JP2828322B2 - Single-sheet sheet mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sheet-type sheet-feeding mechanism, and more particularly, to removing a sheet-like image recording carrier from a magazine such as a film or a stimulable phosphor sheet. The present invention also relates to a sheet-fed sheet mechanism capable of performing identification by bringing a bar code reader close to the image record carrier in conjunction with the take-out operation.

[Related Art] Recently, a radiation image recording / reading apparatus that obtains a radiation image of a subject using a stimulable phosphor (stimulable phosphor) has attracted attention. Here, the stimulable phosphor is radiation (X-ray, α
Radiation, β-rays, γ-rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc.), a part of this radiation energy is accumulated, and when it is later irradiated with excitation light such as visible light, photostimulated light is emitted according to the accumulated energy. Refers to a phosphor that produces

The radiation image recording / reading apparatus uses this stimulable phosphor, and temporarily stores radiation image information of a subject such as a human body in a sheet having a layer composed of a stimulable phosphor (hereinafter, referred to as a “stimulable phosphor sheet” or simply “ Sheet)), the stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with excitation light such as laser light to generate stimulated emission light, and the stimulated emission light is photoelectrically read to obtain an electric signal, Based on the electric signal, the radiation image of the subject is recorded on a recording material such as a photographic photosensitive material or the like.
This is to output a visible image on a display device such as a CRT. Here, the expression as a visible image on a recording material such as a photographic photosensitive material or a display device such as a CRT as described above is referred to as reproduction.

Therefore, in such a radiation image recording and reading apparatus, the following method is specifically adopted to read the radiation image from the stimulable phosphor sheet on which the radiation image is accumulated and recorded.

That is, the stimulable phosphor sheet is two-dimensionally scanned with a light beam such as a laser beam, and the photostimulated light emitted by the light beam is detected in a time series by a photodetector such as a photomultiplier. Get. The two-dimensional scanning of the light beam is usually performed in a sub-scanning direction by mechanically transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet in one direction, and in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the sheet in one dimension. This is achieved by irradiating a deflected light beam to perform main scanning.

This type of radiation image recording and reading apparatus is basically configured as follows. That is, a conveying means for conveying a stimulable phosphor sheet on which a radiation image is accumulated and recorded along a predetermined path, and an excitation means for scanning the sheet on which the radiation image information is accumulated and recorded in the image recording unit in the path. An image reading section comprising an excitation light source for emitting light and photoelectric reading means for reading an stimulating light emitted from a sheet scanned by the excitation light to obtain an image signal; and an image reading section in the circulation path. Prior to image recording on a sheet after the image has been read, an erasing section for emitting radiation energy remaining on the sheet is incorporated in one apparatus. In this case, a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets preliminarily carrying image information of a subject are stacked and stored in a magazine and loaded into the apparatus.
Next, the sheets are fed from this magazine under the suction action of the suction disk, and the stimulable phosphor sheet is conveyed to the image reading unit.

In this case, a barcode is stuck to the stimulable phosphor sheet, and the identification of a subject, image recording conditions, and the like are displayed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, conventionally, a barcode reading mechanism for reading necessary information from the barcode and a sheet sticking mechanism for the stimulable phosphor sheet are provided independently in the apparatus. In fact, after the operation of the sheet-feeding mechanism is completed, the barcode reading mechanism reads the barcode reader by reciprocating the barcode reader in a direction orthogonal to the barcode scanning direction. Therefore, since the operation of reading the stimulable phosphor sheet and the operation of reading the barcode are performed differently, the cycle time becomes longer, and a driving source for reciprocating operation is separately required. However, there are inconveniences such as difficulties in manufacturing and high manufacturing costs.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an extremely simple structure, which can be manufactured at a low cost, and furthermore, by performing the sheet reading of a sheet and reading a bar code in parallel, the overall processing time, that is, the cycle time It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet single-sheet mechanism capable of shortening the number of sheets and accurately identifying the sheet.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a magazine in which a plurality of sheet bodies are stacked, and a suction mechanism having a plurality of suction plates is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat. A bar code reader that reads a bar code attached to the sheet body is provided integrally with the suction mechanism, and the bar code reader is displaced in a state in which the suction mechanism suctions the sheet body, Under the action of a displacement member disposed within the displacement range of the suction mechanism, the bar code is displaceable relative to the suction mechanism in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the bar codes.

[Operation] When the suction mechanism is displaced while the sheet body is being sucked,
The bar code reader is displaced with respect to the suction mechanism by the action of the displacement member. This displacement direction is set to a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the bar codes attached to the sheet member. Therefore, at the time of sheet feeding by the suction mechanism, the information recorded in the bar code can be read regardless of the presence or absence of dust and the like to accurately identify the sheet.

Embodiment Next, a preferred embodiment will be described in relation to an image reading apparatus incorporating the sheet body sheet feeding mechanism according to the present invention,
This will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a radiation image reading apparatus incorporating a sheet-body sheet feeding mechanism according to the present invention. That is, the radiation image reading apparatus 10 has an image reading unit 12, an erasing unit 14 for erasing a radiation image remaining after being read by the image reading unit 12, and a downstream side of the erasing unit 14, for example, A sorting / transporting unit 18 for selectively transporting the stimulable phosphor sheets having different sizes to the tray setting unit 16 according to their sizes, and one sheet from the sheet feeding unit 20 for the image reading unit 12. And a sheet part 22 for sheet-to-sheet integration of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP. The sheet unit 22, the image reading unit 12,
The erasing unit 14 and the sorting / conveying unit 18 are each electrically controlled by the control unit 24.

A first transport system 26 is provided between the sheet unit 22 and the image reading unit 12, and a second transport system 28 is provided between the image reading unit 12 and the erasing unit 14. Further, a third transport system 30 is provided between the erasing unit 14 and the sorting transport unit 18. Each of the first to third transport systems 26 to 30 basically includes a roller and a belt conveyor wound around the roller, and a guide plate is provided on a part thereof.

Next, the sheet unit 22 constituting the sheet unit sheet mechanism according to the present invention will be described in more detail.

In FIG. 2, a magazine set section 36 for loading a magazine 40 from a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper is arranged at a predetermined angle. In the magazine 40, stimulable phosphor sheets IP are stacked and arranged. Guide plates 46a and 46b are provided near the opening section 42 of the magazine 40 so that the suction plates 44a, 44b, 44c and 44d are displaced from a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the magazine 40, respectively.

The guide plates 46a, 46b have elongated holes 48a, 48b for guiding, and a pin member disposed inside the elongated holes 48a, 48b on a support plate 50 extending in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the magazine 40. 52
a and 52b enter. Next, the pin members 52a and 52b enter the long holes 56a and 56b of the triangular swing members 54a and 54b. Actually, the swing members 54a and 54b are pivotally attached to a support plate (not shown) so as to be freely swingable, and the shaft 58 of the swing member 54b is rotated by a large-diameter pulley 60. The swing members 54a and 54b are connected by a rod 55.

The pulley 60 is connected to a small-diameter pulley 66 disposed coaxially with a large-diameter pulley 64 via a belt 62, and the large-diameter pulley 64 is connected to a pulley 70 mounted on a rotation shaft of a pulse motor 68.
Is driven to rotate. In the figure, reference numerals 72 and 74 respectively indicate pulleys for tension.

Therefore, in FIG. 2, the lowermost suction plate 44a will be described. A first angle member 82 is provided on a cylindrical rod 80 holding the suction disk 44a, and a torsion spring 84 is provided on the first angle member 82. A second angle member 86 is provided at one end of the torsion spring 84. Is fixed. The second angle member 86 holds the suction disk 44a. Further, in FIG. 2, the grip roller pair 90 is displaceable in the direction of the arrow close to the position where the second angle member 86 is raised.
Is provided. The axis of the grip roller pair 90 is a guide plate
A pin 91 that can be displaced in the direction of the arrow along 94 and that is displaced integrally with the grip roller pair 90 is provided near the grip roller pair 90. The shafts 96a and 96b of the rollers 92a and 92b constituting the grip roller pair 90 are pivotally mounted on a guide plate 94. The guide plate 94 constitutes a link mechanism 98, and can be displaced in the direction of the arrow by a rotating arm 100. is there.

The belt 102 is engaged with the roller 92a, and the belt 10
2 is wound around rollers 104, 106, 108, 110 and a large diameter roller 112. A rod 116 locked to one end of a coil spring 114 is connected to the roller 106 via a connecting member 118. Actually, a belt 124 that engages with the pulley 122 of the rotary drive source 120 is engaged with the roller 110, and this rotary drive source 12
The belt 124 is rotated by driving the roller 11 and the roller 11 is rotated.
The rotation of 0 causes the belt 102 to rotate. A belt 113 is rotatably slidably in contact with the belt 102 on the roller 110 side.

On the other hand, regarding the link mechanism 98, the rotation drive source 13
0 and a pulley 132 connected to the rotary drive source 130
The belt 134 is wound around the link mechanism 98 via a pulley 136.
Is engaged with a pulley 140 for driving the rotation shaft 138 to rotate. Note that an angle member 150 that is bent near the magazine 40 is provided, and the angle member 150 is swingable by a shaft 152.

A coil spring 154 is provided at one end of the angle member 150, and the angle member 150 is constantly pulled in the direction of the arrow by the coil spring 154. The position of the angle member 150 is such that the roller 92b on the other side of the grip roller pair 90 is in contact with the angle member 150 when the roller 92b is displaced. The leading end of the angle member 150 contacts the inclined plate 156 provided inside the magazine 40 by the contact of the other roller 92b.

Next, the sheet identification mechanism 180 will be described. The bar code reader 184 constituting the sheet identification mechanism 180 is fixed to a bent plate 182, and the plate 182 is in sliding contact with a plurality of rollers 185 rotatably mounted on the support plate 50. The commercially available bar code reader 184 has a bent end portion 184a, and occupies the home position when the suction disks 44a to 44d are in the non-suction state of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP. In this case, the tip 184a of the barcode reader 184
Is in contact with a roller 188, which is a displacement member pivoted by the angle member 186.

The radiation image reading apparatus incorporating the sheet-body sheet-feeding mechanism according to the present invention is basically configured as described above. Next, the operation and effects thereof will be described.

First, a magazine 40 in which a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets IP are stacked and stored is loaded into the radiation image reading apparatus 10 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. At this time,
The suction cups 44a to 44d are at the highest home position from the magazine 40, while the grip roller pair 90 is in the second position.
It is at the lowest position indicated by the solid line in the figure. Then, when the magazine 40 is loaded, the grip roller pair 90 moves up to the home position shown by the broken line in FIG.
At this time, the shaft 96b abuts against the back of the angle member 150, and rotates the tip of the shaft 96b to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 against the tensile force of the coil spring 154. That is, the shutter groove 200 is closed by contacting the inclined plate 156. Next, when the pulse motor 68 is energized to rotate, the rotation is transmitted to the pulleys 64, 66, 60, and swings the swing members 54a, 54b in the direction of the arrow via the shaft 58. As a result, the support plate 50 is displaced in the direction of the arrow via the pin members 52a and 52b, and the suction plates 44a to 44d suction the uppermost stimulable phosphor sheet IP stacked in the magazine 40 (the second position). 3 See FIG. B). As described above, when the support plate 50 is displaced in the direction of the arrow, the bar code reader 184 detaches its tip 184a from the roller 188, which is a displacement member, and tries to drop due to its gravity. That is, the plate body 182 is displaced downward by the rotation of the roller 185, and finally reaches the position shown by the broken line in FIG. As a result, the barcode reader 18
The front end portion 184a of 4 faces the barcode 190 attached to the stimulable phosphor sheet IP (see FIG. 4). However, at this time, the barcode reader 184 is not activated. At this point, the rotary drive source 130 is energized, and the pulley 136,
The rotation shaft 138 rotates via 140, and the arm of the link mechanism 98
100 extends in the direction of the arrow. As a result, the guide plate 94 is displaced under the extension action of the arm 100, and the grip roller pair 90
Rises to the position shown by the broken line (see FIG. 3c). Next, when the pulse motor 68 is rotated in the reverse direction, the swing members 54a, 5a
4b is a support plate for swinging in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow.
The suction disks 44a to 44d are displaced from the magazine 40 to the home position with the uppermost stimulable phosphor sheet IP being sucked from the magazine 40 via 50. During this time, the tip of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP abuts on the grip roller pair 90, and the rotatable second sheet.
The angle member 86 resists the elastic force of the torsion spring 84 and
As shown by the broken line in the figure, the suction disk 44a is rotated and displaced. At this time, the distal end portion 184a of the barcode reader 184 abuts on the roller 188, which is a displacement member, by the displacement operation. As a result, the plate body 182 rotates the roller 185 and the bar code reader 184 rises to the home position. To reach. At this point, since the suction disks 44b to 44d hold the stimulable phosphor sheet IP in a substantially linear state, the rotation of the suction disk 44a causes the tip of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP to bend. The result is as if a tilting motion was given (see FIG. 3d). Therefore, even if the uppermost stimulable phosphor sheet IP adheres due to static electricity or the like and is discharged, a plurality of sheets of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP therebelow are placed inside the magazine 40 by this substantial swing operation. Fall. At this time, the angle member 150 is in contact with the tip of the inclined plate 156 by the pins 91 arranged in parallel with the grip roller pair 90, and the shutter groove 200 defined inside the magazine 40 is inserted into the angle member 150. Since the shutter groove is closed at 150 (see the broken line in FIG. 2), the shutter groove 200 does not fall.

In this way, once a plurality of sheets have been avoided, the pulse motor 68 is again urged to rotate forward, and the topmost stimulable phosphor sheet
The IP is returned into the magazine 40 (see FIG. 3e), while the rotation drive source 130 is urged to rotate in the reverse direction, and the grip roller pair 90 is again displaced downward to the home position (see FIG. 3f). Next, the pulse motor 68 is reversely urged to take out the uppermost stimulable phosphor sheet IP (see FIG. 3g). At this time, the barcode reader 184 reads the uppermost stimulable phosphor sheet IP. The size, the identification information of the subject already stored and recorded, and the like are recognized by the barcode 190 attached to the stimulable phosphor sheet IP (see FIG. 3h). The identification of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP using the barcode 190 has the following advantages. That is, at the time of the identification, the tip of the barcode reader 184 is the barcode 1
Displaced relative to 90. Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheet IP
While the bar code reader 184 is displaced so as to be orthogonal to the scanning direction, the bar code 190 is reliably read. Furthermore, bar code 19
There is also obtained an advantage that no error occurs in reading even if a scratch or the like exists in 0.

As described above, after the stimulable phosphor sheet IP discharged by the barcode reader 184 is specified, the rotation drive source 130 is again rotationally urged, and the grip roller pair 90 is moved to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. To rise. When the grip roller pair 90 reaches the uppermost position, the shaft 96b of the roller 92b is separated from the angle member 150, but the pin 91 comes into contact with the back surface of the angle member 150. That is, during this time, the tip of the angle member 150 is in a state of entering the shutter groove 200. Then, the tip of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP is firmly held by the grip roller pair 90 (see FIG. 3i).

On the other hand, the vacuum state with respect to the stimulable phosphor sheet IP held by the gripping operation of the grip roller pair 90 is leaked (see FIG. 3j), and the stimulable phosphor sheet IP is sandwiched between the roller 92b and the belt 102. After, belt 113 and belt 1
02, it is conveyed to the first conveying system 26 side (see FIG. 3, k, l), and the suction disks 44a to 44d and the bar code reader 184 return to the home position.

Next, in the image reading unit 12, laser light from a laser light source (not shown) is scanned in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP, and the stimulable phosphor sheet IP on which the radiation image is recorded is scanned. Are scanned two-dimensionally. As a result, the photomultiplier 300 constituting the image reading unit 12 converts the stimulating light emitted from the stimulable phosphor sheet IP to the radiation image into an electric signal, and reads the electric signal into a CRT or a storage device (not shown).

Next, the stimulable phosphor sheet IP is passed through the second transport system 28.
Reaches the erasing section 14, and the erasing light source is turned on in the erasing section 14 to erase the remaining image. The stimulable phosphor sheet IP, which can be reused in this way, reaches the sorting / conveying unit 18 via the third conveying system 30, and the tray of the tray set unit 16 adapted to its size. Will be loaded.

According to this embodiment, as described above, when the stimulable phosphor sheet IP is taken out, the barcode reader 184 is moved closer to the stimulable phosphor sheet IP and identified in conjunction with this takeout operation. Accordingly, since the operation of taking out the stimulable phosphor sheet IP and the identifying operation can be performed in parallel, the cycle time from taking out the stimulable phosphor sheet IP to erasing the remaining image can be reduced at once.

Further, since the configuration is simple, it is suitable for miniaturization and can be constructed at low cost. Furthermore, the barcode reader 184
Is displaced so as to be orthogonal to the scanning direction in synchronization with the taking-out operation of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP.
190 readings are made reliably.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, since the sheet body identification mechanism is provided in parallel with the sheet body taking-out means, the sheet body can be identified with a particularly simple mechanism. Is obtained. Moreover, since the sheet body can be identified almost simultaneously with the sheet body taking-out operation, the cycle time for processing can be shortened as a whole. Further, the barcode reading mechanism has a simple configuration and does not require a driving source for driving displacement as in the related art. Therefore, there is an advantage that it can be manufactured at a low cost and that the mechanical structure causes less trouble. Further, the bar code reader is recorded in the bar code because the bar code reader is displaced in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the bar codes attached to the sheet member under the action of the displacement member in accordance with the displacement operation of the suction mechanism. The information can be read irrespective of the presence or absence of dust and the like to accurately identify the sheet.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural explanatory view of an image reading apparatus incorporating a sheet identifying mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed front explanatory view of the sheet identifying mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation when the stimulable phosphor sheet is taken out while performing the tilting operation and the identification is performed. FIG. 4 is a perspective explanatory view of the sheet identifying mechanism according to the present invention. 10 radiation image reading device 12 image reading unit 14 erasing unit 16 tray setting unit 18 sorting / conveying unit 20 sheet feeding unit 22 sheet unit 24 control unit 40 … Magazines 44a to 44d… Suction plate 50… Support plates 54a, 54b… Swinging member 84… Torsion spring 90… Grip roller pair 91… Pin 98… Link mechanism 120, 130… Rotation drive source 180: Sheet identification mechanism 184: Bar code reader 188: Roller

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bar code reader for reading a bar code attached to a sheet body, wherein a suction mechanism having a plurality of suction plates is provided in a magazine for laminating a plurality of sheet bodies so as to be able to advance and retreat. The bar code reader is provided integrally with a suction mechanism, and the bar code reader is operated under the action of a displacement member disposed within a displacement range of the suction mechanism in accordance with an operation in which the suction mechanism is displaced while sucking the sheet body. A sheet-sheet-feeding mechanism provided so as to be displaceable with respect to the suction mechanism in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the bar codes.