JPH0473734A - Stimulable phosphorescent sheet housing container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a device and to surely eject a housed phosphor sheet by providing a means which releases a cover by engaging with a member provided at the loading part of the device. CONSTITUTION:The cover 16 comprises a shutter 16a and an engaging claw 16b as an engaging means engaged with the housing of a correspondent device, etc., is formed in plate shape. A cassette 10 is formed so as to open and close the covers 16, 18 slidably, and it is comprised that the engaging claws 16b, 18b are provided at the covers 16, 18. When the cassette 10 is loaded on the cassette loading part 20 of the correspondent device, the covers 16, 18 are slided and opened by inserting the cassette 10 by engaging the engaging claws 16b, 18b with the housing 22 of the device, etc., and the phosphor sheet A is dropped by dead weight, then, it can be ejected.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet and a cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet used in a radiation image information recording and reproducing system to which a stimulable phosphor sheet is applied. This invention relates to storage containers for stimulable phosphor sheets such as magazines.

<Prior Art> Recently, radiation image information recording and reproducing systems using stimulable phosphors have been attracting attention.

Here, stimulable phosphor refers to radiation (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays,
When irradiated with γ-rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc., some of the radiation energy is accumulated, and when later irradiated with excitation light such as visible light, stimulated luminescence occurs according to the accumulated energy. A phosphor that exhibits

The radiation image information recording and reproducing system utilizes this stimulable phosphor, and uses a sheet (hereinafter referred to as phosphor) having a layer of stimulable phosphor to absorb radiation emitted from a subject or transmitted through the subject. body sheet)
This phosphor sheet is scanned with excitation light such as a laser to generate stimulated luminescent light, and the resulting stimulated luminescent light is read photoelectrically to obtain an image signal. Based on this, a radiation image of a subject or subject is output as a visible image to a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or a CRT.

A phosphor sheet is also called a radiation image conversion panel, and is usually a rectangular or square shaped sheet, and its basic structure consists of a support and a phosphor layer provided on one side of the support.

The above-mentioned radiographic image information recording and reproducing system is capable of obtaining radiographic images rich in information with a much lower radiation exposure dose than conventional radiographic methods using X-ray film.1) Direct medical radiography such as X-ray photography for the purpose of medical diagnosis using the human body as a subject, and 2) Living bodies, living body tissues, and media containing living body tissues and/or living body-derived substances. By detecting one-dimensional and two-dimensional positional information of radiolabeled substances contained in samples such as (hereinafter simply referred to as biological samples), for example, the routes of metabolism, absorption, and excretion of the administered substance in living organisms, study of the condition and
It is extremely advantageously used in autoradiography and the like for studying genetic information in living organisms.

The radiation image information recording and reproducing system described above is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1983-1985, No. 2429, No. 56-1139.
No. 5, No. 55-163472, No. 56-104645
No. 55116340 and the like,
In particular, the application of the system to autoradiography is
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 59-83057 and 60-10174.

Furthermore, this radiographic image information recording and reproducing system has come to be used for various purposes in various fields in addition to being used as a means for recording medical images as described above.

For example, the present applicant has disclosed an electron microscope image recording and reproducing method to which such a radiographic image information recording and reproducing system is applied in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications Nos. 61-51738 and 61-93539.

This electron microscope image recording and reproducing method basically records an image by irradiating a phosphor sheet that stores electron energy with an electron beam that has passed through a sample in a vacuum state, and then irradiates the phosphor sheet with excitation light. irradiation, the accumulated energy is released as stimulated luminescence light, this emitted light is detected photoelectrically to obtain an image signal, and this image signal is used to reproduce the electron microscope image of the sample. .

In such a radiation image information recording and reproducing system, the phosphor sheet is not used to ultimately record image information, but is used to temporarily store radiation image information in order to provide an image to a recording medium, etc., as described above. Since the phosphor sheet is only for holding, the remaining radiation energy in the phosphor sheet is emitted by light irradiation after reading is performed by irradiation with excitation light, erasing the remaining radiation image, and this phosphor sheet is It is extremely economical and convenient to use it repeatedly.

By the way, in the radiation image information recording and reproducing system, reading of accumulated and recorded radiation image information is performed by irradiating the phosphor layer with excitation light as described above.
Specifically, in a reading device that reads radiation image information stored and recorded on a phosphor sheet, a light beam such as a laser beam is used as an excitation light for one-dimensional main scanning, and at the same time a sub-direction that is approximately orthogonal to the main scanning direction is used. By conveying the phosphor sheet in the scanning direction in a sub-scanning direction, the entire surface of the phosphor sheet is two-dimensionally scanned with the light beam. Thereby, stimulated luminescence light corresponding to the accumulated and recorded radiation information is emitted, and this stimulated luminescence light is detected in time series with a photodetector such as a photomultiplier to obtain image information.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> By the way, in the above radiation image information recording and reproducing system, the phosphor sheet for accumulating and recording radiation image information can be used before and after imaging in radiography, before and after contact exposure in autoradiography, Before reading the stored radiation image information, it must be stored in a dark place and protected from light. This (±, natural light,
The excitation light component (component that causes stimulated luminescence) contained in indoor light, etc. and the ultraviolet component that causes the accumulation of energy that becomes noise may cause some of the radiation energy accumulated and recorded in the phosphor sheet to be released, or cause noise. This is because they are stored and recorded as such.

Therefore, phosphor sheets are usually handled while being stored in a light-shielding storage container called a cassette or magazine, and when reading recorded image information, they are read while stored in this storage container. It is loaded into the device, taken out from the storage container within the reading device, taken out, conveyed to the image reading section of the reading device, and subjected to image reading.

Such a phosphor sheet storage container (hereinafter referred to as a cassette) usually includes a light-shielding casing and a light-shielding lid of the casing that is rotatably supported on the casing by a hinge or the like. It consists of - Furthermore, the casing and the lid are provided with various locking means to prevent them from being accidentally opened while the phosphor sheet is being stored.

Therefore, the reading device requires a single-sheet mechanism to take out the phosphor sheet from the cassette, but if the above-mentioned normal cassette is applied to a reading device that has a structure in which the cassette is loaded horizontally, the reading After loading the cassette into the cassette loading section of the device and opening the locking means, the lid is rotated and opened using an opening means such as a suction cup, and then the stored phosphor sheet is sucked with a suction cup or the like, and then the lid is opened. A complicated single-feed mechanism consisting of a plurality of suction means, means for moving the suction means, etc., is required to move and supply the sheet to a conveyance roller or the like.

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned conventional cassette is applied to a device that loads the cassette vertically or tilted with the ejection side (tip) facing downward, the stored phosphor sheet is ejected due to the fall of the phosphor sheet under its own weight. Therefore, there is no need for a suction cup or the like to take out the phosphor sheet from the cassette. However, the lid (or casing)
Conventional cassettes that open by rotating the cassette require space for the lid or housing to rotate, which not only increases the size of the device, but also makes it difficult to control the ejection position of the phosphor sheet if it is ejected by falling. It is difficult to do so, and the probability of jamming occurring increases. Furthermore, even if the phosphor sheet is ejected by falling, a means for opening the cassette is still required.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and it is possible to extremely simplify or eliminate the need for a single-wafer mechanism installed in a reading device, etc., and to miniaturize the device. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stimulable phosphor sheet storage container that is not damaged by the single-sheet mechanism and that allows the stored phosphor sheets to be reliably discharged.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a housing having an opening in at least a portion of the side surface and housing a stimulable phosphor sheet, and a housing for opening and closing the opening. , a lid body that is movable by slidingly contacting a part of the casing, and a member provided in a loading section of the device when loading the device into the device used to record or read a radiation image on the sheet. A stimulable phosphor sheet storage container is provided, comprising: an engaging means provided on a part of the lid for engaging with and opening the lid.

Further, it is preferable that the opening is formed on a side end surface of the housing.

Further, it is preferable that the engaging means is provided on the end surface of the casing in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the stimulable phosphor sheet storage device is inserted into the corresponding device.

Further, it is preferable that the lid body is provided with a locking means to prevent it from being opened unexpectedly while the lid body is closed.

<Operation of the Invention> The stimulable phosphor sheet storage container (hereinafter referred to as a cassette) of the present invention having the above-mentioned predetermined configuration can be opened by rotating the lid relative to the casing using a hinge or the like. , unlike conventional cassettes that eject the stimulable phosphor sheet to be stored, a lid body that can slide into contact with an opening formed in the casing as an ejection port (storage port) for the stimulable phosphor sheet; That is, the discharge port is provided with a sliding lid, and the lid has engaging means such as protrusions, recesses, claws, etc. that engage with corresponding devices such as image reading devices and image recording devices.

Therefore, in the cassette of the present invention, if the loading section of the corresponding device has a structure in which the cassette is loaded with the opening facing downward, the engaging means can be engaged with a predetermined position of the device, and the device can be loaded with the cassette. By pushing this into the formed cassette loading section, the sliding lid is opened and the stored stimulable phosphor sheet can be ejected by falling under its own weight.

Therefore, by applying the cassette of the present invention, it is possible to extremely simplify the single sheet mechanism provided in image reading devices, image recording devices, etc. The leaf mechanism can be made unnecessary. Furthermore, a rotation space for the lid (casing) can be eliminated, and the reading device and the like can be made compact, inexpensive, and simple.

In addition, since the lid can be opened using a very simple opening/closing means, such as simply engaging an engaging means such as a claw with the housing of the device, the stimulable phosphor sheet can be ejected reliably at all times. be.

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, the stimulable phosphor sheet storage container according to the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cassette for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to a stimulable phosphor sheet storage container of the present invention.

The illustrated cassette 10 for stimulable phosphor sheets (hereinafter referred to as cassette) holds a stimulable phosphor sheet A (hereinafter referred to as phosphor sheet A, see Figure 2b) used for image recording or reading. - a light-shielding casing 12 that basically stores the phosphor sheet A;
It is composed of light-shielding lids 16 and 18 for closing the discharge port 14 formed in the casing 12.

In the cassette 10, the casing 12 is a light-shielding casing in which one end surface in the transverse direction is opened as a discharge port 14 (insertion port) for the phosphor sheet A. A radiation image information recording/reading device, a radiation image information reading device, a radiation image information recording device (hereinafter referred to as the front side, this direction is referred to as the front direction or the distal direction).
These are loaded into a device that supplies the phosphor sheet A to be stored, such as a device (hereinafter simply referred to as a device).

There are slide grooves 1 near the end faces of the discharge port 14 on the upper and lower inner surfaces of the housing 12 and in front of the longitudinal side surfaces of the housing 12.
5 is formed, and lid bodies 16 and 18 are respectively indicated by arrow a.
It is configured to be movable (slide) in the -1 and a-2 directions and the opposite direction. In other words, cassette 1 in the illustrated example
0, the slide groove 15 is used as a rail and the arrow a-
The discharge port 14 is opened by sliding the lids 16 and 18 in the 1 and A-2 directions. This point will be explained in detail later.

The material forming the casing 12 is not particularly limited as long as it can shield the phosphor sheet A to be housed, and suitable examples include various resins and lightweight metals such as aluminum.

The lids 16 and 18 are for closing the discharge port 14, and are slidably arranged using the slide groove 15 as a rail, so that the discharge port 14 can be opened and closed. In the illustrated cassette 10, the outlet 14 is closed by abutting opposing end surfaces at the center C of the outlet 14, and when the cassette 10 is loaded into the cassette loading section of the corresponding device, the lid is closed. The discharge port 14 is opened by sliding the body 16 in the direction of arrow a-1 and sliding the lid 18 in the direction of arrow a-2.

The lid body 16 has a plate-like shape and includes a shutter 16a and an engaging pawl 16b as an engaging means that engages with a housing of a corresponding device or the like. In addition,
Like the lid 16, the lid 18 has a shutter 18a and an engaging claw 1.
8b, and have almost the same configuration, the following explanation will be given with respect to the lid 16, and a detailed explanation of the lid 18 will be omitted.

The shutter 16a is configured to be flexible in its thickness direction (plate-like thickness direction), and blocks light from the right half of the discharge port 14 in the figure. shutter 16a
There are no particular limitations on the structure of the slide groove 1 formed in the housing 12, such as a series of short plate-like members that are refractably connected to each other, a bellows-like member, a flexible light-shielding film, etc.
Any of various light-shielding plate-like members that are movable and bendable using the rails 5 as rails are applicable.

[Such a shutter], the distal end in the direction of arrow a-1 of 6a is engaged with a predetermined position of the device when loading the cassette lO into various devices, and the lid body 16 is attached to the housing 12 described above.
An engaging pawl 16b is disposed that slides along the groove in the direction of arrow a to open the discharge port 14.

The cassette 10 of the present invention has the lid 16 configured as described above, that is, the lids 16 and 18 can be slid open and closed, and the engaging claws 16 are attached to the lids 16 and 18.
b and 18b, the second a
2b, when loading the cassette 10 into the cassette loading section 20 of the corresponding device, the engaging pawl 16b and the engaging pawl 18b are attached to the housing 22 of the device, etc.
By engaging the cassette 10 and inserting the cassette 10, the lids 1G and 18 slide open, and the phosphor sheet A
can be discharged by falling under its own weight. Therefore, by applying the cassette 10 of the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a single wafer mechanism in the cassette loading section of the apparatus for supplying the phosphor sheet A (and there is no need for a space in which the lid and the casing rotate). In addition, since only the side surface of the tip of the cassette 10 is opened, compared to a cassette whose lid (or housing) is rotated, the phosphor sheet A can be significantly simplified and downsized. The discharge position can be easily controlled.

The formation position of the engaging claw 16b is not limited to the tip of the shutter 16a in the illustrated example in the arrow a-1 direction (it may be set as appropriate depending on the corresponding device. However, if the single-wafer mechanism of the device is In order to eliminate the need for the phosphor sheet A and to make it possible to eject the phosphor sheet A by simply inserting it into the cassette loading section, a side surface perpendicular to the direction of insertion into the device, that is, an engaging claw 16 is provided.
b is preferably provided on the side surface in the lateral direction with respect to the discharge port 14. Further, the shape and size of the engaging claw 16b are not particularly limited, and various shapes and sizes that can be engaged with the housing etc. can be applied depending on the device to which it is applied, and are not limited to the rectangular shape shown in the illustrated example. Not done.

A shutter 16a and an engaging claw 16b that constitute the lid body 16
There is no particular limitation on the material of the housing 12, and any of various light-shielding materials such as various resins and metals such as aluminum can be used. Further, the shutter 16a and the engaging claw 16b may be made of the same material or may be made of different materials. Note that the lid 16 and the housing 12 may be made of the same material or may be made of different materials.

It is preferable that such a cassette 10 has locking means for the lids 16 and 18 so that the loaded phosphor sheets 8 are not accidentally ejected. There is no particular limitation on the locking means, and the locking means may include a locking means provided with projections and recesses that fit into each other on the opposing end surfaces of the shutters 16a and 18a, and a locking means provided with projections and recesses that fit into each other, and lids 16 and 18.
and the housing 12 are provided with projections and recesses that fit into each other, and locking members for the lids 16 and 18 are provided, so that when the cassette 10 is inserted into the cassette loading section 20 (see Fig. 2a) of the device. Any of various known locking methods can be applied, such as one configured to release the lock using the housing 22.

In the illustrated example, the discharge port 14 is closed by two lids 16 and 18, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the discharge port 14 may be closed by one lid. Of course.

Furthermore, by providing a convex portion on the side surface facing the discharge port 14 inside the casing 12 and forming a corresponding notch in the phosphor sheet A to be stored, the phosphor sheet A can be It may be configured such that it is possible to specify the front and back sides of the body sheet 1-A, the vertical (vertical) direction, and the like.

In this case, it is preferable that the convex portion be located eccentrically with respect to the side of the casing.

Further, although the illustrated example cassette 10 has the discharge port 14 (opening) on the side end surface, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cassette 10 has the discharge port 14 (opening) on the upper surface (lower surface) as in the cassette 30 shown in FIG. An opening 32 may be provided in the opening 32, and a sliding lid 34 may be provided correspondingly.

Note that the stimulable phosphor sheet storage container of the present invention may be applied to a container that stores only one stimulable phosphor sheet.
It may be a container that stores a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets.

Although the stimulable phosphor sheet storage container of the present invention has been described above in detail, the present invention is not limited thereto (various improvements and changes may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention). Of course, it is also good.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained in detail above, by applying the stimulable phosphor sheet storage container of the present invention, the engaging means can be engaged with a predetermined position of the device to which the stimulable phosphor sheet is supplied, By pushing this into the cassette loading section formed in the device, the sliding lid can be opened and the stored stimulable phosphor sheet can be discharged.

Therefore, by applying the cassette of the present invention, the single-fed mechanism installed in image reading devices, image recording devices, etc. can be made extremely simple or unnecessary. , it is possible to eliminate the need for a space in which the casing and the lid rotate, and the reading device and the like can be made compact, inexpensive, and simple.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a stimulable phosphor sheet storage container according to the present invention. 2a and 2b are conceptual diagrams showing the operation of the stimulable phosphor sheet storage container shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of a storage container for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to the present invention. Explanation of symbols 10.30...Storageable phosphor sheet storage container (cassette), 12...Housing, 14...Exhaust port, 16.18.34...Lid, 16a, 18b-Shutter , 16a, 18a... engaging claw, 20... cassette loading section, 22... housing, 2... opening, A... stimulable phosphor sheet FIG, 2a 1°FIG, 1 FIG.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A casing having an opening in at least a portion of the side surface and accommodating a stimulable phosphor sheet, and a casing for opening and closing the opening;
A lid body that is movable by slidingly contacting a part of the casing; and a member that is attached to a loading section of the device when loading the sheet into a device used for recording or reading a radiation image on the sheet. A stimulable phosphor sheet storage container comprising: an engaging means provided on a part of the lid for opening the lid.