JPH0690424B2 - Cassette for accumulating fluorescent sheet - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet, and more particularly to a cassette for holding a stimulable phosphor sheet in a light-tight manner and loading it in an image reading device or the like. Therefore, the mechanism for taking out and / or sending in the accumulative phosphor sheet can be simplified, various loading postures of the cassette can be selected, and the space occupied by the cassette can be made as narrow as possible. The present invention relates to a cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet.

Recently, a radiation image recording / reproducing system that obtains a radiation image of a subject using a stimulable phosphor (stimulable phosphor) has attracted attention. Here, the stimulable phosphor means radiation (X-ray, α
Ray, β ray, γ ray, electron beam, ultraviolet ray, etc.), a part of this radiation energy is accumulated, and when excitation light such as visible light is subsequently irradiated, stimulated emission light is emitted according to the accumulated energy. A fluorescent substance that produces

The above-mentioned radiation image recording / reproducing system uses this stimulable phosphor, and a sheet having a layer made of the stimulable phosphor is used to temporarily store the radiation image information of a subject such as a human body. Or simply referred to as a "sheet"), and 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. An electric signal is obtained, and a radiation image of a subject is output as a visible image on a recording material such as a photographic photosensitive material or a display device such as a CRT based on the electric signal.

Therefore, in such a radiation image recording / reproducing system, an image reading device for reading the radiation image from the accumulative phosphor sheet on which the radiation image is stored and recorded specifically reads the radiation image by the following method. ing.

That is, a stimulable phosphor sheet is two-dimensionally scanned with a light beam such as a laser beam, and the photostimulated luminescent light emitted by this is detected in time series by a photodetector such as a photomultiplier, and an image is obtained. get information. Then, the two-dimensional scanning of the light beam is normally performed by sub-scanning by mechanically conveying the stimulable phosphor sheet in one direction, and one-dimensionally in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. This is achieved by irradiating the light beam deflected to the main scanning and performing the main scanning.

In this case, the stimulable phosphor sheet irradiates the subject with radiation while being stored in the cassette, whereby a radiation image of the subject is stored and recorded on the sheet. Then, the sheet is loaded into the image reading device through the cassette, taken out of the cassette through a sheet-fed mechanism including a suction plate, and conveyed to a scanning position where a light beam is scanned.

Therefore, a general configuration of such a cassette is illustrated in FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 indicates a cassette according to the prior art, and the cassette 2 defines a chamber 4 in which a stimulable phosphor sheet S is accommodated, and one end of the casing 6. And a lid 10 which is swingably mounted via a hinge 8.

The cassette 2 configured as described above is loaded in, for example, the image reading device 12, and the lid 10 is opened via the suction plate 14 provided in the image reading device 12 so that the chamber 4 becomes the image reading device. Open within 12. Then, the stimulable phosphor sheet S housed in the housing 6 is adsorbed and held under the driving action of the sheet-fed mechanism including the suction board 16 and sent out to the scanning reading unit via a transport mechanism (not shown). .

By the way, in the cassette 2 according to the prior art, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 1, the stimulable phosphor sheet S must be taken out through the sheet-fed mechanism including the suction disk 16 so as to stir it. That is, the front end side wall surface 6a of the housing 6 which is opened
This is to avoid contact of the stimulable phosphor sheet S with the above. Therefore, it is pointed out that the single-wafer mechanism itself is considerably complicated because it is necessary to displace the suction disk 16 along a trajectory for giving a desired stir operation.

Furthermore, the lid body 10 swings with one end side of the housing 6 as a fulcrum to open the chamber 4 in the image reading device 12. Therefore, the space provided for opening and closing the lid 10 in the image reading device 12 becomes large, and the entire cassette 2 must be housed in the image reading device 12, and the image reading device 12 itself It becomes large.

Moreover, when reading various stimulable phosphor sheets S of different sizes, it is necessary to prepare a cassette 2 corresponding to each stimulable phosphor sheet S. In this case, if it is attempted to open and close each of the lids 10 by the same suction disk 14, especially in the case of the lid 10 having a small size shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. There is a tendency that the suction plate 14 is inclined in a large direction, and as a result, the suction action by the suction cup 14 is not performed appropriately, and the lid 10 may be dropped.

Further, in the image reading device 12, as shown in FIG. 1, the cassette 2 is loaded in the horizontal direction, and according to various requests, for example, the cassette 2 may be loaded in the vertical downward direction. Some are configured. In this case, the cassette 2 shown in FIG. 1 cannot be loaded into such an image reading device 12, and the models that can be loaded are limited, so that the versatility is poor.

The present invention has been made in order to overcome the above-mentioned inconvenience, and comprises a housing for accommodating a stimulable phosphor sheet and an openable / closable lid body for holding the stimulable phosphor sheet in a light-tight manner. In addition, the lid is configured to be selectable to at least a length at which the accumulative phosphor sheet can be taken out, and the opening / closing end of the lid is projected toward the housing to form a sheet outlet in the housing. By doing so, the accumulative phosphor sheet can be easily taken out, the single-wafer mechanism can be extremely simplified, and the loading posture of the cassette can be selected, for example, by directing it downward in the vertical direction. It is possible to appropriately select the body length to ensure the opening / closing operation of the lid body, and to reduce the occupied space required for the cassette housing portion and the lid body opening / closing operation in the apparatus all at once. Accumulative fluorescence An object of the present invention is to provide a cassette for a seat.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a housing for accommodating a stimulable phosphor sheet, a lid body that is openably and closably attached to a part of the housing, and a remaining portion of the housing. A light-shielding plate that is disposed and holds the stimulable phosphor sheet in a light-tight manner together with the lid body, and is configured to open the lid body and draw out the stimulable phosphor sheet from the housing. It is characterized by

Next, preferred embodiments of the cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 indicates a stimulable phosphor sheet cassette according to this embodiment. The cassette 20 is basically a housing defining a chamber 22 for accommodating the stimulable phosphor sheet S.
24, a plate member 26 that closes one upper end of the housing 24, and a hinge.
A lid 30 that is integrally formed and that can be opened and closed with respect to the other upper end of the housing 24 is included.

Among the four side wall portions 24a to 24d of the housing 24, the side wall portion 24a on the front end side for taking out the stimulable phosphor sheet S is cut out at least larger than the width of the sheet S to be taken out. Forming 32. In this case, the surface portion 34 that defines the sheet outlet 32 is continuous with the inner surface portion 36 of the housing 24 and is inclined in the direction away from the lid body 30. Further, in the side wall portion 24a, the hole portion 38 is oriented in the horizontal direction in the figure.
A and 38b are formed so as to penetrate, and a locking projection 39a that bulges toward the chamber 22 and has an inclined surface is formed on the upper portion of the side wall 24a (see FIG. 4). On the other hand, holes 40a and 40b are formed in the inner surface portion 36 of the housing 24 in the vertical direction so as to be close to the side wall portion 24a. In this case, the holes 38a, 38b and 40a, 40b
Is a hole for inserting a pressing pin for releasing a locking means described later provided on the lid body 30. It should be noted that holes 42a and 42b are formed in the other side wall portions 24b and 24d of the housing 24, and the holes 42a and 42b are formed, for example, when the cassette 20 is loaded into an image reading device or the like. This is for positioning and fixing the cassette 20.

The plate 26 closes the upper part of the housing 24 and is detachably attached to the housing 24 via a stopper pin or the like (not shown). Therefore, by removing the stopper pin and removing the plate member 26 from the housing 24, it becomes possible to easily carry out a cleaning operation or the like inside the housing 24.

Furthermore, as described above, the lid body 30 is attached to the housing 24 via the hinge 28 so as to be openable and closable.
A locking portion that bulges toward the housing 24 side at the opening and closing end portion of 30.
44 are formed. The locking portion 44 is fitted into the sheet outlet 32 formed on the side wall portion 24a of the housing 24, and one surface portion 44a thereof is inclined corresponding to the surface portion 34. And
Locking means 46a and 46b are provided on both sides of the lid body 30, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a casing 48a forming the locking means 46a is formed so as to bulge on the inner surface side of the lid 30, and the lid 30 has the inside of the casing 48a. An opening 50a communicating with the is formed. A claw member 52a is attached to the housing 48a. In this case, the claw member 52a is provided with a lever portion 54a exposed to the outside through an opening 50a and a side wall extending in a direction orthogonal to the lever portion 54a. The first locking portion 56a facing the hole 38a of the portion 24a, and the second locking portion 58a formed on one end side of the first locking portion 56a and facing the hole 40a of the inner surface portion 36. And (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The first locking portion 56
a is projected outward from the second locking portion 58a, and the first locking portion 56a is formed with an inclined surface 57a that engages with the projection 39a of the side wall portion 24a, and the second locking portion is also formed. 58a is provided with an inclined surface 59a that engages a pressing pin (described later) that enters from the hole 40a. The claw member 52a is pressed against the locking projection 39a side of the lid body 30 by the elastic force of the coil spring 60a provided in the housing 48a.

Further, the other locking means 46b is configured in the same manner as the above-mentioned locking means 46a, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals with b and their detailed description is omitted.

A rectangular opening 62 is formed in the lid 30,
The opening 62 is for reading a bar code or the like of the stimulable phosphor sheet S housed in the cassette 20 (see FIG. 2).

The cassette 20 is basically constructed as described above. Next, the radiation image information reading device in which the cassette 20 is loaded will be described in detail below.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 64 indicates a radiation image information reading device, and a cassette holding portion 66 for detachably mounting the cassette 20 is provided at a substantially central portion of the reading device 64. In this case, the cassette holder 66 is provided with holes 42a, 4a
Locking pin that fits into 2b and holds the positioning of cassette 20
Fixing means including 68a, 68b and locking means 46a, 4 for the lid 30
It is composed of a lock releasing means 70 for releasing 6b and a lid opening / closing means including a suction plate 72 for opening / closing the lid 30. The unlocking means 70 is fitted to the holding bodies 73a and 73b and the holding bodies 73a and 73b, and is slidably displaced under the action of an actuator (not shown) to be pushed into the holes 40a and 40b of the housing 24. It consists of pins 74a and 74b.

The unlocking means 70 is provided below the housing 24 and unlocks the locking means 46a, 46b via the holes 40a, 40b. However, the hole parts 38a, 38b formed in the housing 24 are provided. The lock means 46a, 46b may be released via the.

In the vicinity of the cassette holder 66, for example, a sheet conveying mechanism 76 is arranged. As shown in FIG. 6, the sheet body transport mechanism 76 basically has a roller pair 78 for sandwiching and transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet S, and a roller pair 78 that is interlocked with the roller pair 78 and is in sliding contact with the sheet S. A transport roller 80 for transporting this,
Swinging means 82 for swinging the carrying roller 80 to displace it with respect to the cassette 20.

The roller pair 78 is composed of a first driving roller 84 rotatably supported in the reading device 64 and a second roller 86 which is pressed against the first roller 84 by elastic force of an elastic body (not shown). The first roller 84 is connected to the rotary drive source 90 via the drive belt 88. One ends of plate-shaped arms 92a and 92b are engaged with both ends of the first roller 84, and
The conveyance roller 80 is rotatably supported on the other end sides of the a and 92b. In this case, the first roller 84 and the transport roller 80 are configured to interlock with each other via the belt 94. Further, the sliding means 82 engages with the arm 92a. One end of a first link 98a is fixed to the rotary drive source 96 constituting the swinging means 82, one end of a second link 98b is engaged with the other end of the first link 98a, and the second link 98a is The link 98b is supported by a substantially middle portion of the arm 92a.

Next, the conveyor belt is brought close to the sheet conveying mechanism 76.
A first transport means 102 including 100 is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of sheet accommodating portions 103 for accommodating the stimulable phosphor sheets S one by one are provided below the first conveying means 102.
And a first stacker 104 for temporarily storing the stimulable phosphor sheet S taken out from the cassette 20 is provided. The first stacker 104 is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow A under the driving action of a motor or the like (not shown). Further, the stimulable phosphor sheets S stored in the respective sheet storage portions 103 are placed on a bottom plate (not shown), and the sheets S of the first stacker 104 are rotated by rotating the bottom plate. The sheet is sent out to the side of the conveyor belt 110 via the conveyor belt 108 and the like constituting the second conveyor means 106 provided below. In this case, the reading unit 112 is provided near the end of the conveyor belt 110.

The reading unit 112 includes a third transport unit 114 and a scanning unit 118 that transport the stimulable phosphor sheet S in the arrow B direction (sub-scanning direction). The scanning means 118 includes a laser light source 120, and a laser light 1 is provided on the laser light deriving side of the laser light source 120.
A mirror 124 for scanning the sheet 22 in a sheet shape, a galvanometer mirror 126, and a condensing reflection mirror 128 are provided. Further, a light guide 130 is arranged along the main scanning line at the scanning position of the laser beam 122 on the sheet, and a photomultiplier 132 is mounted on the light guide 130.

On the other hand, a conveyor belt 134 is provided at an end portion of the conveyor belt 133 which constitutes the third conveyor means 114. The conveyor belt 134 once extends in the horizontal direction and then extends largely upward in the vertical direction. Other conveyor belts in the part that extends in the vertical direction
The 136 is brought into sliding contact to form the fourth transporting means 139. Above the conveyor belt 134 is a pair of conveyor belts 1 that are in sliding contact with each other.
38a and 138b are arranged, roller pairs 140 and 142 are provided above the conveyor belts 138a and 138b with a predetermined gap therebetween, and an erasing section 144 is arranged between the roller pairs 140 and 142. . The erasing unit 144 is provided with a plurality of erasing light sources 146 such as a sodium lamp, a tungsten lamp, or a xenon lamp, and the radiation image carrier remains in the stimulable phosphor sheet S read by the reading unit 112. The radiation image is completely erased by the erasing light source 146.

A conveyor belt 148 that constitutes a fifth conveyor 147 is provided above the roller pair 142.
On the upper side thereof, 48 extends horizontally, and a short conveyor belt 150 is in sliding contact therewith. A sixth conveying means 154 including a conveying belt 152 is provided at the end of the conveying belt 148, and the accumulative phosphor sheet S, which is deviated in the traveling direction by 180 ° via the sixth conveying means 154, is the first. It is configured to be conveyed to the second stacker 156.

The second stacker 156 is configured similarly to the first stacker 104 described above, and is provided with a plurality of sheet storage portions 158,
It is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow C under the driving action of a motor or the like (not shown). A pair of rollers 159 is disposed below the second stacker 156, and a seventh conveying unit 160 is provided near the pair of rollers 159. In this case, the seventh conveying means 160 conveys the stimulable phosphor sheet S supplied from the second stacker 156 to the auxiliary erasing section 162, and the auxiliary erasing section 162 is provided with an erasing light source 164. Has been. Further, the accumulative phosphor sheet S passing through the auxiliary erasing section 162 is stored in the cassette 20 via the sheet body transport mechanism 76.

Therefore, the operation of loading the cassette 20 into the radiation image information reading device 64 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the cassette 20 is loaded in the cassette holding portion 66 of the reading device 64, the locking pins 68a and 68b forming the fixing means provided in the cassette holding portion 66 are locked by the housing 24.
The cassette 20 is positioned and held by being fitted in the hole portions 42a and 42b. Next, when the unlocking means 70 is driven and the pressing pins 74a and 74b are displaced vertically upward, the pressing pins 74a and 74b enter into the hole portions 40a and 40b, respectively, and the second locking portion 58.
Contact a and 58b. At that time, since the second locking portions 58a, 58b are formed with inclined surfaces 59a, 59b that are inclined in the vertical direction, the pressing pins 74a, 74b are displaced upward in the vertical direction, and thus the claw members are displaced. 52a and 52b are displaced in the arrow direction against the elastic force of the coil springs 60a and 60b (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Therefore, the locking means 46
The a and 46b are released, the suction plate 72 that constitutes the lid opening / closing means is driven, the lid 30 is opened, and the cassette 20 is opened by the reading device 64. After opening the lid 30, unlocking means
70 is driven to displace the respective pressing pins 74a and 74b vertically downward.

Next, the sheet body transport mechanism 76 is driven. As shown in FIG. 6, when the rotary drive source 96 constituting the swinging means 82 is driven to swing the first link 98a in the direction of arrow D, the second link 98b engaging with the first link 98a is moved. The arm 92a swings downward around the first roller 84 via the transfer roller.
80 contacts the stimulable phosphor sheet S in the cassette 20.
Therefore, the rotary drive source 90 is driven to drive the drive belt 88 to the arrow E.
When the first roller 84 constituting the roller pair 78 is rotated in the arrow E direction by displacing in the direction, the transport roller 80 rotates in the arrow E direction via the belt 94 stretched around the first roller 84. Reach Therefore, the accumulative phosphor sheet S, which is in sliding contact with the carrying roller 80, is taken out from the cassette 20 by the rotating action of the carrying roller 80 and sent out to the roller pair 78 side to form the roller pair 78. It is sandwiched by the first roller 84 and the second roller 86 that engages with an elastic body (not shown). At this time, the first roller 84 is rotating in the direction of the arrow E as described above under the action of the rotary drive source 90, and the accumulative phosphor sheet S sandwiched by the roller pair 78 is the roller pair. It is conveyed to the first conveying means 102 side by 78 and the conveying roller 80.

Then, when the rotary drive source 96 constituting the swinging means 82 is rotated in the direction of arrow E, the arm 92a swings upward through the respective links 98a and 98b, and the arm 92a and the other arm 92b move. The supported conveyance roller 80 is separated from the cassette 20.

On the other hand, the accumulative phosphor sheet S is conveyed vertically downward through the E-th conveying means E02, and the first stacker is conveyed.
The sheet is supplied into the sheet storage unit 103 that constitutes the unit 104. Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheet S that has been conveyed or the stimulable phosphor sheet S that has been accommodated in the other sheet accommodating portion 103 is sent to the side of the second conveying means 106 and the second conveying means 106. In addition, it is conveyed to the reading unit 112 via the conveyor belt 110.

The accumulative phosphor sheet S that has reached the reading unit 112 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (direction of arrow B) via the conveyor belt 133 that constitutes the third conveying unit 114, and the scanning unit 118 is driven. That is, the laser beam 122 emitted from the laser light source 120 is reflected by the mirror 124 and is reflected by the galvanometer mirror.
The sheet S is made to reach 126, and the laser beam 122 is scanned on the sheet S under the swinging action of the galvanometer mirror 126. As a result, the stimulated emission light emitted from the sheet S is reflected directly or by the reflection mirror 128 to guide the light guide 130.
The photomultiplier 132 converts the electric signal into an electric signal and supplies the electric signal to, for example, an image recording device or the like.

In this way, the accumulative phosphor sheet S, which has finished reading the radiation image, passes through the conveyor belt 134 and the fourth conveyor means 139 including the conveyor belt 136 slidably contacting the conveyor belt 134 and the conveyor belts 138a and 138b, and the roller pair 140. To the erasing unit 144 after passing through the roller pair 140. In the erasing unit 144, a plurality of erasing light sources 146 are turned on,
The irradiation light completely erases the radiation image remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet S.

The stimulable phosphor sheet S from which the radiation image has been erased by passing through the erasing unit 144 is conveyed vertically upward through the conveyor belts 148 and 150 constituting the fifth conveyor 147, and then in the conveying direction. The sixth conveying means, which is horizontally displaced.
Up to 154. The sixth conveying means 154 changes the conveying direction.
The accumulative phosphor sheet S displaced by 180 ° is the second stacker 156.
The desired sheet storage portion 158 is stored.

On the other hand, when the stimulable phosphor sheet S is taken out from the cassette 20 and then the stimulable phosphor sheet S previously stored in the sheet storage portion 158 is sent out from the roller pair 159 to the seventh conveying means 160, The accumulative phosphor sheet S is an auxiliary erasing unit 162.
The secondary erasing is performed via the erasing light source 164 and is sent to the sheet body transport mechanism 76 side.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the rotary drive source 90 is rotated in the arrow D direction, the first roller 84 is rotated in the arrow D direction via the belt 88 engaged with the rotary drive source 90. Therefore, the accumulative phosphor sheet S nipped by the pair of rollers 78 is sent to the cassette 20 side by the rotation of the first roller 84. Therefore, when the rotary drive source 96 constituting the swinging means 82 is rotated in the direction of the arrow D, the respective links 98a, 98b are moved as described above.
The carrying roller 80 swings in the cassette 20 through the sliding contact with the accumulative phosphor sheet S. Therefore, the accumulative phosphor sheet S is transferred to the cassette 20 by the roller pair 78 and the conveyance roller 80.
It is conveyed to the side, and finally is completely accommodated in this cassette via the conveying roller 80.

In this way, the accumulative phosphor sheet S in the cassette 20 is
Then, the swinging means 82 is driven to separate the conveying roller 80 from the cassette 20.

Therefore, if the lid body 30 is closed under the swinging action of the suction disk 72,
The first locking portions 56a, 56b of the claw members 52a, 52b contact the locking projection 39a of the side wall 24a, and the claw members 52a, 52b resist the resilient force of the coil springs 60a, 60b, In FIG. 4, it is displaced in the direction of the arrow. Then, when the lid 30 closes the chamber 22 in the housing 24, the first locking portions 56a and 56b are disengaged from the respective protrusions 39a and 39b, and as a result, the claw members 52a and 52b are coiled. The lid 30 is displaced to the side wall 24a side through the elastic force of the springs 60a and 60b, and the lid 30 is fixed by the locking means 46a and 46b.Next, the fixing means is driven to engage the locking pin 68a, 68b housing
The holes 24a, 42b of 24 are separated from each other. After that, the cassette 20 is taken out from the cassette holding portion 66, and a new cassette 20 accommodating the accumulative phosphor sheet S in which image information is accumulated and recorded may be loaded into the cassette holding portion 66 as necessary. .

In this case, according to the present embodiment, the surface portion 34 that defines the film outlet 32 of the housing 24 that constitutes the cassette 20 is continuous with the inner surface portion 36 of the housing 24 and is separated from the lid body 30. Is inclined to. Therefore, as described above with reference to FIG. 6, the accumulative phosphor sheet S can be taken out from the cassette 20 by sliding in the horizontal direction. Therefore, even with a mechanism having a relatively simple structure such as the sheet body transport mechanism 76 described above, it is possible to reliably take out the stimulable phosphor sheet S from the cassette or send it to the cassette 20. Become. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the effect that, instead of the sheet conveying mechanism 76, for example, a single-wafer mechanism having a simple structure including a suction plate can be adopted.

Further, the cassette 20 in which the sheet outlet 32 is provided in the housing 24
In this case, for example, it can be loaded in an image reading device or the like in an inverted state. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the cassette 20 is inserted into the image reading device 170 upside down for a predetermined length, and the lid 30 is operated under the action of a suction plate or the like (not shown) provided in the image reading device 170. When the sheet is opened, the accumulative phosphor sheet S stored in the cassette 20 falls, is sandwiched by the pair of conveying rollers 172, and is conveyed to a predetermined scanning reading unit.

Moreover, the lid 30 can be selected to have a length sufficient to take out the sheet S. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the space occupied by the opening / closing operation of the lid 30 in the reading device 64 can be made as narrow as possible. Furthermore, if the length of the lid 30 is selected to be the same length in different cassettes of different sizes, the lid opening / closing mechanism including the suction cup 72 may always perform the same opening / closing operation, and as a result, The advantage of avoiding the suction failure and the like caused by the difference in the length of the lid body 30 can be obtained. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, if the cassette 20 is loaded into the image reading device 170 by a length such that the lid 30 can be opened and closed, the space for the cassette holding portion becomes narrow at once, and the image reading device 170 is closed. There is also an effect that the whole can be miniaturized.

As described above, according to the present invention, the housing includes the housing that stores the stimulable phosphor sheet and the lid that is openably and closably loaded in the housing, and the housing includes the housing that has the tip end portion that opens and closes. A seat outlet is formed in the housing by projecting to the body side. Therefore, in order to take out the accumulative phosphor sheet from the cassette, the reading device or the like in which the cassette is loaded does not have to be provided with a single-wafer mechanism which requires complicated operations as in the conventional case, but is, for example, a rotary drive. The sheet can be taken out or stored very easily only by bringing the carrying roller into sliding contact with the accumulative phosphor sheet. Moreover, it is possible to select various loading postures of the cassette, and for example, it is possible to suitably correspond to an apparatus configured to load the cassette in an inverted state.

Furthermore, without providing a lid over the entire surface of the housing,
The length is selected so that the accumulative phosphor sheet can be taken out. Therefore, the occupied space required for the opening / closing operation of the lid body is effectively reduced, and it is not necessary to load the entire cassette in the apparatus, and it is sufficient to load the cassette in the apparatus by a length such that the lid body can be opened / closed. . As a result, there is an advantage that the space for storing the cassette in the apparatus can be made narrow at once, and the entire apparatus can be downsized.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment,
It goes without saying that various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to the prior art, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. Partial perspective view of the locking means of the cassette, FIG. 4 is a partially omitted vertical sectional view of the cassette shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of a radiographic image reading apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the sheet conveying mechanism that constitutes the reading device shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram when the cassette according to the present invention is loaded in another reading device. 20 ... Cassette, 24 ... Casing 24a-24b ... Side wall part, 26 ... Plate body 30 ... Lid body, 32 ... Sheet ejection port 34 ... Face part 38a, 38b, 40a, 40b ... Hole part 46a, 46b ... Locking means 52a, 52b ... Claw member, 64 ... Reading device 66 ... Cassette holding part, 70 ... Lock releasing means 76 ... Sheet body conveying mechanism, 78 ... Roller pair 80 ... Conveying rollers, 102, 106 ... Conveying means 112 ... Reading part, 114 ... Conveying Means 118 ... Scanning means, 139 ... Conveying means 144 ... Erasing section 147, 154, 160 ... Conveying means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A housing for accommodating a stimulable phosphor sheet, a lid body which is openably and closably attached to a part of the housing body, and the lid body which is disposed in the remaining portion of the housing body. And a light-shielding plate that holds the stimulable phosphor sheet in a light-tight manner, and is configured so that the cover body is opened and the stimulable phosphor sheet is led out from the housing. Cassette for fluorescent sheet. 2. The cassette according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion that bulges toward the housing and has a width larger than the width of the stimulable phosphor sheet is formed at the end of the lid that opens and closes. On the other hand, the housing is provided with a notch for sealingly engaging the protrusion, and the lid is forcibly opened to define a space between the protrusion and the notch. A cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet, which is configured to lead out the stimulable phosphor sheet to the outside of a housing. 3. The cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding plate is detachably attached to the housing. 4. A cassette according to claim 1, wherein the cassette is a stimulable phosphor sheet provided with at least one locking means for fixing the lid to the housing. Cassette.