JPH02275437A - Cassette for image recording carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the inside of the cassette from being exposed to external light with its lid body open by providing light shield bellows to the cassette which contains image recording carriers such as accumulating phosphor sheets. CONSTITUTION:The lid body 14 can be opened and closed by a specific angle around a side edge 17 so that an opening part 15 is formed on the side of the side edge 17 of a box body 12 facing the side edge 16, and bellows 22 and 24 are added between the side edges 18 and 20 of the box body 12 and the side edges 21 and 23 of the lid body 14 as both side parts of the opening part 15. Accumulating phosphor sheets S as image recording carriers where radiograph are stored and recorded temporarily are stored in the cassette. Thus, the cassette which contains the image recording carriers such as the accumulating phosphor sheets is provided with a light shield means and, preferably, bellows. Consequently, the opening part of the cassette is only put in the device to shut off external light.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a cassette for an image recording carrier, and more specifically, for example, by providing a light shielding means to the cassette containing a stimulable phosphor sheet, the cassette can be It is possible to take out the stimulable phosphor sheet from the cassette in a light-tight state by simply placing the opening side of the stimulable phosphor sheet in a device that performs a predetermined treatment on the stimulable phosphor sheet. The present invention relates to a cassette for an image recording carrier that allows the device itself to be made more compact.

[Background of the Invention] Recently, a radiation image recording and reproducing system that obtains a radiation image of a subject using a stimulable phosphor (stimulable phosphor) has been attracting attention. Here, stimulable phosphor refers to radiation (X-rays, α
rays, β rays, γ rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc.) and accumulates some of this radiation energy, and later irradiates with excitation light such as visible light, stimulated luminescence occurs depending on the accumulated energy. Refers to phosphor.

The radiation image recording and reproducing system described above utilizes this stimulable phosphor, and a sheet having a layer made of stimulable phosphor (hereinafter referred to as a ``stimulable phosphor sheet'' or simply ``sheet'') is stored in a cassette. , radiographic image information of a subject such as a human body is stored and recorded on a stimulable phosphor sheet stored in this cassette, and the cassette containing this stimulable phosphor sheet is set in a radiation image reading device and exposed to laser light, etc. Scanning with excitation light generates stimulated luminescence light, photoelectrically reads the stimulated luminescence light to obtain an electrical signal, and based on this electrical signal, a radiation image of the subject is recorded on a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or on a CRT or the like. The image is output as a visible image on a display device.

In this case, in the radiation image reading device, the stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned two-dimensionally with a light beam such as a laser beam, and the stimulated luminescence light emitted thereby is photoelectronized by a photodetector such as a photomultiplier. Image information is obtained through conversion.

By the way, it is not preferable that the stimulable phosphor sheet be exposed to external light before reading an image. This is because the radiation image accumulated on the sheet will be erased by such external light. Therefore, the image reading apparatus is configured to completely house the cassette containing the sheets in the apparatus and to feed the sheets one by one in a light-dense state. Therefore, the device must be provided with a space and a mechanism that can sufficiently house the entire cassette in a light-tight manner, and it has been pointed out that this does not meet the demands for miniaturization of the device and simplification of the mechanism. Similar problems also occur in conventional cassettes for storing X-ray films.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, and by providing a light shielding means, preferably a bellows, to a cassette containing an image recording carrier such as a stimulable phosphor sheet, By storing only the opening part of the cassette inside the device, it is possible to prevent outside light from entering, and there is no need to provide a part to store the entire cassette inside the device, making it possible to simplify and downsize the device itself. An object of the present invention is to provide a cassette for an image recording carrier.

[Means for achieving the object] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cassette for storing an image recording carrier, the cassette comprising a box for storing the image recording carrier, and one end of the box. a lid that is rotatably attached to a side and can be opened and closed; and a light shielding member that is disposed between both sides of the box and both sides of the lid and expands and contracts as the lid is opened and closed. It is characterized by comprising the following.

[Embodiments] Next, preferred embodiments of the image recording carrier cassette according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates a cassette for an image recording carrier according to this embodiment. The cassette 10 includes a box body 12 and a lid body 14, and the lid body 14 is connected to the box body 12.
is rotatably attached to one side edge 16 of. In this case, the lid 14 is configured to be openable and closable at a predetermined angle around the side edge 16 so that the side edge 17 of the box body 12 opposite to the side edge 16 forms an opening 15 . Bellows 22 and 24 are provided between the side edges 18 and 20 of the box body 12 and the side edges 21 and 23 of the lid body 14, which are both sides of the opening 15. A stimulable phosphor sheet S, which is an image recording carrier on which a radiation image is temporarily stored and recorded, is housed in the cassette 10 having such a structure.

Although not shown, the cassette IO is provided with a well-known locking means for locking the lid 14 in the closed position with respect to the box 12.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a radiation image information reading device 30 into which the cassette 10 according to the present embodiment is loaded.

The radiation image information reading device 30 photoelectrically reads the stimulable phosphor sheet (S) on which the radiation image has been stored and recorded to obtain an electrical signal, and irradiates the read stimulable phosphor sheet (S) with erasing light. It has a function of erasing the radiation image and using the stimulable phosphor sheet S again for recording the radiation image.

The radiation image information reading device 30 includes a cassette opening lid member 34 that is a suction cup that opens and closes the lid 14 of the cassette 10;
A single leaf member 3 which is a suction cup that collects the stimulable phosphor sheet S from the inside of the cassette 10 and supplies it to the nip roller 35.
6, a sub-scanning unit 37 for moving the stimulable phosphor sheet S in the sub-scanning direction for reading and scanning after conveying the stimulable phosphor sheet S to a reading scanning position; It basically consists of an image scanning section 38 that photoelectrically reads image information from the sheet S to obtain an electrical signal, and a conveying path 40 that supplies the stimulable phosphor sheet S to an erasing section 42 after the reading scan is completed. Ru.

A loading port 44 for loading the cassette 10 is provided on the front surface of the frame body 32. This loading port 44 is provided with a cassette locking means (not shown), and the part of the cassette 10 on the opening 15 side is housed in the frame 32 by the cassette locking member. It is locked in the loading port 44 as shown in FIG. A suction means and a drive mechanism (not shown) are connected to the cassette opening lid member 34 and the leaf member 36 provided near the loading port 44, and by operating the suction means and drive mechanism, the lid opening member 3
4 performs an opening/closing operation, and the sheet member 36 performs a sheet operation.

The image scanning unit 38 includes a laser light source 48 that generates laser light as excitation light, a mirror 50, a galvanometer mirror 52 that deflects the laser light by a predetermined angle, a scanning lens 54 such as an fθ lens, and a mirror 50 that deflects the laser light by a predetermined angle. a mirror 56 for guiding the light to the scanning surface, and a photomultiplier that receives the stimulated luminescence light from the stimulable phosphor sheet S on the scanning surface of the sub-scanning section 37 and converts the stimulated luminescence light into an electrical signal. 58
It consists of

The erasing section 42 includes several erasing light sources 59, such as sodium lamps, tungsten lamps, or xenon lamps, arranged on the transport path 40 at predetermined intervals.

The image recording carrier cassette 10 according to the present embodiment and the radiation image information reading device 30 to which the cassette is applied are basically constructed as described above, and the functions and effects thereof will be explained next.

After the sheet S is stored in the cassette 10, a radiation image is recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet S by a radiation image information recording device (not shown).

Next, this cassette 10 is attached to the radiation image information reading device 3.
The cassette 10 is loaded into the loading port 44 of the cassette 10 provided on the front side of the frame 32 of the cassette 10. In this case, a cassette locking member (not shown) is provided in the loading port 44 of the cassette 10, and the cassette 10 is locked with its opening 15 side inserted into the loading port 44. be done.

When the cassette 10 is set in the loading port 44, the lid member is unlocked by a lock release means (not shown), the opening member 34 comes into contact with the lid body 14 of the cassette 10, and the lid member 34 comes into contact with the lid body 14 of the cassette 10, and the lid member 34 is opened under the action of a suction means (not shown). The lid body 14 is attracted and opened. In this case, the opening 15 of the cassette 10 enters into the frame 32 from the loading port 44. Additionally, bellows 22 and 24 are attached to both sides of the opening 15. Therefore, when the lid body 14 is opened, the loading port 44
The entry of outside light from the top is blocked by the lid body 14 itself, and the entry of outside light from the side of the loading port 44 is blocked by the bellows 2.
Blocked by 2.24. As a result, cassette 10
The stimulable phosphor sheet (S) stored in the stimulable phosphor sheet S is in a state where it can be sheeted in the device 30 without being affected by external light.

Next, the sheet member 36 comes into contact with the stimulable phosphor sheet S,
By activating a suction means (not shown), the stimulable phosphor sheet S is attracted and taken out from inside the cassette 10 and supplied to the sub-scanning section 37. The taken out stimulable phosphor sheet S is conveyed to a reading scanning position by the sub-scanning section 37, and reading scanning is started by the image scanning section 38.

The image scanning section 38 passes the laser light emitted from the laser light source 48 to the galvanometer mirror 5 via the mirror 50.
2 and under the rocking motion of the galvanometer mirror 52.
The laser beam is caused to scan the stimulable phosphor sheet S in the main scanning direction via a scanning lens 54 such as a θ lens and a mirror 56. The stimulated luminescent light emitted from the stimulable phosphor sheet S thereby enters the photomultiplier 58, is converted into an electrical signal, and is sent to an image information processing circuit (not shown). On the other hand, when main scanning is being performed, the stimulable phosphor sheet S is transported in the sub-scanning direction by the sub-scanning section 37, so that image information is scanned two-dimensionally.

The stimulable phosphor sheet S that has been read and scanned is transferred to the transport path 40.
The image information remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet S is erased by an erasing light source 59 such as a sodium lamp, a tungsten lamp, or a xenon lamp. The stimulable phosphor sheet S from which the image information has been erased is transferred to the conveyance path 40 and the sub-scanning section 37.
It is then stored in the cassette 10 again through the cassette 10, and is used for recording radiographic images.

As described above, according to the present invention, the bellows 22 and 24 are provided between the box body 12 and the lid body 14 constituting the cassette 10 in which the stimulable phosphor sheet S on which a radiation image is accumulated and recorded is stored. ing. Therefore, even if the lid 14 is opened with a part of the cassette 10 on the opening 15 side inserted into the loading port 44 of the radiation image information reading device 30, the opening 15 This prevents the stimulable phosphor sheet S in the cassette 10 from being exposed to external light.

Therefore, there is no need to provide a storage section for the cassette 10 within the housing of the radiation image information reading device 30, and the radiation image information reading device 30 can be made smaller.

Next, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of a radiation image information reading apparatus to which the image recording carrier cassette according to the present invention is applied. The structure of the cassette is similar to that of the cassette 10 in the embodiment described above, and the same components are given the same reference numerals.

Reference numeral 60 indicates a radiation image information reading device, and the radiation image information reading device 60 is provided with a loading port 64 for the cassette 10 on the top surface of a frame 62. A lid opening member 66 and a sheet member 68 are disposed in the frame body 62 near the loading port 64 of the cassette 10. Further, a conveyance path 70 for conveying the stimulable phosphor sheet S is provided in the sheet member 68. It will be easily understood from the figure that this conveyance path 70 is essentially composed of rollers and a conveyor. The conveyance path 70 extends downward from the frame body 62 and then bends toward the front of the device 60, and a sub-scanning section 72 is provided at the end thereof. Above the sub-scanning section 72, an image scanning section 74 consisting of the same components as in FIG. 2 is provided. Further, in front of the sub-scanning section 72, an erasing section 76 for erasing the radiation image recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet S is provided.

Note that the lid opening member 66, the sheet member 68, the image scanning section 74, and the erasing section 76 have the same configuration as in the embodiment described above, and a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

In the radiation image information reading device 60, the cassette 10 is inserted into the loading port 64 and locked therein. In this case, cassette 1
0 is placed on the upper surface of the cassette 62, so no particular means for locking the cassette 10 is required. Therefore,
When the stimulable phosphor sheet S is fed one by one by the sheet member 68 , the back side of the image forming surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet S is attracted, and the stimulable phosphor sheet S is fed to the sub-scanning section 72 via the conveyance path 70 . The sub-scanning section 72 is set with the image forming surface facing upward. After the image scanning section 74 performs a reading operation of the image information of the stimulable phosphor sheet S, the erasing section 76
In this step, the radiation image remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet S is erased. In this embodiment, since the back surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet S is adsorbed by the sheet member 68, it is possible to prevent the image forming surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet S from being damaged.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, in the present invention, a cassette containing an image recording carrier such as a stimulable phosphor sheet is provided with a light-shielding bellows.

For this reason, only the opening part of the cassette is housed in the apparatus, and even if the lid of the cassette is opened when taking out the image recording carrier, the image recording carrier is exposed to light from the outside and fogging occurs. Moreover, since there is no need to store the entire cassette inside the device as in the conventional case, the device itself can be made more compact.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
Of course, various improvements and changes in design are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention, such as application to cassettes for storing X-ray films.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective configuration diagram of a cassette for an image recording carrier according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of a radiation image information reading device loaded with the cassette shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is the same as that shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of another radiation image information reading device loaded with a cassette.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A cassette for storing an image recording carrier, the cassette comprising a box housing the image recording carrier, a lid rotatably attached to one end of the box and capable of opening and closing;
A cassette for an image recording carrier, comprising: a light shielding member disposed between both sides of the box body and both sides of the lid body, and expanding and contracting as the lid body is opened and closed.