JPS60256138A - Erasure unit for accumulative fluorescent material sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To discharge heat from an erasing light source effectively and also to obtain a compact device by providing a radiating means which radiates the heat in a housing forcibly to an erasing mechanism which includes the erasing light source and a conveying means for accumulative fluorescent material sheets. CONSTITUTION:An accumulative fluorescent material after being read is clamped between nip rollets 116a and 116b of the conveying means 104 and passed through a guide member 114, and it is conveyed to the opening part of the housing 102 of the erasure unit and positioned. Then, light sources 108a-108d are turned on to perform erasure. Motor-driven fans 160a-160d operate synchronously with the turning-on operation of the light sources 108a-108d to flow high- temperature air in the housing out through a duct membe 162 as shown by an arrow B and also introduce cold air through an air vent 154 simultaneously. Consequently, the heat from the light sources 108a-108d is discharged from the housing efficiently and the device is made compact.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an erasing unit for a stimulable phosphor sheet configured to effectively conduct heat generated by a light source to the outside. The phosphor sheet is irradiated with excitation light to emit a ζnuclear radiation image as stimulated luminescence light. In the system J, which obtains an electrical signal corresponding to the above, the radiation 1.1 line image remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet 1- after reading +iii is erased by the erasing light I.1 from the light source. It is possible to forcibly lead out the heat of rl, -
:) A stimulable phosphor sheet that can be constructed in a compact size.
Regarding erasing unit.

Recently, attention has been paid to the radiation image information recording process 1, which uses a storage t'l phosphor to obtain an 11-ray transmission image of a subject. What is a storage phosphor? When irradiated with radiation (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays, γ-rays, ultraviolet rays, etc.), a part of this radiation energy is stored, and later irradiated with excitation light such as llJ viewing light. This refers to a phosphor that emits stimulated luminescence light corresponding to the accumulated energy. The radiation image information recording and reproducing system described above utilizes this storage (h-type phosphor), and the radiation image information of a subject such as a human body is stored in a sheet (hereinafter referred to as a stimulable phosphor) having a layer of a stimulable phosphor. This stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with excitation light such as a laser beam to capture the stimulated luminescent light. is photoelectrically read to obtain an image signal, and based on this image signal, a radiation image of the subject is output as a visible image on a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or a CRT. Regarding the technology, see JP-A-55-12429 and JP-A-56-113.
No. 95, etc.

By the way, this system has the practical advantage of being able to record images over a much wider radiation exposure area than conventional radiographic systems using intensifying screens and X-ray films.

That is, in a stimulable phosphor, it is recognized that the amount of emitted light that is stimulated to emit light due to excitation after accumulation is proportional to the amount of radiation exposure over a very wide range. Therefore, even if the amount of radiation exposure varies considerably due to various imaging conditions, the amount of emitted light is read by the photoelectric conversion means with the reading gain set to an appropriate value and converted into an electrical signal, and this electrical signal is converted into an electrical signal. By using the photosensitive material and outputting it as a visible image to a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or a display device such as a CRT, a radiation image that is not affected by fluctuations in radiation exposure can be obtained.

In addition, according to this system, after converting the radiation image information stored in the stimulable phosphor into an electrical signal, appropriate signal processing is performed, and this electrical signal is used to produce recording materials such as photographic light-sensitive materials, CR'F It is also possible to output a visible image to a display device such as the above, which has the extremely great effect of obtaining a radiographic image with excellent suitability for observation and interpretation (diagnosis suitability). In such a radiation image information recording and reproducing system, the stimulable phosphor sheet does not ultimately record image information;
As mentioned above, this stimulable phosphor sheet can be used repeatedly because it only temporarily holds radiation image information in order to provide an image on a recording medium. It is extremely economical and convenient if used repeatedly.

In this case, in order to reuse the stimulable phosphor sheet, the radiation energy remaining in the stimulable phosphor sheet after reading has been performed by irradiation with excitation light must be absorbed into the stimulable phosphor's excitation wavelength range. The residual radiation image may be erased by emitting it with light irradiation II. Techniques for removing radiation energy remaining in the stimulable phosphor sheet in this manner are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 56-1392 and 1982-12599.

That is, in order to erase the residual image, it is necessary to emit all the radiation energy remaining in the stimulable phosphor sheet, so an erasing irradiation light source with as much luminosity as possible is arranged,
The afterimage image is erased based on this irradiation light.

However, in order for the light from this irradiation light source to completely erase the image information remaining on the sheet in a short time, it is necessary to increase the number of light sources and the amount of light. The heat becomes excessive, and this heat may damage the eraser main body, the stimulable phosphor sheet, and the surrounding mechanisms.

Therefore, as a result of intensive research and repeated efforts, the present inventors designed the erasing mechanism into a box shape7, attached a duct that communicates with the outside to a part of this box, and added a solenoid to this duct or part of the box. If the fan is energized, the heat inside the box will be forced to the outside, and since it is a box type, it will be easy to install it into the device itself, and it will take up even less space. It has been found that an erasing unit which is more effective in making the entire apparatus compact because it occupies the entire apparatus is obtained, and the above-mentioned disadvantages are eliminated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an erasing unit for a stimulable phosphor sheet that can efficiently conduct heat from an erasing light source to a single portion and can be constructed more compactly.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention applies excitation light to a stimulable phosphor sheet 1 on which a radiation image is stored and recorded.
Let's release it! For an image reading mechanism that emits a 14-line image as stimulated luminescence light, reads the stimulated luminescence light using an optical element, and converts it into an electrical signal, the stimulable luminescence light that remains in the stimulable phosphor sheet 1- after reading is used. In an erasing mechanism that erases an image by irradiation with erasing light, the erasing mechanism includes a casing in which an erasing light source is disposed, and a stimulable phosphor disposed inside or outside the casing. The present invention is characterized in that the housing includes one stage of conveyance for conveying the sea 1 to a predetermined position, and that the housing is further provided with a heat dissipation means for forcibly dissipating the heat inside the housing to the outside.

Next, preferred embodiments of the stimulable phosphor saw erasing unit for the stimulable phosphor saw 1 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a radiographic image information recorder in which an erasing unit 7) according to the present invention is incorporated together with an image recording section and an image reading section! ! The reading device will be explained.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates a positioning type radiographic image information recording/reading device, and the device 10 includes a first RR body 12 extending in the vertical direction and a second housing 14 extending in the horizontal direction. including. An imaging section (
An image recording section) 16 is disposed, and an operation section 1B is disposed above the side wall thereof.

Next, the internal configurations of the first housing 12 and the second housing 14 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

A pair of sheet receiving rollers 20 for receiving photographed sheets is disposed inside and below the image recording section 16, and below this pair of rollers 20 is a first guide member 22 and a pair of rollers corresponding to the guide member 22 and arranged vertically. A second guy 1 member 24 is provided that extends in the direction.

0; 1. A third guy 1 member 26 is further disposed below the first and second guy F portions (A22.24 via a pair of rollers. The third guy 1 member 26 and its lower part A pair of rollers is pivotally supported between a fourth guide member 28 provided at 1 conveyor belt 30 is provided.The conveyor belt 30
terminates at the lower central portion of the second housing 14. Next, a second I-less conveyor heald 32 is disposed between the terminal end of the first I-transfer belt 30 and a distance FKlf. The second feeding belt 32 of the car is bent upward at a corner of the second housing 14, and a roller group 34 is disposed at the inner bent part. A third conveying heald 36 and a fourth conveying heald 36, which are shaped like an encircle, are slightly spaced apart from the terminal end of the multi-feeding heald 1-32.
A transport heald 38 extends horizontally. An endless fifth heald 40 is provided close to the terminal end of the fourth conveyance heald 38 and bent further upward. This held 4
A roller fiY, 42 is provided on one side of the roller 0. A pair of opposing guide members 44 is further disposed on the negative side of the fifth conveyance heald 40 and the roller group 42, and above the guide member 44 there is provided a pair of 1-1-R pairs. A guide member 46 is provided. An erasing unit according to the present invention is installed above the guide member 46. The details of this erasing unit will be described below. A shorter guide member 48 is provided on the −L side of the erasing unit, and an additional guide member 480 is provided above the guide member 480).
A member 50 is provided. At the end portion of the guy 1 part 50, a bent conveyor heel 152 in the shape of an encircle is provided. As can be understood from FIG. 1, this conveyor support 152 i is located approximately at the claw portion of the first casing 12 . Since this conveyance heald 52 has a bending structure as described above, a roller group 54 is provided inside the conveyance heald 52.

Furthermore, some roller pairs 56 and 58 are provided below the conveyance heald 52 and the l-1 group 54 to supply the stimulable phosphor sheet to the image recording section 16.

The following is the basic configuration of the transport system for the stimulable fluorophore 1 in the radiation image recording/reading apparatus 10.

Next, a reading section arranged in relation to the transport system will be explained.

The reading section 62 basically includes a galvanometer mirror for scanning the laser beam derived from the laser beam 64 onto the sheet, and a scanning optical system (not shown). system, a condensing reciprocal 1/I mirror 6G, a part of the stimulated luminescence light emitted from the notebook by the scanning laser beam, and the stimulated luminescence light reflected by the reflection mirror 66 by the mirror 6G. It includes a condensing optical element 68 that condenses light. Note that a folio lens 70 is attached to the top of the condensing optical element 68.

Therefore, the erasing units 7+- according to the present invention are shown in the third and subsequent sections. That is, in FIG. 3, reference numeral 100 indicates erasing "L2,) for the stimulable phosphor sheet, and this erasing unit 00 is basically arranged on the housing 102 and the upper and lower ends of this housing 102, respectively. A first transport means for irradiating erasing light into the provided transport means +04, ]06 and the housing 102.
It has four light sources 108a to 108d.

An angle member 110 is fixed to the top end of the housing 102, and each time the angle portion +A'llO is engaged with a part of the first housing 12, the housing 102 is fixed to the first housing 12.
η will be determined. - force, openings in the positions corresponding to the first fastest means 104 and 106 of the housing +02;
A first part 112a and an opening 112b are respectively formed, and guide members 114a and 114b are arranged in parallel in the housing 102 from the opening 112a to 112b (see FIG. 4).

Outside the opening 112a, a first cover member 17a is arranged so that the knobs rollers 6a, 16b of the transport means 104 are in sliding contact with each other. On the other hand, i; 1 dispensing port 1121+
In the same way, the nip l constituting the 11th feeding stage 104 is
- 8a and 118b are surrounded by the second cover member 117b so that they are in contact with 1t1 at every t distance.

2. 116 h! lr; and 118b have an elastic part
(1; 1-In and 120b are part of the cover (a)) 1
7; i, 1I7b are respectively hung using the bottle members installed on the nip roller 116a, and the nip roller] 18b.
31, which forcibly slides into contact with the two tabs l-1-ra 118a;
The image will be created. Conveying means 1 formed in this way
A part of the cover surrounding 04 and 1 peering means 106 (opening 17
a, 117b has a hole 1 corresponding to the opening 112a.
22a and 122h are trt 7 omitted. Furthermore, the second lead-out portion 128 of the J microphone l'□I switch 126 is in close contact with the knob "J-rall6b."

On the other hand, a strainer portion 130 is fixed close to the angle member 110 that holds the housing 102, and a rotating shaft 132 of this motor 130 has a first sprocket 1-1.
34 is fixed. The chain 136 suspended from the first sprocket H34 meshes with the second sprocket [3B] which is coaxially supported by the nip roller I6a, and extends further upward to connect to the nip I, l-ra 118a. It also meshes with a third spurolinome 40 that is coaxially supported.

The chain 136 further engages with a fourth sprocket 142 for tensioning provided on the side wall of the housing 102, and then returns to the first sprocket 134.

The shaft 144 that holds the fourth sub-142 is 7L+48 in length of the holding member 146 fixed to the housing 102.
The chain 136 is configured to be displaced within the chain 136 to maintain the chain 136 at an optimum tension.

By the way, in the present invention, as a first stage of forced heat radiation of the casing 102 described above, a comparative curve [
There is one ill hole 154 with a small area, and the side wall surface 15
In 6, there are formed a plurality of through holes 158a to 158d (four in the figure) which are larger than the opening 11 side III than the said through hole rL]54, and in the through holes 158d to 158d between the above-mentioned light sources are formed. 108d to 108d (-1) electric fans 160a to 160d are interposed.Furthermore, on the outside of the side wall surface 156, the four through holes 158 to 158d are connected to their Jll and end. Dag 1 member 162 with a rectangular cross section
are set up consecutively. The duct portion (i) is opened to the outside of the radiation image information recording/reading device by penetrating the inside of the first housing 12 described above (see FIGS. 1 and 2). .In addition, electric fans +60a to +6
0d may not be provided in the through holes 158a to 158d, but may be provided at the tip of the dow 1 to 44'162 facing the outside of the radiation image information recording/reading apparatus 10. In this case, it goes without saying that the number of electric fans can be selected depending on the number of rotations and the like.

Erasing unit for stimulable phosphor sheet according to the present invention 11. l
:, 19 Basically, it is constructed as follows.Next, its operation and effects will be explained.

When radiation is applied to a subject (not shown) in the photographing step 1160 of the image recording unit 16 and a radiation image of the subject is recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet 1150, the stimulable phosphor sheet 1150 records the radiation image of the subject.
[50 is 17-la 20, Guy] 22.24.26.28
and the reading unit 6 via the conveyance health 1-30.32.36.
2. The reading section 62 scans the laser beam sent from the laser light source 64 on the sheet 150, thereby reflecting the stimulated luminescence light emitted from the nozzle 4150 directly or by the mirror 66, and transmitting it to the optical element 6.
8, which is converted into an electrical signal by the input signal 70 and sent to a reproducing device (not shown).

The phosphor sheath 1-150 from which the image signal has been read in this way has a reading operation of 8%.After that, it is transferred to the guide member 1 (A44) via the conveyor heddle 38.40, and then the guide member 46 is Then, the sheet 1150 introduced from the opening 122a is guided to the guy 1 part (A114a) by the nip rollers 116a and I6b. Nip I”-La 116a, 116
When the -1150 (b) is clamped, the nip IIJ-ra 116b resists the tensile force of the coil spring 120a due to its thickness.
1], and therefore the detection section +28 of the microswitch 126 detects this. When the motor 130 is rotated by this detection signal, the chain 136 is moved, and the movement of the chain 136 rotates the second sprocket 1-138. As mentioned above, since the second sprocket eye 38 is disposed coaxially with the rotating shaft of the nip roller 16a, the nip roller 1168, which rotates under the rotational action of the sprocket 138, slides into the nip [1-ra l]. ] 6b at the same time, and the sea 1 introduced between the
-150 in the direction of guide members 1]4a and 1I4b.

The microswitch 12G, whose tip end contacts the nip roller 116b, is activated when the sheet 150 is fed from the reading unit side as described above.

The energizing signal energizes the motor 126 and rotates the motor 130. In this way, when the sea date 50 passes through the guide members 114a, 114b and reaches the nip rollers 118a, 1]8b which rotate under the action of the third subroute 40, the sea date 50 passes from the nip rollers 116b, .
0 is removed from the first position, the nip roller 16blJ is displaced in the direction of the arrow pano in FIG. 3 under the action of the coil blink 120a. As a result, the micro switch 12
The detection unit 12B of No. 6 is also displaced in the same direction. For this reason, the displacement (No. 3 is fed to the motor 130, which rotates the motor 130 in the opposite direction. sheet 150
is the nip roller] Returns again in the direction of 16a and 116b,
The sheet 15 is attached to this nip roller llGa, 116b.
When 0 is held again, the detection part 128 of the microswitch 126 is displaced again due to its thickness, and this displacement signal υ
stops the motor 130. In this way sea+1
50 is a nip roller 116a, 1]6b and a nip roller]18a.

+18b.

Therefore, the light sources 108a, I O8b, 108c and l
When 08d is turned on, the irradiation light completely erases the radiation image remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet inside the casing 102.

At this time, since the electric fans 160a to 160d operate in synchronization with the activation of the lights a108a to 108d, the high temperature air inside the casing +02 due to the heat generated by the light sources 108a to 108d flows as shown by the arrow 13 in FIG. Cold air is introduced from the through hole 154 into the mountain l\ which flows into the duct part +A1 (i2) and is discharged to the outside via this duct member +62.In other words, the inside of the housing 102 flows through the through hole 154. The cooling air introduced by the engine cools the unit forcibly.

The erasing action is carried out as shown in FIG. 118b and is transferred in the direction of the guide member 48.

Since the afterimage of the stimulable phosphor No. 1-150 that has reached the kite member 4H has already been completely erased, it is transferred to the transport heald 52.
．． 1''-56 and 58 to the image recording unit 16, and waits for the next radiographic image to be taken.

Next, another embodiment of the erasing unit for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to the present invention is shown in FIG.

The erasing unit in this embodiment is suitably used when the erasing unit is physically separated from the image recording section and the image reading section, unlike the erasing unit described above. That is, the image erasing mechanism is configured separately from the image reading section, and therefore, it is used when there is no particular need to employ a light-shielding structure for blocking noise from the erasing light to the reading section.

In addition, in the drawings, the same reference numerals as those shown in the above-mentioned embodiments indicate the same components.

Therefore, in this embodiment, an opening 170 is defined on one side wall of the casing 102 constituting the erasing unit OO so that the image portion of the stimulable phosphor seam 50 is sufficiently exposed to the erasing lights #108a to 1108d. and the outside of the opening 170,
In other words, the transport heel 172 is disposed outside the housing 102 and close to it. In the figure, reference numeral 174 is a row for rotating the conveying heald 172, and reference numeral 176 is a row for rotating the heald 172.
It is a roller that comes into pressure contact with the

9 In the above configuration, when the stimulable phosphor sheet 150 is fed from the direction of arrow C, the roller 176 and the feeding heald 172 sandwich the saw 1-150 and move it toward the opening 170. and transfer.

Erasing lights fi 108a to 108d are turned on to the sheet 150 positioned directly below the opening]]-1 section 170 to erase the remaining image. Meanwhile, the light source 108a
The heat generated by the electric fans 160a to 160d is then led out to the outside. When the erasing action is completed, the sheet 150 is again moved in the direction indicated by the arrow.

In the above configuration, the erasing unit 100 does not have a light shielding structure due to the presence of the open I11 portion 170. However, if the erasing mechanism is separated from the image recording section and the image reading section, there is no problem with this structure; on the contrary, such a structure has the advantage that it can be manufactured at low cost. Note that even with such a structure, it is of course possible to arrange the unit close to the image reading section by providing a separate light-shielding structure.

n According to the present invention, as described above, the erasing unit for stimulable phosphor sheets is constituted by a casing, and the stimulable phosphor sheet conveying means is disposed in relation to this casing. Since an erasing light source is placed inside the stimulable phosphor sheet and a heat dissipation means is provided to dissipate the heat from the light source to the outside, the stimulable phosphor sheet itself or other peripheral mechanisms will not be damaged by the heat from the light source. This eliminates the possibility of damage and increases durability. In addition, since the erasing unit is configured with a housing, it is easy to incorporate it into the radiation image information recording/reading device.
Furthermore, since it occupies only a small space, the radiation image recording and reading apparatus itself can be made extremely compact.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
For example, a head-type radiation image information recording/reading device, a so-called radiation image information reading device that has only an image reading section and an erasing section and are configured separately from the image recording section, or a radiation image information recording device that is used only for the purpose of erasing residual images. Of course, various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention, such as being able to be used even when nine units are used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a radiation image information recording/reading device incorporating a stimulable phosphor sheet erasing unit according to the present invention;
2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the inside of the radiation image information recording/reading device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of the erasing unit according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is the erasing unit shown in FIG. 3. 5 is a perspective view of the erase unit 1 shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view 1 of another embodiment of the present invention. lO...Radiation image information recording/reading device 12...Housing 14...Housing 16...Photography section 18...Operation section 20...Roller pair 22...Guide member 24...Guy 1
゛Member 26...Guide member 2B...Guide member 30
・・Transportation heald 32 ・・Transportation heald 34 ・・Roller group 44 ・・Guide member 46 ・・Guide member 48 ・・Guide member 50 ・・Guide member 52 ・・・Transportation heald 54 ・
- Roller group 56...Roller pair 58...Roller pair 60...Photographing surface 62...Reading section 64...Laser light source 66...Mirror 68...Optical element 70...Foil/Mulle 100...Storage property For erasing the fluorescent sheet, 102... Housing 104... Conveying means 106... Conveying means 108a to 108d... Light source 11
0...Angle members 112a, 112b-□Openings 114a, 114b...Guide member 1]6a,
] 16b...2y propeller 117a, 117b
--Housing 118a, 118b... Nip rollers 120a, 120b... Coil spring 3 126... Micro switch 128 - Detection section 130... Motor 132... Rotating shaft 134... Sprocket 136...
Chain 138... Sprocket 140... Suifu Il
Get 142...Suburokeno L144...Axis 146...
- Holding member 148...Long hole 150...Stormable phosphor sheet 152...Front wall surface 154...Through hole 156...Side wall portion 158d to 158d...Through hole 160
a = I60d --Electric fan 162...Duct member 1G4...Tip opening 170...Opening 172...
Transport Herto 174,! 76 ... Roller patent applicant Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] il+ A stimulable phosphor sheet on which a radiation image has been accumulated is irradiated with excitation light to emit the radiation image as stimulated luminescence light, and this stimulated luminescence light is read by an optical element. In contrast to an image reading mechanism that converts an image into an electrical signal, an erasing mechanism that erases an image remaining on a stimulable phosphor sheet after reading by irradiating erasing light, wherein the erasing mechanism is provided with an erasing light source inside. and a conveying means disposed within or outside the housing to convey the stimulable phosphor sheet to a predetermined position, and further includes a conveying means disposed within or outside the housing to convey the heat inside the housing to the outside. An erasing unit for a stimulable phosphor sheet, characterized in that it is provided with a heat dissipation means for forcibly dissipating heat. (2. In the erasing unit according to claim 1, the heat dissipation means includes through holes opened in at least two different wall surfaces of the casing, and an electric fan provided in the through hole in one of the wall surfaces. An erasing unit for a stimulable phosphor sheet. (3) In the erasing unit according to claim 2, a plurality of 1 m holes each having the electric fan are provided, and a duct member connects these through holes. (4) In the erasing unit according to claim 1, the heat dissipation means is opened in a part of the wall of the casing. ” with a through hole,
An erasing unit for a stimulable phosphor sheet, comprising a duct connected to the through hole and an electric fan provided at the external tip of the duct.