KR101817315B1 - Image plate transferring device and image plate scanner using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An image plate conveying apparatus according to the present invention is an image plate conveying apparatus for conveying an image plate having a magnetic body from top to bottom in a belt hole formed along a conveying direction of the image plate, A support plate supporting the image plate; A conveyance belt inserted in the belt hole and formed with at least one engaging projection; And a rotation driving unit for rotating the conveyance belt, wherein the image plate inserted at the top of the support plate is mounted on the upper side of the engagement projection and is conveyed to the magnetic section to be attached to the support plate, And the image plate is conveyed to the lower portion of the support plate by the lower side of the latching protrusion.
According to the present invention, the image plate is supported on the support plate for supporting the image plate without being conveyed and supported by the conveyance belt, thereby minimizing the vibration during image plate reaction.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image plate conveying apparatus and an image plate scanner using the same,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an image plate conveying apparatus and image plate scanner using the image plate conveying apparatus, and more particularly to an image plate conveying apparatus capable of minimizing vibration during image plate conveyance by conveying an image plate having a magnetic body from top to bottom And an image plate scanner using the same.

Today, X-ray detection apparatuses that take a picture of a patient's body part by using the transmission property of the X-ray for medical use are widely used. An X-ray is a ray of light with a short wavelength that easily penetrates an object, and the amount of X-rays transmitted through the object depends on the density inside the object.

The image plate may be an imaging plate (IP) or a photostimulable phosphor (PSP) plate, the information plate inside which information is stored according to the amount of X-rays transmitted through the subject positioned on the rear side of the subject during the X-ray radiography. When the image plate is initially exposed by the X-ray, electrons in the phosphor or the phosphor layer are excited to become a metastable state having a higher energy than the state of the conduction band. The level at which electrons are excited varies according to the amount of the X-rays transmitted through the subject, and the information inside the object is stored as an image using the level.

When the image plate on which the image information is stored is re-exposed by low-frequency light (generally, red laser light), the excited energy returns to the conduction band and the excited energy is emitted. The emitted energy is in the form of blue light . The emitted blue light is collected through a light receiving element such as a PMT (Photo Multiplier Tube) or APD (Avalanche Photo Diode), and the image information can be displayed on a display through an ADC (Analog Digital Converter). Also, after the image plate is scanned, the image plate can be reused repeatedly by exposing the image plate to red or white light to erase the residual image information remaining on the image plate, and the image plate can be reused repeatedly theoretically several thousands of times.

The X-ray detecting apparatus is a device using the characteristics of the X-ray and image plate. The X-ray detecting apparatus generally includes a scan unit for converting image information stored in the image plate into image data upon irradiation with irradiation light, And a conveying section for conveying the image plate so as to pass through the image plate.

Conventionally, it has been common that the image plate is horizontally conveyed by the carry section and passes the scan section formed under the scan section. However, since the image plate is small and light, it is very vulnerable to vibration. However, there is a problem that the image plate is conveyed while being supported by the conveyor belt is vulnerable to vibration due to unexpected warping or lifting of the belt.

In order to solve this problem, there has been developed a method of inserting an image plate into a mobile unit with a mobile unit so that the mobile unit passes through the scan section while fixing the image plate. However, this increases the volume of the transfer device itself, And the manufacturing cost is increased.

In this regard, U.S. Patent No. 6,355,938 discloses an image plate transport apparatus.

U.S. Patent No. 6,355,938

An object of the present invention is to provide an image plate transporting apparatus and image plate scanner using the same, There is a purpose in.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image plate conveying apparatus for conveying an image plate having a magnetic body from top to bottom, A support plate supporting the image plate, wherein a magnetic section for applying attraction to the image plate is formed; A conveyance belt inserted in the belt hole and formed with at least one engaging projection; And a rotation driving unit for rotating the conveyance belt, wherein the image plate inserted at the top of the support plate is mounted on the upper side of the engagement projection and is conveyed to the magnetic section to be attached to the support plate, And the image plate is conveyed to the lower portion of the support plate by the lower side of the latching protrusion.

Here, the conveyor belt is inserted into the belt hole such that the belt surface of the conveyor belt does not protrude from the support plate, and the engagement protrusion protrudes from the support plate.

The magnetic section may be formed in a certain region of the support plate along the longitudinal direction of the support plate with the belt hole therebetween.

In addition, a guide bar may be further provided on both sides of the support plate so as to protrude from the support plate.

The rotation driving unit may include: a pair of belt pulleys connected to the conveyance belt; A worm gear connected to one of the pair of belt pulleys; A worm wheel connected to the worm gear; And a motor connected to the worm wheel.

Meanwhile, the image plate scanner according to the present invention is characterized in that the image plate conveying device; A light source unit for emitting illumination light to the image plate; A scan unit for converting signal light including image information emitted from the image plate into an electrical signal by the irradiation light; And erasing the residual image information of the image plate.

Here, the image plate inserting unit is formed on an upper portion of the support plate, and the image plate discharging unit is formed in a lower portion of the support plate.

In addition, the image plate inserting portion is formed with a slanted entrance structure.

The image plate discharging unit may be formed at a predetermined distance from the bottom of the image plate conveying apparatus.

The control unit may further include a control unit that controls the rotation driving unit, and the conveyance belt is rotated by a predetermined number of rotations in accordance with the rotation driving unit control of the control unit.

The image forming apparatus may further include a control unit for controlling the scan unit and the rotation driving unit. The scan unit senses that the image plate is inserted and transmits a detection signal to the control unit. The control unit controls the rotation driving unit, And the belt is rotated.

The display unit may further include a display unit for displaying the image information converted into an electrical signal by the scan unit.

The image plate conveying apparatus and the image plate scanner using the same according to the present invention can minimize vibration during image plate conveyance, have a small volume, and can reduce manufacturing cost. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a user with an image plate conveying apparatus which can minimize the vibration during conveyance of an image plate and perform stable scanning, a small volume of the entire apparatus, and an economical image plate conveying apparatus and an image plate scanner using the same.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional image plate scanner.
2 is a perspective view of an image plate transporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a conceptual view of the operation of FIG.
4 is a side cross-sectional view of a support plate into which a conveyance belt is inserted.
5 is a front view of the support plate.
6 is a plan view of the support plate with the conveyor belt inserted thereupon as viewed from above.
7 is a flowchart showing a process of conveying an image plate by the image plate conveyance apparatus.
8 is a schematic side view of an image plate scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a schematic side view of an image plate scanner according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an image plate transporting apparatus and an image plate scanner using the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to be illustrative of and in a mature and descriptive sense only and is not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Lt; / RTI >

Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements, and a detailed description of known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the essentials of the present invention will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional image plate scanner. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional scanner has a structure in which an image plate is transported in a horizontal direction under the scanning device. At this time, the image plate is generally conveyed while being supported by the conveyance belt, and this conveyance mode necessarily affects the image plate to the vibration of the belt.

The image plate transport apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention transports the image plate 10 having the magnetic body from the upper side to the lower side and the image plate 10 is supported by the transport belt 200 and is not transported, The vibrations transmitted from the conveyor belt 200 to the image plate 10 can be minimized by being supported on and supported by the support plate 100 supporting the conveyor belt 10.

The support plate 100 may be disposed upright on the ground to transport the image plate 10 from the upper portion to the lower portion and the upper and lower portions of the support plate 100 may be determined as the upper portion is raised from the ground. The fact that the support plate 100 is erected from the ground means that the image plate 10 can be dropped from the upper portion to the lower portion along the support plate 100 by gravity and includes a case where the image plate 10 is disposed perpendicularly to the ground, It is not.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image plate conveying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a conceptual view of the operation of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the support plate 100 into which the conveyance belt 200 is inserted.

The image plate conveying apparatus includes a support plate 100 for supporting an image plate 10 provided with a magnetic body, a conveyor belt 200 inserted into the belt hole 110 of the support plate 100, And a rotation driving unit 300.

As described above, the image plate 10 is an image pickup plate for storing image information at the time of X-ray imaging, and may include a magnetic body. A magnetic body is a material having attraction in a magnetic field, more precisely, ferromagnetic, such as iron, nickel, cobalt or an alloy thereof.

The image plate 10 having a magnetic body may be formed by applying a phosphor or a fluorescent material onto a plate made of a magnetic material or by attaching a magnetic material to the image plate 10, May be formed by attaching a strip bar made of a magnetic material to the rear surface of the image plate, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the image plate transporting apparatus according to the present invention can transport a PSP plate as a dental x-ray film. The PSP plate can be formed by applying a barium-based mixture and a phosphorescent material such as a resin, It is not.

5, a belt hole 110 is formed in the support plate 100 along the longitudinal direction of the support plate 100 and the image plate 10 is separated from the support plate 100 when the image plate 10 is conveyed. A guide bar 130 may be further provided on both sides of the support plate 100 so as to protrude from the support plate 100. That is, the guide bar 130 may be formed on both sides of the support plate 100 to be equal to or wider than the width of the image plate 10, thereby forming a kind of guide rail.

A magnetic section 120 for applying attraction to the image plate 10 is formed on the support plate 100. The magnetic section 120 includes a portion of a support plate provided with a magnetic member . The image section 10 is attached to the support plate 100 in the magnetic section 120. The magnetic section 120 may be determined in consideration of the position of the scan section 500, Which is required for scanning the image plate 10 at a predetermined time. For example, if the scan unit 500 is disposed in the middle of the longitudinal direction of the support plate 100 as shown in FIG. 8, the magnetic member may include a portion including a middle portion of the support plate 100 in the longitudinal direction And the magnetic section 120 may be formed in a section including the middle of the longitudinal direction of the support plate 100. [

At least one locking protrusion 210 may be formed on the conveyor belt 200. The image plate inserted at the upper portion of the support plate 100 is placed on the upper side of the latching protrusion 210 and transferred to the magnetic section 120 to be attached to the support plate 100. The image plate 100 attached to the support plate, And is conveyed to the lower side of the support plate 100 by the lower side of the support plate 210.

The conveyor belt 200 is disposed adjacent to the support plate 100 by being inserted into the belt hole 110 of the support plate 100. The belt surface 220 of the conveyor belt 200 is not protruded from the support plate 100 The engaging protrusion 210 is inserted into the belt hole 110 so as to protrude from the support plate 100. That is, the belt surface 220 of the conveyor belt 200 is located on the rear side of the image plate 10 and the surface on which the support plate 100 is formed so as to contact with the image plate 10, The conveyor belt 200 is inserted into the belt hole 110 so as to protrude so as to come in contact with the lower side and the upper side of the plate 10. 6 is a plan view showing that the conveyor belt 200 is inserted into the belt hole 110 of the support plate 100. As shown in the figure, the conveyor belt 200 is configured such that the engagement protrusions 210 protrude from the support plate 100 It is preferable that the locking protrusion 210 is not protruded from the guide bar 130. [

Hereinafter, the image plate 10 is transported along the image plate transport apparatus according to the present invention with reference to FIG. 7. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7 (a), when the image plate 10 is inserted into the upper portion of the support plate, the image plate 10 is dropped until it is seated above the first latching protrusion of the latching protrusion 210.

Thereafter, the image plate 10 is conveyed in the lower direction of the support plate 100 by driving the conveyor belt 200 while being seated on the upper side of the first engaging projection.

7 (b), when the image plate 10 reaches the magnetic section 120, the image plate 10 is attached to the support plate 100, and the first engaging projection is engaged with the conveyance belt 200 Continue to follow.

7 (c), the image plate 10 attached to the support plate 100 is brought into contact with the lower side of the second latching protrusion, which rotates following the first latching protrusion, and the second latching protrusion And is conveyed in the lower direction of the support plate 100 by driving the lower side of the machine and the conveyance belt 200. [

7 (d), the image plate 10 is discharged to the lower portion of the support plate 100 by the second locking protrusion 210.

As described above, in the image plate transporting apparatus according to the present invention, the image plate 10 is supported by the support plate 100 without the image plate 10 being supported by the transport belt 200 during transport of the image plate 10 The vibration transmitted to the image plate 10 due to the unexpected warping or dangling of the conveyor belt 200 can be minimized.

Further, since the image plate 10 is attached to the support plate 100 on which the magnetic section 120 is formed, the image plate 10 can be fixed without a separate fixing device, .

In addition, since the image plate inserting unit for inserting the image plate 10 and the image plate discharging unit for discharging the image plate 10 are separated, the time for transporting one image plate 10 can be shortened, The image forming apparatus 10 can be continuously transported. Thus, when the image plate 10 is scanned using the image plate transporting apparatus according to the present invention, the operation efficiency can be increased.

3, the rotation driving unit 300 for rotating the conveyor belt 200 includes a belt pulley connected to the inner circumferential surface of the conveyor belt 200 and configured to transmit rotational force to the conveyor belt 200, A worm wheel connected to the belt pulley for transmitting a rotational force to the belt pulley, a worm gear connected to the worm wheel via a shaft orthogonal to the worm wheel for changing the direction of the rotational force, and a motor for transmitting the rotational force to the worm gear. If the worm gear and the worm wheel are used as described above, the light image plate 10 can be transported without vibration of the motor, the vibration can be minimized, and the motor can be easily loaded. Also, the worm gear and the worm wheel can be used to adjust the gear ratio with respect to the unit response angle of the motor, and the moving speed of the image plate 10 can be adjusted to a desired size.

Hereinafter, an image plate scanner using the above-described image plate transporting apparatus will be described.

8, the image plate scanner according to the present invention includes a light source unit 400 that emits illumination light for scanning the image plate 10, a scan unit 500 that scans the image plate 10, (600) for erasing the residual image information remaining on the image plate (10) irradiated with the irradiation light passing through the image plate transporting apparatus (500) can be formed in combination with the image plate transporting apparatus according to the present invention.

The light source unit 400 emits illumination light for scanning the image plate 10, and the illumination light may be red laser light as low frequency light as described above.

The scan unit 500 includes a light receiving element for converting the irradiated light emitted from the light source unit 400 into an electrical signal when the image plate 10 emits the signal light including the image information from the image plate 10 can do. The scan unit 500 scans the image plate 10 by acquiring image information stored in the image plate 10 by the light receiving element as an electrical signal.

The rejection 600 may include a red LED in the 600 to 660 nm band and is emitted to the image plate 10 to emit the remaining image remaining on the image plate 10 after the irradiation light is irradiated to the image plate 10 Information can be erased.

At this time, the light source 400, the scan unit 500, the reject unit 600 and the like are combined with the image plate conveying apparatus according to the present invention, so that a kind of guide pipe having the support plate 100 as one surface can be formed. The guide pipe may be formed with an image plate inserting portion through which the image plate 10 is inserted in the upper portion of the support plate 100. A lower portion of the support plate 100 is provided with an image plate exhaust An additional portion may be formed. That is, an image plate inserting unit including an opening into which the image plate 10 is inserted is formed on the upper part of the support plate 100, and an image plate discharging unit including an opening through which the image plate 10 is discharged is formed below the support plate 100 .

2, the image plate inserting unit may include a sloping entrance structure in which the support plate 100 forming one side of the image plate inserting unit is disposed at an angle with a predetermined angle. This reduces the inflow of disturbance light from the outside into the inside of the support plate 100 (that is, inside the guide pipe with the support plate 100 as one face), and the image plate 10 is inserted into the image plate insertion portion, The image plate 10 can be stably placed on the upper side of the latching protrusion 210 by reducing the speed of the image plate 10 which is seated on the upper side of the latching plate 210. [

The image plate discharging unit may be spaced apart from the bottom of the image plate conveying apparatus by a predetermined distance. The predetermined interval may be an interval that allows the image plate 10 to be completely discharged in consideration of the length of the image plate 10 . This eliminates the need for a separate venting structure for venting the image plate 10 inserted into the guide pipe with the support plate 100 as one side, thereby reducing the size and manufacturing cost of the entire apparatus.

The conveyor belt 200 rotates by a predetermined number of rotations under the control of the rotation driving unit 300 of the control unit (not shown), and the conveyor belt 200 rotates by a predetermined rotation angle so that the locking projection 210 does not block the image plate insertion unit 140 As shown in Fig.

Meanwhile, when the image plate 10 is inserted into the image plate inserting unit, the intensity of the disturbance light entering the light receiving device of the scan unit 500 is reduced, and the light receiving device recognizes the disturbance light and inserts the image plate into the control unit And the conveyance belt 200 can be rotated according to the control of the rotation driving unit 300 of the control unit (not shown). Therefore, it is possible to drive the conveyor belt 200 without a separate additional sensor, thereby reducing the volume and manufacturing cost of the image plate scanner as a whole.

9, the image plate scanner according to another embodiment of the present invention may further include a display unit 700 that outputs image information converted into an electrical signal by the scan unit 500 to the outside and displays the image information have. That is, when the light receiving element of the scan unit 500 converts the signal light including the image information into an electrical signal, the signal light can be output through the display unit 700. Accordingly, it is possible to provide convenience to the user who uses the image plate scanner according to the present invention.

As described above, the image plate conveying apparatus and the image plate scanner using the image plate conveying apparatus can minimize vibration during conveyance of the image plate 10, reduce the volume of the entire apparatus, and reduce the manufacturing cost.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It is self-evident that it is possible to transform. Accordingly, it is intended that the technical scope of the present invention be defined only by the appended claims, and that all equivalent or equivalent variations thereof fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

10: image plate with magnetic substance
100: Support plate
110: Belt hole
120: magnetic section
130: Guide Bar
200: conveying belt
210:
220: Belt side
300:
400: light source part
500: scan unit
600: refuse
700:

Claims (12)

An image plate conveying apparatus for conveying an image plate provided with a magnetic body from an upper side to a lower side,
A supporting plate for supporting the image plate, wherein a belt hole is formed along the conveying direction of the image plate, a magnetic section for applying attraction to the image plate is formed, and the image plate is supported;
A conveyance belt inserted in the belt hole and having a plurality of locking projections; And
And a rotation driving unit for rotationally driving the conveyance belt,
An image plate inserting portion into which the image plate is inserted is formed on an upper portion of the support plate,
An image plate discharge unit for discharging the image plate is formed at a lower portion of the support plate,
Wherein the image plate inserted in the image plate inserting portion is seated on the upper side of the first engaging projection of the plurality of engaging projections and transferred to the magnetic section and attached to the support plate,
Wherein the image plate attached to the support plate is conveyed to a lower portion of the support plate by a lower side of a second engagement protrusion that rotates following the first engagement protrusion and is discharged to the image plate discharge portion.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the conveyor belt is inserted into the belt hole such that the belt surface of the conveyor belt does not protrude from the support plate while the engagement protrusion protrudes from the support plate.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the magnetic section is formed in a predetermined section of the support plate along the longitudinal direction of the support plate with the belt hole interposed therebetween.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a guide bar protruding from the support plate on both sides of the support plate.
The method according to claim 1,
The rotation drive unit includes:
A pair of belt pulleys connected to the conveyor belt;
A worm gear connected to one of the pair of belt pulleys;
A worm wheel connected to the worm gear; And
And a motor connected to the worm wheel.
An image plate conveying device according to claim 1;
A light source unit for emitting illumination light to the image plate;
A scan unit for converting signal light including image information emitted from the image plate into an electrical signal by the irradiation light; And
And canceling the residual image information of the image plate.
delete The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the image plate inserting unit is formed of a slanted entrance structure.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the image plate discharging unit is spaced apart from the bottom of the image plate transporting unit by a predetermined distance.
The method according to claim 6,
And a control unit for controlling the rotation driving unit,
Wherein the conveyance belt rotates by a predetermined number of rotations in accordance with the rotation driving unit control of the control unit.
The method according to claim 6,
And a control unit for controlling the scan unit and the rotation driving unit,
Wherein the scan unit detects that the image plate is inserted and transmits a detection signal to the control unit, and the control unit controls the rotation driving unit to rotate the conveyance belt.
The method according to claim 6,
And a display unit for externally displaying image information converted into an electrical signal by the scanning unit.

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