JP2987664B2 - Cassette - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cassette for storing a sheet-like image recording medium such as an X-ray photographic film and a stimulable phosphor sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an X-ray photographic film has been known as a recording medium for recording a radiation image of a human body or the like. Further, as a recording medium used for the same purpose, for example, a stimulable phosphor sheet disclosed in, for example, JP-A-55-12429 and JP-A-56-11395, that is, a sheet having a layer of a stimulable phosphor is also known. Has become. The above-mentioned stimulable phosphor is such that when it is irradiated with radiation (X-ray, α-ray, β-ray, γ-ray, ultraviolet ray, electron beam, etc.), a part of its energy is accumulated and then irradiated with excitation light such as visible light. The phosphor is a phosphor that emits stimulable luminescence in response to stored energy.

After recording (photographing) a radiation image of the subject by irradiating the stimulable phosphor sheet with radiation transmitted through the subject, for example, the stimulable phosphor sheet is two-dimensionally scanned with excitation light. At this time, if photostimulated light emitted from the sheet is photoelectrically detected, an electrical image signal indicating radiation image information can be obtained.

The above-mentioned stimulable phosphor sheet and X-ray photographic film are usually handled in a light-shielding cassette or magazine. The cassette accommodates sheet-shaped image recording media such as a stimulable phosphor sheet one by one, and usually has a box partially provided with an opening for taking a recording medium in and out, and a box including the box. A lid attached to the box via a swing axis substantially parallel to the sheet-shaped image recording medium stored in the box, and swinging around the swing axis to open and close the opening. You. When a radiographic image is taken (recorded) using this cassette, the cassette is arranged, for example, at a position to receive radiation that has passed through the subject, so that the radiation is accumulated on a stimulable phosphor sheet or the like stored in the cassette. It is irradiated and a radiation image is captured there.

[0005] When this kind of cassette is loaded into a reading device for reading out radiation image information from a stimulable phosphor sheet on which a radiation image has been taken, for example, it is necessary to take out the stored recording medium. It is necessary to cause a part of the image recording medium to fly out of the cassette opening, and feed the leading end of the image recording medium to a sheet conveying device such as a nip roller. Further, when automatically storing the sheet-shaped image recording medium in an empty cassette, if the image recording medium is fed into the cassette using a sheet conveying device such as the nip roller, the image recording medium is separated from the nip roller or the like. At this time, since the rear end portion is still protruding from the cassette opening, it is necessary to feed the image recording medium a little so as to be completely contained in the cassette.

As described above, in order to cause the image recording medium to slightly jump out of the opening of the cassette box or to slightly feed the image recording medium into the box, conventionally, an apparatus for freely dropping the image recording medium by gravity has been used. In addition, there is a device in which a rotating roller is inserted into the cassette from a portion where the lid of the cassette is opened, and the rotating roller is pressed against the surface of the image recording medium to send the image recording medium out of the box or to send the image recording medium into the box. Are known.

[0007]

However, in the above-described apparatus that relies on gravity, the reliability is low, and a mistake in taking out or feeding in the image recording medium tends to occur.
On the other hand, an apparatus using a rotating roller has a drawback that the reliability is high, but the cost tends to be high because a driving device is required.

In any of the above-mentioned apparatuses, when the cassette is loaded and the cover is opened, the operation of taking out the image recording medium is started, and after the image recording medium is completely stored in the cassette, the cassette is closed. Since the cassette can be pulled out after being covered, the problem that the time required from loading the cassette to sending out the image recording medium and the time required from storing the image recording medium to pulling out the cassette tend to be long is also recognized. Can be

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and when an image recording medium is loaded in a cassette utilizing device, the image recording medium can be sent out from the box slightly and quickly. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette which can reliably and promptly store the image recording medium in the case when the image recording medium is fed in, and which does not require a driving means for that purpose.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first cassette for accommodating the above-mentioned sheet-shaped image recording medium, and an opening for inserting and removing the recording medium at one end. Is mounted on the box via a swinging axis substantially parallel to the image recording medium stored in the box, and swings around the swinging axis to open the opening. In the cassette consisting of a lid and a lid that opens and closes, a hooking axis extending substantially parallel to the lid rocking axis is formed at a position near the opening of the box, and one end is separated from the rocking axis of the lid. The other end is fixed to the box, and is folded back so as to sandwich the end opposite to the opening of the image recording medium stored in the box, and the hook shaft is opened when the lid is opened. A bendable image recording medium delivery member arranged to hang on Means are provided for urging the folded portion of the bendable image recording medium delivery member to the side opposite to the box opening, and means for attaching to the image recording medium delivery member and adsorbing to the image recording medium are provided. It is characterized by the following.

[0011]

The bendable image recording medium delivery member of the first cassette can be formed of, for example, cloth, synthetic resin film, thread or the like.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cassette comprising a box and a lid similar to the above, wherein the second cassette is provided at a position close to an opening of the box. And a hook shaft extending substantially parallel to the cover is formed, one end of the hook is fixed to a position away from the pivot axis of the lid, and the other end is removably adsorbed to the image recording medium stored in the box. An elastically deformable image recording medium delivery member arranged to be hooked on the hook shaft when the body is opened is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cassette comprising a box and a lid similar to the above, wherein a lid swinging shaft is provided at a position close to an opening of the box. A hook shaft extending substantially parallel to the opening is formed, and one end is fixed to a position away from the pivot axis of the lid, and the other end is an end opposite to the opening of the image recording medium housed in the box. And an elastically deformable image recording medium delivery member arranged to be hooked on the hook shaft when the lid is opened.

The elastically deformable image recording medium delivery member in the second and third cassettes can be formed of, for example, a stainless steel sheet, a phosphor bronze sheet, a synthetic resin sheet, or the like.

[0016]

When the lid is opened after the first cassette of the present invention having the above structure is loaded into the utilization device,
The bendable image recording medium delivery member hooked on the hook shaft is pulled to one end side. Then, the folded portion of the image recording medium sending member moves to one end side of the box, that is, the opening side, so that the folded portion pushes the end of the image recording medium, and a part of the image recording medium passes outside the cassette through the opening. Will be sent to

Since the image recording medium delivery member is formed of cloth, synthetic resin film, or the like as described above and is bendable, it can follow the lid that opens while changing the swing angle while bending. .

When the lid is closed after the image recording medium is partially stored in the first cassette, a bendable image recording medium whose folded portion is urged to the side opposite to the box opening. The medium delivery member naturally returns to the original state (the state when the lid is completely closed) according to the lid closing operation. Therefore, the image recording medium sucked by the suction means attached to the image recording medium sending member moves with the sending member and is completely drawn into the cassette.

On the other hand, the second and third embodiments of the present invention having the above configuration
When the lid is opened after the cassette is loaded into the utilization device, the elastically deformable image recording medium delivery member hanging on the hook shaft is pulled to one end side. Then, the other end side of the image recording medium sending member moves to the one end side of the box, that is, the opening side, so that the image recording medium sucked or locked to the other end side is sent to the opening side, and a part thereof is sent. It is sent out of the cassette through the opening.

In particular, when the lid is closed after the image recording medium is partially stored in the second cassette, the image recording medium delivery member is moved by the lid which swings in a direction opposite to the above case. Is pushed back to the other end. In this way, the other end of the image recording medium delivery member moves to the side opposite to the opening, so that the image recording medium adsorbed to the other end is drawn into the cassette and completely stored therein.

The image recording medium delivery member is formed of a stainless steel sheet, a phosphor bronze sheet, a synthetic resin sheet or the like as described above and is elastically deformable. It can follow while being elastically deformed.

As described above, since the cassette of the present invention sends out the image recording medium by using the opening operation, the image recording medium can be sent out in parallel with the opening. Therefore, it is possible to perform a process from loading the cassette to feeding the image recording medium in a short time.
In particular, since the first and second cassettes of the present invention draw in the image recording medium by using the lid closing operation, the image recording medium can be stored in parallel with the lid closing. Therefore, it is possible to carry out from the storage of the image recording medium to the removal of the cassette in a short time.

Since the feeding and retraction of the image recording medium are performed as described above, no driving means for these operations is required. Therefore, if the cassette according to the present invention is used, the feeding of the image recording medium can be performed. It is possible to avoid a significant increase in the cost of the cassette utilizing device due to the setting and retraction.

Further, since the cassette of the present invention performs the feeding and retraction of the image recording medium without relying on gravity, these operations can be surely performed.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a comparison for explaining the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a cassette 10 as an example . FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part thereof, and FIG. 3 shows a plan shape of the main part. This comparative example is outside the scope of the claims.
First, this comparative example will be described.

As an example, the cassette 10 houses the above-described stimulable phosphor sheet 11 and has a thin casing 12.
And a lid 13 that opens and closes an opening 12a for taking in and out the stimulable phosphor sheet provided in the box 12. The box 12 and the lid 13 are formed of, for example, a synthetic resin. Then, the lid 13 is attached to the box 12 so as to be swingable about a swing axis A substantially parallel to the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 stored in the box 12, as described above. It swings to open and close the opening 12a. In order to make the lid 13 swingable in this way, for example, a known hinge mechanism is used, or the lid 13 and the box 12 are integrally formed of synthetic resin, and the lid 13 is What is necessary is just to be able to bend at 12 with a hinge line.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show that the lid 13 has an opening.
12a shows a state where 12a is open (opened state) and a state where 12a is closed (closed state). In FIG. 3, the lid lock is released by a manual operation described later. 2 and 3 show only the left end of the cassette 10, a mechanism similar to that shown is also provided at the right end of the cassette.

The housing 12 is movable in a direction (arrows B and C directions) parallel to the stored stimulable phosphor sheet 11 and perpendicular to the swing axis A of the lid 13. Then, a slider (moving body) 14 is held. This slider 14
Is formed by a guide member 15 formed on the inner surface of the box 12,
It is guided so as to be movable only in the above directions. Further, a lock claw 16 as an engagement portion is formed integrally with the slider 14.

A spring receiver 17 is formed on the box 12.
A compression coil spring is provided between the spring receiver 17 and the slider 14.
18 are arranged. Thus, the slider 14 is biased toward the front end of the cassette (in the direction of arrow B). The slider 14 urged in this manner is held at a position (lock position) where the overhang portion 14a contacts the stopper 19 formed on the guide member 15 unless another external force is received. The slider 14 is further integrally formed with a pressing member 20 having an upper portion formed as a slope portion gradually lowering toward the coil spring 18 side, and a projection 21 for manual lock release described later.
Further, a hook portion 22 for maintaining the state of manual lock release is formed inside the slider 14 on the box 12.

Next, the structure of the lid 13 will be described. Inside the lid 13, a lock claw 30 as an engaged portion protruding toward the upper surface of the slider 14 and a similarly pressed protruding projection 37 are fixed. A manual operation piece 31 is attached to the lid 13 so as to be movable in the directions of arrows D and E, that is, in the direction parallel to the directions of arrows B and C when the lid is closed. The manual operation piece 31 has a projection 32 protruding outward and laterally.
Is fixed to a hooking piece 33 which can move elastically in the direction of arrow K. On the upper surface of the manual operation piece 31, an operation section 34 having a wave-shaped cross section is formed.
It is exposed to the outside through an opening 35 formed in 13.

The manual operation piece 31 is movably held as described above by a holding member 39 (omitted in FIG. 2), and the lid 13 is inserted into two elongated guide grooves 31a formed therein. Each of the pins 13b is fixed so as to be movable only in the directions of arrows D and E.

The manual operation piece 31 is a compression coil spring.
It is urged by arrow 36 in the direction of arrow E. The manual operation piece 31 urged in this manner, if no other external force acts, the arc portion of the operation portion 34 contacts the opening 35,
It is kept in a predetermined lock position. This lock position is
When the lid 13 is closed, the protrusion of the manual operation piece 31
The rear end surface of 32 (the back surface in FIG. 2) faces the front end surface of the projection 21 of the slider 14 also at the lock position (the front surface in FIG. 2) with a small gap. Position.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the cassette 10 is provided with an image recording medium delivery member 70 having a width close to the entire width thereof. As an example, the delivery member 70 is made of a nonwoven fabric having a protective and buffering effect on the stimulable phosphor sheet 11, and is freely bendable. One end of the delivery member 70 is fixed near the tip of the lid 13, the other end is fixed to the bottom surface of the box 12, and the middle portion is the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 housed in the box 12. Is folded back so as to sandwich the end opposite to the opening 12a. The other end of the delivery member 70 is attached and fixed to the bottom surface of the box 12 from the tip indicated by the arrow a in the middle of FIG. At a position close to the opening 12a of the box 12, a hook shaft 71 extending parallel to the swing axis A and extending over the entire width inside the box is formed, and one end of the delivery member 70 is connected to the hook shaft 71. Through the underside of the
Fixed to 13.

Next, the operation of the cassette 10 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows the side cross-sectional shape of the cassette 10 around the lid lock mechanism for each of the four states when the lid is opened. First, when the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is stored in the box 12 and the lid 13 is closed, the lock claw 30 of the lid 13 is moved to the lock claw 16 of the slider 14 as shown in FIG. And the lid 13 is locked so as to maintain this closed state.

The cassette 10 containing the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 therein is used for radiographic image capturing as described above, and then loaded into the radiographic image information reading device 40 shown in FIG. At this time, the cassette 10 is inserted into the cassette insertion opening 40a of the radiation image information reading device 40 from the front end (the end provided with the opening 12a), and is pushed to a predetermined loading position in that posture. A guide member (not shown) is provided inside the radiation image information reading device 40 for guiding the left and right ends of the cassette 10 pushed in in this manner.

When the cassette 10 is loaded as described above, the lock release pin 41 fixed in the radiation image information reading device 40 so as to extend in parallel with the loading direction is set in the box.
The rod enters the box 12 through a pin passage hole 12b (see FIG. 2) provided in the rod 12, and pushes the slider 14 backward (in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2) against the urging force of the spring 18. . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, the lock claw 16 of the slider 14 is separated from the lock claw 30 of the lid 13, and the locked state of the lid 13 is released.

When the cassette 10 is further pushed in, the slider 14 moves further, and as shown in FIG. 4C, the slope of the pressing member 20 presses the pressed projection 37 of the lid 13 so that the cam is pressed. The pressed projection 37 is pushed upward by the action, and the lid 13 swings around the swing axis A to open the opening 12a. When the cassette 10 is pushed into the predetermined loading position, the front end of the cassette 10 contacts the stopper 42 as shown in FIG. 4 (4), and the cassette 10 is held at that position.

As described above, when the cassette 10 is loaded at a predetermined position in the radiation image information reading device 40, the lock is automatically released and the lid is opened. In addition to unlocking and opening the lid by using the force for loading the cassette 10 as described above, the unlocking pin 41 may be moved by the driving unit after the cassette 10 is loaded at a predetermined position. However, according to the above embodiment, the lock release pin
The drive means 41 is unnecessary, and the unlocking and opening of the cover are completed at the end of cassette loading, which is more preferable in terms of simplifying the mechanism of the radiation image information reading apparatus 40 and speeding up the operation.

The cassette 10 of the present embodiment is configured such that the lid 13 is slightly opened in the automatic lid opening performed as described above. In this case, a large cassette loading force is not required for this lid opening operation. However, in this case, an operation to open the lid 13 further widely to take out the stimulable phosphor sheet is required.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 4 (4), the radiation image information reading device 40 is moved laterally in the left-right direction of the cassette (perpendicular to the plane of FIG.
An opening member 43 that moves in the direction is provided. The lid-opening member 43 moves laterally to a position inside the lid 13 that is slightly opened, and then moves to a position indicated by a broken line in FIG. As a result, the lid 13 is greatly opened to the position shown by the broken line in FIG.

In order to open the cover 13 widely as described above, in addition to the use of the cover opening member 43, a mechanism for moving the air suction cup adsorbed on the upper surface of the cover 13 in the direction of arrow F, etc. May be used. In a cassette in which only the lid lock is automatically released by loading the cassette, the lid opening mechanism having the above-described air suction cup must be used to open the lid widely. On the other hand, if the lid 13 is automatically opened even a little as in the cassette 10, various types of lid opening mechanisms for opening the lid 13 widely can be used. Expands.

As described above, when the cassette 10 is loaded at a predetermined position in the radiation image information reading device 40, the lock is automatically released and the lid is opened. Then, a small amount of the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is automatically sent out from the cassette 10 thus automatically opened. Hereinafter, this point will be described with reference to FIG.

When the lid 13 is widely opened as described above, as shown in FIG. 1 (2), the delivery member 70 is hooked on the hooking shaft 71 and one end thereof (that is, the side of the lid 13). 2), the folded portion moves toward the box opening 12a. Then, the folded portion of the sending member 70 pushes the end of the stimulable phosphor sheet 11, and the front end of the sheet 11 jumps out of the opening 12 a of the box 12, between the nip rollers 45 of the radiation image information reader 40. Become in addition.

The stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is formed by the guide plates 46, 47, 48 shown in FIG. 5, the nip roller 45 and other nip rollers 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56,
The sheet is conveyed to the reading section 62 via the erasing section 60 by a sheet conveying system including 57 and the like. The reading processing of the radiation image information in the reading section 62 is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-12429, and will be briefly described below. The stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is moved by an arrow H in FIG.
It is conveyed at a constant speed in the direction. Then, the laser beam 64 as excitation light emitted from the main scanning optical system 63 scans the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the arrow H (main scanning).

The stimulable phosphor sheet 11 irradiated with the laser beam 64 emits stimulable luminescence light in an amount corresponding to the radiation image information stored and recorded therein. The light is detected via a light guide 65 by a photodetector 66 such as a photomultiplier tube. Therefore, from the photodetector 66, an output signal S indicating the radiation image information stored and recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is obtained. If the signal S is sent to an image reproducing device such as a CRT display device or an optical scanning recording device for image reproduction, the radiation image recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is reproduced as a visible image.

The stimulable phosphor sheet 11 from which the reading of the radiation image information has been completed is sent from the reading section 62 to the erasing section 60 by rotating the nip rollers 49 to 57 in the opposite direction. The erasing section 60 is connected to the stimulable phosphor sheet 11.
Are passed, a plurality of erasing light sources 61 are turned on, and the erasing light emitted from the plurality of erasing light sources 61 is applied to the stimulable phosphor sheet 11. The radiation energy remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 even after reading the radiation image information is released from the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 by this erasing light irradiation, and the sheet 11 can be newly used for radiographic image capturing. Becomes

The stimulable phosphor sheet which has been subjected to the erasing process
11 is carried into the cassette 10 by the nip roller 45 rotating in the opposite direction, that is, clockwise from the previous case.
At this time, the nip roller 45 is rotated at a high speed, and vigorously throws the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 into the cassette 10. Prior to this, the cover opening member 43 shown in FIG. 4 (4) returns from the dashed line display position to the solid line display position in FIG. To) has exited. Then, when the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is thrown into the cassette 10 as described above, the folded portion of the delivery member 70 is pushed by the stimulable phosphor sheet 11, so that the lid 13 is pulled by the delivery member 70. Then, the state returns to the small open state described above.

When the lid 13 is informed of the above state by, for example, a display device, the apparatus operator pulls out the cassette 10 from the cassette insertion port 40a. Then, in this case, the state of the slider 14 and the lid 13 is changed to (4) in FIG.
, (3), (2), and (1) in order, and the lid and lid 13
Is locked.

However, at this time, before the slider 14 returns to the locked position shown in FIG. 4A, the lid 13 may not be able to return to the completely closed position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the lock claw 30 of the lid 13 is
They are on top of 16 and they do not engage. Therefore, the cassette 10 is installed in the radiation image information reading device 40.
A pair of lid closing rollers that elastically contact the
68 are provided. These rollers 68 are
When the is pulled out, the cover 13 is disposed at a position to press an upper surface portion (a portion indicated by a dashed circle J in FIG. 2) substantially corresponding to the back side of the lock claw 30 installation portion.

The lid 13 is formed by the roller 68 for closing the lid.
Is pushed downward, the lock claw 30 attempts to push the lock claw 16 downward. At this time, the lock claw 16 moves in the direction of arrow C by the action of the tapered surfaces of both lock claws 30, 16, and when the lid 13 is completely closed, the lock claw 16 returns to the lock position by the force of the spring 18, and the lock Engage with the pawl 30. As described above, when the cassette 10 is completely pulled out from the cassette insertion opening 40a of the radiation image information reading device 40, the lock claws 30 and 16 are always engaged with each other and the lid 13 is locked. Become.

The lid 13 of the cassette 10 is manually operated for loading the radiation image information reading apparatus 40 as described above and for exchanging and checking the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 to be stored, for example. The lid may be opened. Hereinafter, the operation will be described. When the lid 13 is in the closed state, when the operator presses the operation unit 34 of the pair of manual operation pieces 31 attached thereto in the direction of arrow D in FIG. The protrusions 32 of the 31 move the slider 14 in the same direction via the protrusions 21. Then, the slider 14 enters the state shown in FIG. 4 (2), and the lock of the lid 13 is released.

When the manual operation piece 31 is thus pushed to be in the unlocked state, the hooking piece 33 fixed to the manual operation piece 31 gets over the hooking portion 22 while being elastically deformed. Hang on. Then, each spring 1
The slider 14 and the manual operation piece 31 urged by 8 and 36 are used by the operator to operate the operation section of the manual operation piece 31.
Even if you release your hand from 34, it does not return to the locked position. Therefore, the operator can release the hand from the operation unit 34 and open the lid 13 by manual operation.

When the lid 13 is opened as described above, the latch piece 33 comes off the latch portion 22, so that the slider 14 and the manual operation piece 31 return to the lock position by the urging forces of the springs 18 and 36, respectively. . Therefore, for example, after exchanging the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 or the like, the lid 13 is closed by pushing the broken line circle J in FIG. Is pressed, the lock claw 30 engages with the lock claw 16, and the lid 13 is locked in the closed state.

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, the same elements as those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted (the same applies hereinafter). In the cassette 110 of the first embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (1), a tension shaft 72 extending over the entire width is disposed in the folded portion of the delivery member 70. Both ends of this tension shaft 72 are tension coil springs 73, respectively.
At one end thereof so as to be freely rotatable. The other ends of the tension coil springs 73 are fixed to the box 12. Therefore, the delivery member 70 is urged toward the side opposite to the box opening 12a, and keeps a tensioned state at all times.
Further, a magnetic body (permanent magnet) 74 is fixed to the delivery member 70 between the one end and the folded portion in a closed state, and near the folded portion.

The stimulable phosphor sheet 11 accommodated in the cassette 110 is formed by mixing a magnetic material with a support or attaching a thin magnetic material to the back surface (upper surface in the figure). And the magnetic material 74.

The taking out of the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 from the cassette 110 having the above configuration is performed in the same manner as in the case where the cassette 10 of the comparative example is used. On the other hand, when the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is stored in the cassette 110, the nip roller 45 is rotated at a relatively low speed. Therefore, this nip roller 45
When the rear end of the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 conveyed toward the cassette 110 is separated from the nip roller 45, as shown in FIG. Stop in a state of jumping out of. In this state, the front end of the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is attracted to the magnetic body 74 of the delivery member 70.

Next, the lid is kept open even after the cassette lid is opened.
When the lid-opening member 43 located inside 13 is lowered so as to return to the original position, the sending-out member 70 is pulled by the coil spring 73, and the folded portion thereof is separated from the opening 12a (leftward in the figure). Go to). Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 adsorbed on the magnetic body 74 fixed to the delivery member 70 is pulled in the same direction and is completely stored in the box 12 when the lid is closed.

In the comparative example and the first embodiment described above, the delivery member 70 is formed of a nonwoven fabric. However, the delivery member 70 may be formed of a synthetic resin film, a thread, or the like. .

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the cassette 210 of the second embodiment, an elastically deformable image recording medium delivery member made of, for example, a stainless steel sheet, a phosphor bronze sheet, a synthetic resin sheet or the like is provided.
80 are arranged. One end of the delivery member 80 is fixed to the lid 13, and a magnetic body 74 is fixed to the other end. The delivery member 80 is arranged so as to pass under the hook shaft 71.

In the closed state shown in FIG. 1A, the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 similar to the one stored in the cassette 110 of the first embodiment is sent out through the delivery member 80 to the magnetic material. Adsorbed on 74. From this state, as shown in FIG.
When 13 is opened, the delivery member 80 is hooked on the hook shaft 71,
It is pulled to one end side, that is, to the lid 13 side. As a result, the magnetic body 74 at the other end of the delivery member 80 moves toward the box opening 12a, and the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 adsorbed there is delivered to a position where it is held by the nip roller 45.

When the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is stored in the cassette 210, the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 separated from the nip roller 45 is attracted to the magnetic body 74 via the sending member 80 therebetween. Next, when the lid 13 is closed, the delivery member 80 is pushed to the other end, and the magnetic body 74 moves in a direction away from the box opening 12a (to the left in the drawing). Thereby,
The stimulable phosphor sheet 11 adsorbed on the magnetic body 74 moves to the inner side of the box, and is completely stored in the box 12 when the lid is closed.

When the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 is stored in the cassette 210, the sheet 11 rubs against the lower surface of the delivery member 80. Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheet
In order to prevent damage to 11, the lower surface of the delivery member 80 is desirably coated with resin or the like.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The cassette 310 of the third embodiment is
The difference from the cassette 210 of the second embodiment is that the magnetic member 74 is eliminated, and instead, a bent portion 80a is formed on the delivery member 80 as a means for engaging with the stimulable phosphor sheet 11. When the lid 13 is opened in the cassette 310, the bent portion 80a of the delivery member 80 pulled toward the lid 13 pushes the rear end face of the stimulable phosphor sheet 11, whereby the sheet 11 is It will jump out.

The cassette 310 of the third embodiment described above and
The cassette 10 of the comparative example has a stimulable phosphor sheet in the box 12.
Since there is no means for sucking and holding 11, it is difficult to load the cassette using apparatus with the box opening 12 a facing downward. On the other hand, the cassette 110 of the first embodiment and the
In the cassette 210 of the second embodiment, since the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 can be attracted and held in the box 12 by magnetic force, it can be loaded in the above-described direction.

The embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the cassette accommodating the stimulable phosphor sheet 11 has been described above.
The present invention provides an image recording medium other than the stimulable phosphor sheet,
For example, the present invention is similarly applicable to a cassette for storing an X-ray film or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a cassette as a comparative example with respect to the present invention in each state when a lid is closed and when a lid is opened.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the cassette.

FIG. 3 is a partially broken plan view showing a main part of the cassette.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view sequentially showing an operation state of main parts when the cassette is opened;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a radiographic image information reading apparatus in which the cassette is loaded.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a state of a main part when the cassette is closed.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing the cassette according to the first embodiment of the present invention in each of a state when the lid is closed and a state when the lid is opened.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing the cassette according to the second embodiment of the present invention in each of a state when the lid is closed and a state when the lid is opened.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing a cassette according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 10, 110, 210, 310 Cassette 11 Storage phosphor sheet 12 Box 12a Box opening 12b Box pin passing hole 13 Lid 14 Slider 15 Guide member 16 Lock claw (engaging portion) 18, 36 Compression coil spring 19 Stopper 20 Pressing member 21, 32 Projection 22 Latching part 30 Lock claw (engaged part) 31 Manual operation piece 33 Latching piece 37 Pressed projection 40 Radiation image information reader 40a Cassette insertion slot 41 Lock release pin 43 Opening member 45 Nip roller 70, 80 Image recording medium sending member 71 Hook shaft 72 Tension shaft 73 Tension coil spring 74 Magnetic material 80a Bending part A Lid swing axis

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A box which stores a sheet-shaped image recording medium and which has an opening at one end side for taking in and out the recording medium; A cassette, which is attached to the box via a parallel swing axis and swings around the swing axis to open and close the opening, at a position close to the opening of the box, An image in which a hook shaft extending substantially parallel to the swing axis is formed, one end of which is fixed at a position away from the swing axis of the lid, and the other end of which is fixed to the box, is housed in the box. A bendable image recording medium delivery member that is folded back so as to sandwich the end of the recording medium opposite to the opening and that is arranged to hang on the hook shaft when the lid is opened; Opening the folded part of the image recording medium sending member Cassette, characterized in that the means for urging the opposite side, means for adsorbing attached to member and the image recording medium sent to the image recording medium is provided. 2. A housing for accommodating a sheet-shaped image recording medium, an opening provided at one end side for taking in and out the recording medium, and an image recording medium housed in the housing. A cassette, which is attached to the box via a parallel swing axis and swings around the swing axis to open and close the opening, at a position close to the opening of the box, A hook shaft extending substantially parallel to the swing shaft is formed, one end is fixed to a position away from the swing shaft of the lid, and the other end is detachable from the image recording medium housed in the box. A cassette provided with an elastically deformable image recording medium delivery member arranged to be sucked and to be hooked on the hook shaft when the lid is opened. 3. A box which stores a sheet-shaped image recording medium, and which is provided at one end with an opening for taking in and out the recording medium; A cassette, which is attached to the box via a parallel swing axis and swings around the swing axis to open and close the opening, at a position close to the opening of the box, A hook shaft extending substantially parallel to the swing axis is formed, one end is fixed to a position away from the swing axis of the lid, and the other end is connected to the opening of the image recording medium housed in the box. A cassette provided with an elastically deformable image recording medium delivery member which is locked to an opposite end and is arranged to be hooked on the hook shaft when the lid is opened.