JPH0445027A - Sheet body stacking mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To conduct the discrimination of a sheet body by means of a simple mechanism, by installing a sheet body discrimination mechanism integrally, on a means taking out the sheet body. CONSTITUTION:A suction mechanism having plural suckers 44a-44d is provided advanceably and/or retreatably against a magazine 40 where a plurality of sheet bodies are layered. A discrimination means (a bar code reader) 184 conducting the discrimination of a sheet body 1P is provided integrally to this suction mechanism, and when a discrimination means 180 is advanced together with the suction mechanism, facing on the discrimination data display place (the bar code) of the sheet body 1P within the magazine 40 is made, and the sheet body 1P is discriminated by making its tip portion meet with the discrimination data display place of the sheet body 1P which is to be discriminated.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a sheet body single-feeding mechanism, and more particularly, a sheet-like image recording carrier such as a film or a stimulable phosphor sheet is taken out from a magazine. The present invention relates to a sheet-feeding mechanism that enables identification of the image recording carrier by bringing a barcode reader closer to the image recording carrier in conjunction with the taking-out operation.

[Prior Art] Recently, a radiation image recording/reading device 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,
When irradiated with β rays, γ rays, electron beams, ultraviolet rays, etc., a part of this radiation energy is accumulated, and when excitation light such as visible light is irradiated later, stimulated luminescence is generated depending on the accumulated energy. Refers to phosphor.

The radiation image recording/reading device utilizes this stimulable phosphor, and once records radiation image information of a subject such as a human body on a sheet (hereinafter referred to as a ``stimulable phosphor sheet'' or simply ``a stimulable phosphor sheet'') having a layer made of a stimulable phosphor. The 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 recorded on a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or on C.
The image is output as a visible image to a display device such as RT. Note that, as described above, the expression of a visible image on a recording material such as a photosensitive material or a display device such as a CRT is referred to as reproduction.

Therefore, in such a radiation image recording/reading device,
Specifically, the following method is adopted to read the radiation image from the stimulable phosphor sheet on which the radiation image has been 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, in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the sheet. This is achieved by performing main scanning by irradiating a deflected light beam.

This type of radiation image recording/reading device is basically configured as follows. That is, there is a transport means for transporting a stimulable phosphor sheet on which a radiation image has been stored and recorded along a predetermined path, and an excitation means for scanning the sheet on which radiation image information has been stored and recorded in an image recording section located in the path. an image reading section comprising an excitation light source that emits light and a photoelectric reading means for reading stimulated luminescence light emitted from a sheet scanned by the excitation light to obtain an image signal; An erasing section for emitting radiation energy remaining on the sheet prior to image recording on the sheet after the image has been read is incorporated into one device.

In this case, a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets carrying image information of a subject in advance are stacked and stored in a magazine and loaded into the apparatus. Next, the stimulable phosphor sheet is taken from this magazine under the suction action of a suction cup, and is conveyed to the image reading section.

In this case, a bar code is attached to the stimulable phosphor sheet to display information such as identification of the subject and image recording conditions.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, conventionally, a barcode reading mechanism for reading necessary information from this barcode and a stimulable phosphor sheet sheet feeding mechanism are each provided independently in an apparatus. In fact, the barcode reading mechanism
The barcode reader is read by reciprocating in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the barcode.

Therefore, since the operations for reading the stimulable phosphor sheet and the barcode are performed separately, the cycle time becomes longer, and a separate drive source is required for the reciprocating operation, which reduces the overall size of the device. However, there are disadvantages such as difficulty in manufacturing and high manufacturing cost.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to have an extremely simple structure, to be manufactured at low cost, and to read each sheet body and barcode in parallel, thereby reducing the overall processing time, that is, the cycle time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a single sheet feeding mechanism that can shorten the length of time.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention disposes a suction mechanism having a plurality of suction cups so that it can move forward and backward in a magazine in which a plurality of sheet bodies are stacked, The adsorption mechanism is integrally provided with an identification means for identifying the sheet body, and the identification means faces an identification data display area of the sheet body in the magazine when it advances together with the suction mechanism. Action] When the suction mechanism is displaced for each sheet, the identification means is also displaced at the same time, and its leading end faces the identification data display area of the sheet to be identified, thereby identifying the sheet. .

[Embodiments] Next, preferred embodiments of the sheet body single feeding mechanism according to the present invention in relation to an image reading device incorporating the mechanism will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a radiation image reading apparatus incorporating a sheet body single feeding mechanism according to the present invention.

That is, the radiographic image reading device 10 includes an image reading section 12, an erasing section 14 for erasing the radiographic image remaining after being read by the image reading section 12, and downstream of the erasing section 14, for example. , stimulable phosphor sheets of different sizes are placed in the tray set section 16 according to their respective sizes.
a sorting and conveying section 18 for sorting and conveying the stimulable phosphor sheet (IP) to the image reading section 12 one by one from the sheet supply section 20; include. The sheet section 22, the image reading section 12, and the erasing section 14
, the sorting and conveying section 18 are electrically controlled by the control section 24, respectively.

Note that a first conveyance system 26 is provided between the sheet wafer section 22 and the image reading section 12, and a first conveyance system 26 is provided between the sheet wafer section 22 and the image reading section 12.
A second transport system 28 is provided between the erasing unit 14 and the sorting transport unit 18, and a third transport system 30 is provided between the erasing unit 14 and the sorting transport unit 18. These first conveyance system 26 to third conveyance system 30 basically consist of rollers and a belt conveyor wound around the rollers, and a guide plate is provided in a part thereof.

Next, the single sheet feeding section 22 constituting the sheet body single feeding mechanism according to the present invention will be described in more detail.

In FIG. 2, a magazine set section 36 for loading the magazine 40 from a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing is arranged at a predetermined angle.

In the magazine 40, stimulable phosphor sheets IP are stacked. Guide plates 46a and 46b are provided close to the opening 42 of the magazine 40 to displace the plurality of suction cups 44a, 44b, 44C and 44d in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the magazine 40, respectively.

The guide plates 46a and 46b have long guide holes 48a and 48b.
Pin members 52a and 52b disposed on a support plate 50 extending in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the magazine 40 enter into the elongated holes 48a and 48b. Then,
The bin members 52a and 52b are triangular swinging members 54a1.
It enters the elongated holes 56a and 56b of 54b. In fact, the swinging members 54a and 54b are pivotally connected to a support plate (not shown), and n58 of the swinging member 54b is rotated by a pulley 60 having a large diameter. The swinging members 54a and 54b are connected by a rod 55.

The pulley 60 is connected via a belt 62 to a small-diameter pulley 66 that is disposed coaxially with a large-diameter pulley 64. Rotationally driven. In the figure, reference numbers 72 and 74 indicate pulleys for tension, respectively.

Therefore, in FIG. 2, the suction cup 44a disposed at the lowest position will be explained. A first angle member 82 is disposed on a cylindrical rod 80 that holds the suction cup 44a, a torsion spring 84 is provided on this first angle member 82, and a second angle member 8 is attached to one end of the torsion spring 84.
6 is fixed. The second angle member 86 is the suction cup 44
hold a. Furthermore, in FIG. 2, a pair of grip rollers 90 is provided close to the position where the second angle member 86 is raised and is movable in the direction of the arrow. The shaft of the grip roller pair 90 is freely displaceable in the direction of the arrow along the guide plate 94, and a pin 91 that is displaceable integrally with the grip roller pair 90 is provided near the grip roller pair 90. Roller 9 constituting grip roller pair 90
The shafts 96a and 95b of 2a and 92b are pivotally connected to a guide plate 94, which constitutes a link mechanism 98 and is freely displaceable in the direction of the arrow by a rotating arm 100.

A belt 102 is engaged with the roller 92a and is wound around rollers 104, 106, 108, 110 and a large diameter roller 112. A rod 116, which is secured to one end of a coil spring 114, is connected to the roller 106 via a connecting member 118. In fact, a belt 124 that engages with a pulley 122 of a rotational drive source 120 is engaged with the roller 110, and this rotational drive source 120
By driving the belt 124, the roller 110 rotates, which in turn rotates the belt 102.

A belt 113 is attached to the belt 102 on the roller 110 side.
are in sliding contact so that they can rotate freely.

On the other hand, regarding the link mechanism 98, the rotational drive source 1
30 is provided, and a belt 134 wound around a pulley 132 connected to the rotational drive source 130 is engaged with a pulley 140 for rotationally driving a rotation shaft 138 of the link mechanism 98 via a pulley 136. Note that a bent angle member 150 is provided close to the magazine 40, and this angle member 150 is swingable around a shaft 152.

A coil spring 15 is attached to one end of the angle member 150.
4, and the angle member 150 is always pulled in the direction of the arrow by this coil spring 154. The angle member 150 is located at the grip roller pair 9.
When the roller 92b on the other side of 0 is displaced, it is in a position where it comes into contact with this angle member 150. The tip of the angle member 150 is connected to the other roller 92b.
When the magazine 40 comes into contact with the magazine 40, its tip end comes into contact with an inclined plate 156 provided inside the magazine 40.

Next, the sheet body identification mechanism 180 will be explained. Barcode reader 184 configuring sheet body identification mechanism 180
is fixed to a bent plate 182, and this plate 182 is in sliding contact with a plurality of rollers 185 rotatably attached to the support plate 50. Commercially available barcode reader 184
The tip 184a of the suction cup 4 is bent.
When 4a to 44d are not adsorbing the stimulable phosphor sheet IP, they occupy the home position. In this case, the tip 1184a of the barcode reader 184 is in contact with a roller 188 that is pivotally supported by the angle member 186.

The radiographic image reading device incorporating the sheet feeding mechanism according to the present invention is basically constructed as described above, and its operation and effects will be explained next.

First, a magazine 40 containing a plurality of stacked sheets of stimulable phosphor IP is loaded into the radiation image reading apparatus 10 from a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. At this time, the suction cups 44a to 44d are at the highest home position from the magazine 40, while the grip roller pair 90 is at the lowest position shown by the solid line in FIG. When the magazine 40 is loaded, the grip roller pair 90 rises to the home position shown in FIG. , the tip of the coil spring 154 is rotated to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 against the tensile force of the coil spring 154. That is, it contacts the inclined plate 156 and closes the shutter groove 200. Next, when the pulse motor 68 is energized to rotate, its rotation is caused by the Boo IJ.
64, 66, and 60, and causes the swinging members 54a, 54b to swing in the direction of the arrow via the shaft 58. As a result,
The support plate 50 is displaced in the direction of the arrow via the bin members 52a and 52b, and the suction cups 44a to 44d suction the uppermost stimulable phosphor sheet IP stacked in the magazine 40 (see FIG. 3). reference). In this manner, when the support plate 50 is displaced in the direction of the arrow, the tip end 184a of the barcode reader 184 separates from the roller 188 and attempts to fall due to its gravity. That is, the plate 182 is displaced downward by the rotation of the roller 185, and finally reaches the 211th! At J, the position shown by the dashed line is reached. As a result, the tip end 184a of the barcode reader 184 faces the barcode 190 affixed to the stimulable phosphor sheet (IP) (see FIG. 4). However, at this time,
Barcode reader 184 is not energized.

At this point, the rotational drive source 130 is energized and the pulley 136
．． The rotating shaft 138 rotates via the link mechanism 9
The arm 100 of No. 8 extends in the direction of the arrow. As a result,
The guide plate 94 is displaced under the extension action of the arm 100, and the grip roller pair 90 rises to the position shown by the broken line (see FIG. 3C). Next, when the pulse motor 68 is reversely rotated, the swinging members 54a and 54b swing in the opposite direction to the direction of the arrow, so that the swinging members 54a and 54b move toward the suction cup 44a via the support plate 50.
44d to 44d are moved to the home position with the uppermost stimulable phosphor (IP) adsorbed from the magazine 40.

During this time, the tip of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP contacts the pair of grip rollers 90, and the rotatable second angle member 86 resists the elastic force of the torsion spring 84, as indicated by the broken line in FIG. As shown, the suction cup 44a is rotationally displaced. At this time, the tip end 184a of the barcode reader 184 comes into contact with the roller 188 due to the displacement operation, and as a result,
The plate body 182 rotates the roller 185 and the barcode reader 184 reaches the home position so as to rise. At this point, the suction cups 44b to 44d are holding the stimulable phosphor sheet IP in a substantially straight state, so the rotating operation of the suction cup 44a bends the tip of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP. , the result looks like a tilting motion (see Figure 3C). Therefore, even if the uppermost stimulable phosphor sheet IP is adhered by static electricity or the like and is deposited in multiple sheets, the stimulable phosphor sheet IF below it will be inside the magazine 40 due to this substantial swinging action. Fall. At this time, the angle member 1 is attached to the tip of the inclined plate 156 by the roller 92b of the grip roller pair 90.
Since the tip of the magazine 40 is in contact with the shutter groove 200 defined inside the magazine 40 and the angle member 150 closes the shutter groove 200 (see broken line in FIG. 2), the magazine 40 falls into the shutter groove 200. There's nothing to do.

In this way, after avoiding the multiple sheets, the pulse motor 68 is again energized for normal rotation, and the uppermost stimulable phosphor sheet is
The IP is returned to the magazine 4o (see FIG. 3C), while the rotational drive source 130 is reversely energized, and the grip roller pair 9o is again displaced downward to the home position (see FIG. 3C). Next, the pulse motor 68 is reversely energized,
The topmost stimulable phosphor sheet IP is taken out (see FIG. 3g), and at this point the barcode reader 184 reads the size of the topmost stimulable phosphor sheet IP and the number of objects that have already been stored and recorded. Identification information and the like are recognized by the barcode 190 affixed to the stimulable phosphor sheet IP (see third diagram). Identification of the stimulable phosphor sheet IP using the barcode 190 has the following advantages. That is, during the identification, the tip of the barcode reader 184 is displaced relative to the barcode 190. Therefore, while the stimulable phosphor IP is taken out, the barcode reader 184 is displaced perpendicular to the scanning direction, so that the barcode 190 can be reliably read. Furthermore, even if the barcode 190 has scratches or the like, there is an advantage that reading errors will not occur.

As described above, after the sheet of stimulable phosphor sheet IP is identified by the barcode reader 184, the rotary drive source 130 is again energized to rotate, and the grip roller pair 90 is rotated as shown by the broken line in FIG. rise to position. When the grip roller pair 90 reaches the uppermost position, the roller 92
The shaft 96b of b is detached from the angle member 150, but the pin 91 comes into contact with the back surface of the angle member 150.

That is, during this time, the tip of the angle member 150 is in the state of entering the shutter groove 2°O. Therefore,
The leading end of the stimulable phosphor sheet rP is firmly gripped by the pair of grip rollers 90 (see FIG. 3, 1).

On the other hand, the vacuum state against the stimulable phosphor sheet IP held by the gripping roller pair 90 leaks (see FIG. 3, 1), and the stimulable phosphor sheet IP is held between the roller 92b and the belt 102. After that, belt 1
13 and the belt 102 to the first conveyance system 26 side (see l in FIG. 3), and the suction cup 44a
44d to 44d and the barcode reader 184 return to their home positions.

Next, in image reading 1' [S12, a laser beam from a laser light source (not shown) is scanned in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the stimulable phosphor sheet rP, and the stimulable phosphor sheet rP on which this radiation image is recorded is scanned with laser light from a laser light source (not shown). IP is scanned two-dimensionally. As a result, the photomultiplier 300 constituting the image reading unit 12 converts the stimulated luminescence light from the radiation image from the stimulable phosphor IP into an electrical signal, and converts it into an electrical signal to be transmitted to the CRT or the not-shown 1! ! Load it into the device.

Then, the stimulable phosphor sheet (I) is transferred via the second transport system 28.
P reaches the erasing section 14, and an erasing light source is turned on in this erasing section 14 to erase the remaining image. The stimulable phosphor sheet IP, which can be reused in this way, is transferred to the sorting and conveying section 18 via the third conveying system 30.
, and is loaded into a tray in the tray set section 16 that matches the size.

According to this embodiment, as described above, when the stimulable phosphor sheet IP is taken out, the barcode reader 184 is brought close to the stimulable phosphor sheet IP in conjunction with this taking-out operation to identify it.

Therefore, since the extraction operation of the stimulable phosphor IP and the identification operation can be performed in parallel, the cycle time from taking out the stimulable phosphor IP to erasing the residual image can be shortened at once. .

Furthermore, since the configuration is simple, it is suitable for miniaturization and can be manufactured at low cost. Furthermore, the barcode reader 184
Since the bar code 190 is displaced perpendicularly to the scanning direction in synchronization with the extraction operation of the stimulable phosphor IP, the bar code 190 can be reliably read.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, since the sheet body identification mechanism is provided in parallel with the means for taking out the sheet body, the sheet body can be identified with a particularly simple mechanism. is obtained. Moreover, since the sheet body can be identified almost simultaneously with the sheet body take-out operation, the overall processing cycle time can be shortened. Further, it has a simple configuration and does not require a driving source for driving and displacing the barcode reading mechanism unlike the conventional technology. Therefore, it has the advantage that it can be manufactured at a low cost, and because it has a mechanical structure, there are fewer failures.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory diagram of an image reading device incorporating a sheet body identification mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed front explanatory diagram of the sheet body recognition mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet body identification mechanism according to the present invention. 10... Radiographic image reading device 12... Image reading section 14... Erasing section 16... Tray set section 18... Sorting and conveying section 20... Sheet supply section 22... Sheet section 24... Control unit 40... Magazines 44a to 44d... Suction cup 50... Support plates 54a, 54b... Swinging member 84... Torsion spring 90... Grip roller pair 91... - Pin 98...Link mechanism 120.130...Rotary drive source 180...Sheet body identification mechanism 184...Barcode reader 188...Roller

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A suction mechanism having a plurality of suction cups is movably arranged in a magazine in which a plurality of sheet bodies are stacked, and an identification means for identifying the sheet bodies is provided integrally with the suction mechanism, and the When the identification means advances together with the adsorption mechanism,
A sheet body single-fed mechanism characterized by facing an identification data display area of a sheet body in a magazine. (2) In the sheet body single-feeding mechanism according to claim 1, the identification means comprises a barcode reader, and the barcode reader is displaceably provided on a support plate constituting the suction mechanism via a rotating member, and the barcode reader is displaceably provided in the magazine. A single sheet feeding mechanism, characterized in that the sheet body is displaced under the action of the rotating member with respect to the barcode of the sheet body.