Device for detecting information contained in a phosphor layer

• US 7,247,874 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2004
• Issued: 07/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Agfa-Gevaert Healthcare GmbH (Agfa-Gevaert N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Agfa-Gevaert Healthcare GmbH (Agfa-Gevaert N.V.)
• Inventors: Bode, Andreas, Reiser, Georg
• Primary Examiner(s): Porta; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rosenberger; Frederick F
• Application Number:
  US10/853,301
• Publication Number:
  US 20040238765A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• Field of Search: 250/584, 250/585, 250/586
• US Class Current: 250/585
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/2014 Reading out of stimulable sheets, e.g. latent image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/02815 Means for illuminating the original, not specific to a particular type of pick-up head
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0285 in combination with at least one reflector which is in fixed relation to the light source
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/02865 using an array of light sources or a combination of such arrays, e.g. an LED bar

Abstract

Device for detecting information which is contained in a phosphor layer, with multiple individual radiation sources for emitting stimulation light incident upon the phosphor layer along a stimulation line and suitable for stimulating emission light in the phosphor layer, and a detector for detecting the emission light which is stimulated in the phosphor layer. To ensure the highest possible quality of the detected image, an elongated concave mirror is provided, for focusing the stimulation light emitted by the individual radiation sources onto the phosphor layer.

Claims

1. Device for detecting information which is contained in a phosphor layer, comprising:

multiple individual radiation sources for emitting stimulation light incident upon the phosphor layer along a stimulation line and suitable for stimulating emission light in the phosphor layer,

a detector for detecting the emission light which is stimulated in the phosphor layer, and

an elongated concave mirror for focusing the stimulation light emitted by the individual radiation sources onto the phosphor layer,

wherein the concave mirror has an optical axis in a plane of a cross-section of the concave mirror and said optical axis cuts the concave mirror in a vertex (S),

wherein the radiation sources are tilted by a tilt angle (ω

) around the vertex (S) relative to the optical axis of the concave mirror, and

wherein there is a distance (d) between the radiation sources and/or the stimulation line on the one hand and the vertex (S) on the other hand, said distance (d) running along said optical axis in the plane of the cross-section of the concave mirror and satisfying the relationship d=R cos²ω

, where R designates a radius of curvature of the concave mirror.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the individual radiation sources are arranged along a line which runs parallel to the stimulation line.

3. Device according to claim 1, wherein the individual radiation sources each emit stimulation light bundles, which are focused by the concave mirror onto the stimulation line and at least partly superimpose on the stimulation line.

4. Device according to claim 1, wherein the concave mirror is arranged parallel to the stimulation line.

5. Device according to claim 1, wherein the concave mirror is in the form of a cylinder mirror, which in cross-section has the form of a circular arc.

6. Device according to claim 1, wherein the concave mirror is in the form of a cylinder mirror, the cross-section of which is aspherical.

7. Device according to claim 6, wherein the concave mirror is in the form of a cylinder mirror, which in cross-section has the form of an arc of an ellipse or parabola.

8. Device according to claim 1, wherein the detector has multiple detector elements which are arranged parallel to the stimulation line.

9. Device for detecting information which is contained in a phosphor layer, comprising:

multiple individual radiation sources for emitting stimulation light incident upon the phosphor layer along a stimulation line and suitable for stimulating emission light in the phosphor layer,

a detector for detecting the emission light which is stimulated in the phosphor layer, and

a single elongated concave mirror for focusing the stimulation light emitted by the individual radiation sources onto the phosphor layer with no other concave mirrors being used between the individual radiation sources and the phosphor layer,

wherein the concave mirror has an optical axis in a plane of a cross-section of the concave mirror and said optical axis cuts the concave mirror in a vertex (S),

wherein the radiation sources are tilted by a tilt angle (ω

) around the vertex (S) relative to the optical axis of the concave mirror, and

wherein there is a distance (d) between the radiation sources and/or the stimulation line on the one hand and the vertex (S) on the other hand, said distance (d) running along said optical axis in the plane of the cross-section of the concave mirror and satisfying the relationship d =R cos²ω

, where R designates a radius of curvature of the concave mirror.

10. A method for detecting information which is contained in a phosphor layer, the method comprising:

providing a concave mirror with an optical axis in a plane of a cross-section of the concave mirror, the optical axis cutting the concave mirror in a vertex,

tilting a source of stimulation light by a tilt angle around the vertex relative to the optical axis of the concave mirror,

setting a distance between the source of stimulation light and/or stimulation line measured along the optical axis of the concave mirror to be proportional to the square of the cosine of the tilt angle;

generating the stimulation light and focusing the stimulation light with the concave mirror onto the phosphor layer to form the stimulation line and stimulating emission light in the phosphor layer, and

detecting the emission light which is stimulated in the phosphor layer.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the step of setting the distance between the source of stimulation light and/or the stimulation line comprises setting the distance to be proportional to the product of a radius of curvature of the concave mirror and the square of the cosine of the tilt angle.