JPS61243759A - High-speed photographing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent bending of a sheet and to supply a sheet simultaneously with carrying out a sheet by carrying a photographed sheet in a storing magazine when a photographing table is located at the second position, and carrying out a sheet not yet photographed from carry-out means to be photographed at the first position. CONSTITUTION:The first sheet 3a among sheets not yet photographed which are stored in a sheet supply magazine 1 at the first position, is carried out onto a photographing table 6 by carry-out means. The sheet 3a is transported in direction of an arrow A by the photographing table 6 to be located at a designated photographing position and be photographed. Subsequently, when the photographing table 6 moves to the second position, rotary rollers 4A-4C start to rotate in direction of arrows, thereby to carry the first sheet 3a in a sheet storing magazine 2 simultaneously with carrying out the second sheet 3b not yet photographed of the magazine 1. Thus, the sheet is kept from being bent during transport by movement of the photographing table, and carrying in-and-out of sheets can be performed at the same time, so that the sheets may not be damaged by repeated use. Furthermore, with a plurality of sheets, plural information can be photographed at high speed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to a high-speed radiographing apparatus for sequentially projecting and accumulating radiographic images of a subject onto a large number of stimulable phosphor sheets.

(Technical Background of the Invention and Prior Art) Certain phosphors emit 1 ton of radiation (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays, γ-rays,
When irradiated with electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc., one end of this radiation energy is accumulated in the phosphor, and when this phosphor is irradiated with excitation light such as visible light, the phosphor increases depending on the accumulated energy. is known to exhibit stimulated luminescence, and phosphors exhibiting this property are called stimulable phosphors.

By using this stimulable phosphor, radiation image information of a subject such as a human body can be transferred to a sheet (hereinafter referred to as a ``stimulable phosphor sheet'' or simply ``sheet'') having a layer made of a stimulable phosphor. ), this stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with excitation light such as a laser beam to cause stimulated luminescence, and the generated stimulated luminescent light is read photoelectrically to obtain an image signal. Based on this, a radiation image information recording and reproducing system has been proposed that outputs a radiation image as a visible image on a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or a display device such as a CRT to obtain a radiation image of a subject that is suitable for diagnosis. (For example, JP-A-55-12429, JP-A-56-11395, JP-A-5
No. 5-163472, No. 5B-104645, No. 55
-116340, etc.) This system has the practical advantage of recording and reproducing images over an extremely wide radiation exposure range compared to conventional radiographic systems that use a combination of an intensifying screen and an X-ray film. are doing.

In other words, in stimulable phosphors, it is recognized that the amount of emitted light that is stimulated and emitted by excitation after accumulation is proportional to the amount of radiation exposure over an extremely wide range, and therefore, depending on various imaging conditions, radiation exposure Even if the amount fluctuates considerably, the amount of emitted light is read by the photoelectric conversion means by setting the reading gain to an appropriate value and converted into an electrical signal, and this electrical signal is used to convert the radiation image into a photographic light-sensitive material, etc. By reproducing the recorded image as a visible image on a recording material such as a CRT 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, the radiation image information stored and recorded in the stimulable phosphor is converted into an electrical signal, then subjected to appropriate signal processing, and this electrical signal is used to convert the radiation image into a photographic light-sensitive material, etc. By reproducing the image as a visible image on a recording material or a display device such as a CRT, it is possible to obtain a very large effect that a radiation image with excellent observation and interpretation suitability (diagnosis suitability) can be obtained.

Various structures have been proposed as photographing apparatuses for storing radiographic image information of a subject on a stimulable phosphor sheet to be used in the above-mentioned system. Among these, devices that can continuously capture radiation image information using a plurality of sheets include a sheet supply magazine that stores a plurality of unimaged sheets;
A sheet storage magazine for accommodating a plurality of blanked sheets, and a sheet conveyance means arranged to connect the sheet supply magazine and the photographing position, and the photographing position and the sheet storage magazine, respectively. A photographing device equipped with the above-described method has been proposed. In this type of photographing apparatus, it is also possible to photograph a large number of sheets at high speed by simultaneously carrying the sheets into and out of the photographing position. However, in many of these types of photographic devices, the conveyance path formed by the conveyance means has a curved portion, so unlike ordinary photographic film, it is possible to use it many times. In addition, stimulable phosphor sheets with high rigidity are adversely affected by the phosphor layer on the surface peeling off due to passing through curved portions of the conveyance path many times, and the sheets are not fully used. There is a problem that it can be damaged. There is also known a continuous shooting device that prevents the above-mentioned sheets from being bent during conveyance and allows continuous shooting using multiple sheets without damaging the sheets. 58
-190640, 58-190641, 58-1
90643, 5B-190646), in these devices, the sheet conveyance means alternately communicates with the sheet supply magazine and the sheet storage magazine, and alternately supplies sheets to the photographing position and discharges the sheets from the photographing position. Since this method is designed to perform continuous shooting, the shooting cycle is longer compared to a device that can feed and discharge sheets to the shooting position at the same time, and there is a problem that it is difficult to increase the speed of continuous shooting. was occurring.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems.In an imaging apparatus that continuously records radiographic image information on a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets, the sheet is It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-speed photographing device that can simultaneously supply a sheet to a photographing position and discharge the sheet from the photographing position while preventing the sheet from being bent by a conveying means. Note that high-speed photographing here means that the time required for photographing a plurality of sheets, that is, the sum total of the time required for a plurality of consecutive photographings is small.

(Structure of the Invention) The high-speed photographing device of the present invention includes a sheet supply magazine capable of accommodating a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets, a sheet supply magazine provided near one end of the sheet supply magazine, and a stimulable phosphor sheet in the magazine. a carrying-out means for carrying out the light sheets one by one out of the magazine; a sheet storage magazine provided below the sheet supply magazine and capable of accommodating a plurality of stimulable fluorescent sheets; and a sheet storage magazine provided below the carrying-out means. The stimulable phosphor sheets are conveyed one by one into the sheet storage magazine, and a conveyor that holds the stimulable phosphor sheets and can be rotated forward and backward, one end of which is connected to the loading means. a first position for receiving the stimulable phosphor sheet communicated with the stimulable phosphor sheet to feed the stimulable phosphor sheet to the carrying-in means and to be carried out by the carrying-out means, and to hold the stimulable phosphor sheet in a photographing state; The device is characterized by comprising a photographing platform that can take a second position and a second position.

That is, when the photographing table is in the first position, one end of the photographing table, which is a conveyor, is communicated with the carrying means, and the photographed sheet is carried into the sheet storage magazine; The unphotographed sheet is carried out from the above-mentioned carry-out means to the photographing stand, and it becomes possible to carry in and carry out the sheet at the same time. Further, the photographing stand is a type that can be rotated in forward and reverse directions, and the direction of rotation is reversed during loading and unloading of sheets, thereby alternately assisting loading and unloading of sheets.

When the photographed sheets have been carried into the sheet storage magazine and the unphotographed sheets have been carried out onto the photographing table, the photographing table is moved to the second position where the sheet is held in the photographing state and a new photograph is taken. becomes possible. Furthermore, the first photographing stand
The position and the second position may be the same position.

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

FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 are schematic diagrams for explaining the operating mechanism of a high-speed photographing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Inside the high-speed photographing device, there is a sheet supply magazine 1 that can accommodate a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets 3, and a sheet storage magazine 2 that can accommodate a plurality of sheets 3 below this sheet supply magazine 1. are placed in parallel. The sheet supplying magazine 1 is provided with rotating rollers 4A, 4B and an auxiliary O-roller 5 near one end thereof, which serve as delivery means for transporting the sheets 3 inside one by one out of the magazine.

Further, the rotary O-ra 4B, which is a carrying means for carrying the sheets 3 one by one into the sheet storing magazine 2, and the rotating roller are placed at a position below the carrying out means near one end of the sheet storing magazine 2. 4C is provided. In this embodiment, the rotary roller 4B serves as both a sheet carrying-out means and a sheet-carrying means, as described above.
The carrying-out means and the carrying-in means may be formed by independent members, and the members forming the carrying-out means and the carrying-in means are not limited to rotating rollers. For example, it may be an endless belt.

On the opposite side of the rotary rollers 4A and 4B from the side where the sheet supply magazine 1 is provided, there is provided a photographing platform 6 consisting of an endless belt 6A having a size capable of carrying the sheet 3 and rollers 6B and 6C. It is being This photographing table 6 has one end 6a connected to the carrying-in means and the carrying-out means, respectively, and the other end 6b.
It is rotatable about the fulcrum. For Honjitsu 1MM, the first end is connected to the rotating rollers 4A and 4B.
The photographing table becomes horizontal at the position , and this first position becomes the position of the photographing table when photographing.

In this first position, the first sheet 3 of the unphotographed sheets stored in the sheet supply magazine 1
The sheet 3a is carried out by the carry-out means onto the photographing table 6, and the photographing table 6 conveys the sheet 3a in the direction of arrow C in FIG.

When the photographing is completed, the photographing table 6 rotates in the direction of arrow C in FIG.
Move to a second position communicating with C. When the photographing table 6 moves to the second position, as shown in FIG.
4B and 4C start rotating in the direction of the arrow, and the first sheet 3
Carrying in the sheet 3a into the sheet storage magazine 2 and carrying out the unphotographed second sheet 3b out of the sheet supplying magazine 1 are performed at the same time. Furthermore, a freely rotating roller 7 is provided on the upper surface of one end of the photographing table 6, and it presses the sheets carried into the sheet storage magazine 2 with an appropriate force, and also presses the sheets carried into the sheet storage magazine 2 with appropriate strength, and also separates the sheets 3a carried in and the sheets 3a carried out. It also functions as an interference prevention member that prevents the sheets 3b from interfering with each other during conveyance. Further, when the photographing table 6 starts transporting the sheet, it moves in the direction of arrow B to carry the sheet 3a into the sheet storage magazine, but the sheet 3a is carried into the magazine to a certain extent, and the sheet 3b enters the photographing table from above. At this point, the movement is switched to the opposite direction (six directions of arrows), and the receiver picks up the sheet carried out by the rollers 4A and 4B and guides it to the photographing position. The switching of the movement of the photographing table can be adjusted as appropriate depending on various conditions such as the position of each member and the rigidity of the sheet, and the two sheets being conveyed can be reliably moved by driving the rotating rollers 4A, 4B, and 4C. The drive may be stopped while it can be transported.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the conveyance of the photographed sheet into the sheet storage magazine and the conveyance of the new unphotographed sheet onto the photographing table have been completed as described above.

The photographing platform 6 at the second position rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 and moves again to the first position, which is the photographing position. By the way, when the roller 7 is located below the sheet 3b while the sheet 3b is being conveyed, and is located below the sheet even after the conveyance is finished as in this embodiment,
Prior to photographing, it is necessary to move the roller 7 to a position where it presses the sheet from above. This movement of roller 7 is the fourth
As shown in the figure, it may be carried out so as to follow the trajectory shown by arrow E before the photographing table 6 rotates, or it may first move integrally with the rotation of the photographing table 6, and then move as shown by arrow F. The timing with respect to the rotation of the imaging platform 6 can be set arbitrarily, such as the rotation of the imaging platform 6 may be performed so as to follow a trajectory. Further, if there is a risk that the sheet will be displaced when the roller 7 moves, a sheet presser 8 may be provided above the sheet on the opposite side from the roller 7. Further, the photographing stand may be configured to attract the sheet, and various methods can be considered as means for preventing the sheet from shifting its position. Further, when the sheet is supplied to the photographing stand, if the sheet is conveyed to a position where it does not come into contact with the roller 7, there is no need to move the roller. Note that the roller 7, which is a member provided in the above embodiment and is a member that presses down the sheet and prevents interference between the two sheets being conveyed, has a large frictional force between the sheet and the photographing table and can hold down the sheet even in the second position. There's no need (,
In addition, it is not necessarily necessary to provide this when the sheets are so rigid that there is no risk of interference between the sheets, or when interference between the sheets is prevented by slightly shifting the timing of carrying in and conveying the sheets. Further, the first position of the photographing platform for photographing is not limited to a horizontal position, but may be any position depending on the type of photographing, and does not necessarily need to be in communication with the sheet delivery means. If the photographing table is not in communication with the sheet conveying means at the first position, the first unphotographed sheet is also transferred to the general table at the second position of the photographing table in the same manner as the second and subsequent sheets. transported to the top,
The photographing stand may be moved to the first position during photographing. Furthermore, the first position, that is, the photographing position, and the second position, that is, the position where sheets are replaced, of the photographing stand may be the same, and as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to fix the sheet, transport the sheet, replace the unphotographed sheet with the photographed sheet, and then photograph the unphotographed sheet at the same position.

The high-speed photographing device of the present invention is capable of carrying in and conveying sheets to the photographing table at the same time as described above. It goes without saying that it is also possible to change the sheets by staggering the start times of loading and unloading.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, according to the high-speed photographing device of the present invention, the sheet is not bent or bent greatly during conveyance, and the sheet can be carried out from the magazine to the photographing stand.
Since the sheet can be loaded from the imaging stand into the magazine at the same time, the sheet will not be damaged even if it is used repeatedly, and multiple sheets can be used to perform high-speed imaging of multiple pieces of radiographic image information. becomes possible.

Furthermore, since the apparatus of the present invention does not have a magazine or the like disposed below the photographing table, T, V, etc. are used for fluoroscopy.

1.1. Fluoroscopic devices such as tubes can also be used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the movement of each member when the imaging platform rotates from the first position to the second position in a high-speed imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. A schematic diagram illustrating the movement of each member of the high-speed imaging device when the imaging platform is in the second position. FIG. A schematic diagram illustrating the movement of each member, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the movement of the roller when the imaging platform rotates from the second position to the first position, and FIG. 5 is another embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 1...Sheet supply magazine 2...Sheet storage magazine 3...Storage phosphor sheets 4A, 4B, 4C...Rotating roller 6.16...Photographing stand 7...Roller no. Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A sheet supplying magazine capable of accommodating a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets, which is provided near one end of the sheet supplying magazine and capable of storing one stimulable phosphor sheet in the magazine. a sheet storage magazine provided below the sheet supplying magazine and capable of accommodating a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets; a sheet storage magazine provided below the ejection means and capable of storing the stimulable It consists of a carry-in means for carrying the phosphor sheets one by one into the sheet storage magazine, and a conveyor capable of forward and reverse rotation for holding the stimulable phosphor sheets, one end of which is connected to the carry-in means, a first position for delivering the stimulable phosphor sheet to the carrying-in means and receiving the stimulable phosphor sheet carried out by the carrying-out means; and a second position for holding the stimulable phosphor sheet in a photographing state. A high-speed photographing device consisting of a photographing stand that can take 2) The imaging platform can take the first position and the second position by being rotated about the other end of the imaging platform as a fulcrum. high-speed photography equipment. 3) The high-speed photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first position and the second position of the photographing stand are the same. 4) When the photographing table is at least in the first position, a sheet interference prevention member is provided near the one end of the photographing table at a position lower than the carrying-out means and higher than the carrying-in means. A high-speed photographing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.