for accommodating the stimulable phosphor sheet S, and an openable / closable end of the housing 22 for taking out and inserting the stimulable phosphor sheet S. And a lid 24 to be mounted.

The cassette loading section 16 has a loading slot 25 for inserting the cassette 14 in a vertical position, a cover opening / closing means (not shown) for opening and closing the cover 24, and a cassette 14 for sucking and holding the stimulable phosphor sheet S. Sheet means 28 having a suction disk 26 for feeding the stimulable phosphor sheet S after reading and erasing into the cassette 14
Is provided in the loading port 25, and the device main body 12
Opening / closing means 30 for preventing foreign matter 80 from entering inside
And the opening / closing means 30 provided in the apparatus body 12.
Foreign matter 8 introduced into the apparatus main body 12 by being guided by the
0 for accommodating foreign matter.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG.
Includes a plate-shaped lid member 36 that is swingably disposed around the support shaft 34 toward the foreign matter accommodating means 32 side, and the lid member 36 is connected to a spring 38 provided on the support shaft 34 via a spring 38. , Is always urged toward the loading port 25 side. Loading port 25
On the inner wall surface 12a having the above, a cushioning material 40 may be provided in order to more reliably prevent foreign matter such as dust from entering the apparatus main body 12 at a portion contacting the lid member 36.

The foreign substance accommodating means 32 is provided integrally with the inner wall surface 12a of the apparatus main body 12, and has a pocket portion 42 provided to extend in the width direction of the cassette 14 (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2). The pocket portion 42 is connected to the device main body 12.
Is formed in a wall plate portion 44 having a substantially L-shaped cross-section, which extends in the horizontal direction from the inner wall surface 12a of the device, and is bent vertically upward, and both side portions of the wall plate portion 44 are integrated with the apparatus main body 12. Is provided in a standard manner.

The apparatus main body 12 is provided with a cover member 46 that can be opened and closed via a hinge 48. In a state where the cover member 46 is opened, as shown in FIG. 2, an opening 49 is formed for removing foreign matter in the pocket portion 42 from the outside of the apparatus main body 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, below the sheet means 28, there is provided a transport section 50 for sandwiching the stimulable phosphor sheet S and transporting the sheet in the vertical direction. The erasing section 20 is arranged near the transport roller 52. The erasing section 20 includes a plurality of erasing light sources 54 extending in the horizontal direction. Note that the erasing light source 54 may be configured as a single light source, or may be arranged to extend in the vertical direction.

The reading section 18 includes a stimulable phosphor sheet S
A sub-scanning conveying means 56 for sub-scanning and conveying the laser beam L in the substantially horizontal direction (arrow Y direction) with respect to the stimulable phosphor sheet S being sub-scanned and conveyed. ), And a laser beam irradiating means 58 for performing main scanning by irradiating the radiation image information carried by the stimulable phosphor sheet S with the stimulable light emitted from the stimulable phosphor sheet S. Reading means 60 for reading photoelectrically;

The sub-scanning conveyance means 56 is arranged in the vertical direction (arrow X).
First and second roller pairs 62, 64 arranged at a predetermined distance from each other. First and second
The roller pairs 62 and 64 are synchronously driven to rotate via a motor (not shown).

The laser beam irradiating means 58 is provided with an optical system 68 for radiating the laser beam L vertically downward, bending the laser beam L substantially horizontally, and irradiating the laser beam L to the stimulable phosphor sheet S. Provided. In the vicinity of the irradiating position of the stimulable phosphor sheet S with the laser beam L, a condensing guide 70 and a reflecting mirror 72 for condensing stimulated emission light emitted from the stimulable phosphor sheet S by the irradiation of the laser beam L. Is arranged. The light collecting guide 70 is connected to a photomultiplier 74 to constitute the reading means 60.

The image information reading apparatus 1 thus configured
The operation of 0 will be described below.

First, a cassette 14 is mounted on a cassette loading section 16 provided at an upper portion of the apparatus main body 12 so as to be directed vertically. The cassette 14 accommodates a stimulable phosphor sheet S in which radiation image information of a subject (not shown) is recorded in advance, and under the action of a cover opening / closing means (not shown) provided in the cassette loading section 16. , Lid 24
Is released.

Next, the suction disk 2 constituting the single-wafer means 28
6 enters the housing 22, sucks and holds the stimulable phosphor sheet S, and removes the stimulable phosphor sheet S from the housing 22. The leading end of the stimulable phosphor sheet S is
0, the stimulable phosphor sheet S passes through the erasing section 20 and is sent to the sub-scanning conveying means 56 constituting the reading section 18 under the rotation of the conveying roller 52. Can be

In the reading section 18, the sub-scanning conveying means 56
Are driven to rotate. For this reason, the stimulable phosphor sheet S is nipped between the first and second roller pairs 62 and 64 and is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction in the direction of the arrow X (vertical downward direction), while the laser light L Is derived. The laser light L once travels vertically downward, then is directed in a substantially horizontal direction (arrow Y direction) via the optical system 68, and is applied to the imaging surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet S to perform main scanning. Will be

The irradiation of the laser beam L generates stimulable luminescent light from the photographing surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet S, and the stimulable luminescent light is directly transmitted from the reflecting mirror 72 to the photomultiplier 74 via the condensing guide 70. Read photoelectrically.

The stimulable phosphor sheet S from which the reading of the radiation image information has been completed is conveyed vertically upward by driving the sub-scanning conveyance means 56 in the reverse direction, and the erasing section 2
Sent to 0. In the erasing section 20, the erasing light source 54 is energized, and erasing of radiation image information remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet S is performed. After the erasing, the stimulable phosphor sheet S is adsorbed by the adsorption plate 26 constituting the sheet unit 28 and sent into the housing 22 constituting the cassette 14. Then, the lid 24 is closed and the cassette 14 is taken out of the cassette loading section 16.

In this case, in the present embodiment, the cassette loading section 16 is provided with the opening / closing means 30 and the foreign matter accommodating means 32. For this reason, as shown in FIG.
Is not loaded in the cassette loading section 16, the lid member 36 constituting the opening / closing means 30 closes the loading port 25 through the elastic force of the spring 38, and from the loading port 25 into the apparatus main body 12. It is possible to prevent the foreign matter 80 from entering.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Is inserted into the loading port 25, the tip of the cassette 14 presses the lid member 36 downward, and the lid member 36 shifts to the elastic force of the spring 38 and moves in the direction of arrow B (vertically downward). Rocks. Therefore, the foreign matter 80 placed on the lid member 36 moves along the inclination direction of the lid member 36, that is, toward the foreign matter accommodating means 32 side, and the pocket portion constituting the foreign matter accommodating means 32 It is dropped and accommodated in 42.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Is loaded in the cassette loading section 16, the cover member 3
The foreign matter 80 on 6 is securely accommodated in the pocket portion 42, and it is possible to prevent the foreign matter 80 from falling into the apparatus main body 12.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in particular, in the cassette loading section 16 provided with the loading port 25 which is opened upward for attaching and detaching the cassette 14 in the vertical posture, the lid member 36 constituting the opening / closing means 30 is provided. When the cassette 14 is not loaded, the foreign matter 80 is reliably prevented from dropping into the apparatus main body 12 from the loading port 25 when the cassette 14 is not loaded. On the other hand, when the cassette 14 is inserted into the loading port 25, the foreign matter 80 is sent into the pocket portion 42 constituting the foreign matter accommodating means 32 under the swinging operation of the lid member 36, and the foreign matter 80 is It is prevented from falling inside.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the conveyance failure of the stimulable phosphor sheet S due to the fall of the foreign matter 80 or the reading unit 1
8 can be effectively prevented, and the radiation image information reading process can be efficiently and accurately performed.

In addition, the opening / closing means 30 has a cover member 36 which can swing about the support shaft 34 as a fulcrum.
2 has a pocket portion 42 constituted by a plate portion 44. Thereby, there is an advantage that the configurations of the opening / closing means 30 and the foreign matter accommodating means 32 are simplified at a stroke, and are economical.

Further, the foreign matter accommodating means 32 is provided with a cover member 46 which can be swung by cutting off the upper part of the apparatus main body 12. Therefore, only by opening the cover member 46, the foreign matter 80 contained in the pocket portion 42 can be removed from the outside of the apparatus main body 12 through the opening 49, and the work of removing the foreign matter 80 can be performed quickly and quickly. It can be easily performed.

In the present embodiment, the stimulable phosphor sheet S is used as a sheet-shaped recording medium, and the image information reading apparatus 10 reads the stimulable phosphor sheet S.
Has been described, but is not limited thereto.
The present invention can also be applied to an image information reproducing apparatus including a photo film as a sheet-like recording medium and having a cassette loading section for loading a cassette containing the photo film.

Further, in the image information reading apparatus 10, the cassette loading section 16 for loading the cassette 14 in the vertical position is used. However, the cassette loading section for loading the cassette 14 in the vertical inclined position may be used. Similar effects can be obtained.

[0039]

In the apparatus for loading a container for a sheet-shaped recording medium according to the present invention, the loading port is closed by the opening / closing means to prevent foreign matter from entering the apparatus body, and the container is inserted into the loading port. In this case, the opening / closing means guides the foreign matter to the foreign matter accommodating means, and can prevent the foreign matter from unnecessarily falling into the apparatus main body. This makes it possible to reliably collect foreign matter with a simple configuration, and to reliably prevent a transportation failure or the like, thereby performing efficient and highly accurate processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of an image information reading device incorporating a loading device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective explanatory view of a cassette loading section as the loading device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram before a cassette is inserted into the cassette loading section.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the cassette is inserted into the cassette loading unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a state where the cassette is loaded in the cassette loading section.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image reading device 12 ... Device main body 12a ... Inner wall surface 14 ... Cassette 16 ... Cassette loading part 18 ... Reading part 20 ... Erasing part 25 ... Loading port 26 ... Suction board 28 ... Single sheet means 30 ... Opening / closing means 32 ... Foreign matter accommodation Means 36: Lid 42: Pocket 46: Cover 49: Opening 50: Transport S: Storable phosphor sheet

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H013 AC01 BA03 3F343 FA09 FB01 GA04 GB01 GC01 GD04 HA01 HB03 HC14 JB02 KB03 LA04 LA15 5C062 AB22 AB32 AB35 AC04 AC11 AD02 AD06 5C072 AA01 AA03 NA01 NA02 VA01 XA04

Claims (5)

[Claims] An apparatus for loading a container for a sheet-shaped recording medium for removably loading a container for accommodating a sheet-shaped recording medium, the apparatus being provided at a loading port for inserting the container, and a foreign substance being introduced into the apparatus main body from outside. And an opening / closing means capable of guiding the foreign matter when the container is inserted, provided in the apparatus main body, guided by the opening / closing means and introduced into the apparatus main body. And a foreign matter accommodating means for accommodating the foreign matter. 2. A sheet-like recording medium container according to claim 1, wherein said opening / closing means comprises a lid member which is arranged to be swingable toward said foreign matter accommodating means. Loading device. 3. A sheet-like loading device according to claim 1, wherein said foreign matter accommodating means includes a pocket portion provided in said apparatus main body so as to extend in a width direction of said container. Device for loading containers for recording media. 4. The loading device according to claim 3, wherein said foreign matter accommodating means is provided on said apparatus body so as to be openable and closable, and comprises a cover member for removing foreign matter in said pocket portion from outside. For loading a sheet-shaped recording medium container. 5. The sheet loading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the loading port loads the container in a vertical posture or a posture inclined in a vertical direction. For loading a container for a recording medium.