JPS63258348A - Auxiliary scanning conveying mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform accurate reading of a picture and recording of a visual image, by a method wherein a set of sheet belts for straightening to make contact with a sheet material from both side parts is rotationally driven in a direction in which bending of the sheet material is straightened, and bending of the sheet material is straightened. CONSTITUTION:A guide plate 26 is situated between two sets of roller pairs 22 and 24, and belts 28a and 28b for straightening making contact with the side parts of a sheet A are disposed. Through drive of the belts, the curved sheet A is stretched along the guide plate 26 to perform an action to straighten the bending. Thereby, even when the sheet A is conveyed in a bent state to an auxiliary scanning conveying mechanism 20, bending of the sheet A is straightened by means of the belts 28a and 28b for straightening, and the sheet can be conveyed in an auxiliary scanning direction by means of the roller pair 24. This constitution prevents displacement of a position in scanning of the sheet A due to bending of the sheet A, and enables clear and accurate reading of radiation picture information and recording of a visual image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism, and more particularly to a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism that applies a light beam to a scanned object such as a stimulable phosphor sheet on which a radiation image has been accumulated. In order to scan and read an image etc. in an illuminating manner, a guide member is disposed between two pairs of rollers arranged at a predetermined distance in order to convey the object to be scanned, and A set of correction belts is provided so as to come into contact with both sides of the body, and this is configured to avoid misalignment of the scanning position caused by deformation of the object to be scanned and read, thereby obtaining accurate images. The present invention relates to a sub-scanning transport mechanism that enables scanning.

[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
When irradiated with rays, β rays, γ rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc., a portion of this radiation energy is accumulated, and when excitation light such as visible light is irradiated later, stimulated luminescence occurs in response to the accumulated energy. Refers to phosphor.

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 luminescence light, and the stimulated luminescence light is read photoelectrically to generate 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, 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. 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 using rollers, which perform sub-scanning.

Next, the image information obtained as described above is sent to an image recording device. The image recording device irradiates a photographic light-sensitive material, which is a recording material, with a laser beam modulated based on the image information obtained from a stimulable phosphor sheet, and records a predetermined image on the photographic light-sensitive material. It is configured.

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.

In this case, in the image reading device, the stimulable phosphor sheet conveyed in the sub-scanning direction is often bent. That is, the stimulable phosphor sheet is easily bent due to the humidity inside the image reading device and the fact that the sheet is stacked and stored in a magazine or the like disposed in the image reading device. Moreover, since the stimulable phosphor sheet passes through a conveyance path having a bent shape when being conveyed from the magazine to the scanning section, the stimulable phosphor sheet tends to be further bent.

When the stimulable phosphor sheet bent in this manner is scanned by a light beam such as a laser beam in the scanning section, when the stimulable phosphor sheet is held between a pair of rollers constituting the scanning section, Alternatively, the stimulable phosphor sheet is deformed when it is separated from the roller pair, causing a shift in the image reading position. As a result, accurate radiation image information cannot be obtained. Therefore, when the subject is a patient, drawbacks have been pointed out, such as the possibility of making a medical diagnosis error. Further, in image recording devices, many photographic light-sensitive materials are curled (a similar problem occurs).

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, and includes two sets of rollers that sandwich and convey a sheet of stimulable phosphor sheet or photographic material in the sub-scanning direction. A guide member for guiding the sheet body is provided between the pair, and
A set of straightening belts is provided in contact with the sheet body from both sides thereof, and the set of straightening belts is configured to be rotationally driven in a direction for correcting the flexure of the sheet body, so that the flexure of the sheet body can be corrected. By correcting this, the sheet body can be conveyed in the sub-scanning direction without causing a shift in the scanning position due to the bending of the sheet body, and as a result, it is possible to accurately read or record images. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism.

[Means for Achieving the Object] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet-like object to be scanned in a sub-scanning direction substantially orthogonal to a main scanning direction in which a light beam is deflected and irradiated onto the object to be scanned. 11; a mechanism for conveying the object to be scanned, comprising two pairs of rollers disposed at a predetermined distance to sandwich and convey the object to be scanned; and a guide member disposed between the pair of rollers 11; , consists of a correction belt disposed so as to come into contact with the side surface of the object to be scanned, and a driving means for the correction bell 1-, and the correction belt presses the object to be scanned against the guide member side. It is characterized in that the guide member is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the guide member.

[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 a chamber 12 in the image reading device 10, and a stimulable phosphor sheet 1- in which radiation 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 . An endless first conveyor belt 18 for conveying the stimulable phosphor sheet A is provided below the suction cup 16. This first conveyor belt 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.

The sub-scanning transport mechanism 20 includes a first pair of rollers 22 and a second pair of rollers 24, and includes a pair of tenth rollers 22 and a second roller pair 24.
-R pairs 24 are arranged at intervals shorter than the length of the stimulable phosphor sheet A being transported in the transport direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, a guide plate 26 is disposed between the 10th pair 22 and the 20th pair 24 below the stimulable phosphor sheet A being conveyed. In this case, a set of correction heel H8a is provided on both side surfaces of the guide plate 26,
28b is arranged.

Among the straightening belts 28a and 28b, one of the straightening belts 28a has a roller 30 disposed at a predetermined distance.
a, 32a, and is driven in the direction of arrow B via drive means 34a. That is, the driving means 3
4a includes a motor 36a, and a pulley 40a engages with a rotational drive shaft 38a of this motor 36a. Said Boo'J
One end side of the bell 42a is engaged with the bell 40a, and the bell 42a is engaged with the bell 40a. - The other end side of 42a is stretched over a boo' J44a that engages with the roller 32a. Therefore, the motor 36
Boo'J4 through the rotational drive shaft 38a under the driving action of
When 0a is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the roller 32a is rotated in the direction of the arrow via the bellow 42a and the pulley 44a.
It will be easily understood that the correction helper H8a is thereby driven in the direction of arrow B.

In this case, the other correction bell B8b is also driven in the direction of arrow C by a driving means 34t) which is constructed substantially the same as the correction bell 28a and substantially the same as the driving means 34a. Therefore, regarding the straightening belt 28b and the driving means 34b, the reference numerals indicating the same components as those of the straightening bell 28a and the driving means 34a are denoted by numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

As described above, the correction belts 28a and 28b driven in the directions of arrows B and C are inclined at a predetermined angle so as to bring the stimulable phosphor sheet A into contact with the guide plate 26. In this embodiment, the motors 36a and 36b constituting the driving means 34a and 34b are provided separately, but it is possible to drive the correction bells l-28a and 28b with a single motor. Of course.

An image reading section 46 is disposed in a portion of the sub-scanning transport mechanism 20 configured in this manner. The image reading unit 46 includes a laser light source 48, and a mirror 52 and a galvanometer mirror 54 for scanning the laser light 50 onto the stimulable phosphor sheet 1-A and a galvanometer mirror 54 are arranged on the laser light output side of the laser light source 48. A light reflecting mirror 56 is provided. Furthermore, a condensing guide 58 is disposed along the scanning line at the scanning position of the laser beam 50 on the stimulable phosphor sheet A, and a photomultiplier 60 is mounted above the condensing guide 58.

On the other hand, a second conveyor belt 62 is provided adjacent to the 20th pair 24 of the sub-scanning conveyor mechanism 20 (see FIG. 1). The second conveyor belt 62 once extends horizontally and then bends upward in the vertical direction, and a third conveyor belt 64 is disposed near its tip. In fact, the third conveyor belt 64 largely extends upward in the vertical direction and then bends in the horizontal direction, with its leading end pointing slightly downward. A receive magazine 6 for storing the stimulable phosphor sheet A is disposed at the tip of the third conveyor belt 64.
6 are placed in close proximity.

Further, within the chamber 12, an erasing section 68 is disposed, for example, in the middle of the third conveyor belt 64, and inside the erasing section 68, a plurality of erasing light sources (not shown) are disposed.

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 subjects such as human bodies 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. Furthermore, the stimulable phosphor sheet) A is the 10th-
It is held between the rubber pairs 22 and transported in the direction of the arrow (sub-scanning direction).

In this case, as described above, the stimulable phosphor sheet A may be in a bent state due to the bent conveyor belt and the stacked storage state in the supply magazine 14 and the receive magazine 66.

However, according to the present embodiment, the stimulable phosphor sheet 1-A, which is conveyed while being held between the tenth pair 22, is not corrected when being conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow on the guide plate 26. The bending is corrected by the belts 28a and 28b. That is, the morph 36a constituting the driving means 34a134b,
36b to rotate the pulleys 40a, 40b that engage with the rotation drive shafts 38a, 38b of the morphs 36a, 36b in the direction of the arrow. This rotational force is applied to the belts 42a, 42
The rollers 32a, 32 are transmitted to the pulleys 44a, 44b via the rollers 32a, 32 with which the respective boos IJ44a, 44b engage.
b is rotated in the direction of the arrow. In this case, since the conveyor belts 28a and 28b are arranged inclined at a predetermined angle, when slidingly contacting the side surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet A, the conveyor belts 28a and 28b are attached to the guide plate 28 from the side surface of the sheet A. Gives a force to direct and press the object.

Therefore, even if the stimulable phosphor sheet A is bent, it is corrected by the correction belts 28a and 28b so that it comes into contact with the guide plate 26, and the 10th-ra pair 22 and the 20th- It is conveyed in the direction of the arrow by the roller pair 24.

As a result, the stimulable phosphor C)A becomes the 20th-L pair 2
4 and when it is separated from the 10th pair 22, no positional deviation occurs in the scanning region of the stimulable phosphor sheet A). That is, since the stimulable phosphor sheet A is always applied with a force that presses it toward the guide plate 26, it maintains a flat state, and therefore the laser light 50 can always be scanned at a fixed position. Therefore, with the stimulable phosphor sheet A, extremely accurate image reading and scanning can be performed.

That is, the image reading section 46 is driven to cause the laser light 50 derived from the laser light source 48 to be reflected by the mirror 52 to reach the galvanometer mirror 54, and the laser light 50 is accumulated under the swinging motion of the galvanometer mirror 54. It is possible to scan stably in the main scanning direction on the fluorescent phosphor sheet A).

In this way, the stimulated luminescent light emitted from the stimulable phosphor sheet A is incident directly or reflected by the reflecting mirror 56 into the condensing guide 58, and is converted into an electrical signal by the photomultiplier 60. , for example, to an image recording device or the like.

Next, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is attached to the 21st conveyor belt 6.
2 and reaches the third conveyor 1-64.

The stimulable phosphor sheet 1-A transported by the third transport belt 64 reaches the erasing section 68.

In the erasing section 68, 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. The stimulable phosphor sheet 1-A from which the radiation image has been erased is generally transported by the third conveyor belt 64 to the lower part of the image reading device 10, and then stored in the receive magazine 6G.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when a sheet body such as a laminated phosphor sheet is held between two pairs of rollers and conveyed in the sub-scanning direction, the two sets of D - A guide portion (A) located below the sheet body is provided between the pairs, and a correction belt that comes into contact with the side surface of the sheet body is provided.

Furthermore, the correction belt acts to correct the bending of the sheet body by driving the sheet body along the guide member. Therefore, even if the sheet body is transferred into the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism in a bent state, the curvature of the sheet body can be corrected by the correction belt and then conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the pair of rollers. I can do it. Therefore, positional deviation in scanning of the sheet body due to bending of the sheet body can be prevented, and as a result, clear and accurate radiation image information or visible image recording can be achieved. The effect is that it becomes possible.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
For example, one of the sets of correction bells 1- that abuts on both side surfaces of the sheet body can be replaced with a guide member, and the gist of the present invention can also be applied to an image recording device. Various improvements and configurations within the range not departing from the
Of course, it is possible to change 1.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image reading apparatus incorporating a sub-scan single general transport mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially omitted perspective view of the sub-scan transport mechanism according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Image reading device 14... Zaburai magazine 18... 1 General feed belt 20... Sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 2
2.24...Roller pair 28a, 28b...Correction belt 46...Image reading unit 62.64...
Conveyor belt 66...Receive magazine 68...Erasing section

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A mechanism for transporting a sheet-shaped object to be scanned in a sub-scanning direction that is substantially orthogonal to a main scanning direction in which a light beam is deflected and irradiated onto the object to be scanned; two pairs of rollers arranged at a predetermined distance apart, a guide member arranged between the pair of rollers, a correction belt arranged so as to come into contact with a side surface of the object to be scanned; A sub-scanning conveyance mechanism comprising a driving means for the correction belt, wherein the correction belt is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the guide member so as to press the object to be scanned toward the guide member. (2) In the mechanism according to claim 1, the correction belt is stretched around a set of rollers that are arranged at a substantially predetermined distance, and the means for driving the correction belt is rotated. A sub-scanning conveyance mechanism comprising a drive source, and a drive force transmission member that engages with the rotary drive source and one of the rollers of the set of rollers.