JPH0545109B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a light beam scanning device that scans a sheet-shaped object to be scanned with a light beam, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a light beam scanning device that scans a sheet-shaped object to be scanned with a light beam. When scanning and reading by irradiating a light beam such as light, or when recording image information on the photosensitive material by irradiating the photosensitive material with a light beam, the stimulable phosphor sheet or the photosensitive material The present invention relates to a light beam scanning device that is capable of smoothly conveying the light beam without causing impact or the like, thereby ensuring accurate irradiation of the light beam and reading or recording image information.

Recently, a radiographic image recording and reproducing system that obtains a radiographic image of a subject using a stimulable phosphor has been attracting attention. Here, a storage fluorophore (stimulable fluorophore)
Radiation (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays, γ-rays, electron beams,
A phosphor that accumulates a portion of this radiation energy when irradiated with ultraviolet rays, etc., and then emits stimulated luminescence light corresponding to the accumulated energy by irradiating it with excitation light such as visible light.

The radiation image recording and reproducing system described above utilizes this stimulable phosphor, and once the radiation image information of a subject such as a human body is recorded on a sheet having a layer made of a stimulable phosphor (hereinafter referred to as "a stimulable phosphor"). This stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with excitation light such as a laser beam to generate stimulated luminescent light, and the stimulated luminescent light is read photoelectrically. Then, an electrical signal is obtained, and based on this electrical signal, a radiation image of the subject is output as a visible image to a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or a display device such as a CRT.

Therefore, in such a radiation image recording and reproducing system, the image reading device that reads the recorded radiation image from the stimulable phosphor sheet specifically uses the following method when reading the image. ing. That is, a stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned two-dimensionally with a light beam such as a laser beam, and the stimulated luminescent light emitted at this time is detected in time series with a photodetector such as a photomultiplier to obtain image information. I am getting . The two-dimensional scanning of the light beam is usually carried out by transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet one-dimensionally by a belt conveyor or the like, thereby performing sub-scanning and adjusting the direction in which the phosphor sheet is transported. This is achieved by deflecting the light beam in substantially orthogonal directions to perform main scanning. The image information obtained as described above is then sent to an image recording device.

When recording an image, a photosensitive material, which is a recording material, is irradiated with laser light modulated based on the image information obtained from a stimulable phosphor sheet, so as to record a predetermined image on the photosensitive material. It is configured. After the photographic light-sensitive material on which the new image has been recorded is subjected to development processing, it is stored at a predetermined location and used for medical diagnosis, etc., as necessary.

Incidentally, in an image reading apparatus, the stimulable phosphor sheet conveyed by a belt conveyor must be firmly positioned on the belt conveyor. That is, if the stimulable phosphor sheet moves on the belt conveyor during scanning, the irradiation position of the light beam on the stimulable phosphor sheet shifts from the desired position, and as a result, the belt conveyor moves as described above. If the laser beam continues to scan the stimulable phosphor sheet that has been displaced, the resulting image information will be inaccurate. In other words,
Accurate radiation image information cannot be obtained from the stimulable phosphor sheet that has caused the positional shift, and therefore,
When the subject is a patient, this poses disadvantages such as the possibility of making a medical diagnosis error.

Conventionally, therefore, a suction box, for example, has been used to prevent the stimulable phosphor sheet from being displaced relative to the belt conveyor during scanning. That is, the suction box is disposed in a space of an endless belt conveyor, and the belt conveyor is provided with a plurality of suction holes. When the stimulable phosphor sheet is conveyed to the belt conveyor, a vacuum generator connected to the suction box starts suction, and the stimulable phosphor sheet is suctioned onto the belt conveyor. It is positioned and fixed on the belt and is transported as the belt conveyor moves in the sub-scanning direction.

However, in this type of conventional technology, since the suction box is used as described above, the mechanism is complicated and large, and it also requires a vacuum generator to suck the sheet through the suction box and a vacuum generator to drive this device. A control system is required to control it. Moreover, the means for positioning and transporting such a stimulable phosphor sheet is quite expensive, and the cost of the entire radiation image recording and reproducing system also rises considerably. Furthermore, in order to suitably adsorb the stimulable phosphor sheet onto the belt conveyor, it is necessary to provide a conveyance path for conveying the stimulable phosphor sheet in parallel to the belt conveyor. Therefore, the radiation image recording and reproducing system itself becomes larger. For this reason, particularly when the system is placed in a hospital or the like, there is a drawback that it is difficult to effectively utilize a narrow room.

On the other hand, an image recording apparatus performs main scanning by deflecting and irradiating a photosensitive material with a modulated laser beam. Sub-scanning is performed by holding the paper between a pair of rollers and conveying it in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction.

However, in this case, there is a risk that load fluctuations may occur in a rotary drive source, such as a motor, which rotationally drives the drum when transporting the photographic light-sensitive material, and that suitable sub-scanning may not be performed on the photographic light-sensitive material. Therefore, conventionally, support stands are provided before and after the drum in the sub-scanning direction to minimize load fluctuations on the motor during sub-scanning. Therefore, it is necessary to provide support stands at least as long as or longer than the length of the photographic material being conveyed in the sub-scanning direction before and after the drum, and the image recording apparatus itself becomes considerably large. The flaws that become apparent are exposed. Further, in order to stably transport the photosensitive material, the drum has a width larger than the width of the photosensitive material, and a motor for rotating the drum is provided in the width direction of the drum. Therefore, the image recording device has no choice but to extend largely in the main scanning direction.

Furthermore, in order to perform high-precision scanning on a photosensitive material, it is necessary to strictly control the motor so that the photosensitive material is conveyed at a constant speed in an accurate direction with high precision. Since the possible high-precision motors are expensive, there is also the problem that the cost of the entire device increases significantly. In addition, in order to transport photographic materials stably,
Although it is essential to provide a pair of rollers that come into sliding contact with the drum, the provision of these pairs of rollers makes it impossible to scan both ends of the photosensitive material in the sub-scanning direction. For example, it is inconvenient that it cannot meet the demand for a black frame, a so-called black border, around the image.

In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings in conventional image reading devices and image recording devices, the applicant of the present application performed main scanning by irradiating a sheet-shaped object to be scanned with a light beam deflected in a one-dimensional direction. In a light beam scanning device that performs sub-scanning by transporting the object to be scanned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction and scans the object to be scanned two-dimensionally, a pair of light beam scanners that sandwich and convey the object to be scanned Two sets of rollers are arranged at an interval shorter than the length of the object to be scanned in the conveyance direction, and the two pairs of rollers are rotated synchronously to perform sub-scanning, and deflection is performed between the pair of rollers. filed an application for a light beam scanning device characterized in that it is configured to perform main scanning by irradiating a light beam with
−234182).

The present invention has been made in connection with the above-mentioned filed invention "Light beam scanning device", and in particular, it is aimed at minimizing load fluctuations caused when a scanned object is held between a pair of rollers. Thereby, there is no risk of uneven conveyance of the object to be scanned in the sub-scanning direction, and therefore, there is provided a light beam scanning device that can more accurately and smoothly read or record image information. The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes two pairs of rollers, each consisting of a drive roller and a nip roller, which nip and convey a sheet-like object to be scanned, and are arranged at an interval shorter than the length of the object to be scanned in the conveyance direction. The two pairs of rollers perform transport in the sub-scanning direction, and main scanning is performed by irradiating a light beam deflected in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sub-scanning transport direction between the pair of rollers. In the light beam scanning device that scans the object to be scanned two-dimensionally, a nip roller constituting at least a pair of rollers on the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction of the two roller pairs is capable of sliding toward and away from the drive roller. In addition, when the nip roller is brought into sliding contact with the drive roller, a pre-rotation is applied to the nip roller.

Next, preferred embodiments of the light beam scanning device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 designates a radiation image recording and reading device incorporating a light beam scanning device according to the present invention. A supply magazine 14 for supplying a stimulable phosphor sheet as an image recording carrier is mounted inside a chamber 12 defined in the image recording/reading device 10, and generally, this supply magazine 14 Inside, stimulable phosphor sheets A on which radiation images have been stored and recorded are stored in a stacked manner. A suction cup 16 is provided in the chamber 12 adjacent to the supply magazine 14 and connected to a vacuum generator (not shown).
A single wafer mechanism is provided. Further, below this suction cup 16, an endless first conveyor belt 18 is provided for conveying the stimulable phosphor sheet A toward an image reading section, which will be described later. The first conveyor belt 18 extends vertically downward and is bent at a lower corner of the image recording/reading device 10 so as to be oriented in the horizontal direction. rollers 20a to 20d are provided. Furthermore, a large-diameter roller 22 is disposed at the lower bent portion of the conveyor belt 18 .

Therefore, a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 24 is provided at a slight distance from the terminal end of the first conveyor belt 18.
The sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 24 includes a roller pair 26 consisting of a drive roller 26A and a nip roller 26B, and a roller pair 27 consisting of a drive roller 28 and a nip roller 50.
A stimulable phosphor sheet A is conveyed between
A guide member 30 for holding the guide member 30 and a guide member 32 spaced apart from the guide member 30 by a predetermined distance are provided. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the driving roller 28 of the roller pair 27 has a relatively short transmission roller 34.
slide into frictional contact. A first pulley 38 is rotatably attached to a shaft 36 extending from the transmission roller 34, and the tip of the shaft 36 has a smaller diameter than the end of the pulley 38 to form a shaft 40. A bending arm 42 is pivotally attached to the distal end of the shaft 40 so as to be swingable around a shaft 54 so as to extend upward, and the shaft 44 is engaged with the other terminal end of the arm 42. There is. The shaft 44 is the second pulley 4
The other side of the pulley 46 is a large-diameter shaft 48, and a nip roller 50 is rotatably supported on this shaft 48. That is, the arm 42 extends upward from the side of the drive roller 28, and the nip roller 50 is located above the drive roller 28. Note that a second arm 52 is similarly pivotally attached to the opposite side of the nip roller 50 so as to be swingable around a shaft 54.

In this case, the downstream drive roller 28 is driven by the motor 29
The drive roller 26 on the upstream side is connected to the rotational drive shaft of the
The rotational force of the motor 29 is also transmitted to A. One end of a swing rod 56 is engaged with the intermediate portion of the shaft 54 and the arm 42 that pivotally supports the shaft 44. Substantially, a pin member 58 is installed at one end of the swing rod 56, and the pin member 58 presses a coil spring 60 whose one end is attached to the arm 42. The spring force of 60 causes the nip roller 50 to move through the arm 42.
The structure is such that the pressing force on the stimulable phosphor sheet A is buffered. The other end of the swinging rod 56 is pivotally supported by a peripheral portion of a disc-shaped cam plate 66 held by a rotating shaft 64 of a rotational drive source, that is, a motor 62. In the figure, reference numeral 68 indicates a belt suspended between the first pulley 38 and the second pulley 46.

Next, an endless second conveyance belt 70 is provided adjacent to the downstream side of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 24 . The second conveyor belt 70 extends a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction, then rises significantly in the vertical direction in the figure, and furthermore, its tip portion descends slightly after passing through the horizontal portion. In this case, a large-diameter roller 72 is provided at the lower bent portion of the second conveyor belt 70, and a plurality of rollers 74a to 74e are further provided at a portion of the second conveyor belt 70 extending in the vertical direction. I'll keep it. Moreover, a large-diameter roller 76 and rollers 78a and 78b are provided at the upper bent portion of the second conveyor belt 70, so that the stimulable phosphor sheet A is conveyed vertically downward. ing. Then, a stimulable phosphor sheet A is placed close to the roller 78b.
A receive magazine 80 is provided for storing the.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, an image reading section 82 is arranged above the sub-scanning transport mechanism 24. The reading section 82 includes a laser light source 84, and a mirror 88 and a galvanometer mirror 90 for scanning the laser light 86 onto the sheet A are provided on the laser light output side of the laser light source 84. Further, a light guide 94 and a condensing reflection mirror 92 are arranged along the main scanning line at the scanning position of the laser beam 86 on the sheet A, and a light guide 94 is provided above the light guide 94 to convert the optical signal into an electrical signal. A photo multiplier 96 is installed. Furthermore, room 12
Inside, for example, an erasing section 98 is disposed between rollers 74b and 74c provided on the second conveyor belt 70. Inside the erasing section 98, a plurality of erasing light sources (not shown) are arranged.

The radiation image recording/reading device incorporating the light beam scanning device of this embodiment is basically constructed as described above, and its operation and effects will be explained next.

First, the supply magazine 14 is loaded into the image recording/reading device 10 . In this case, the supply magazine 14 includes, for example, a stimulable phosphor sheet A on which a radiation image of a subject such as a human body is stored and recorded.
Multiple sheets are stacked and stored. Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheets A are taken out one by one from the supply magazine 14 under the action of a single sheet mechanism including a suction cup 16, and a first conveyor belt 18 provided below the suction cup 16 and a plurality of It is conveyed to the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism 24 side via the rollers 20a to 20d and the roller 22. Here, the motor 29 is activated, and the stimulable phosphor sheet A is captured by the pair of rollers 26 and transported in the direction of arrow B while being guided by guide members 30 and 32.

When the stimulable phosphor sheet A reaches a predetermined position by the roller pair 26, the image reading section 82
is driven. That is, the laser beam 86 led out from the laser light source 84 by driving the image reading section 82 is once reflected by the mirror 88 and then reaches the galvanometer mirror 90 . As is well known, since the galvanometer mirror 90 performs an oscillating action, the laser beam 86 scans the stimulable phosphor sheet A by the reflection action of the galvanometer mirror 90, thereby causing the sheet A to scan.
Stimulated luminescent light corresponding to the accumulated radiation image is generated, and as a result, the stimulated luminescent light is reflected directly or by the reflecting mirror 92 and enters the light guide 94. Next, the stimulated luminescence light is converted into an electric signal by a photomultiplier 96 and sent to an image display device such as a CRT (not shown) or an image recording means such as a magnetic tape (not shown).

In this way, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is two-dimensionally scanned by the laser light source 84, and the stimulable phosphor sheet A is further conveyed to the end side of the guide members 30, 32. be done. As a result, all of the image information passes through the image reading section 82 and is read.

By the way, when reading this image, the light beam scanning device according to the present invention performs the following functions.
That is, the stimulable phosphor sheet A, which is conveyed while being guided by the guide members 30 and 32, reaches the drive roller 28. At this time, the shaft 36 is rotated by the transmission roller 34 which is in sliding contact with the drive roller 28 which is driven by the motor 29.
Rotation 6 rotates the pulley 38. This rotation of pulley 38 in turn causes pulley 46 to rotate via belt 68, and this rotation of pulley 46 causes nip roller 50 to rotate in a direction opposite to drive roller 28. That is, as the drive roller 28 rotates, the nip roller 50 continues to rotate in synchronization with the rotation and in the opposite direction.

Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is attached to the image reading section 8.
2, that is, when the end of the stimulable phosphor sheet transported by the pair of rollers 26 reaches a predetermined position, a sensor (not shown) detects this and starts the motor 62. Structure and rotation drive. The rotational drive of the motor 62 is transmitted to the cam plate 66 via the rotating shaft 64, and this cam plate 66 also slowly rotates as shown by the arrow. Therefore, the swinging rod 56 gradually lowers the arm 42 about the shaft 54, and the drive roller 28
get closer to When the leading end of the stimulable phosphor sheet A reaches the drive roller 28, the nip roller 50 rotatably supported by the arm 42 moves the stimulable phosphor sheet A while rotating at the same speed as the drive roller 28. The tip is captured and pressed against the upper surface of the drive roller 28 under the damping effect of the coil spring 60. Moreover, at this time, as mentioned above, since the nip roller 50 is rotating at the same speed as the drive roller 28, the stimulable phosphor sheet A does not appear at all even when it is sandwiched between the nip roller 50 and the drive roller 28. The paper is conveyed as it is to the erasing section 98 side without receiving any impact. Of course, during this time, the image reading section 82 can scan the upper surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet A with the laser beam 86 to obtain stimulated luminescence light and obtain image information thereof, as described above.

In this manner, the stimulable phosphor sheet A continues to be conveyed by the drive roller 28 and nip roller 50, and finally the rear end of the stimulable phosphor sheet A separates from the roller pair 26. However, the impact caused by this detachment does not cause any displacement, especially since the tip of the stimulable phosphor sheet A is held between the drive roller 28 and the nip roller 50. , there is no disturbance of image information caused by stimulated luminescence.

Therefore, the rear end side of the stimulable phosphor sheet A that has left the roller pair 26 is simply connected to the guide members 30 and 32.
It is conveyed in the direction of arrow B while being placed thereon, and finally reaches the second conveyor belt 70. At this time, the rotation of the motor 62 causes the arm 42 to separate from the stimulable phosphor sheet A via the swing rod 56. Next, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is transferred to the second conveyor belt 70, the roller 72 and the roller 74a,
It reaches the erasing section 98 via 74b. The erasing section 9
At 8, a plurality of erasing light sources (not shown) are turned on, and therefore, the irradiated light completely erases the radiation image remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet A.

The stimulable phosphor sheet A from which the radiation image has been erased in this way is transferred to the image recording/reading device 1 via the second conveyor belt 70 and the rollers 74c to 74e.
0 and is conveyed to the upper part of roller 76 and roller 7.
8a and 78b, the moving direction is displaced and stored in the receive magazine 80.

In this embodiment, as described above, the roller pair 26
When the stimulable phosphor sheet A is transported a predetermined distance, the nip roller 50 rotates by displacing the arm 42 under the action of the motor 62.
is pressed against the tip of the stimulable phosphor sheet A. That is, as a result, even when the stimulable phosphor sheet A is being scanned by laser light, it can be easily and reliably positioned and transported without applying any particular impact. Moreover,
As mentioned above, since the nip roller 50 is in a pre-rotated state, even if the tip of the stimulable phosphor sheet A comes into contact with the surface of the nip roller 50, the buffering effect of the coil spring 60 is This results in a smooth transfer operation with as little impact as possible. This prevents the stimulable phosphor sheet A from violently contacting the roller on the downstream side and applying unnecessary impact to the stimulable phosphor sheet A. Moreover, at this time, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is attached to the roller pair 26 and the driving roller 28.
In addition, the tip and rear end portions thereof are tightly held and conveyed by the nipping rollers 50. Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheet A will not be displaced from the transport direction. In the end, the stimulable phosphor sheet A was not misaligned and the reading section 8
2, main scanning and sub-scanning are performed, and as a result, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is scanned by the reading section 82.
This makes it possible to perform the radiation image reading operation extremely accurately. Furthermore, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is provided with a roller pair 26 and a roller pair 27 (driving roller 2
8. Since the conveyor belt 18 at the front stage and the conveyor belt 70 at the rear stage of the reading section 82 are conveyed while being clamped by the nip rollers 50), the portions facing the driving roller 28 and the nip roller 50 are purposely oriented horizontally. It is not necessary to extend it for a long time,
Therefore, the radiation image recording and reading device 10 can be made as compact as possible.

By the way, the radiation image recording and reproducing system employs an image recording device as described above, and irradiates the photographic material with a laser beam while conveying the photographic material in a sub-scanning manner to record a predetermined image on the photographic material based on the radiation image information. It is configured to record images of
Therefore, if the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism is used in this type of image recording apparatus, it is possible to accurately and smoothly convey an image recording carrier such as a photographic material without causing impact or the like as in the embodiment described above. As a result, the image information recorded on the photographic material is even clearer and better. In addition, since images can be recorded well even on the edges of the photographic material in the sub-scanning direction, there is an advantage that it can meet the demand for black edges.

Next, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show another embodiment of the light beam scanning device according to the present invention. in this case,
The same reference numerals as in the above embodiments indicate the same components, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

As can be easily understood from these FIGS. 6 and 7, in this embodiment, the arm 42
a is configured in a Y-shape, and a transmission roller 34a and a nip roller 50 are pivotally attached to the tip of this arm 42a, and a large diameter transmission roller 100 is pivotally attached between this nip roller 50 and the transmission roller 34a. are doing. Therefore, in this embodiment:
Unlike the previous embodiment, pulley 38, pulley 46
And there is no belt 68 suspended from these pulleys 38,46.

As a result of this configuration, the driving roller 28
The rotational force of the transmission roller 34a that is in sliding contact with the drive roller 34a is transmitted to the nip roller 50 via the transmission roller 100, and the nip roller 50 is eventually rotated at the same speed as the rotational force of the drive roller 28. In this case, a swinging rod 56 is pivotally attached to the arm 42a in the same manner as in the embodiment described above, and the swinging rod 56 is caused to swing around the transmission roller 34a side by the rotational force of the motor 62 to move the nip roller 50. Approaching or moving away from the drive roller 28 is the same as in the embodiment described above.

FIG. 8 shows still another embodiment of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism according to the present invention, and in this embodiment, the same reference numerals as in the above embodiment indicate the same components, and detailed description thereof will be given below. Omitted.

In this case, unlike the embodiment described above, the first transmission roller 34b is disposed above the drive roller 28,
The nip roller 5 is in sliding contact with this transmission roller 34b.
0 is placed directly above the drive roller 28.
Furthermore, the first pulley 102 is pivotally attached to the drive roller 28, and the second pulley 104 is arranged apart from the drive roller 28. A belt 106 is suspended between the first pulley 102 and the second pulley 104. On the other hand, a third pulley 108 is disposed above the second pulley 104, and a second belt 110 is suspended between the third pulley 108 and the second pulley 104. Furthermore, a fourth pulley 112 is coaxially attached to the transmission roller 34b.
and the third pulley 108.
14 is suspended. In this case, although not shown, the nip roller 50 is configured to be vertically movable between a position in sliding contact with the transmission roller 34b and a position in sliding contact with the drive roller.

Therefore, in the above configuration, when the stimulable phosphor sheet A is conveyed by the pair of rollers 26 and reaches a predetermined position, the nip roller 50 rotates and descends in response to the position detection signal, and the The phosphor sheet A is captured and its conveyance is continued. That is, the rotational force of the drive roller 28 rotates the first pulley 102, and the rotational force is further transmitted to the second pulley 104 via the belt 106. The rotational force of the second pulley 104 is further transmitted to the third pulley 108 via the belt 110, and the rotational force rotates the transmission roller 34b in the direction of the arrow via the belt 114.
Therefore, the nip roller 50 that is in sliding contact with the transmission roller 34b continues to rotate in the opposite direction to the transmission roller 34b.

Therefore, when the stimulable phosphor sheet A reaches a predetermined position as described above, the nip roller 50 moves away from the transmission roller 34b and descends, reaching the position shown by the broken line. At this time, the stimulable phosphor sheet A reaches directly above the drive roller 28 by the roller pair 26, and therefore the nip roller 50 rotates at the same speed as the conveyance speed of the stimulable phosphor sheet A.
The transport is continued.

According to this embodiment, a belt and a pulley are used to transmit the rotational force of the drive roller 28 to the nip roller 50. Therefore, the configuration of the rotational force transmission mechanism is simplified, and the rotational force of the drive roller 28 can be reliably transmitted to the nip roller 50.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 9 and FIGS. 10a to 10c.

Therefore, in this embodiment, transmission pulleys are provided between the upstream drive roller and the downstream drive roller, and between the upstream nip roller and the downstream nip roller, respectively. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the drive roller 2 to which the motor 29 is connected
8 is configured to transmit its rotational force to the upstream drive roller 26A via the first transmission pulley 206.

On the other hand, above the drive roller 26A is a nip roller 26B that is slidably in contact with the drive roller 26A.
A transmission pulley 212 is further slid on the nip roller 26B. In this case, the transmission pulley 212 is provided with a nip roller 50 located directly above the drive roller 28 .

In the above configuration, first, the upstream drive roller 26A and the nip roller 26B come into sliding contact,
The motor 29 is driven with the drive roller 28 and nip roller 50 on the downstream side separated from each other, and the rotational force of the motor 29 is transmitted to the drive roller 26A via the drive roller 28 and the transmission pulley 206.
At this time, the drive rotor 26A and the nip roller 26B
Since the nip roller 26B is in sliding contact with the nip roller 26B, the nip roller 26B is rotated, and this rotational force is transmitted to the nip roller 50 on the downstream side via the transmission pulley 212. In this state, when the stimulable phosphor sheet A reaches between the drive roller 26A and the nip roller 26B, the stimulable phosphor sheet A is moved between the drive roller 26A and the nip roller 26B.
A and nip roller 26B capture each other while rotating, and start sub-scanning conveyance (Fig. 10a)
reference).

Next, when the stimulable phosphor sheet A is further conveyed and its leading edge reaches the position of the downstream roller pair 27, the nip roller 50 is lowered, and therefore the stimulable phosphor sheet A is transferred to the roller 26A, 26B
and the rollers 28, 50. (See Figure 10b).

When the stimulable phosphor sheet A is sandwiched between the drive roller 28 and the nip roller 50 on the downstream side, the nip roller 26B moves upward, separating from the drive roller 26A and removing the storable phosphor sheet A that was pinched between the nip roller 28 and the nip roller 50. The engagement with the light sheet A is released. Therefore, from then on, the stimulable phosphor sheet A will be conveyed by the rollers 28 and 50.

In this embodiment, the rotational force of the motor 29 is transmitted to the downstream nip roller 50 via the downstream drive roller 28, the transmission pulley 206, the upstream drive roller 26A, the upstream nip roller 26B, and the transmission pulley 212. It will be pre-rotated before capturing A. Therefore, there is an advantage that smooth conveyance of the stimulable phosphor sheet can be achieved with a simple configuration.

As described above, according to the present invention, when an object to be scanned, such as a stimulable phosphor sheet, is sub-transported while being held between two pairs of rollers, the object to be scanned after passing through the image reading section or the image recording section is The tip portion is configured to be held between one drive roller and the other nip roller that rotates in advance at the same rotational speed. For this reason,
Since the impact and the like when the object to be scanned is held between the pair of rollers on the downstream side is reduced as much as possible, the movement of the object to be scanned can be carried out smoothly. Therefore, for example, when irradiating a stimulable phosphor sheet with excitation light, or when recording an image by irradiating a photographic light-sensitive material with laser light, the light beam scanning device can be used to record a clear and clear image. It becomes possible to obtain good image information or visible images. Furthermore, since the structure of the present invention is simple, it can be manufactured at low cost and can be made as compact as possible.

Although the preferred embodiments of the light beam scanning device according to the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not particularly limited to these embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course, the design can be changed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of an image reading device incorporating a light beam scanning device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism in the light beam scanning device according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing the swinging portion of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the structure of the rotational force transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational force of the rotational drive roller to the nip roller, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a front view showing another embodiment of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism in the light beam scanning device according to the present invention; FIG. The figure is a side view of the main part of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism incorporated in the light beam scanning device according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism according to the present invention. 1 is a perspective explanatory view of another embodiment of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism incorporated in the light beam scanning device according to
0A to 0C are explanatory views of the operation of the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism shown in FIG. 9. 10... Image recording/reading device, 12... Room, 14
...Supply magazine, 18...Transport belt, 2
4... Sub-scanning conveyance mechanism, 26, 27... Roller pair, 28... Drive roller, 34... Transmission roller,
42...Arm, 50...Nitsupurora, 56...
... Swinging rod, 62 ... Motor, 66 ... Cam plate, 82 ... Image reading section, 90 ... Galvanometer mirror, 98 ... Erasing section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Two pairs of rollers consisting of a drive roller and a nip roller that sandwich and convey a sheet-like object to be scanned are arranged with a gap shorter than the length of the object to be scanned in the conveyance direction, and The object to be scanned is transported in the sub-scanning direction by a pair of rollers, and main scanning is performed by irradiating a light beam deflected in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sub-scanning transport direction between the pair of rollers. In a light beam scanning device that scans two-dimensionally,
The nip roller constituting at least the pair of rollers on the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction of the two pairs of rollers is configured to be able to slide into and away from the drive roller, and to give a pre-rotation when the nip roller is brought into sliding contact with the drive roller. A light beam scanning device comprising: 2. In the device according to claim 1,
A light beam scanning device comprising a rotational force transmitting means for transmitting the rotational force of the drive roller to the nip roller between the downstream drive roller and the nip roller. 3. In the device according to claim 2,
A light beam scanning device in which the rotational force transmission means includes a transmission roller that is in sliding contact with the drive roller and transmits the rotational force to the nip roller. 4. In the device according to claim 3,
The nip roller and the transmission roller are held by an arm member, and a different rotational force transmission means is provided between the nip roller and the transmission roller to transmit the rotational force of the transmission roller rotated by the drive roller. Light beam scanning device. 5. In the device according to claim 4,
The different rotational force transmission means includes a first pulley that is pivotally supported on the rotational shaft of the transmission roller, a second pulley that is pivotally supported on the rotational shaft of the nip roller, and a link between the first pulley and the second pulley. A light beam scanning device consisting of a belt stretched over the 6. In the device according to claim 4,
A different rotational force transmitting means is a light beam scanning device comprising a transmission roller that is in sliding contact with the transmission roller and the nip roller. 7. In the device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, the arm member has a bending shape, and is pivoted by a swinging arm that is pivotally attached to the rotation shaft of the rotational drive source and rotates eccentrically. When the object to be scanned, which is fed by the pair of upstream rollers by swinging the arm member, reaches a predetermined position, the object to be scanned is moved while rotating the downstream nip roller at the same speed as the transfer speed of the belt conveyor. A light beam scanning device configured to capture a light beam along with the downstream drive roller. 8. In the device according to claim 2,
A light beam scanning device that includes a rotational force transmission means consisting of a belt and a pulley between a drive roller and a nip roller. 9. In the device according to claim 1,
A first transmission roller is in sliding contact with the downstream drive roller, an upstream drive roller is in sliding contact with the first transmission roller, and an upstream nip roller is in sliding contact with the upstream drive roller. A light beam scanning device, wherein the upstream nip rollers are arranged with a narrow distance from each other, and the upstream nip rollers transmit rotational force to the downstream nip rollers via a second transmission roller. 10 In the device according to claim 9, the upstream nip roller is displaceable with respect to the upstream drive roller, while the downstream nip roller is configured to be displaceable with respect to the downstream drive roller. Beam scanning device. 11. A light beam scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the object to be scanned is a stimulable phosphor sheet. 12. A light beam scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which the object to be scanned is made of a photosensitive material.