JPS63237050A - Cassette for image recording carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for equipping a mechanism for opening the cap of a cassette into a reader by constituting the cassette in such a manner that the cap body thereof is opened by elastic force under the unlocking action of locking mechanisms to allow leading of an image recording carrier out of a housing. CONSTITUTION:Press pins 106a, 106b of the unlocking mechanism advance into hole parts 50a, 50b formed in a side wall part when the pins 106a, 106b are displaced in an arrow H direction. Then, the pins come into contact with the front ends 94a, 94b of pawl members 90a, 90b and displace the pawl members 90a, 90b in an arrow C direction against the spring forces of coil springs 88a, 88b. As a result, the locking mechanisms 74a, 74b are unlocked and the cover body 48 opens by restoring the elasticity and attaining the curved shape. The cassette is thus opened in a reader 100. The entire part is thus reduced in size without specifically requiring a mechanism for opening the cap of the cassette in an image reader.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cassette for an image recording carrier, and more particularly to a cassette for storing an image recording carrier, such as a stimulable phosphor sheet, and a cassette for holding the image recording carrier in a light-tight manner. A cassette for loading into an image reading device, etc., consisting of a lid that can be opened and closed, the lid is configured to always open in a predetermined direction with elastic force, and the lid is held against the housing. For image recording carriers, the lid body can be opened by simply releasing the locking mechanism that allows it to be fixed, and the lid body can be opened using this elastic force, which further promotes miniaturization of the entire device and further reduces manufacturing costs. Regarding cassettes.

Recently, a radiation image recording and reproducing system that obtains a radiation image of a subject using a stimulable phosphor has been attracting attention. Here, stimulable phosphor refers to radiation (X-rays, α
When irradiated with radiation, β-rays, γ-rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc.),
A phosphor that accumulates a portion of this radiation energy and then, when irradiated with excitation light such as visible light, generates stimulated luminescence according to the accumulated energy.

The radiation image recording and reproducing system described above utilizes this stimulable phosphor, and the radiation image information of a subject such as a human body is stored on a sheet having a layer of stimulable phosphor (hereinafter referred to as a ``stimulable phosphor sheet''). This stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with excitation light such as a laser beam to generate stimulated luminescent light, and the stimulated luminescent light is read photoelectrically to obtain an electrical signal. Based on this electrical signal, the radiation image of the subject is output as a visible image to a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or to a display device such as a CRT.

Therefore, in such a radiographic image recording and reproducing system, the following method is specifically adopted in an image information reading device that reads a radiographic image from a stimulable phosphor sheet on which the radiographic image is stored and recorded.

In other words, a stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned two-dimensionally with a light beam such as a laser beam, and the stimulated luminescence light emitted by this is detected in time series with a photodetector such as a photomultiplier to obtain image information. get. The two-dimensional scanning of the light beam is usually performed by mechanically transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet in one direction, and at the same time, the light beam is deflected in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the sheet. This is achieved by irradiating a beam and performing main scanning.

In this case, the stimulable phosphor sheet is housed in a cassette and irradiates the subject with radiation, thereby accumulating and recording a radiation image of the subject on the sheet. Then, the sheet is loaded into the image reading device in a state stored in the cassette, and after the cassette is opened and taken out from the cassette by a single sheet mechanism including a suction cup, etc.
The paper is transported to a reading section where it is scanned by a light beam and read photoelectrically.

FIG. 1 illustrates a general configuration for taking out a stimulable phosphor sheet from such a cassette.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 indicates a cassette according to the prior art. It includes a lid 10 that is swingably mounted via a hinge 8 and a lock mechanism 1) that locks the lid 10 in the closed position.

The cassette 2 configured as described above is loaded into, for example, the image reading device 12, the lock mechanism 1) is released by the lock release mechanism 13, and the lid 10 is opened via the suction cup 14 to open the chamber 4. It is opened in the image reading device 12.

Next, under the driving action of a sheet mechanism including a suction cup 16, the stimulable phosphor sheets S stacked and stored in the housing 6 are suction-held and sent to an image scanning/reading section via a transport mechanism (not shown). It will be done.

Therefore, in the conventional cassette 2, the suction cup 1 is used as the lid opening mechanism.
4, a pump for suctioning the air in the suction cup 14 and a link mechanism for driving the suction cup 14 are required, which has the disadvantage of complicating the configuration and increasing manufacturing costs. . Furthermore, the space available for the lid opening mechanism is increased, and the image reading device 12
This exposes the inconvenience of increasing the size of the device itself.

The present invention has been made in order to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, and is composed of a casing that houses an image recording carrier and an openable/closable lid that holds the image recording carrier in a light-tight manner. It is made of a highly elastic member that exhibits a curved shape in the lid state, or is connected to the casing with a highly resilient member, and the lid can be fixed by simply releasing the locking mechanism that fixes the lid and the casing. It is possible to open the lid through elastic force, and therefore,
To provide a cassette for an image recording carrier, which does not require a special cassette opening mechanism inside the image reading device, promotes miniaturization of the entire device, and reduces manufacturing costs.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a housing that houses an image recording carrier, a lid that is attached to a part of the housing so as to be openable and closable via a connecting member, and the lid and the housing. and a locking mechanism that can fix the image recording carrier, and the image recording carrier is taken out from the casing by opening the lid with elastic force under the unlocking action of the locking mechanism.

Next, preferred embodiments of the image recording carrier cassette according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 2 to 4, reference numeral 40 indicates a cassette for an image recording carrier of this embodiment. The cassette 40 basically contains a stimulable phosphor sheet S as an image recording carrier.
a casing 44 defining a chamber 42 for storing the casing 44;
It includes a lid body 48 which is swingably attached to one end of the body via a hinge 46.

Further, in the side wall portion 44a of the housing 44, holes 50a and 50b are formed to penetrate in the horizontal direction in the figure, and the upper end portion of the side wall portion 44a has an inclined surface that bulges toward the chamber 42 side. A locking protrusion 54 provided with 52 is formed. in this case,
The holes 50a and 50b are for inserting a pressing pin for releasing a locking mechanism which will be described later. The lid body 48 is preferably formed of an elastic member made of metal and exhibits a curved shape when the lid is opened, and lock mechanisms 7 are provided on both sides of the lid body 48, respectively.
4a and 74b are attached.

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the locking mechanisms 74a, 74b. Thin holding parts 84a and 84b are integrally formed on the lower surface of the lid body 48, and a locking part 8 is formed at the tip of the holding parts 84a and 84b.
6a and 86b are formed. This holding part 134a,
Coil springs 88a and 88b are housed in a chamber defined between 84b and the lid 48. Claw members 9Qa, 90b are movably disposed to engage with the tips of the coil springs 88a, 88b, and recesses 92a, 92b are defined below the claw members 90a, 90b. Therefore, the claw members 9Qa, 90b have the recessed portions 92a,
92b and can be freely displaced in the horizontal direction. The claw member 9
The tip portions 94a and 94b of 0a and 90b have inclined surfaces 96a.
, 96b are formed, and the tip portions 94a, 94b are configured to face the holes 50a, 50b, respectively.

The locking mechanisms 74a and 74b of the cassettes are basically constructed as described above.Next, the radiation image information reading device into which the image recording carrier cassette 40 is loaded will be schematically explained below. do.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 100 indicates a radiation image information reading device, and a lock release mechanism 102 is installed on the cassette 40 loaded in the approximate center of the reading device 100 to release the lid 48 from the locked state. will be placed. The lock release mechanism 102 is slidably displaced in the direction of arrow H under the action of holders 104a and 104b and an actuator (not shown) to open holes 50a and 50 formed in the upper part of the side wall 44a.
It consists of pressing pins 106a and 106b that enter b, respectively.

In the vicinity of the lock release mechanism 102, for example, a sheet conveyance mechanism 1) 0 including a suction cup 108 that performs single-sheet operation by a drive source (not shown) is disposed.
) 0 is arranged a first transport means 1) 4 comprising a transport belt 1) 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, below the first conveying means 1) 4, there is a plurality of sheet accommodating sections 1) 6 for accommodating one stimulable phosphor sheet S. A first stacker 1) 8 for temporarily accommodating the fluorescent phosphor sheets S is provided. Said first stacker 1)8
is configured to be movable in the direction of the arrow under the driving action of a motor (not shown) or the like. The stimulable phosphor sheets S stored in each sheet storage section 1) 6 are placed on a bottom plate (not shown), and by rotating the bottom plate downward, the sheets S are placed in the first stacker. 1) Conveyor belt 12 constituting the second conveyor means 120 provided below B
2, etc., to the conveyor belt 124 side. In this case, the reading section 1 is located close to the end of the conveyor belt 124.
26 are provided.

The reading section 126 includes a third conveying means 128 that conveys the stimulable phosphor sheet S in the direction of arrow E (sub-scanning direction) and a scanning means 130. The scanning means 130 includes a laser light source 132, and on the laser light output side of the laser light source 132, a mirror 136 and a galvanometer mirror 138 for scanning the laser light 134 onto the sheet S, and a condensing reflecting mirror 140 are provided. It is being Furthermore, laser beam 1
A light guide 142 is disposed along the main scanning line at a scanning position on sheet S 34, and a photomultiplier 144 is mounted above the light guide 142.

On the other hand, the conveyor belt 146 constituting the third conveyor means 128
A conveyor belt 148 is provided at the end of the conveyor belt 148, and the conveyor belt 148 first extends in the horizontal direction and then largely extends vertically upward. 150 are in sliding contact to form a fourth conveyance means 152. A pair of conveyor belts 154a and 154b are disposed above the conveyor belt eye 48 and are in sliding contact with each other.
A pair of rollers is placed above the conveyor belts 154a and 154b.
56 and 158 are provided with a predetermined distance between them, and an erasing section 160 is provided between the pair of rollers 156 and 158. The erasing section 160 is provided with a plurality of erasing light sources 162 such as sodium lamps, tungsten lamps, or xenon lamps, and the radiation image remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet S from which the radiation image has been read in the reading dam section 126 is removed. The erasing light source 162 functions to completely erase the image.

Above the roller pair 158, a fifth conveying means 16 is further provided.
The conveyor belt 166 extends in the horizontal direction on its upper side, and a short conveyor heald 168 is in sliding contact with the conveyor belt 166. A sixth conveyance means 172 including a conveyor belt eye 70 is provided at the end of the conveyor belt 166, and the stimulable phosphor sheet S, which is deflected by 180'' in the traveling direction via the sixth conveyor means 172, is It is configured to be transported to the second stacker 174.

The second stacker 174 is the first stacker 1)8 described above.
It is configured in the same manner as above, and is provided with a plurality of sheet accommodating portions 176, and is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow F under the driving action of a motor (not shown) or the like. A pair of rollers 178 is disposed below the second stacker 174, and a seventh conveying means 180 is provided adjacent to the pair of rollers 178.
will be provided. In this case, the first transporting means 180 is a stimulable phosphor sheet supplied from the second stacker 174.
The auxiliary erasing section 182 is provided with an erasing light source 184. Further, the stimulable phosphor sheet +-S passing through the auxiliary erasing section 182 is transferred to the cassette 4 via the sheet transport mechanism 1)0.
It is stored within 0. Note that reference numeral 186 is driven in the horizontal direction under the action of an actuator (not shown), and the lid body 4
8 shows a closure mechanism including a roller 188 rolling on the top surface of the 8.

Therefore, from the cassette 40, the stored sea +-
The action of extracting S will be explained.

First, the cassette 40 is loaded into the reading device 100 in a light-tight state. In this case, the roller 188 is connected to the lid 48 of the cassette.
Keep it away from. Next, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the pressing pins 106a and 10 of the lock release mechanism 102 are
6b is an arrow ■ under the driving action of an actuator (not shown)
When displaced in one direction, the pressing pins 106a, 106b enter the holes 50a, 50b formed in the side wall 44a and come into contact with the tips 94a, 94b of the claw members 90a, 90b. Coil spring 88a
, 88b in the direction of arrow C. As a result, the locking mechanisms 74a, 74b are released.

When the locking mechanisms 74a and 74b are released, the lid body 48 elastically recovers, in other words, assumes a curved shape and opens.

That is, the cassette 40 is opened within the reading device 100. Note that after opening the lid body 48, the lock release mechanism 1
02 to displace the respective pressing pins 106a and 106b in the direction of the arrow 1.

Next, the sheet conveyance mechanism 1)0 is driven.

As shown in FIG. 4, a suction cup 108 communicating with a suction device (not shown) is driven in the direction of an arrow H by a drive device (not shown), further descends vertically downward, sucks and holds the sheet S, and then Along with the vertical upward arrow I
move in the direction. Then, by stopping the suction device, the sheet S is dropped, and the sheet S is transferred to the first conveying means 1) 4.
supplied to

Next, the stimulable phosphor sheet S is transferred to a first conveying means 1).
4, the sheet is conveyed vertically downward, and is supplied into the sheet storage section 1) 6 constituting the first stacker 1) 8. Therefore, the transported stimulable phosphor sheet S,
Alternatively, the stimulable phosphor sheet S stored in another sheet storage section 1) 6 is sent out to the second conveying means 120 side, and the second conveying means 120 and the conveying belt 122.1
24 to the reading unit 126.

The stimulable phosphor sheet S that has reached the reading section 126 is
The scanning means 130 is driven while being conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (direction of arrow E) via the conveying bell l-146 that constitutes the conveying means 128. That is, the laser beam 134 emitted from the laser light source 132 is reflected by the mirror 136 to reach the galvanometer mirror 138, and the laser beam 134 is reflected by the galvanometer mirror 138 under the swinging motion of the galvanometer mirror 138.
is scanned on the sheet S. As a result, the stimulated luminescence light emitted from the sheet S is made to enter the light guide 142 either directly or by being reflected by the reflecting mirror 140,
This is converted into an electrical signal by the photomultiplier 144 and sent to, for example, an image recording device.

In this way, the stimulable phosphor sheet S whose radiation image has been read is transferred to the roller pair 156 via the conveyor belt 148 and the fourth R conveying means 152 including the conveyor belt 150 in sliding contact therewith, and the conveyor belt eyes 54a and 154b. The paper is conveyed to the side and further passes through the pair of rollers 156 to reach the erasing section 160. In the erasing section 160, a plurality of erasing light sources 162 are turned on, and the irradiated light erases the radiation image remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet S. The stimulable phosphor sheet (S) whose radiation image has been erased by passing through the erasing section 160 is conveyed vertically upward via conveyor belts 166 and 168 constituting the fifth conveying means 164, and then The sixth conveying means 1 is displaced horizontally.
It reaches 72. The stimulable phosphor sheet S, whose conveying direction has been shifted by 1806 degrees by the sixth conveying means 172, is stored in a desired sheet storage section 176 of the second stacker 174.

On the other hand, after the stimulable phosphor sheet S is taken out from the cassette 40, if the stimulable phosphor sheet S previously stored in the sheet storage section 176 is sent from the roller pair 178 to the seventh conveying means 180, the stimulable phosphor sheet S can be stored. The phosphor sheet S is subjected to secondary erasing via the erasing light source 184 of the auxiliary erasing section 182, and is sent out to the sheet conveyance mechanism 1)0 side. Subsequently, the sheet S is sucked and held by the lowering of the suction cup 10B, and then conveyed together with the suction cup 108 in the direction of arrow H and completely stored in the cassette 40.

In this way, the stimulable phosphor sheet +
-S, the drive of the suction device is stopped, and the suction cup 108 is raised and moved in the direction of the arrow (2) with the sheet s; t separated from the suction device. Subsequently, the roller 18 of the lid closing mechanism 186
8 is a lid body 48 under the driving action of an actuator (not shown).
The upper surface is moved in the direction of arrow 1 and the lid body 48 is pressed. In this case, when the roller 188 is displaced toward the locking mechanisms 74a and 74b, the lid body 48 deforms into a substantially flat plate shape under the pressing action of the roller 188, and resists the elastic force of the coil springs 88a and 88b, causing the claw member 9Qa to , 90b inclined surfaces 96a, 96b
slides on the inclined surface 52 of the locking protrusion 54 and is displaced in the direction of arrow C. Furthermore, the roller 188 is displaced, and the claw member 90a
, 90b, the lid body 48 and the locking protrusion 5
4 face each other, and as a result, the claw members 90a and 90b are resiliently driven toward the side wall portion 44a under the action of the coil springs 88a and 88b, and the cassette 40 is locked. After this,
The cassette 40 may be taken out from the reading device 100, and a new cassette containing the stimulable phosphor sheet S on which image information has been stored and recorded may be loaded into the reading device 100, if necessary.

According to this embodiment, as described above, the lid body 48 is attached to the housing 4.
By simply releasing the locking mechanisms 74a and 74b that can be fixed to the lid 48, the lid 48 can be opened using its elastic force. Furthermore, there is no need to provide a cassette opening mechanism inside the reading device 100, which provides the advantage of promoting miniaturization of the entire device and reducing manufacturing costs.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the force set for an image recording carrier according to the present invention. In this image recording carrier cassette,
The same reference numerals as in the above embodiments indicate the same components, and therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As can be easily understood from FIG. 5, the cassette 200 includes a housing 44 and a flat plate-shaped lid 204 that is swingably attached to one end of the housing 44 via a leaf spring 202. . The lid body 204 is biased upward by the spring force of the temporary spring 202 and opens under no load. On the other hand, the lid body 204 is closed against the elastic force of the leaf spring 202 under the action of a lid closing mechanism (not shown). Therefore, the lock mechanisms 74a, 74
The lid body 204 can be opened by the spring force of the leaf spring 202 only by releasing b, and as in the above-described embodiment, it is possible to promote miniaturization of the reading device and reduce manufacturing costs. It is.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a cassette that includes a lid that holds the image recording carrier in a light-tight manner, the housing that houses the image recording carrier uses a lid that is made of a highly elastic material, Alternatively, the lid is swingably attached to the casing via a spring member that opens the lid under no load. Therefore, the lid can be opened inside the image reading device only by releasing the locking mechanism that fixes the lid and the housing.

Therefore, there is no need to equip the reader with a cassette opening mechanism, and the reader can be made more compact.
Moreover, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the reading device itself.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
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 configuration diagram of a cassette for an image recording carrier according to the prior art, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cassette for an image recording carrier according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a lock of the cassette for an image recording carrier according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a radiation image information reading device including a cassette for an image recording carrier according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mechanism. FIG.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A casing that accommodates an image recording carrier, a lid that is attached to a part of the casing so as to be openable and closable via a connecting member, and a locking mechanism that allows the lid and the casing to be fixed. 1. A cassette for an image recording carrier, comprising: a cassette for an image recording carrier, wherein the lid body is opened by elastic force under the unlocking action of a locking mechanism, and the image recording carrier is led out from the casing. (2) In the cassette according to claim 1,
A cassette for an image recording carrier, in which the lid body is made of an elastic member that exhibits a curved shape when the lid is open. (3) In the cassette according to claim 1,
A cassette for an image recording carrier in which the connecting member is formed of an elastic member that allows the lid to be opened.