JPH0451466B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to a stimulable phosphor sheet in which the stimulable phosphor sheet is accumulated one by one by the feeding of a carrying mechanism such as an introduction roller and the falling of the sheet by its own weight. The present invention relates to a stacking tray for sheets, and more particularly to a stacking tray for stimulable phosphor sheets capable of holding the sheets in place within the tray.

(Technical Background and Prior Art of the Invention) Certain phosphors are exposed to radiation (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays,
When irradiated with γ-rays, ultraviolet rays, etc., part of the energy of this radiation is accumulated in the phosphor, and then when the phosphor is irradiated with excitation light such as visible light,
The phosphor exhibits stimulated luminescence depending on the accumulated energy. A phosphor exhibiting such properties is called a stimulable phosphor.

Using this stimulable phosphor, radiographic image information of a subject such as a human body is stored and recorded on a sheet of stimulable phosphor, and this sheet is scanned with excitation light to cause stimulated luminescence. A radiation image information recording and reproducing method has been proposed in which the emitted light is read photoelectrically to obtain an image signal, and this image signal is processed to obtain a radiation image of a subject that is suitable for diagnosis (for example,
−12429, No. 56-11395, No. 55-163472, No. 56-11395, No. 55-163472, No.
56-104645, 55-116340, etc.). In this method, the final image may be reproduced as a hard copy or reproduced on a display device such as a CRT. In any case, in such a radiographic image information recording and reproducing method, the stimulable phosphor sheet does not ultimately record image information, but temporarily carries image information. The sheet may be used repeatedly, and such repeated use is extremely economical. Therefore, in order to use the stimulable phosphor sheet repeatedly, it is necessary to remove the radiation energy remaining in the stimulable phosphor sheet after the image information has been read by scanning with excitation light. Afterimages are erased. This afterimage is erased by, for example, irradiating the entire surface of the sheet with light included in the excitation wavelength range of the stimulable phosphor constituting the sheet, heating the sheet, etc. The phosphor sheet is again used to record image information. In such a process, the stimulable phosphor sheet whose afterimage has been erased is once accumulated on a sheet accumulating tray before being transported to the recording section where image information is recorded, and this accumulated stimulable phosphor sheet is The phosphor sheet is carried out along with the tray and transferred to the recording section. Here, the accumulation of the stimulable phosphor sheets inside the tray is carried out one by one by feeding by a carry-in mechanism such as an introduction roller provided near the top of the tray and by the sheets falling under their own weight. In order to easily accumulate sheets, the inner dimensions of the tray are set larger than the dimensions of the sheets. For this reason, when carrying the tray, there was a problem in that the play between the tray and the sheet caused the stimulable phosphor sheet to shake inside the tray, causing the sheets to rub against each other and causing scratches on the surface. . Furthermore, if the tray is transported to the recording unit with the stimulable phosphor sheet inside the tray misaligned, when recording on the stimulable phosphor sheet inside the tray, the stimulable phosphor sheet will be removed by the members of the recording device. Since the phosphor sheets are lifted one by one and automatically moved to the shooting position, the stimulable phosphor sheets are aligned in a fixed position within the tray when the tray is transported to the recording section. Otherwise, the misalignment of the sheet within the tray would directly translate into misalignment at the photographing position, resulting in problems such as the stimulable phosphor sheet protruding from a predetermined photographing frame.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention provides a method for transporting stimulable phosphor sheets to be supplied to the next stage, as in the case where the above-mentioned stimulable phosphor sheets from which afterimages have been removed are accumulated for recording purposes. A structure capable of holding stimulable phosphor sheets at a predetermined position within the tray in an accumulation tray for stimulable phosphor sheets in which the sheets are accumulated one by one by feeding by a mechanism and the sheets falling under their own weight. This prevents the stimulable phosphor sheet from rattling internally during conveyance, causing misalignment and damaging the sheet, or causing the stimulable phosphor sheet to deviate from its predetermined position when being fed to the next stage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a collection tray that can prevent such damage from occurring.

(Structure of the Invention) The stacking tray of stimulable phosphor sheets of the present invention comprises:
A sheet pressing member that can come into contact with the upper end of the sheet is provided between the inner wall of the upper end surface of the tray and the upper end of the stacked sheets, and the sheet pressing member can be brought into contact with the upper end of the stacked sheets by an external operation. A sheet pressing member moving means is provided to move the sheet pressing member between a position in contact with the sheet and a position away from the sheet, thereby suppressing or restraining the movement of the stimulable phosphor sheet while keeping it aligned in accordance with the state of use of the tray. This feature is characterized in that it is designed to release the .
The sheet pressing member may have a size sufficient to prevent all of the accumulated sheets from moving within the tray, and the sheet pressing member moving means may be configured to prevent movement of the accumulated sheets. In some cases, the sheet pressing member may be adjusted so as to be strong enough to restrain the movement of the sheets and to be able to abut against the accumulated sheets without bending or damaging the sheets. .

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the usage of the stimulable phosphor sheet accumulation tray of the present invention.

The stimulable phosphor sheet 1 on which image information has been accumulated and recorded is passed through a deflector 1 in a radiation image reading section 10.
An image reading system 1 that is scanned by excitation light 11 such as a laser beam deflected by 2 and photoelectrically reads stimulated luminescence light emitted from the sheet 1 by this scanning.
3, image information is read while being conveyed on the conveyor belt 14. The sheet 1 that has been read is then conveyed to the afterimage erasing section 20.
In this afterimage erasing section 20, the sheet 1 is transferred to the conveyor belt 2.
The radiation image remaining on the sheet 1 is erased by being irradiated with erasing light from an upper erasing light source 21 while being conveyed on the sheet 2 . This erasing light source 21 releases the radiation energy remaining in the sheet 1 by irradiating it with light included in the excitation wavelength range of the stimulable phosphor of the sheet 12, and is a fluorescent lamp, a tungsten lamp, Halogen lamp,
Infrared lamps, laser light sources, etc. may be used.

The sheet 1 whose afterimage has been erased in the afterimage erasing section 20 is carried out to the outside of the afterimage erasing section, and is accumulated in the tray 3 for sheet accumulation by introduction rollers 2A and 2B (carrying mechanism). This introduction roller 2A,
2B is provided near the upper opening surface of the tray 3. This tray 3 is supported in a diagonally upright state with its opening facing upward in the sorter section 40, and has one or more arbitrary number trays so that sheets can be stacked according to the size of the sheets. A tray is provided in the sorter section 40. The sheet 1 is guided halfway into the tray 3 by the rollers 2A and 2B, and the sheet 1 is guided halfway into the tray 3 by the rollers 2A and 2B.
After leaving the tray, they fall due to their own weight and are accumulated one by one in the tray. A gap is created between the upper end of the stacked sheets and the upper end inner wall surface 3a of the tray 3.

Next, the structure of the tray and the sheet holding mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C.

FIG. 2A is a plan view showing the state of the trays arranged in the sorter section 40, FIG. 2B is a side view thereof, and FIG.
Figure C is a sectional view taken along line A--A in Figure 2A.

Between the position of the upper end of the sheets to be accumulated in the tray 3 and the upper inner wall surface 3a of the tray, there is a space 2 having a width approximately equal to that of the sheets 1 to be accumulated in the tray 3.
A sheet pressing member 4 consisting of layers is provided,
A bracket 5 is glued to the center of the upper surface of the sheet holding member 4 near the opening of the tray 3, and a leaf spring 6 is attached to the upper surface of the bracket 5.
are fixed with screws 7a, 7a. Further, a pair of guide pins 8A, 8B are installed perpendicularly to the sheet presser member 4 near the left and right ends of the upper surface of the sheet presser member 4.
A pair of shafts 9A are planted perpendicularly from the bottom plate 3b of the tray 3, which is parallel to the surface of the sheets to be stacked.
The guide pins 9B are configured to move up and down in through holes 9a and 9b provided at positions corresponding to the guide pins 8A and 8B, respectively. Further, the plate spring 6
Both ends are slidably mounted on the bearings 9A, 9B. As the guide pins 8A, 8B move up and down in the through holes 9a, 9b, the sheet pressing member 4 is moved to a position where the stacked sheets are aligned and restrain their movement, and a position where they retreat upward to release the restraint. It is becoming easier to move between the two.
A member for moving the sheet holding member 4 is provided extending in the width direction of the tray closer to the bottom plate 3a of the tray 3 than the leaf spring 6 above the sheet holding member 4, and has one end outside the side end surface of the tray 3. a rotating shaft 15 protruding in the direction; a pair of eccentric cams 16A and 16B provided integrally with the rotating shaft so as to abut near both ends of the sheet pressing member 4; and a tray 3 of the rotating shaft 15. The sheet presser member moving means includes a tray lock and presser member drive lever (hereinafter referred to as lever) 17 integrally provided with one end projecting outward from the side end surface. That is, when the tray 3 is loaded into the sorter and locked, the engaging protrusion 17a of the lever 17 is rotated approximately half way from the state shown in the figure to the lock lever receiver 41 on the sorter section side (1 in Fig. 2B). The tray 3 is locked to the sorter to prevent the tray from being pulled out from the sorter, and as the fitting protrusion 17a rotates upward, the rotating shaft Eccentric cam 16A whose rotation is transmitted by 15,
16B, the small diameter side of the cam comes into contact with the sheet holding member 4, so that the bent leaf spring 6 returns to its straight shape as shown in FIG. 2C, and the sheet holding member 4 retreats upward. The sheets 1 can now be stacked in the tray 3. When stacking is completed and the trays are to be transported outside the sorter, lock the lever holder 41 by locking the fitting protrusion 17a of the lever 17 as shown in the figure.
When the eccentric cams 16A and 16B are removed from the cams and rotated downward, the large diameter sides of the eccentric cams 16A and 16B come into contact with the sheet pressing member 4, so that the sheet pressing member 4 can hold the sheets accumulated by the eccentric cams 16A and 16B. The leaf spring 6 is pushed downward to the position where it contacts the upper end, and is deflected by the downward movement of the sheet holding member 4. By contacting the sheet holding member 4, the stacked sheets are aligned without being vertically misaligned. I am forced to do it. Further, in order to fix the lever 17 in two positions: locking the tray into the sorter and releasing the lock, the lever 17 is provided with a click pin 17b, and this click pin 17b is connected to the end surface of the tray 3 on the side of the lever 17. The lever 17 is fixed by engaging with a click stop plate provided at a predetermined position. Further, a tapered portion 3d is provided at the lower part of the inner wall surface of the lever-side end of the tray 3. This is carried out by the introduction rollers 2A, 2B (see Fig. 1) into the tray 3.
In order to ensure that the sheet 1 guided inside the tray is introduced into the tray, the introduction roller 2 is wider than the width of the sheet 1.
The width of A, 2B is large, and the introduction rollers 2A, 2
Since the width of the tray 3 is larger than the width of the sheet B, the sheets 1 are not always aligned at a fixed position in the tray 3, and may be stacked with some misalignment. This is to prevent this and align the sheets 1 at predetermined positions. The lower end of the sheet 1 introduced into the tray 3 by the introduction rollers 2A and 2B has a tapered portion 3d.
The sheet 1 is guided to a predetermined position by coming into contact with and sliding on it. Although the tapered portion 3d does not necessarily have to be provided, it is preferable to provide it if misalignment of the sheets 1 in the width direction during stacking poses a particular problem when feeding the stacked sheets to the next stage. Note that the tapered portion may be provided on either side of the tray, right or left, or may be provided on both sides.

Note that the accumulation tray for stimulable phosphor sheets of the present invention is not limited to the structure described above, and includes a sheet pressing member and a position where the sheet pressing member is brought into contact with the sheet and retracted from the contact position. Various members can be used as each member as long as it is provided with means for moving it between positions. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, coiled springs 6A and 6B fixed at both ends by the sheet pressing member 4 and the inner wall surface 3a of the upper end of the tray are provided instead of the leaf springs, and the same sheet as in the previous embodiment is provided. Eccentric cams 16A and 16B of the presser member moving means move the sheet presser member 4
The coiled springs 6A and 6B may be expanded and contracted by contacting the sheet presser member, and the position of the sheet pressing member may be moved. Furthermore, the lever 17 is also used as a locking lever to prevent the tray from being pulled out when it is loaded into the sorter section, but the lever does not necessarily have to have a tray locking function, and a separate lever may be provided. Good too.

The stimulable phosphor sheet accumulation tray of the present invention has been described above by taking as an example the case where the stimulable phosphor sheets discharged from the afterimage erasing section are accumulated for supply to the recording section. The mode of use of the accumulation tray is not limited to this.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the accumulation tray of stimulable phosphor sheets of the present invention, sheets are placed above the accumulated sheets in the tray from a predetermined accumulation position when the tray is conveyed. By providing a sheet pressing member that suppresses movement and a sheet pressing member moving means that moves this member between a position where it contacts the sheet and a position away from the sheet, the accumulated sheets can be prevented from rattling inside the tray. Since misalignment will not occur, there will be problems such as sheets rubbing against each other and being damaged, or sheets being fed misaligned when being fed to the next stage, causing the sheets to deviate from their predetermined positions on that stage. This eliminates this problem and allows sheets to be safely and reliably transferred from one device to another.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one mode of use of the accumulation tray for stimulable phosphor sheets of the present invention, FIG. Figure 2B is its side view, 2C
The figure is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the main parts of another embodiment of the accumulating tray of the present invention. 1...Storage phosphor sheet, 3...Tray, 4
... Sheet holding member, 6 ... Leaf spring, 6A, 6B
... Wound spring, 16A, 16B ... Eccentric cam, 1
7...Tray lock/presser member drive lever.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a stimulable phosphor sheet accumulation tray in which stimulable phosphor sheets are accumulated one by one by the feed of a carrying mechanism and the falling of the sheets by their own weight, the inner wall of the upper end surface of the tray and the upper end of the stacked sheets, the sheet pressing member is provided so as to be able to come into contact with the upper end of the stacked sheets, and the sheet pressing member is operated from the outside to press the top end of the stacked sheets. 1. A stacking tray for stimulable phosphor sheets, comprising a sheet holding member moving means for moving the sheet pressing member between a position in contact with the sheet and a position away from the sheet. 2. The accumulating tray according to claim 1, wherein the accumulating tray is for accumulating stimulable phosphor sheets from which afterimages have been removed for radiographic image recording.