	US 7,507,983 B2
	Radiation image information reading apparatus
Yoshihiro Ishikawa, Kanagawa-ken (Japan); Masakazu Nakajo, Minami-ashigara (Japan); Osamu Kuroda, Fujisawa (Japan); Yuzuru Ohtsuka, Minami-ashigara (Japan); Hideki Suzuki, Kanagawa-ken (Japan); and Yasunori Ohta, Hadano (Japan)
Assigned to FUJIFILM Corporation, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Sep. 14, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/225,164.
Claims priority of application No. 2004-272464 (JP), filed on Sep. 17, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2006/0060803 A1, Mar. 23, 2006
Int. Cl. G01N 23/04 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 250—584

9 Claims

1. An apparatus for reading radiation image information, comprising:

a cassette loader for loading a cassette storing therein a stimulable phosphor panel with radiation image information recorded therein;

a reading unit for applying stimulating light to said stimulable phosphor panel which is removed from said cassette supplied from said cassette loader to emit light from said stimulable phosphor panel, and photoelectrically reading the light emitted from said stimulable phosphor panel to obtain the radiation image information recorded in said stimulable phosphor panel;

an erasing unit for applying erasing light to said stimulable phosphor panel to erase remaining radiation image information therefrom;

a cassette discharger for discharging said cassette storing said stimulable phosphor panel therein;

said cassette loader having detecting means disposed in alignment with a particular area of said cassette which is loaded in a certain state, for detecting information of said particular area, whereby the loaded state of said cassette in said cassette loader is determined based on the information detected by said detecting means,

wherein said detecting means comprises an image capturing means for capturing image information representing a shape or a pattern of said particular area, and

wherein said image capturing means performs imaging by a charge-coupled device to produce an image signal to determine an orientation of the cassette.