Automatic machine for unloading and reloading of plates in cassettes, particularly radiographs

Automatic machine for receiving a cassette with an exposed plate, having any of a wide variety of sizes, opening the cassette, unloading the exposed plate, reloading with an unexposed plate of appropriate size, and closing and ejecting the cassette, comprising:

• a loading plane, including first sensor means for detecting the presence of a cassette thereon, and further including input and output station means, which contain a means for hermetic protection against light, for gripping and conveying the cassettes inside the machine when the presence of a cassette is detected by said first sensor means and for taking the cassettes out of the machine;
• a first conveyor means, placed behind said input and output station means, for receiving the entering cassette and for transferring the cassette inside the machine;
• control means, including a first stop, for stopping the movement of said first conveyor means and for changing the direction of said first conveyor means to supply said input and output station means with the reloaded cassette during the phase of ejection of the cassette from the machine;
• a pushing means for the positioning of the cassette in orthogonal direction with respect to the moving direction of the cassette on said first conveyor means;
• second sensor means, placed laterally to said first conveyor means for determining the span of said pushing means and for detecting the lateral dimension of the cassette;
• unlocking means for unlocking of the cassette, placed above said first conveyor means, the operation of said unlocking means being controlled by said second sensor means;
• opening means, operating in synchronization with said unlocking means, for rotating the cassette cover from the originally closed position into the open position of the cassette, said opening means including first suckers;
• plate removing means for taking off the exposed plate, from inside the cassette, said plate removing means being timed with said opening means and including second sucker means for taking the plate out of the cassette and transferring the plate onto a second conveyor means, placed inside a tunnel with hermetic protection against light, for the output of the plate from the machine;
• a plurality of magazine drawers for storing plates to be forwarded singly to the cassettes, from where the exposed plate had been previously taken off;
• a plurality of feeding ducts, each having an inlet corresponding to one of said magazine drawers;
• a plurality of plate transfer means, one corresponding to each of said magazine drawers, for taking a plate from one of said magazine drawers and transferring the plate to the corresponding one of said feeding duct inlets, each of said plate transfer means including second suckers to hold the plates, the particular plate transfer means which is activated, corresponding to the desired magazine drawer, being controlled by said second sensor means and the position of said pushing means;
• loading means for transferring the plate from said feeding ducts to the open cassette;
• and
• closing means for closing and locking the cover of the cassette, thereby preparing the reloaded cassette for ejection by said input and output station means.