JP4337429B2 - Cassette tray and cassette-type imaging device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cassette type imaging apparatus used for medical X-ray diagnosis and a cassette tray used for the imaging apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As one of the cassette type imaging apparatuses used for medical X-ray diagnosis, there is a standing type direct imaging stand system (for example, see Patent Document 1). It is mainly used for chest radiography, and an X-ray source is placed facing a standing radiographing table, and imaging is performed with the subject in a standing position. A bucky device is mounted on the photographing stand, and a cassette and a grid are provided in the bucky device. A cassette is a case for hermetically storing an X-ray film, and is loaded into a cassette tray provided in a bucky device.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-201913
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In a conventional cassette-type imaging device, generally, the vertical position of a vertical positioning holder is positioned according to the size of the cassette, and the cassette is placed vertically on the holder. Then, the pair of left and right positioning holders are moved while holding the cassette so as not to fall down, and the cassette is sandwiched and held by these holders. Therefore, two operations, that is, a positioning operation for the vertical positioning holder and a positioning movement operation for the left and right holders have to be performed.
[0005]
Further, when the cassette is loaded into the cassette tray, it is necessary to change the fixing position depending on whether the upper surface reference or the center reference. Therefore, when positioning the vertical positioning holder, it is necessary to perform positioning not only according to the cassette size but also according to one of the standards. Thus, the workability at the time of cassette loading is poor, and the efficiency of the loading work has been a problem.
[0006]
The present invention provides a cassette tray capable of increasing the efficiency of cassette loading work, and a cassette-type imaging device including the cassette tray.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
(1) In the first aspect of the invention, the cassette is sandwiched between the first holder that holds the upper side of the plate-like cassette in which the X-ray film is stored and positions the cassette, and the first holder. A cassette tray that holds the cassette vertically, and extends vertically, and the second holder is slidable in the vertical direction A pair of guide members and a pair provided so as to be swingable about a shaft provided in the second holder and biased so as to contact the vertical surface of the guide member below a horizontal line passing through the shaft. And a lock release mechanism for releasing the contact state of the stopper with the vertical surface by swinging the stopper in the anti-contact direction by manual operation, and the vertical surface is a pair of biased stoppers. To face each swinging direction Each id members are provided to face each other stopper when a force in the vertical downward direction acts, the friction force generated at the contact site for pivoting operation as is pressed against the vertical surface occurs in the second holder Thus, when the second holder is prohibited from moving downward and a force in the vertically upward direction is applied to the second holder, a swinging action that separates from the vertical surface occurs due to the frictional force generated at the contact portion. The second holder is allowed to move upward.
(2) According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cassette tray according to the first aspect, the first holder is mounted to be slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the guide member, and the guide member is formed on the first holder. An engaging portion that engages with the formed protrusion to position the first holder, and the engaging portion is configured to selectively position a plurality of cassettes having different sizes based on either the upper surface reference or the center reference. The joint portions are formed at a plurality of different positions.
(3) A cassette type photographing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention includes the cassette tray according to the first or second aspect.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a cassette type photographing apparatus according to the present invention. The imaging apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 includes an imaging table 6 provided with a bucky device 5 and an X-ray tube 3 disposed to face the imaging table 6. The X-ray tube 3 is held by an X-ray tube holding unit 2 that moves on the rail L. Reference numeral 4 denotes a collimator that narrows down X-rays emitted from the X-ray tube 3. The operation of the photographing device 1 is controlled by the control device 7.
[0009]
The X-ray tube 3 rotates around the axis AX1 and moves along the rail L in the direction of the arrow D1. It also moves in the D2 direction and D3 direction orthogonal to the D1 direction. The bucky device 5 is provided with a cassette 8 on which an X-ray film and an intensifying screen are set, and a grid 9 disposed on the X-ray incident surface side of the cassette 8 to remove scattered X-rays. The bucky device 5 can change the position on the imaging table 6 up and down (in the direction of arrow D4) according to the height of the subject. The bucky device 5 is also provided with a mechanism for moving the grid 9 to the left and right.
[0010]
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the bucky device 5. The bucky device 5 includes a tray 10 on which the cassette 8 is loaded. When loading / unloading the cassette 8, the tray 10 is slid out of the bucky device 5 as shown in FIG. The cassette 8 is loaded on the tray 10 as indicated by a two-dot chain line, and the upper and lower sides of the cassette 8 are held by the upper side holder 11 and the lower side holder 12. The upper side holder 11 and the lower side holder 12 can be moved in the vertical direction within the guide rail 100 extending vertically.
[0011]
<< Description of Upper Side Holder 11 >>
The upper side holder 11 also functions as a reference for determining the fixing position of the cassette 8, moves the upper side holder 11 up and down, and inserts a pin provided on the back side of the upper side holder 11 into a reference hole 101 provided in the guide rail 100. By doing so, the upper side holder 11 is positioned at a predetermined reference position. The reference holes 101 are reference holes for fixing the cassette 8 on the basis of the upper surface, and a plurality of reference holes 101 are formed in two rows in the vertical direction corresponding to the size (inch size, cm size) of the cassette 8. The cassette 8 is fixed with the center reference in head imaging and abdominal imaging, and fixed with the upper surface reference in chest imaging. In the case of fixing with reference to the upper surface, the upper side holder 11 is positioned at the uppermost position.
[0012]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper side holder 11 as seen from the back side. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper side holder 11. The upper side holder 11 is freely rotatable through a slide plate 110 that holds the upper side of the cassette 8, a pair of slide blocks 111 fixed to the back side of the slide plate 110, and a shaft 112 on the back side of the slide plate 110. And a lock lever 113 attached to the. A part of the lock lever 113 has a broken surface.
[0013]
A cassette support portion 110 a that prevents the cassette 8 from falling is formed on the horizontal portion provided at the upper end portion of the slide plate 110. The slide block 111 is formed of a member having a small coefficient of friction such as resin, and is guided in the vertical direction by being inserted into the guide rail 100 of the tray 10 (see FIG. 2). On the back side of the lock lever 113, a pair of pins 114 are fixed side by side. The other end of the pin 114 passes through the lock lever 113 and protrudes toward the slide plate 110, and a compression spring 115 is externally inserted into the protruding portion 114b. Both ends of the compression spring 115 are in contact with the back surface of the slide plate 110 and the front surface of the lock lever 113.
[0014]
FIG. 4 shows a case where the upper side holder 11 is fixed to the upper surface reference, and the pin 114 is inserted into the uppermost hole in the reference hole 101 formed in the bottom surface portion of the guide rail 100. In order to lower the upper side holder 11 from this state, first, the lock lever 113 is operated as indicated by an arrow R1 in FIG. Then, the lock lever 113 rotates around the shaft 112 and tilts as shown by a broken line, and the pin 114 comes out of the reference hole 101, and the fixed state (lock) of the upper side holder 11 is released.
[0015]
When the lock is released, the upper side holder 11 is slid downward to release the forward operation of the lock lever 113 at the desired reference hole 101 position. Since the lock lever 113 is urged to the back side by the compression spring 115, when the position of the pin 114 coincides with the reference hole 101, the pin 114 is inserted into the reference hole 101 and the upper side holder 11 is fixed. In addition, by forming the indicator which shows the upper side holder fixing position according to each size of the cassette 8 on the tray 10, the upper side holder 11 can be moved and fixed smoothly.
[0016]
<< Description of Lower Side Holder 12 >>
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the lower side holder 12 portion of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lower side holder 12 as seen from the back side. The lower side holder 12 changes the state of the slide plate 120 that holds the lower side of the cassette 8, the slide block 121 fixed to the back side of the slide plate 120, a pair of stoppers 122 having a wedge-shaped tip, and the stopper 122 And a lever 123 for the purpose. The cassette 8 is placed on the horizontal portion 120b of the L-shaped slide plate 120.
[0017]
The slide block 121 is formed of a member having a small friction coefficient similar to the slide block 111 described above. A shaft 125 is provided between the slide plate 120 and the support plate 124 so as to connect both, and the stopper 122 is rotatably provided with the shaft 125 as a rotation axis. As shown in FIG. 5, the slide block 121 and the support plate 124 are fastened together with screws 127 and fixed to the slide plate 120. A tension spring 126 is stretched over the upper end portion of the stopper 122.
[0018]
The lever 123 has an L shape, and a horizontal portion 123 c formed at the lower end projects forward from an opening 120 a formed in the slide plate 120. On the other hand, the vertical portion 123a of the lever 123 is divided into two forks, and a protruding portion 123b extending to the front side is formed at each upper end portion. Each protrusion 123b is inserted into the hole 122a of the stopper 122, respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, the guide block 121, the stopper 122, the support plate 124, and the lever 123 provided on the back side of the slide plate 120 are housed in the guide rail 100, and the guide block 121 is attached to the guide rail 100. By being engaged, it is guided up and down.
[0019]
The wedge-shaped tip of each stopper 122 is in contact with the side surface of the guide rail 100 by the spring force of the tension spring 126. An angle α formed by a line segment connecting each contact point and the center of the shaft 125 is smaller than 180 deg. Therefore, when a downward force is applied to the lower side holder 12, a force that causes the right stopper 122 to rotate counterclockwise and the left stopper 122 to rotate clockwise is exerted by the frictional force. Therefore, the tip of each stopper 122 comes into contact with the side surface of the guide rail 100 with a large force. As a result, when a downward force is applied to the lower side holder 12, the tip of the stopper 122 is urged toward the side surface of the guide rail 100, and the downward movement of the lower side holder 12 is prohibited.
[0020]
On the other hand, when an upward force is applied to the slide holder 12, a force that causes the right stopper 122 to rotate clockwise by the frictional force and, conversely, the left stopper 122 to rotate counterclockwise as indicated by the broken line arrow. Work. Since the stopper 122 moves as indicated by a broken line arrow, the lower side holder 12 can be easily moved with respect to the upper side.
[0021]
When the horizontal portion 123c of the lever 123 is operated to be lowered, the protruding portion 123b is moved downward, and the right stopper 122 is rotated clockwise and the left stopper 122 is rotated counterclockwise. As a result, the contact of the stopper tip with the side surface of the guide rail is released, and the lower side holder 12 can be freely moved up and down.
[0022]
That is, the lower side holder 12 can be fixed at an arbitrary position of the guide rail 100 by the stopper 122 and can be moved upward by lifting the slide plate 120 upward. And the fixed state of the lower side holder 12 is cancelled | released by pulling down the lever 123, and it can move now below.
[0023]
<Explanation of cassette loading procedure>
Next, a procedure for loading the cassette 8 into the tray 10 will be described.
(A) In case of upper side reference (see FIG. 7)
(a1) The upper side holder 11 is fixed to the uppermost position of the guide rail 100.
(a2) While operating the lever 123, that is, releasing the braking of the lower holder 12 and lowering the lower holder 12 so that the distance between the upper holder 11 and the lower holder 12 is larger than the vertical width of the cassette 8.
(a3) The cassette 8 is placed on the lower side holder 12, and the lower side holder 12 is pushed upward until the upper surface of the cassette 8 comes into contact with the upper side holder.
(B) In the case of center reference First, the upper side holder 11 is moved to a position corresponding to the size of the cassette 8 and fixed. Thereafter, the operations (a2) and (a3) described above are performed.
[0024]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the vertical position of the cassette 8 is positioned by the upper side holder 11. And the cassette 8 is inserted | pinched between the upper side holder 11 and the lower side holder 12 only by moving the lower side holder 12 which mounted the cassette 8 upwards. Therefore, the loading operation of the cassette 8 to the cassette tray 10 can be simplified and the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Further, regarding the fixed position of the cassette 8, it is possible to easily correspond to the upper surface reference and the center reference only by changing the position of the upper side holder 11.
[0025]
In the correspondence between the embodiment described above and the elements of the claims, the upper side holder 11 is the first holder, the lower side holder 12 is the second holder, the lever 123 is the unlocking mechanism , and the guide rail 100 is Each guide member is configured. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment as long as the characteristics of the present invention are not impaired.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the cassette is sandwiched and fixed between the first holder and the second holder for positioning, the cassette loading operation is simplified. In particular, since the second holder moves upward but is prohibited from moving downward, the holding operation by the second holder can be easily performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a cassette type photographing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a bucky device 5;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper side holder 11 as viewed from the back side.
4 is a longitudinal sectional view of an upper side holder 11. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the lower side holder 12 in detail.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lower side holder 12 as seen from the back side.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a cassette loading procedure.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cassette type imaging device 3 X-ray tube 5 Bucky device 8 Cassette 9 Grid 10 Tray 11 Upper side holder 12 Lower side holder 100 Guide rail 101 Reference hole 110, 120 Slide plate 111, 121 Slide block 113 Lock lever 114 Pin 122 Stopper 123 Lever 126 Tension spring

Claims (3)

An upper side of the cassette is held between the first holder that holds the upper side of the plate-like cassette containing the X-ray film and positions the cassette, and the first holder. A cassette tray for holding the cassette vertically, comprising a second holder for holding,
A guide member that extends in the vertical direction and is mounted so that the second holder can slide in the vertical direction;
A pair of stoppers provided so as to be swingable about an axis provided in the second holder, and biased so as to abut on a vertical surface of the guide member below a horizontal line passing through the axis;
A lock release mechanism that swings the stopper in the anti-contact direction by a manual operation and releases the contact state of the stopper with the vertical surface;
The vertical surfaces are respectively provided facing the guide members so as to face the swing directions of the pair of biased stoppers,
The stopper is
When a vertical downward force is applied to the second holder, a swinging action that is pressed against the vertical surface by a frictional force generated at the contact portion occurs, and the second holder moves downward. Ban
When a vertical upward force is applied to the second holder, the frictional force generated at the contact portion causes a swinging action away from the vertical surface, thereby allowing the second holder to move upward. A cassette tray characterized by The cassette tray according to claim 1,
The first holder is slidably mounted in a vertical direction with respect to the guide member,
The guide member has an engaging portion that engages with a protrusion formed on the first holder to position the first holder;
A cassette tray, wherein the engaging portions are formed at a plurality of different positions so that a plurality of cassettes having different sizes can be selectively positioned by either the upper surface reference or the center reference.   A cassette type photographing apparatus comprising the cassette tray according to claim 1.

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