JPS6293149A - Accumulative phosphorescent sheet supply magazine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain precise image data, by providig spacers made of materials which are softer than accumulative phosphor sheets so that the sheets are fed in satisfactory condition. CONSTITUTION:A roller 162 attached to the front end of a sheet check pawl 160 rolls on a topmost partition plate 125, and thereafter enters into an opening 128 in the partition plate 125 by means of the resilient force of a spring. Accumulative phosphor sheets A which are stored each in the gap between adjacent partition plates 125, are engaged with the sheet check pawl 160 one by one and are therefore fed toward rollers 26, 28. Therefore, during the movement of the sheets A, they are separated from the adjacent sheets, and further, the outer layer is separated from the partition plate 125, and the sheets A may be prevented from being damaged due to rubbing between the sheets themselves. Further, even if they make into contact with each other, no unfavorable condition occurs, since the partition walls 125 are made of materials which are softer than the sheet A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets. When the sheets are stored and held at a distance from each other and are kept on standby for radiographic imaging and when taken out, it is possible to supply the stimulable phosphor sheet in a suitable state without causing scratches or the like on the surface. This invention relates to a supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets.

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a radiation image recording and reproducing system that uses a stimulable phosphor to obtain a radiographic image of a subject has been attracting attention. Here, a storage phosphor is a material that, when irradiated with radiation (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays, γ-rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc.), stores some of this radiation energy and later emits visible light, etc. A phosphor that exhibits stimulated luminescence according to the energy accumulated by irradiation with excitation light.

The above-mentioned radiation image recording and reproducing system utilizes this stimulable phosphor, and the radiation image information of the human body, etc. is stored on a sheet (hereinafter referred to as a stimulable phosphor sheet) having a layer made of a stimulable phosphor. This stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with excitation light such as a laser beam to generate stimulated luminescent light, and the resulting stimulated luminescent light is read photoelectrically to produce an image signal. Based on this image signal, it is outputted as a visible image to a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material, a CRT, etc. Regarding this type of technology, please refer to JP-A No. 55-1
It is disclosed in No. 2429, No. 56-11395, etc.

However, this system has the practical advantage of being able to record images over an extremely wide range of radiation exposure compared to conventional radiographic systems using intensifying screens and X-ray film.

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 an extremely wide range. Therefore, even if the amount of radiation exposure varies considerably due to various imaging conditions, the amount of emitted light can be read by the photoelectric conversion means by setting the reading gain to an appropriate value and converted into an electrical signal. If this is used to output 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.

Furthermore, according to this system, radiation image information stored and recorded in a stimulable phosphor is converted into an electrical signal and then subjected to appropriate signal processing. It is also possible to output the image as a visible image to a display device such as , etc., thereby producing an extremely effective radiographic image suitable for observation and interpretation (appropriate for diagnosis).

Therefore, if a radiographic image recording and reproducing system using this stimulable phosphor sheet employs a high-speed imaging platform similar to that used in conventional This makes it possible to take pictures, which has an extremely large diagnostic effect.

By the way, in the conventionally used high-speed X-ray transmission imaging platform, there is a first film storage section that stores unexposed X-ray film, and an X-ray film is taken out from the first film storage section and transported to the imaging position. However, it is generally provided with a transport mechanism for sending out the photographed X-ray film from the photographing position, and a second film storage section in which the photographed X-ray film is stored. Therefore, a radiation image recording device using a stimulable phosphor sheet also follows the essential mechanism of this conventional X-ray imaging device, and has a supply magazine that stores a plurality of stacked stimulable phosphor sheets. , a conveyance system that transports the stimulable phosphor sheet to the imaging section, photographs a radiographic image, and then transports it; and a transport system that transports the stimulable phosphor sheet to the imaging section, and the stimulable phosphor sheet that has been photographed and is disposed in relation to the imaging section. It is equipped with a receive magazine for storing seats.

By the way, in the radiation image information recording and reproducing system using the above-mentioned stimulable phosphor sheet, the imaging device itself is made as compact as possible in order to utilize the narrow space as effectively as possible. Therefore, the supply magazine and the receive magazine incorporated in this photographing device are efficiently arranged in relation to the photographing section within a narrow housing. For this reason, especially when performing high-speed photography, the unphotographed stimulable phosphor sheet supplied from the supply magazine is fed at high speed to the photographing section, where it is once positioned and photographed, and then It is stored in the receive magazine again at high speed.

However, in this case, if the stored stimulable phosphor sheets are stacked in direct contact with each other in the supply magazine, when trying to forcibly feed them one by one to the imaging department, , and is guided out while sliding its surface on the next stimulable phosphor sheet on which it is directly placed.

Therefore, scratches and the like occur particularly on the phosphor-side surface layer of the stimulable phosphor sheet, which is the coating. As a result, when a stimulable phosphor sheet with scratches is positioned close to the imaging unit and a subject facing it is irradiated with radiation to obtain radiographic image information, the existence of the scratches becomes difficult to detect. This prevents the acquisition of accurate radiographic image information. In other words, the abrasion will appear in the radiographic image of the subject, causing the inconvenience that, for example, if the subject is a patient, it will not be possible to accurately confirm the affected area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, and has the object of separating a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets from each other by providing a spacer made of a material softer than the stimulable phosphor sheets. In addition to storing the stimulable phosphor sheet, it does not cause defects such as scratches on the surface layer of the sheet when it is fed. Therefore, the sheet is fed in good condition and more accurate image information can be obtained. The present invention aims to provide a supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets that makes it possible to obtain stimulable phosphor sheets.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a supply magazine that sequentially sends out stimulable phosphor sheets to an imaging unit via a sheet delivery mechanism, in which the stimulable phosphor sheets are all stored inside the supply magazine. The feature is that a spacer is provided for accommodating the sheets at a distance.

Next, preferred embodiments of the supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a high-speed radiographic image capturing apparatus in which a supply magazine of stimulable phosphor sheets according to the present invention is used, in which reference numeral 10 denotes a casing which is placed and fixed horizontally and which constitutes this image capturing apparatus. Show your body. A patient to be photographed is placed above the housing 10 and photographed. A supply magazine 14 of a stimulable phosphor sheet according to the present invention for feeding the stimulable phosphor sheet A to the photographing section 12 is disposed inside the housing 10 . In this case, a take-out mechanism 16 for feeding the sheet A to the photographing section 12 is disposed above the supply magazine 14.

Incidentally, the leading end of the supply magazine 14 faces a pair of rollers 26 and 28. A switching plate 30 is disposed on the opposite side of the supply magazine 14 with the rollers 26 and 28 at the center, and the vicinity of one end of the switching plate 30 is supported by a rod 34 that is swingably supported by a support 32. . One end of the rod 34 engages with the switching plate 30 through an elongated hole;
A shaft 36 faces the other end of the rod 34 through an elongated hole, and this shaft 36 displaces the rod 34 in the vertical direction using the support 32 as a fulcrum under the rotational action of a rotary drive source.

The other end of the switching plate 30 is swingably supported by one end of a support member 40 which is bent into an angular shape and is pivoted.

At the end of the switching plate 30, there is a stop roll 4 for stopping the stimulable phosphor sheet A being conveyed as a buffer.
2 and the receiving plate 44 are arranged in sliding contact. A discharge lever 50 for the stimulable phosphor sheet A is disposed at the sliding contact portion between the stop roll 42 and the receiving plate 44 and is displaced within a predetermined angle by a lever member 48 that swings under the action of a cam 46. . On the other hand, a top plate 52, which faces the switching plate 30 when it is raised, is disposed to extend horizontally between the roller 26 and the stop roll 42, and is adjacent to one end of the top plate 52. A roller 54 that is in sliding contact with the roller 26 is rotatably supported. Next, a pair of guide plates 56a and 56b are arranged so as to face the sliding contact portions of the rollers 26.54, and a roller 58.60 is provided on one end side of the guide plates 56a and 56b.
are arranged so as to be in sliding contact with each other. These rollers 58,60 further face the sheet storage device 70. In this case, the sheet storage device 70 is a receive magazine 72.
and a sheet holding mechanism 74 disposed above the receive magazine 72.

The basic configuration of the high-speed radiation image capturing apparatus has been described above, and now the supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets according to the present invention will be explained in detail.

As shown in FIG. 2 and subsequent figures, the supply magazine 14 is comprised of a tray stand 80 and a tray body 82. In this case, the tray stand 80 includes support stands 84a and 84b provided on both sides thereof, openings 86 and 88 are respectively defined on the side of the support stand 84a, and the support stand 84b has a tray main body 82. A short hole 89 is provided for mounting. This tray stand 80 is equipped with a link mechanism 90 for suitably separating sheet scraping claws, which will be described later, when the tray main body 82 is attached or detached.

That is, a rod member 96 extending in the width direction of the tray stand 80 is fixed to a link member 94a whose one end is fixed to a spring 92, and a link member 94b is similarly attached to an end of the rod member 96. Attach. moreover,
The rod member 96 has a swing plate 1 that enters the opening 88.
Fix 00.

On the other hand, long-axis link members 102a and 102b are engaged with the link members 94a and 94b, respectively, and the respective link members 1
A bending link member 1 is provided at one end of each of 02a and 102b.
04a and 104b. Further, the link member 1
04a and 104b, a rod member 106 is attached to the bent portion thereof in parallel with the rod member 96.

A rod member 110 is attached to one end of each link member 104a, 104b. In this case, the rod members 96.106 are supported by supports 112a-112d. Therefore, the tray main body 82 is removably attached to the tray stand 80 configured in this manner via the set screw 113.

The set screw 11 is provided on one side of the tray body 82.
A hole (not shown) for inserting the tray plate 3 is formed, and a bent locking plate 114 that engages with the opening 86 of the tray stand 80 is fixed to the lower end surface of the hole, and a predetermined hole is fixed to the opening 86 of the tray stand 80. The guide plate 116 is formed with an inclined angle. Furthermore, the tip M118 is attached to this tray body 82. In this case, one end of the lid 118 is supported by pins 119a and 119b on both sides of the tray body 82, and protrusions 120a and 120b are formed on the other end, respectively.

These protrusions 120a and 120b are connected to the tray body 82.
This engages with protrusions 122a and 122b provided in the. Therefore, this lid 118 has pins 119a, 119
It can be opened and closed around b.

Furthermore, a spacer 124 is provided within the tray body 82.
A plurality of partition plates 125 constituting a plurality of partition plates 125 and a plurality of interposers 126 for separating the partition plates 125 by a predetermined distance are provided.

Note that the plurality of partition plates 125 are made of stimulable phosphor sheet A.
For example, it is preferable to use polypropylene. In this case, the partition plate 1
A rectangular opening 128 having a predetermined width is defined at one end edge of the opening 25 . The thickness of the interposers 126 supporting the ends of each partition plate 125 is selected to be greater than the thickness of the stimulable phosphor sheet A, and
An opening 130 corresponding to the opening 130 is formed. Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheets A are accommodated in the gaps between the respective partition plates 125, and a portion thereof is exposed to the opening 130.

By the way, the ejecting mechanism 1 is located above the supply magazine 14.
6 is arranged. That is, among the support plates 132a and 132b constituting the extraction mechanism 16, the support plate 132a
A motor 133 is connected to the motor 133 . And the motor 13
A sprocket 34 is attached to a rotary drive shaft (not shown) extending from 3, and a chain 13 is attached to this sprocket 134.
6 is suspended. In this case, the chain 136 is suspended by sprockets 13B and 140, and its tension is adjusted by a tensioner 141. The sprocket 138 is pivotally supported by a shaft 142, and cam plates 144a are provided at both ends of the shaft 142, respectively.
, 144b. On the other hand, the sprocket 140 is pivotally supported by a shaft 148. Therefore, each cam plate 144a, 144b is provided with a crankper 150a at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the respective rotation center.

150b, and each of the crank pars
The other ends of 150a and 150b are engaged with rod member 152. Furthermore, the rod member 152 is provided with sliders 154a and 154b, respectively, and each slider 154a
, 154b are movable on slide shafts 156a, 156b provided on the support plates 132a, 132b. Also,
An arm 158 is rotatably attached to the rod member 152 at a predetermined position, and a single leaf claw 160 is fixed to the tip edge of the arm 158. A roller 162 is rotatably attached to the tip of the single leaf claw 160.

A spring 164 wound around the rod member 152 is engaged with the arm 158, and the leaf claw 160 is pressed toward the tray body 82 by the elastic force of the spring 164.

Note 1. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 170 indicates a rotational drive source such as a motor, and reference numeral 172 indicates a button that constitutes the imaging section 12 and is used to prevent radiation from being scattered.

The supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets of this embodiment is basically constructed as described above, and its functions and effects will be explained next.

When the motor 133 is driven to rotate the sprocket 134, the sprockets 138 and 140 are rotated via the chain 136. Therefore, a cam plate 144a that engages with the sprocket 138 via the shaft 142;
144b rotates, displacing one end of the crankshaft 1508, 150b about the shaft 142. Therefore, the rod member 152 that engages with the other end of the crank par 150aS150b is connected to each slider 154a.
, 154b and slide shafts 156a, 156b, and reciprocate in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Therefore, the leaf claw 160 attached to the rod member 152 is attached to the tray body 82.
Moves back and forth while being pressed to the side.

In this case, as illustrated in FIG. It enters the opening 128 of the partition plate 125. Therefore, the sheet claws 160 also reach into the openings 128, and their tips engage with the ends of the stimulable phosphor sheets A stored in the gaps between the respective partition plates 125. Furthermore, the ejection mechanism 1
Under the driving action of
When displaced to the side, the stimulable phosphor sheet (A) that engages with the tip of the sheet claw 160 also integrally moves with the roller 26.28.
He will be sent to the side.

Next, the sheet 1-A held between the rollers 26 and 28 is transferred toward the switching plate 30 via the rollers 26 and 28 which rotate under the action of the rotary drive source 170.

Therefore, when the sheet A reaches the switching plate 30, the rotational drive source 38 is driven in the direction shown by the arrow, and the shaft 34 of the rod 34 is rotated.
Lower 6. Therefore, the other end of the rod 34, which is swingably supported by the support column 32, connects the switching plate 30 to the supporting member 4.
0 to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. That is, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is sent out vigorously at high speed by the rollers 26 and 28, and then once contacts the corner portion where the stop roll 42 and the receiving plate 44 are in sliding contact. At this point, the switching plate 30 is raised, and the stimulable phosphor sheet A is positioned directly below the photographing section 12 with one end thereof being held, and lies above the housing 10 (not shown). When the subject is irradiated with radiation, a radiation image of the patient is taken on this sheet A via the butt key 172) and the top plate 52. Then, the lever member 48 swings under the action of the cam 46 which begins to rotate, and the ejection lever 50 moves the stimulable phosphor sheet A to the roller 54.2.
Push it out to the 6th side. As a result, the sheet A, whose leading end is held between the rollers 54.26, passes between the guide plates 55a and 56b due to the rotation of these rollers 54.26, and is spun at high speed under the rotational action of the rollers 58.60. It is fed to the storage device 70. In this case, the fed stimulable phosphor sheet A can be introduced into the receive magazine 72 in an orderly manner under the driving action of the sheet holding mechanism 74.

In this way, after the stimulable phosphor sheets A are sequentially fed from the supply magazine 14, new stimulable phosphor sheets A are supplied to the supply magazine 14. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the set screw 113 fastening the tray body 82 and the tray stand 80 is loosened, the tray body 82 is displaced in the direction of arrow B, and the locking plate 114 is inserted into the opening 86. Separate from. At that time, the tray body 8
Since the second guide plate 116 is similarly displaced in the direction of arrow B,
The rocking plate 100 that was in contact with this is released from the pressing action of this guide plate 116. Therefore, a link member 94a that engages with this swing plate 100 via a rond member 96,
94b in FIG. 3 through the tensile force of the spring 92.
Swings in the direction of the arrow.

The displacement of the link members 94a and 94b is the same as that of the link member 10.
2aS102b to each link member 104a, 1
04b, and eventually the rond member 110 swings in the direction of the arrow. Therefore, this swinging member 110
8 can be pressed upward in the figure to separate the sheet claws 160 and rollers 162 from the tray body 82.

Therefore, the task of removing the tray body 82 is extremely easy, and the detachment is not blocked by the sheet claws 160 and rollers 162.

Next, the tray 1118 provided on the tray body 82 is opened upward, and the stimulable phosphor sheets 1-A are inserted into the gaps between the respective partition plates 125 (see FIG. 4). At this time, the lid 118 has respective projections 120a, 120b and 122.
Since the closed state is achieved by the engagement of q with a and 122b, the opening/closing operation is simple. Also, this lid 11
Since B is provided, for example, when the tray main body 82 is in a vertical or horizontal state within the apparatus, the stimulable phosphor sheet A can be suitably held without falling over.

Therefore, by reversing the procedure described above,
A tray main body 82 containing a predetermined number of A is placed on a tray stand 80.
, and then continue operating the device.

As described above, the supply magazine 14 according to the present invention does not cause scratches or the like on the stimulable phosphor sheet A when it is fed. That is, as described above, each stimulable phosphor sheet A is engaged with the sheet pawl 160 and fed to the roller 26, 28 side, but the stimulable phosphor sheet A) are accommodated one by one in the gaps between the respective partition plates 125. Therefore, when this sheet A moves, it is spaced apart from other adjacent sheets A, and its surface layer is spaced from the partition plate 125, causing damage etc. due to sliding contact between the sheets. It never happens. Furthermore, even if the surface layer of the sheet metal sheet A comes into contact with the partition plate 125, since the partition plate 125 is made of a softer material than the sheet A, the sheet A may be in an inconvenient state due to scratches, etc. Never.

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of partition plates constituting a spacer are arranged in a supply magazine at predetermined intervals, and a stimulable phosphor sheet is housed between the partition plates, and the partition plates are It is made of a material softer than the sheet. Therefore, when the stimulable phosphor sheet is transported from the supply magazine, defects such as scratches are not caused particularly in the surface layer of the sheet.

Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheet can be fed to the imaging unit in good condition, and the radiation image of the subject recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet can be photographed more accurately. becomes.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
For example, the number of leaf claws that scrape out the stimulable phosphor sheet from the supply magazine can be appropriately selected.
Of course, various improvements and changes in design are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a high-speed radiographic image capturing apparatus using a supply magazine of a stimulable phosphor sheet according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a supply magazine and extrusion of a stimulable phosphor sheet according to the present invention. A partially omitted perspective view of the mechanism; FIG. 3 is a partially omitted explanatory diagram showing the attachment/detachment state of the supply magazine;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tray main body constituting the supply magazine, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram when scraping out the stimulable phosphor sheet from the supply magazine.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) Pass the stimulable phosphor sheet through the sheet delivery mechanism,
A supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets that is sequentially sent out to a photographing unit, wherein a spacer is provided inside the supply magazine to store the stimulable phosphor sheets one by one at a distance. . (2) In the supply magazine according to claim 1, the spacer is composed of a plurality of partition plates stacked at predetermined intervals, and the partition plates are provided with openings of a predetermined shape, and the spacers are provided with openings of a predetermined shape. A supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets, which is configured to feed out stimulable phosphor sheets by inserting a claw part constituting a sheet delivery mechanism. (3) A supply magazine of a stimulable phosphor sheet according to claim 2, wherein the partition plate is made of a material softer than the stimulable phosphor sheet. (4) In the supply magazine according to claim 1, the supply magazine includes a tray body for storing a stimulable phosphor sheet and a tray stand on which the tray body is removably attached, and the tray body includes A swing plate whose one end engages with the tray main body, a rod member that constitutes a sheet ejection mechanism and engages with an arm equipped with a claw, and a link mechanism that swings the swing plate and the rod member. and when the tray main body is attached or removed, the swing plate and the rod member are swung through a link mechanism, and the arm that engages with the swing plate is displaced in a predetermined direction to be separated from the tray main body. A supply magazine for stimulable phosphor sheets configured to prevent interference with the attachment/detachment work of the tray body. (5) In the supply magazine according to claim 4, an elastic body is engaged with the link mechanism, and the stimulable phosphor is made of a stimulable phosphor that acts to constantly separate the claw portion from the tray body. Seat supply magazine.