JPS63258339A - Auxiliary scanning conveyance mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate regulation of the tension of a roller pair interlocking belt and to facilitate exchange of a belt and maintenance of a conveyance mechanism, by a method wherein a drive roller pair and a driven roller pair are spanned between a set of side plates separated from each other with a distance therebetween, and the driven roller pair is removably mounted to the side plate and displaceable in a given direction. CONSTITUTION:When an interlocking belt 54 between a driven roller pair 32 and a drive roller pair 40, with which an auxiliary scanning conveyance mechanism 20 is formed, is stretched, a wedge member is located between a housing 28a and a member, with which an opening part 26a of a first side plate 22a is formed. In this constitution, a driven roller unit 24 is displaced in a direction of an arrow mark B2, and tension is applied on a belt 54. When the belt 54 is exchanged, the driven roller unit 24 is displaced in the direction of an arrow mark B1, and the tension of the belt is decreased to unfasten the belt 54. Further, maintenance of an auxiliary scanning conveyance mechanism 20 is effected by removing the driven roller unit 24. This constitution facilitates maintenance of a conveyance mechanism.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism, and more specifically, for example, a system for transmitting image information by irradiating a light beam onto a scanned object on which a radiation image has been accumulated and recorded. A mechanism for transporting the object to be scanned by a pair of driving rollers and a pair of driven rollers arranged at a predetermined distance when scanning and reading a length, etc., and a mechanism in which bearings are installed at both ends of the pair of driven rollers. The present invention relates to a sub-scanning transport mechanism in which a unit is formed by these housings and a pair of driven rollers, thereby simplifying the configuration of the sub-scanning transport mechanism itself and facilitating maintenance.

[Background of the Invention] Recently, a radiation image recording and reproducing system that obtains a radiation image of a subject using a stimulable phosphor (stimulable phosphor) has been attracting attention. Here, stimulable phosphor refers to radiation (X-rays, α
rays, β rays, γ rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc.), some of this radiation energy is accumulated, and later by irradiation with excitation light such as visible light, stimulated luminescence occurs according to the accumulated energy. A phosphor that

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 radiation image recording and reproducing system, when reading a radiation image from a stimulable phosphor sheet on which a radiation image is stored and recorded, specifically, the following method is adopted.

In other words, the 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 create an image. get information. In the two-dimensional scanning of the light beam, the light beam is normally deflected and irradiated onto the stimulable phosphor sheet in a -dimensional manner to perform main scanning, and the sheet is moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction. This is accomplished by mechanically conveying the image to the surface and performing sub-scanning.

Next, the image information obtained as described above is sent to an image recording device. The image recording device is configured to irradiate a photographic light-sensitive material, which is a recording material, with a laser beam modulated based on image information obtained from a stimulable phosphor sheet, thereby recording a predetermined image on the photographic light-sensitive material. There is. After the photographic light-sensitive material on which the new image has been recorded is subjected to development processing, it is stored at a predetermined location and used for medical diagnosis, etc., as necessary.

Here, in the image reading device as described above, it is conceivable to use two pairs of rollers disposed with a predetermined distance apart when conveying the stimulable phosphor sheet in the sub-scanning direction. This has already been proposed by the applicant (Japanese Patent Application No. 60-234182).

In this case, the two roller pairs are rotated by rotating one of the two roller pairs and transmitting this rotational force to the other roller pair via a transmission belt or the like. By rotating at the same speed, the stimulable phosphor sheet can be conveyed accurately.

By the way, if a belt is used for a long period of time to transmit rotational force between the two pairs of rollers, the belt will stretch over time, and in this case, the belt will stretch from the rotationally driven pair of rollers to the other pair of rollers. The rotational force is not transmitted accurately, and as a result, it becomes difficult to accurately convey the stimulable phosphor sheet in the sub-scanning direction. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the distance between the two pairs of rollers using a mechanism such as applying a predetermined tension to the rotational force transmitting belt. Of course,
When the two roller pairs are rotatably fixed to the side plates that constitute the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism, the distance between the roller pairs can actually be adjusted even if the rotational force transmission belt stretches over time. do not have. That is, in reality, it is difficult to apply a predetermined tension to the rotational force transmission belt and accurately transmit the rotational force.

Another problem is that if the two roller pairs are fixed together, it will be very troublesome to replace the belt.

Furthermore, since the area where the roller pairs are arranged is generally quite narrow, it has been pointed out that if the two roller pairs are respectively attached to the side plates, maintenance cannot be carried out easily.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in order to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages. A pair of rollers and a pair of driven rollers are disposed apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and are connected by an endless heel I. At this time, the pair of driven rollers and a housing for rotatably supporting the pair are connected. One unit is formed, and this unit is configured to be detachable from the side plate and can be displaced in a predetermined direction, thereby adjusting the tension of the endless heald, exchanging the heald, and carrying the sub-scanning. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sub-scanning transport mechanism that allows easy maintenance of the mechanism.

"Means for Achieving the Object" In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sub-scanning method substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction in which a sheet-shaped object to be scanned is irradiated with a light beam deflected in a one-dimensional direction. A sub-scanning conveyance mechanism for conveying the object to be scanned in the direction, comprising: a side plate of 1&Ji disposed at a predetermined distance, a drive roller bridged to the side plate, and a drive roller bridged to the side plate. It consists of a driven roller unit including a driven roller rotated by a driving roller, and a transmission member that transmits the driving force of the driving roller to the driven roller unit, and the driven roller unit approaches the driving roller while being attached to a side plate. It is characterized in that it can be freely separated and detached from the side plate.

[Embodiments] Next, preferred embodiments of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates an image reading device incorporating a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism according to the present invention.

A supply magazine 14 is loaded in the chamber 12 in the image reading device W10, and a stimulable phosphor sheet 1- in which radiographic images have been stored and recorded is loaded in the supply magazine 14.
A is stored in a stack. The supply magazine 1
A single-wafer mechanism including a suction cup 16 is provided in the chamber 12 adjacent to the suction cup 4 . Below the suction cup 16 is an endless first general transport heald 1 for transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet 1-A.
8 is provided. This first conveyance heald 18 extends vertically downward and is bent at an internal corner of the image reading device 10 so as to be oriented in the horizontal direction. A scanning conveyance mechanism 20 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 20 includes a driven roller unit 24 bridged between a first side plate 22a and a second side plate 22b. The driven roller unit 24 is connected to the first and second side plates 22a and 22b.
housings 28a, 28b that engage openings 26a, 26b defined in the housings 28a, 26b, respectively;
Bearings 3Qa and 30b are installed in 28b. Furthermore, recesses 31a and 31b are formed in the upper portions of the housings 28a and 28b. In addition, the housing 2
8a, 28b are indicated by the arrow B in the openings 26a, 26b.
It is configured to be freely displaceable in the direction. Further, a spring 29 is attached near the opening 26b of the second side plate 22b, and this spring 29 comes into contact with the housing 28b and presses it in the direction of arrow B.

A pair of driven rollers 32 is rotatably mounted on the housings 28a, 28b. That is, the driven roller pair 32 includes a roller 32a whose both ends fit into the bearings 30a and 30b, and whose both ends engage with recesses 31a and 31b defined in the upper parts of the housings 28a and 28b. It consists of a roller 32b that is in sliding contact with a roller 32a.

In this case, one end side of the roller 32a has a bearing 32
a and protrudes outward through the housing 28a, and a pulley 34 is engaged near the end thereof. Further, springs 35a and 36b are stretched between the rollers 32a and 32b, and the tension of the springs 36a and 36b maintains the rollers 32b and 32a in pressure contact with each other. Note that the roller 32b is driven by the springs 36a and 3 under the driving action of a rotational drive source (not shown).
Needless to say, it is constructed so that it can be displaced in a direction away from the roller 32a against the tensile force of the roller 6b (see Japanese Patent Application No. 60-275703).

A pair of driving rollers 40 is arranged at a predetermined distance from the driven roller unit 24. The driving roller pair 40 substantially consists of a roller 42a and a roller 42b bridged between the first and second side plates 22a and 22b, and
2b is configured to be in pressure contact with the roller 42a under the tension of springs 44a and 44b stretched between the roller 42b and the roller 423, and to move away from the roller 42a under the driving action of an actuator (not shown). It can be freely displaced. Both ends of the roller 42a are provided with bearings 46 that engage with the first and second side plates 22a and 22b.
a, 46b, respectively, and its ends protrude outward from the first and second side plates 22a, 22b, respectively. In this case, one end side of the roller 42a is connected to the first side plate 2.
2a and engages with the pulley 48, and its end is connected to the rotational drive shaft 52a of the rotational drive source 52 via the connecting member 5o.
It is connected with.

A belt 54 is stretched around the pulley 48, and this belt 54 is stretched around the pulley 34 that engages with the roller 32a of the driven roller pair 32.

Therefore, under the driving action of the rotational drive source 52, the rotational drive shaft 52
When a is rotated, the pulley 48 and roller 42a are rotated in a predetermined direction via the connecting member 50, and the roller 32a is rotated in a predetermined direction via the heald 54 and pulley 34 stretched over the boo IJ48. will be easily understood. In this case, the roller 42a and the roller 3
The sizes of the pulleys 34 and 48 are selected so that the rotational speeds of the pulleys 2a and 2a are approximately the same, and the heald 54 is pulled with a predetermined load. Note that the roller 42b and the roller 32 that come into sliding contact with the rollers 42a and 32a under the rotational action of the rollers 42a and 32a.
Of course, b rotates.

An image reading section 5G is disposed above the sub-scanning transport mechanism 20 configured as described above (see FIG. 1).

The image reading unit 5G includes a laser light source 5B, and the laser light output side of the laser light source 58 includes a mirror 62 for scanning the laser light 60 onto the stimulable phosphor sheet A, a galvanometer mirror 64, and a galvanometer mirror 64 for condensing light. Reflection mirror 66
is provided. Furthermore, a condensing guide 68 is disposed along the main scanning line at the scanning position of the laser beam 60 on the stimulable phosphor sheet A, and a photomultiplier 70 is installed above the condensing guide 68. .

On the other hand, a second conveyance heald 72 is provided adjacent to the driving roller pair 40 that constitutes the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 20 . After the second Wi feed belt 72 once extends in the horizontal direction,
It is bent vertically upward, and a third conveyor belt 74 is disposed near its tip. In fact, the third conveyance heald 74 extends vertically upward to a large extent and then bends in the horizontal direction, with its tip pointing slightly downward. A receive magazine 76 that stores the stimulable phosphor sheet 1-A is disposed close to the tip of the third transport heald 74.

Further, within the chamber 12, for example, an erasing section 78 is disposed in the middle of the third conveyor belt 74, and a plurality of erasing light sources (not shown) are disposed inside the erasing section 74. (.

The image reading device incorporating the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism of this embodiment is basically constructed as described above, and its operation and effects will be explained next.

First, the supply magazine 14 is attached to the image reading device 10. In this case, in the supply magazine 14,
For example, a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets A on which radiation images of a subject such as a human body are stored are stacked and stored.

Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheets A are taken out one by one from the supply magazine 14 under the action of a sheet-feeding mechanism including a suction cup 16, and transported via a first conveyor belt 18 provided below the suction cup 16. It is transported to the sub-scanning transport mechanism 20 side.

At that time, the driven roller pair 3 that constitutes the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 20
2 roller 32b and drive roller pair 40 roller 42
roller 3 under the driving action of an actuator (not shown).
2a and 42a are separated from each other. Then, the stimulable phosphor sheet h is transported via the first transport bell 8.
After A enters between the driven roller pair 32 and the driving roller pair 40, the rollers 32b and 42b are sequentially displaced toward the rollers 32a and 42a. At this time, the rotary drive source 52 is driven, and the rotary drive shaft 52a and the connecting portion +4'50
The a-roller 42a constituting the drive roller pair 40 is rotated in the direction of the arrow through the arrow. The rotational action of the roller 42a rotates the roller 42b that slides thereon, and the pulley 34 and roller 32a rotate in the direction of the arrow via the pulley 48 that engages with the roller 42a and the endless heald 54. As a result, the stimulable phosphor sheet)
A is conveyed in the direction of arrow B1 (sub-scanning direction). In this case, as described above, the driving roller pair 40 and the driven roller pair 3
2 rotate at approximately the same speed via the heald 54, it is possible to convey the stimulable phosphor sheet A extremely accurately.

Therefore, by driving the image reading section 56, the laser beam 60 derived from the laser light source 58 is reflected by the mirror 62 to reach the galvanometer mirror 64, and the laser beam 60 is accumulated as described above under the swinging action of the galvanometer mirror 64. The photosensitive phosphor sheet 1-A is scanned in the main scanning direction. In this way, the stimulated luminescent light emitted from the stimulable phosphor sheet A is incident on the condensing guide F'68 either directly or after being reflected by the reflecting mirror 66, and is then electrically transmitted by the photomultiply A.70. It is converted into a signal and sent to, for example, an image recording device.

Next, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is attached to the second transport heald 72.
and reaches the third conveyor belt 74. The stimulable phosphor sheet A transported by the third transport heald 74 reaches the erasing section 78 .

In the erasing unit 78, a plurality of erasing light sources (not shown) are turned on, and the irradiated light erases the radiation image remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet 1-A, and also erases the stimulable phosphor sheet from which the radiation image has been erased. ) A is the third transport hell I-74
After being conveyed to the second section of the image reading apparatus 10 by the image reading apparatus 10, it is stored in the receive magazine 76.

In this way, when reading the image information accumulated and recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet 1-A is performed multiple times, the pair of driven rollers 32 constituting the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 2o,
The heald 54 for interlocking the drive roller pair 4o may extend.

However, in this case, according to the present embodiment, a servant member or the like is interposed between the housing 28a constituting the driven roller unit 24 and the member defining the opening 26a of the first side plate 22a, As a result, the driven roller unit 24
The heald 5 can be easily moved by simply displacing it in the direction of arrow B2.
A predetermined tension can be applied to 4. As a result, the stretched belt 54 transfers the normal rotational force to the driven roller pair 3.
It becomes possible to transmit the information to 2. In addition, when replacing the heald 54, move the driven roller unit 24 as indicated by arrow B.
After displacing in the force direction to loosen the tension on the belt and making it easier to remove the heald 54, the heald 54 is removed and replaced with a new belt, and the driven roller unit 24 is displaced in the direction of arrow B2 to apply tension to the heald. Bye.

Furthermore, when performing maintenance on the sub-scanning transport mechanism 20, the heald 54 is removed and the housing 2
8a is removed, and the housing 28a is pulled in the direction of devolatilization through the opening 26a of the first side plate 22a.
Since all "C" can be removed, maintenance and management can be easily performed.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when a sheet body such as a stimulable phosphor sheet is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction, a drive roller is attached to a set of side plates arranged at a predetermined distance. It bridges the roller pair and the driven roller pair.

Moreover, the driven roller pair and the housing rotatably supporting the driven roller pair form a driven roller unit, and the driven roller unit is detachably attached to the side plate and is attached to the opening defined in the side plate. It is configured to be able to be displaced in a predetermined direction along the line. Therefore, it is not only possible to easily adjust the tension of the belt for interlocking the pair of driven rollers and the pair of driving rollers that constitute the driven roller unit, but also to easily replace the belt and maintain the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism itself. This provides the advantage of being able to do so.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
It goes without saying that various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, such as being applicable to image recording devices, for example.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image reading device incorporating a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially omitted perspective view of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partially omitted cross-sectional plan view of the scanning conveyance mechanism. 10... Image reading device 14... Supply magazine 18... Conveyance heald 20... Sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 2
4...Followed roller unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A sub-scanning transport mechanism for transporting a sheet-shaped object to be scanned in a sub-scanning direction substantially perpendicular to a main scanning direction in which the object to be scanned is irradiated with a light beam deflected in a one-dimensional direction; , a driven roller unit including a set of side plates arranged at a predetermined distance apart, a drive roller bridged by the side plates, a driven roller bridged by the side plates and rotated by the drive roller; a transmission member that transmits driving force to a driven roller unit, and the driven roller unit is configured to be able to move toward and away from the driving roller while being attached to a side plate, and to be freely attachable to and detachable from the side plate. A sub-scanning transport mechanism. (2) In the mechanism according to claim 1, the driven roller unit includes at least a pair of driven rollers and a set of housings that engage with both ends of the pair of driven rollers,
A sub-scanning conveyance mechanism, wherein the housing is provided with a bearing that rotatably supports one of the pair of driven rollers, and a recessed portion with which the other roller is displaceably engaged. (3) In the mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, the transmission member is substantially a belt stretched between a driving roller and one roller of a pair of driven rollers constituting a driven roller unit. A sub-scanning transport mechanism consisting of: