JPH11338080A - Image information reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the installation area of an entire image information reader as much as possible and to availably utilize space. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a cassette loading part 20 where a cassette is arranged so that the recording surface of a stimulable phosphor sheet 22 may turn downward, a sheet elevating part 50 for taking the sheet 22 from the cassette 18, a read part 60 for reading radiation image information in a state where the recording surface turns upward and an erasion part 58 erasing the radiation image information remaining in a state where the recording surface turns upward, and the loading part 20, the erasion part 58 and the read part 60 are arrayed in this order downward in a vertical direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of loading a cassette containing a stimulable phosphor sheet and reading radiation image information stored and recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet.
The present invention relates to an image information reading device for returning the stimulable phosphor sheet to the cassette.

[0002]

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

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

In the above-mentioned system, the image information includes a reading section for reading the image information recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet, and an erasing section for erasing the image information remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet after the reading. A reading device is employed. In this image information reading apparatus, a cassette accommodating a stimulable phosphor sheet in which radiation image information of a subject is stored and recorded by an external photographing apparatus is inserted into the loading section.

[0005] Next, with the cassette opened, the stimulable phosphor sheet is taken out of the cassette under the action of the sheet body sheet mechanism, and the stimulable phosphor sheet is read via the sheet body transport mechanism. Transported to the department. The stimulable phosphor sheet read by the reading unit is stored in a cassette disposed in the loading unit after the afterimage is deleted by the erasing unit.

As this type of image information reading apparatus, for example, a reading apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-333456 is known. As shown in FIG. 3, the reading apparatus is provided with a loading section 3 for loading a cassette 2 on an upper side of an apparatus main body 1, and the loading section 3 is provided with a stimulable fluorescent light stored in the cassette 2. A sheet part 5 for taking out the body sheet 4 is arranged. A transport unit 6 is provided near the sheet unit 5, and an erasing unit 7 is mounted on a vertical transport path constituting the transport unit 6. Transport unit 6
Is curved from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction, and the reading unit 8 is disposed at an end thereof.

[0007]

In the above prior art,
As shown in FIG. 3, the erasing section 7 is arranged in parallel with the vertical portion of the transport section 6. For this reason, in particular, the width H of the apparatus main body 1 may be relatively large. However, recently, there is a strong demand that various types of equipment be concentrated and installed in a small space, and a reduction in the installation area of equipment is desired.

The present invention has been made in response to this type of request, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image information reading apparatus capable of minimizing the installation area of the entire apparatus.

[0009]

In an image information reading apparatus according to the present invention, a cassette loading section in which a stimulable phosphor sheet is disposed with a recording surface facing down, and a cassette loading section in which the recording surface faces upward. A reading unit that reads radiation image information;
An erasing section for erasing the radiation image information remaining with the recording surface facing upward is arranged vertically downward. For this reason, in particular, the reading unit and the erasing unit, which are essential components of the image information reading device, are arranged so as to be vertically stacked, and the floor area occupied by the entire image information reading device is reduced as much as possible. Can be.

The cassette loading section forms a cassette stack in which a plurality of cassettes can be arranged in multiple stages.
A first sheet transport unit that transports the stimulable phosphor sheet from the cassette loading unit to the reading unit, and a stimulable phosphor sheet that is sent from the reading unit, which is moved from the erasing unit to the first sheet transport unit. And a second sheet conveying section for conveying the sheet on the way.

Therefore, two stimulable phosphor sheets can be simultaneously conveyed into the image information reading apparatus via the first and second sheet conveying sections. Predetermined processing can be simultaneously performed on the stimulable phosphor sheet. Therefore, each stimulable phosphor sheet can be processed at a high speed, and the entire image information reading apparatus can be made compact.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of an image information reading apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of the image information reading apparatus 10.

A touch panel 12 having an operation section and a monitor function is provided on an upper portion of a front surface (operation surface) of an apparatus main body 10a constituting the image information reading apparatus 10, and a main switch 14 is provided beside the touch panel 12. And I
A magnetic card reader 16 for inserting a D card is arranged. Below the image information reading device 10, a plurality, for example,
A cassette loading section 20 is provided in which the four cassettes 18 are detachable. The cassette 18 includes a stimulable phosphor sheet 22.
And a lid 28 that can open and close the opening 26 of the housing 24. Cassette loading section 20
Then, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is disposed with its recording surface facing down.

The cassette loading section 20 has four first-stage cassettes.
The cassette stack includes the fourth to fourth loading units 30a, 30b, 30c, and 30d. The first loading section 30a located at the uppermost stage has a support table 32 provided on the apparatus main body 10a and maintained in a horizontal posture.
2 is provided with an escape portion 34 so that fingers and the like of an operator do not interfere when the cassette 18 is attached and detached.

On the inner side of the support table 32, an apparatus main body 10a
A shutter member 36 for shielding the inside is openably and closably disposed, and a lock releasing means (not shown) for opening the cassette 18 located inside the shutter member 36 and the cassette 18 are provided. A cover closing means (not shown) for closing the cover is provided.

The second to fourth loading sections 30b, 30c and 30d have the same configuration as the first loading section 30a.
The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 stored in the cassette 18 with the recording surface facing down is taken out of the cassette loading section 20, and the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 after reading and erasing described later is read out. An elevating sheet unit 50 for returning the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 into the cassette 18 is provided. The elevating sheet unit 50 includes a plurality of suction disks 52 communicating with a negative pressure source, and a pair of rollers 54 for feeding out the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 received from the suction disks 52.

Below the cassette loading section 20 in the vertical direction,
An erasing section 58 and a reading section 60 are provided via the first sheet body conveying section 56. This first sheet body transport unit 56
Comprises a plurality of mutually paired roller pairs 62,
The reading unit 60 is disposed at the lower end of the vertical transport path formed by the pair of rollers 62.

The reading section 60 includes a sub-scanning transport mechanism 64 for transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 taken out of the cassette 18 in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of arrow A) with the recording surface facing upward, and a sub-scanning mechanism. An optical system 66 for irradiating the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 conveyed in the main scanning direction with a laser beam L in a main scanning direction (a direction substantially orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction); And a light condensing system 68 for photoelectrically reading the stimulated emission light generated from the light emitting device 22.

The sub-scanning transport mechanism 64 includes first and second roller pairs 70 and 72 which are driven to rotate in synchronization with each other, and the first and second roller pairs 70 and 72 can be opened and closed, respectively. The light-collecting system 68 includes the stimulable phosphor sheet 2.
The light guide 74 includes a light guide 74 arranged at a scanning position of the laser light L on the second light source 2 along the main scanning line, and a photomultiplier 76 mounted on the light guide 74.

A transport system 78 for transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 after the reading process upward is provided on the rear side in the transport direction of the reading unit 60. The storage system 78 is transported upward via the transport system 78. The leading end side in the transport direction of the luminescent phosphor sheet 22 is once guided in the horizontal direction above the power supply unit 80.
A second sheet conveying section 82 is provided near the power supply section 80. The second sheet conveying section 82 horizontally rotates the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 conveyed upward so that the recording surface faces upward. In FIG. 2, the paper is conveyed from left to right. A plurality of erasing light sources 84 constituting the erasing unit 58 are arranged in the middle of the conveyance of the second sheet conveying unit 82 in the horizontal direction. The second sheet body transporting section 82 extends upward after passing through the erasing section 58 and is freely connectable on the way of the first sheet body transporting section 56.

Image information reading apparatus 1 configured as above
The operation of 0 will be described below.

First, a cassette 18 accommodating a stimulable phosphor sheet 22 in which image information of a subject such as a human body is stored and recorded by a photographing device (not shown) corresponds to, for example, a cassette loading section 20 of the image information reading device 10. And four are prepared. The operator connects the four cassettes 18 to the first to fourth loading units 30 a to 30 a forming the cassette loading unit 20.
Load 30d.

At this time, the cassette 18 is moved to the first loading section 30a.
Is introduced into the apparatus main body 10a along the support table 32, and the front end pushes and opens the shutter member 36 to insert the front end side into the apparatus main body 10a. The first loading portion 30a is provided with an unlocking means (not shown). When the cassette 18 is inserted into the first loading portion 30a, the lock of the lid 28 is released and the lid 28 is released. The opening 26 is opened by swinging to a predetermined angular position.

After a predetermined cassette 18 is loaded in each of the first to fourth loading sections 30a to 30d, the elevating sheet unit 5
0 is arranged at an arbitrary height position of the cassette 18. Next, the suction disk 52 constituting the elevating sheet unit 50 is set in the cassette 1.
The cassette 18 is moved into the cassette 18 by the suction disk 52.
The inner stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is adsorbed on the back surface (base surface) opposite to the recording surface. The suction disk 52 moves from the cassette 18 to the roller pair 54 in a state where the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is held by suction, and the stimulable phosphor sheet 2
2 are held between the pair of rollers 54. At this time, since the suction and holding of the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 by the suction disk 52 is released, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is sent out to the first sheet conveying unit 56 under the rotation of the roller pair 54.

The stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is conveyed vertically downward by the action of a plurality of roller pairs 62 constituting the first sheet conveying section 56.
Sent to In the reading unit 60, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is sub-scanned and conveyed in the direction of arrow A under the action of the first and second roller pairs 70 and 72 constituting the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 64, and The laser beam L is main-scanned from the optical system 66 to the recording surface 22. This allows
The radiation image information accumulated and recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is photoelectrically read by the light collecting system 68.

The stimulable phosphor sheet 22 after the reading process
Is transported vertically upward through a transport system 78, and the leading end side in the transport direction is guided in a horizontal direction above a power supply unit 80, and the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is transferred from the transport system 78 to the second sheet. The body is transferred to the body transport unit 82. Second
In the sheet conveying section 82, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is conveyed horizontally with the rear end in the conveying direction of the conveying section 78 as a leading end, that is, with the recording surface facing upward, and provided in the erasing section 58. The radiation image information remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is erased through the erasing light source 84 of the present embodiment. After the erasing process, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is merged on the way of the first sheet body conveying section 56 and conveyed upward, and then is arranged in the first loading section 30a under the action of the elevating sheet unit 50. Into the empty cassette 18.

On the other hand, when the first stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is transported immediately before the reading section 60,
Performs the elevating operation, and stands by, for example, at a position where the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 in the cassette 18 loaded in the second loading section 30b is discharged. Then, the device body 10a
, A plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets 22 are respectively subjected to predetermined processing, and an efficient image processing operation is performed. First to fourth loading units 30a to 30d
After the stimulable phosphor sheets 22 in all the cassettes 18 loaded in the cassette 18 are read and erased and returned to the cassette 18, the operator removes the cassette 18 from the cassette loading section 20. Do the withdrawal work.

In this embodiment, in the present embodiment, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is arranged with its recording surface facing downward in the cassette loading section 20, and the recording surface is disposed vertically below the cassette loading section 20. A reading unit 60 that performs a reading process by pointing upward and an erasing unit 58 that erases the remaining radiation image information with the recording surface facing upward are arranged so as to be stacked on each other.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
The dimension of the width Ha of the device main body 10a is shortened as much as possible,
The effect that the floor area where the apparatus main body 10a is installed can be greatly reduced can be obtained. Thereby, especially, the apparatus main body 10a can be easily arranged in a small installation space, and effective use of the space is achieved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the first sheet body transporting section 56 for transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 from the cassette loading section 20 to the reading section 60, and the erasing section erasing the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 after reading. A second sheet conveying unit 82 that conveys the sheet 58 from the position 58 to the first sheet conveying unit 56.
And

Accordingly, a plurality of, for example, two stimulable phosphor sheets 22 can be simultaneously conveyed inside the apparatus main body 10a, and one stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is read by the reading unit 60. During the processing, the erasing unit 58 can perform the erasing process on the other stimulable phosphor sheet 22. Thus, there is an advantage that high-speed processing is easily performed on each of the stimulable phosphor sheets 22 inside the apparatus main body 10a.

[0033]

In the image information reading apparatus according to the present invention, since the cassette loading section, the erasing section and the reading section are arranged vertically downward in the apparatus, the floor area on which the entire image information reading apparatus is installed is provided. Can be reduced as much as possible, and effective use of space can be easily achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of an image information reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the image information reading apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of a reading device according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image information reading device 10a ... Device main body 18 ... Cassette 20 ... Cassette loading part 22 ... Storable phosphor sheet 30a-30d ...
Loading section 50, ascending and descending sheet section 52, suction plates 54, 62, 70, 72, roller pair 56, 82, sheet body transport section 58, erasing section 60, reading section 64, sub-scanning transport mechanism 66, optical system 68 Condensing system 78: Carrier system 84: Light source for erasing

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuo Iiyama 798, Miyadai, Kaisei-cho, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cassette loading section for removably loading a cassette capable of storing a stimulable phosphor sheet and arranging the recording surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet with the recording surface facing down, A sheet unit that takes out the stimulable phosphor sheet from the cassette, and a reading unit that reads radiation image information accumulated and recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet with the recording surface facing up. An erasing section for erasing the radiation image information remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet after reading with the recording surface facing upward, and the cassette loading section facing downward in the vertical direction, and the erasing section. And an image information reading device arranged in the order of the reading unit. 2. The image information reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cassette loading section forms a cassette stack in which a plurality of said cassettes can be arranged in multiple stages, and said cassette sheet is loaded with said stimulable phosphor sheet. A first sheet transport unit that transports the stimulable phosphor sheet sent from the reading unit from the erasing unit to a position on the way to the first sheet transport unit; An image information reading apparatus, comprising: a body transport section; wherein the reading section and the erasing section can perform predetermined processes on the stimulable phosphor sheet substantially simultaneously.