JPH0745295B2 - Stacker for stimulable phosphor sheet - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is provided in a conveyance path of a sheet conveying unit that conveys a stimulable phosphor sheet in a radiation image information reading apparatus, and temporarily accommodates a plurality of sheets. However, the present invention relates to a stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet that can discharge stored sheets one by one, and more particularly, to a stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet that can suppress an increase in size of an apparatus due to the provision of the stacker. It is a thing.

(Prior Art) When a certain kind of phosphor is irradiated with radiation (X-ray, α-ray, β-ray, γ-ray, electron beam, ultraviolet ray, etc.), a part of this radiation energy is accumulated in the phosphor, It is known that when a phosphor is irradiated with excitation light such as visible light, the phosphor exhibits stimulated emission depending on the stored energy, and a phosphor having such a property is a stimulable phosphor (luminescent material). Exhaustible phosphor).

Using this stimulable phosphor, the radiation image information of a subject such as a human body is once recorded in a sheet-shaped stimulable phosphor, and this stimulable phosphor sheet (hereinafter, simply referred to as a sheet) is used for laser light or the like. Scan with excitation light to generate stimulated emission light, obtain the image signal by photoelectrically reading the resulting stimulated emission light,
The applicant has already proposed a radiation image information recording / reproducing system for outputting a radiation image of a subject on the basis of this image signal as a visible image on a recording material such as a photographic photosensitive material or a CRT. (JP-A-55-12429, JP-A-56-11395,
55-163472, 56-104645, 55-116340, etc. ) The stimulable phosphor sheet in the above system stores and records radiation image information and temporarily holds the recorded image information until it is read by the excitation light scanning. After finishing, it is desirable to erase the image information remaining on the sheet and reuse the sheet.

Therefore, based on the above-mentioned request, a radiation image information reading apparatus including only a reading unit for reading the image information recorded on the sheet is used, and the reading unit and the image information remaining on the sheet are erased. A device including an erasing unit has also been proposed.

In the radiation image information reading apparatus, a cassette containing a stimulable phosphor sheet that has been photographed by an external imaging device is loaded in a cassette holding unit, and the stimulable phosphor sheet is taken out from the cassette, and the sheet It is often the case that the sheet is passed to the transport means and is transported to the reading section by the sheet transport means. In addition, a stacker is provided in the transport path between the cassette holding unit and the reading unit, which normally stores a plurality of sheets temporarily, discharges one sheet at a time, and passes the sheets to the sheet transport unit. That is, since reading the image information in the reading unit is relatively time-consuming,
If the stacker as described above is provided, a plurality of photographed sheets can be accommodated in the apparatus while the reading unit is reading one sheet, and the photographed sheets are stored in the cassette holding unit. It is possible to avoid the inconvenience of having to wait for a long time while being stored in the cassette. In addition, even if the reading unit becomes unusable and the reading unit becomes unusable, if the stacker is provided, it is not necessary to immediately stop shooting in the external shooting device.
It is also possible to continue operating the imaging device for some period of time.

On the other hand, in the apparatus having the reading unit and the erasing unit as described above, the sheet whose erasing is completed in the erasing unit is taken out of the reading device and the image information can be recorded again. Become. In many cases, these erased sheets are once stacked in a stacking tray inside the reading device, and the entire tray on which the sheets are stacked is taken out of the device. The sheets accumulated in the accumulating tray need to be stored in the cassette as described above when performing a new photographing, and therefore, it is necessary to load the sheets one by one into the cassette before photographing. For this reason, it takes a lot of time before the sheets that can be photographed are stored again in the cassette and photographing is performed, and there is a problem that the sheets cannot be efficiently recycled and reused. Also, this loading is performed by a dedicated loader or by manual work. However, when a dedicated loader is used, the cost of the entire system increases, and when manual loading is performed, the stimulable phosphor is used. Since the sheet is directly touched, there is a disadvantage that it is not preferable in handling the sheet. Therefore, it is conceivable that the sheet is circulated in the reading device, the sheet that has been photographed is taken out from the cassette, read and erased, and then the sheet is again carried in and stored in the cassette. In the apparatus, while one sheet is read and erased and then stored again in the cassette, the sheet occupies the apparatus, and the processing of the next sheet must be waited during this processing. In addition, the time loss is large and the processing capacity of the device is significantly reduced. Therefore, in a reading apparatus having an erasing unit, a stacker that can temporarily store a sheet and take out an arbitrary one from the stored sheets is provided in a sheet conveying unit on the downstream side of the erasing unit. It would be extremely convenient if we could.

Therefore, the applicant can arrange the sheet between the sheet supply unit such as the cassette holding unit and the reading unit, or between the erasing unit and the cassette holding unit, and the size classification of the stored sheets, We have already proposed a stacker that allows preferential removal of specific sheets. (Japanese Patent Application No. 61-16074) The above-mentioned stacker has a sheet conveying means 35 as shown in FIG.
There is a tray unit 310 provided in the transport path of 0 and provided with a plurality of trays 311 each capable of accommodating one sheet, and the tray unit 310 is provided with the carry-in rollers 321 and 322 provided above. And, so that any tray 311 is adjacent to the carry-out rollers 331, 332 provided below, it can be moved in the direction of the arrow between the position shown by the solid line and the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line by unit moving means (not shown). Has become. Further, when a sheet is carried into the tray 311, the tray that receives the sheet can change its inclination so as to widen the space between the adjacent trays. Further, when carrying out the sheet 1, after the tray 311 containing the discharged sheet is moved onto the carry-out rollers 331 and 332, the bottom plate 313 of the tray is opened to drop the sheet to the carry-out roller below. It is designed to give you a sheet. If such a stacker is used, the sheets can be loaded one by one into an arbitrary tray, and any of the sheets in the tray unit can be unloaded, so that a specific sheet is taken out and processed preferentially. Can be done. It is also possible to store the sheets in the tray for each size and take out the sheets of the required size. Further, this stacker can be arranged both between the sheet feeding unit and the reading unit and between the erasing unit and the cassette holding unit.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned stacker, in order to facilitate the loading and unloading of the sheets and to stably hold the sheets, each tray is held in an inclined state. And the moving range of the tray unit 310 is the 7th as described above.
If it is between the position shown by the solid line and the position shown by the broken line in the figure, the width in the stacker movement direction required to move this stacker is determined by the positions P ₁ and P ₂ shown in FIG. . Therefore, in order to provide this stacker, it is necessary to make a relatively large space with respect to the width of the stacker itself, and there is a disadvantage that the entire apparatus becomes large. In addition, the surface of each tray is a flat surface without unevenness, so that the charged stimulable phosphor sheet is entirely adhered to the surface of this tray to prevent smooth sliding of the sheet on the tray surface. There is also the inconvenience of

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a stacker capable of reducing the moving space in the reading device and ensuring smooth sliding of sheets while maintaining the functions of preferentially taking out sheets, classifying sizes, and the like. To do.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet of the present invention is arranged in parallel with each other, the back surface is a vertical surface, and the front surface is formed of a convex surface and a concave surface. The convex surface is provided with a plurality of substantially upright partition plates that are tapered surfaces that gradually project forward toward the bottom, and each partition plate has an interval between them that allows the sheet to enter from above. A first position, which is arranged in parallel with each other, and which is provided at a lower end portion of the partition plate to stop the sheet by receiving a lower end of the sheet entering between the partition plates; A stacker body provided with a bottom plate that can be moved to drop the sheet by its own weight, and a carry-in unit that is provided above the stacker body and carries the sheet carried by the sheet carrying means into the stacker body. Means, A unloading unit that is provided below the stacker body and receives the sheet that falls by its own weight and passes the sheet to the sheet transporting unit, and between any partition plates in the stacker body is located below the loading unit and above the unloading unit. It is characterized by comprising a moving means for moving the stacker body so that the stacker body can be moved.

The partition plates are arranged in parallel with each other.
This means that the front surface of each partition plate and the back surface of each partition plate are parallel to each other. Also, an opening or the like may be formed in a part of the front surface, and a recess or an opening may be formed in a part of the back surface.

(Operation) The above-mentioned diagonally inclined trays are arranged side by side so that the entire unit for accommodating sheets is inclined. In order to reduce the movement space of the stacker, the trays and the like should be erected. It is conceivable that the storage space of is upright in the vertical direction. However, when a sheet is carried into an upright space, it is more difficult to carry it in smoothly than when it is carried into an obliquely inclined tray, and the sheet is stably held, such as falling over in the accommodation space. There is an inconvenience that you cannot do it. Therefore, if the taper surface is formed as much as possible in the upright sheet storage space, the sheet can be smoothly loaded while reducing the stacker movement space.
The unloading can be secured to some extent. The stacker of the present invention is provided with a partition plate having a vertical surface on the back surface and a tapered surface on the back surface as described above, and by arranging the partition plates in parallel, a storage space for the sheet can be formed. Is possible. The tapered surface may be appropriately formed so that the upper end of the storage space is approximately the same as the conventional tray spacing and the lower end is approximately the same as the thickness of the sheet. By using such a stacker, it is possible to reduce the space required for moving the stacker without changing the number of sheets that can be accommodated, and to maintain smooth loading, unloading and reliable holding of the sheets. Further, since the sheet comes into contact with not only the entire surface of the partition plate but only the above-mentioned convex taper surface formed on a part thereof, the contact area between the two is reduced and the sheet is charged even if the sheet is charged. The sheet does not come into close contact with the surface of the partition plate, and smooth sliding of the sheet can be ensured.

(Examples) Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the outline of a radiation image information reading apparatus equipped with a stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus shown in the drawing is a cassette holding unit 10 that detachably holds a cassette 2 that can store a stimulable phosphor sheet (hereinafter, simply referred to as a sheet) 1, and a reading unit 20 that reads image information accumulated and recorded on the sheet. An erasing unit 30 for erasing the image information remaining on the sheet after the reading is completed is provided, and the cassette 2 photographed on the sheet 1 held inside in an external photographing device (not shown) is stored in the cassette holding unit 10. Is loaded. The cassette 2 has a light-shielding property in order to prevent the sheet from being exposed to external light when the sheet is irradiated with radiation and image information is recorded (photographed). It is loaded into the device in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The cassette 2 has a lid portion 2a that can be opened and closed. The lid portion 2a is closed when it is loaded into the cassette holding portion, but when loading the cassette 2 is finished, it opens as shown in the drawing. Expose sheet 1 of.
When the cassette 2 is opened, the suction plate 12 enters the cassette 2, and the suction plate moves in the direction of arrow B to take out the stimulable phosphor sheet from the cassette 2. In addition, the sheet 1 is
In the cassette 2, the front surface on which the stimulable phosphor layer is formed is held so as to face downward.

The reading device shown in the figure receives the sheet 1 taken out from the cassette 2 as described above, and conveys the sheet 1 to the reading unit 20 and the erasing unit 30 in this order.
A sheet conveying means 50 including a guide plate is provided, and the sheet 1 taken out by the conveying rollers 12 is conveyed by the sheet conveying means 50 in the arrow A ₁ direction.

A first stacker 100 according to the present embodiment is provided in the conveying path of the sheet conveying means 50 between the cassette holding unit 10 and the reading unit 20, and conveys in the direction of arrow A ₁ as described above. The sheet is temporarily stored in the stacker 100 before being sent to the reading unit 20. Hereinafter, the structure of the stacker 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker 100 according to the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of partition plates 111 that are substantially upright in parallel with each other, and is a sheet accommodating portion 112 that is a space formed between the partition plates 111. The sheets 1 can be accommodated one by one. The stacker 100 has the partition plate 111 described above and is a casing-shaped stacker main body 110 that is movable integrally.
A carry-in roller 12 which is a carry-in means for carrying the sheet 1 into the sheet 10.
1, 122, carry-out rollers 131 and 132 which are carry-out means for receiving the sheet 1 discharged from the stacker main body 110 and delivering it to the sheet conveying means 50, and all the storage units 112 of the stacker main body where the carry-in rollers 121, The moving means 140 is configured to move in the arrow C direction so as to be adjacent to the 122 and the carry-out rollers 131 and 132. The range of movement of the stacker main body 110 is from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the dotted line in FIG.

On the side of the stacker main body 110, a screw rod 142 extending in the moving direction of the stacker main body 110, a main body indicating portion 143 protruding laterally from the side surface of the stacker main body 110 and screwed into the screw rod 142, and a shaft support for the screw rod. Gears 14
4, a gear unit 146 connected to the gear 144 via a belt 145, and a drive unit unit 141 including a pulse motor 147 for rotating the gear 146 in both forward and reverse directions,
By the motor 147 of the drive unit 141, the gears 146, 1
By rotating the screw rod 142 via 44, a force for reciprocating in the direction of arrow C in the drawing is applied to the stacker body 110. Four wheels 101 are attached to the side surface of the stacker body 110.
By the control of the drive unit 141, the wheel 101 is mounted on the board 148 on which the wheels 101 are provided below the stacker body 110.
The vehicle is moved in the direction of arrow C by traveling. In the present embodiment, the drive unit 141 and the substrate 1
The moving means 140 is constituted by 48. As shown in FIG. 3, the board 148 is provided with guide members 148a and 148b on both sides of the stacker main body 110, which project upward along the moving direction of the stacker main body, and the wheel 101.
Both ends 102 of the shaft are spherical, and the wheel 101 is adapted to rotate while the both ends 102 of the shaft are in contact with the guide members 148a and 148b. Therefore, in advance
If the distances 148a and 148b are properly set according to the length of the axle, the stacker main body 110 will not be distorted during traveling and the stop position will not be accurate, and traveling will not be unstable. When adjusting the distance between the guide members 148a and 148b, the end portion 102 of the wheel is brought into contact with one guide member 148a that is integral with the substrate 148, and the other guide member 148b is adjusted according to the position. You can decide the position of.
Further, in this embodiment, since the sliding material such as the poly slider is attached to the inner surfaces of the guide members 148a and 148b, the stacker main body 110 can be moved more smoothly.

Above the stacker body 110, the purchased rollers 121, 12 are provided.
Two are provided. The carry-in rollers 121, 122 stack the sheet 1 conveyed by the sheet conveying means 50 into the stacker main body 11
Any unit can be used as long as it can be carried into 0, and even if it is integrated with the sheet conveying unit 50 (see FIG. 1) as in this embodiment, it is completely independent of the sheet conveying unit. It may be one.

By moving the stacker main body 110 in the direction of arrow C, the sheet accommodating portion 112 located below the carry-in rollers 121 and 122 is replaced, and the carry-in rollers 121 and 122 are located below the carry-in rollers 121 and 122. The sheet 1 is carried into the accommodation section 112. Next, the structure of the stacker body 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the stacker body 110. The partition plate 111 has a back surface 111a which is a vertical surface, and a front surface 111a.
b is a tapered surface formed of a convex surface and a concave surface, and the convex surface gradually projects downward toward the front.
The partition plate 111 is held by being supported by sheet width shifting plates 117 on both sides. That is, the sheet width-shifting plate 117 is formed with a groove portion 117A on the inner side surface 117a into which a plurality of partition plates 111 are inserted at regular intervals.
Both ends are inserted into the groove 117A and are fixedly held integrally. Further, the sheet width shifting plate 117 has a taper surface whose inner side surface 117a gradually projects inward as it goes downward, and regulates the widthwise position of the sheet carried into the sheet storage section 112. It has become. Further, a bottom plate 113 is attached to a lower end portion of each partition plate 111, and the bottom plate 113 receives a lower end of a sheet carried along the partition plate 111 and stops the sheet.
It is possible to take a second position in which the sheet is dropped by its own weight by rotating downward from the first position. As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet storage portion 112 is provided on the surface 11 of the partition plate 111.
1b, the bottom plate 113, and the back surface 111a of the adjacent partition plate 111 facing the front surface 111b.

As described above, when the sheet 1 is carried into the stacker main body by the carry-in rollers 121 and 122, the sheet 1 is along the convex surface of the front surface 111b which is a tapered surface, and the sheet width aligning plate 117 is used. The sheets enter the sheet accommodation portion 112 while being moved side by side. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front surface 111b of the partition plate 111 is a recessed surface in which other parts are recessed with respect to the projection surface which is a tapered surface as described above, and the back surface 111a also has other parts that are recessed with respect to the vertical plane (recesses on the back surface 111a are located on the back side of the projections on the front surface 111b). It is possible to move smoothly without contacting these front and back surfaces. The partition plate 111 in this embodiment is made of aluminum and has a surface 111b.
Further, since a sliding member 114 such as polypropylene leather is attached on the convex portion of the back surface 111a, it is more preferable for improving the sliding property of the sheet and preventing the surface from being scratched. The sheet accommodating portion 112 has a narrower space as it goes downward, and a lower end part thereof has a space corresponding to the thickness of one sheet. The sheet 1 carried in by the carry-in rollers 121 and 122 falls by its own weight when the upper end leaves the carry-in rollers 121 and 122, and the bottom plate 113 receives the lower end of the falling sheet 1 and stops in the sheet accommodating portion 112. Let In addition, on the bottom plate 113, a cushioning material 115 such as a sponge for softening an impact when the sheet 1 is dropped is attached,
Further, on the impact material 115, a sliding member 11 such as a polypropylene leather diaphragm is provided in order to smoothly carry out the sheet 1 described later.
4 is attached. Further, the stacker main body 110 is capable of accommodating sheets of a plurality of sizes, and a sheet accommodating portion 112 when a sheet of a relatively small size is carried in.
It has a width-shifting member 116 inserted therein to reduce the effective width of the sheet accommodation portion 112. That is, the size of the sheet 1 taken out from the cassette 2 is detected by a sensor or the like, and when the detected sheet size is small, the width-shifting member 116 is inserted into the sheet storage portion 112 from above. The one side surface 116a of the width-shifting member 116 is a taper surface that protrudes toward the inside as it goes downward.
The inner side surface 117a of the 117 and the side surface 116a of the width-adjusting member 116 guide the inside of the sheet storage portion 112 while the width is adjusted. Needless to say, the width shifting member 116 may be provided in any number depending on the type of sheets accommodated in the stacker body.

The sheet 1 taken out from the cassette 2 is carried into the stacker main body 110 as described above. However, the sheets 1 accommodated in the stacker main body 110 are taken out one by one and passed to the sheet conveying means 50. , To the reading unit 20. Below the stacker body 110, the carry-out roller 13
1, 132 are provided, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the stacker main body 110 and the carry-out roller 13 of the substrate 148 are provided.
A slit 148a that allows passage of sheets discharged from the stacker main body 110 is formed in a portion located between the first and the second 132. At the time of discharging a sheet, first, the stacker main body 110 is moved by the above-described moving means 140 so that the sheet storage portion 112 storing the sheet 1 to be discharged is located above the discharge rollers 131 and 132. As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom plate 113 is connected to the partition plate 111 by a spring 118, and is normally stopped at the above-mentioned first position by the urging force of the spring 118. On the other hand, a protrusion 113a is formed on the side edge of the bottom plate 113, and the carry-out rollers 131, 132 are also provided.
As shown in FIG. 6, a lever 151 having a protrusion 151a and rotatable in the direction of arrow D by a driving means 152 such as a rotary solenoid is provided near the position of the sheet storage unit 112 in the vicinity of the seat. When ejecting 1, the protrusion 151a of the lever 151 engages with the protrusion 113a, and the lever 151 rotates in the direction of arrow D to rotate the bottom plate 113 in the direction of arrow D'while extending the spring 118. To move. As a result, the bottom plate 113 is moved to the second position shown by the broken line in FIG.
The sheet 1 in the sheet accommodating portion 112 falls by its own weight, and the carry-out rollers 131 and 132 hold the leading end of the falling sheet 1 to convey the sheet 1 and pass it to the sheet conveying means 50 in the vicinity. When the delivery of the sheet 1 from the sheet storage portion 112 is completed, the lever 151 returns to the position shown in FIG. 6, and the bottom plate 113 returns to the position shown by the solid line in the figure again by the returning force of the spring 117.

As described above, by using the stacker 100 of this embodiment, the sheets 1 taken out from the cassette 2 are stored in the sheet storage portion 112 in the stacker main body 110, and the stored sheets 1 are required regardless of the storage order. Can be taken out in any order. In addition, if it is desired to send a sheet to the reading unit with the highest priority and perform its processing, immediately after the sheet is carried into the sheet accommodation unit by the carry-in roller, the sheet is carried out to the outside of the sheet accommodation unit by the carry-out roller. You can also In addition, if the size of the sheet to be loaded into each sheet storage unit is determined in advance, or if the size of the sheet loaded into each sheet storage unit is stored, a sheet having a desired size can be stored as needed. It is also possible to take out and send it to the reading unit. Furthermore, in the stacker,
The sheets are stored in the sheet storage part formed between the tapered surface (front surface) of the partition plate and the vertical surface (rear surface) of the other adjacent partition plate, so that the stacker main body stands upright and each partition plate Keep the size of the inlet of the sheet as usual by making the vertical space of the same as the space of the conventional tray,
In addition, the tapered surface formed by reducing the width of the lower end portion enables smooth loading and unloading of the sheet.

Sheet 1 discharged from the stacker 100 as described above
As shown in FIG. 1, the carry-out rollers 131 and 132 convey the sheet 1 to the sheet conveying means 50, and the sheet 1 is conveyed in the A ₂ direction by the sheet conveying means and is conveyed to the reading section 20.

The reading unit 20 scans the sheet 1 on which image information is accumulated and recorded with excitation light 21 such as a laser beam, and stimulated emission light emitted from the sheet 1 by the scanning is detected by a photoelectric reading unit 22 such as a photomultiplier. It is photoelectrically read to obtain an electric image signal for outputting a visible image. In the figure, 23 is an excitation light source, 24 is an optical deflector such as a galvanometer mirror, and 26 is a light guide 22a of photoelectric reading means for the stimulated emission light emitted from the sheet 1 (the light guide 22a totally reflects the stimulated emission light. It is a reflection mirror that reflects the light toward a photodetector 22b such as a photomultiplier while guiding it).

The sheet 1 carried into the reading section 20 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow A ₃ by the sheet conveying means 50, and the entire surface of the sheet is two-dimensionally scanned by the exciting light 21 deflected substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction, and stimulated emission of light. Light is generated, and this stimulated emission light is detected by the photodetector 22b via the light guide 22a to read the image information.

Incidentally, in reading the radiation image information, reading for obtaining the image signal for visible image output described above (main reading)
Prior to the above, pre-reading for reading the outline of the radiation image information accumulated and recorded on the sheet 1 in advance is performed, and the reading conditions and the like for the main reading are determined based on the image information obtained by this pre-reading. A method of performing the main reading according to the reading conditions is known.

As a method of performing such pre-reading, for example, the sheet 1 is scanned using excitation light having an energy lower than that of the excitation light used for the main reading, and the stimulated emission light emitted by this scanning is also photoelectrically read by the photoelectric reading means. There is a method of reading (see, for example, JP-A-58-67240).

The reading unit in the present invention may be a unit that performs both main reading and pre-reading, in addition to the above-described part that performs only main reading. For example, the sheet 1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow A ₃ and pre-reading is first performed. Then, the sheet is switched back by the switch back in the direction of the arrow A ₄ , returned to the reading start position, and conveyed again in the direction of the arrow A ₃ to perform the main reading. Just do it. The optical members arranged in the reading unit are not limited to those described above, and may be, for example, photoelectric reading units disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 16666/1987.
Alternatively, a long photomultiplier may be arranged along the main scanning line as described in Japanese Patent No. 3,861 to detect the stimulated emission light.

The reading of image information by the reading unit 20 takes a relatively long time, but since the stacker 100 is provided in the illustrated apparatus as described above, reading is performed on one sheet. In the meantime, the sheets 1 that have been photographed can be sequentially stored in the stacker 100, and the sheets 1 can be processed very efficiently.

As described above, the sheet 1 whose image information has been read in the reading section 20 is conveyed in the directions of arrows A ₅ and A ₆ by the sheet conveying means 50 and is conveyed toward the erasing section 30.

The erasing unit 30 is for erasing the radiation image information remaining on the sheet 1 after the reading is completed (releasing the radiation energy remaining in the stimulable phosphor). That is, a part of the radiation image information accumulated and recorded on the sheet 1 still remains on the sheet after being read.
In order to reuse the remaining image information, the erasing unit 30
Performed in. Any erasing method in the erasing unit 30 may be used. The erasing unit 30 in the present embodiment includes an erasing light source 31 such as a fluorescent lamp, a tungsten lamp, a sodium lamp, a xenon lamp, an iodine lamp or the like.
Are provided, the sheet 1 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A _{7 and} is irradiated with light from these erasing light sources 31 to release the residual radiation energy on the sheet.

The sheet 1 which has been erased in the erasing section 30 is indicated by an arrow A ₈
After being transported in the direction, it is further transported to the arrows A ₉ and A ₁₀ .
When the sheet is conveyed in the direction of arrow A ₁₀ and reaches the position shown by the broken line in the figure, the sheet 1 is fed back in the direction of arrow A ₁₁ by switchback. Sheet 1 sent back is further indicated by arrow A ₁₂
Second slacker that is transported in the transport direction and is provided in the transport direction
Delivered to 200. The second stacker 200 has a structure similar to that of the first stacker 100 described above, and the stacker main body 210 including the sheet accommodating portion 212 formed by the plurality of partition plates 211 moves in the arrow E direction. The sheet 1 is accommodated in any one of the sheet accommodating portions 212. In addition, carry-in rollers 221 and 222 serving as a carry-in means for the sheet 1 are provided above the stacker body 210, and carry-out rollers 231 and 232 serving as a carry-out means for the sheet 1 are provided below the stacker body 210. . These carry-out rollers 231, 2
A sheet conveying unit 50 receives a sheet carried out from the stacker main body 210 and carries the sheet into the empty cassette 2 loaded in the cassette holding unit 10.
It is supposed to be passed to. Also, this second stacker 20
At 0, a plurality of sheets are already stored before the sheet 1 is loaded. That is, the sheet is carried out from the second stacker 200 by the same mechanism as in the case of the first stacker 100, and any sheet in the stacker 200 can be selected and carried out. The sheet is carried out immediately after the sheet suitable for the cassette loaded in the cassette holding unit 10 is selected from the sheets accommodated in the stacker 200 and the sheet is taken out from the cassette 2 as described above. . By providing such a stacker 200, the cassette 2 storing the photographed sheets is filled in the cassette holding portion 10, and a new sheet is placed in the empty cassette within a short time after the sheet is taken out. Then, the cassette 2 into which the sheet is carried can be immediately taken out from the cassette holding portion 10 and can be carried to an external photographing device for photographing. Further, even when the size of the sheet held in the cassette 2 is different for each cassette, various sheets are stored in the stacker 200 in advance, and the stacker is loaded in accordance with the size of the cassette filled in the cassette holding portion. Since it is only necessary to select and carry out the sheet from 200, it is possible to efficiently circulate and reuse the sheet regardless of the size of the sheet. In order to store various sheets in the stacker 200 in advance, the stacker 2 is not removed from the stacker 200 for a while after the start of use of the apparatus.
Sheets may be collected in 00 or unused sheets of various sizes may be stored in the stacker in advance before the use of the apparatus is started. Incidentally, in order to take out a sheet of a desired size from the stacker 200 in accordance with the cassette with which the cassette holding unit 10 is filled, the size of the sheet stored in each sheet storage unit 212 of the stacker 200 is stored. It is necessary to have control means for controlling the work of selecting and taking out a sheet of a desired size according to the cassette filled in the cassette holding unit 10, and the apparatus of the present embodiment is provided above the reading unit 20. A control unit 60 that performs the above control is provided. The control unit 60 also controls the accommodation, loading, and unloading of sheets in the first stacker 100 at the same time.

The sheet discharged from the second stacker 200 as described above is conveyed by the sheet conveying means 50 in the direction of the arrow A ₁₃ and is sent to the cassette holding unit 10, but is carried into the cassette 2 in the cassette holding unit 10. Since the sheet 1 has been stored in the stacker 200 before the cassette 2 is filled with the cassette 2, the sheet 1 may have a long elapsed time after being erased by the erasing unit 30. The auxiliary erasing section 70 provided in the middle of the sheet conveying means 50 receives light from the erasing light source 71.
That is, the stimulable phosphor sheet 1 has a property that, even if the erasing is performed once, when a certain time or more elapses, the radiation emitted from a radioisotope such as ²²⁶ Ra or ⁴⁰ K which is contained in the stimulable phosphor in a trace amount is Radiation energy may be accumulated by environmental radiation such as cosmic rays and X-rays from other X-ray sources, and this radiation energy may become noise for the next captured image. In order to prevent the generation of this noise, the sheet 1 is made to pass through the auxiliary erasing section 70, and the sheet 1 is made to release the radiation energy accumulated in the sheet during the standby time in the stacker 200 (so-called erasing). (Secondary deletion)
Is performed. The sheet 1 that has passed through the auxiliary erasing unit 70 is further conveyed in the direction of arrow A ₁₄ by the sheet conveying unit 50,
It is carried into the cassette 2 by the suction plate 12 described above.

As described above, the stacker of the present embodiment is arranged between the erasing section and the cassette holding section in the reading device having the erasing section.
Even when the cassette holding section is filled with cassettes holding sheets of various sizes, an empty cassette is immediately placed in the cassette holding section without waiting for the cassette to be returned to the cassette. Since the sheet can be carried toward the sheet, the sheet can be efficiently circulated and reused.

The specific configuration of the stacker of the present invention is not limited to that shown in the above embodiment. For example, instead of rotating the bottom plate about one end of the bottom plate to move the bottom plate between the first position and the second position, a recess for accommodating the bottom plate is provided at the lower end of the partition plate. The partition plate may be moved in parallel between the position for receiving the lower end of the sheet and the position for accommodating it in the recess. Further, a member for laterally supporting a plurality of partition plates and integrating them and a member for performing width adjustment of the sheet may be separately provided. Furthermore, sliding materials, cushioning materials,
It is possible to omit the sliding member, the unevenness of the front surface and the back surface of the partition plate, and the like depending on various conditions such as the material of the partition plate and the inclination of the tapered surface.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet of the present invention, sheets are loaded into and unloaded from each sheet accommodating portion in an arbitrary order, and processing such as reading and erasing is performed. It is possible to give priority to a specific sheet, and it is possible to provide a stacker between the erasing section and the cassette holding section. At the same time, according to the stacker of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the movement range by making the entire stacker substantially upright, and to prevent the apparatus from becoming large due to the provision of the stacker. Further, by making the surface of each partition plate a tapered surface, it is possible to smoothly carry in and carry out the sheet while keeping the opening for carrying in the sheet wide, and to stably hold the sheet in the stacker. Further, since the sheet comes into contact with not only the entire surface of the partition plate but only the above-mentioned convex tapered surface formed on a part thereof, the contact area between the both is reduced and the sheet is charged even if the sheet is charged. The sheet does not come into close contact with the surface of the partition plate, and smooth sliding of the sheet can be ensured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a radiation image information reading apparatus provided with a stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outline of the stacker, and FIG. 3 is a wheel. 4 is a schematic view showing the relationship between the shaft portion and the substrate, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the stacker main body, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view thereof, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a mechanism for taking out a sheet from the stacker main body, FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a conventional stacker. 1 ... Accumulable phosphor sheet, 2 ... Cassette 10 ... Cassette holding section, 20 ... Read section 30 ... Erase section, 50 ... Sheet conveying means, 100, 200 ... Stacker 110, 210 ... Stacker Main body 111, 211 ... Partition plate, 111a ... Back surface 111b ... Front surface 112, 212 ... Sheet storage section 113 ... Bottom plate, 116 ... Width aligning member 117 ... Sheet width aligning plates 121, 221, 122, 222 …… Intake rollers 131, 231, 132, 232 …… Eject roller 140 …… Movement means 148a, 148b …… Guide member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of the sheets are provided in a conveying path of a sheet conveying means for conveying the sheets in a radiation image information reading apparatus for reading the radiation image information accumulated and recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet. Can accommodate
A stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet capable of discharging the stored sheets one by one, wherein the back surfaces, which are arranged in parallel with each other, have a substantially vertical surface, and the front surface is formed by a convex surface and a concave surface. The convex surface is provided with a plurality of substantially upright partition plates that are tapered surfaces that gradually project forward toward the bottom, and the partition plates are arranged between them with an interval allowing the entry of the sheet from above. A first position, which is arranged in parallel with each other, and which is provided at a lower end portion of the partition plate to stop the sheet by receiving a lower end of the sheet entering between the partition plates; A stacker body provided with a bottom plate that can be moved to drop the sheet under its own weight, and a sheet that is provided above the stacker body and that is conveyed by the sheet conveying means is carried into the stacker body. Carrying-in means, a carrying-out means provided below the stacker main body, for receiving the sheets that fall due to their own weight, and delivering the sheets to the sheet conveying means, and a space between arbitrary partition plates in the stacker main body under the carrying-in means and the carrying-out means. A stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet, which comprises moving means for moving the stacker body so that it can be positioned above the stacker. 2. The stacker body has a sheet width shifting plate that supports both sides of the partition plate and projects inwardly of the partition plate as it goes downward. Stacker for stimulable phosphor sheet. 3. The storage according to claim 1, wherein the stacker main body has a width-shifting member that is inserted between the partition plates and reduces an effective width of the partition plates. Stacker for fluorescent phosphor sheet. 4. The moving means has guide members that are in contact with both sides of the stacker body and extend along the moving direction of the stacker body, and guide the movement of the stacker body. A stacker for a stimulable phosphor sheet according to item 1.