1. A sheet post-processing apparatus comprising:
a waiting tray that has a first waiting tray unit configured to support sheets, which are conveyed thereto, from a left side in a width direction of the sheets with respect to a conveying direction and a second waiting tray unit configured to support the sheets from a right side in the width direction of the sheets, the waiting tray temporarily holding the sheets;
a pivoting roller that clamps the sheets on the waiting tray;
a pinch roller that clamps the sheets on the waiting tray with the pivoting roller;
a stacking tray that receives the sheets discharged from the waiting tray; and
a controller configured to temporarily stop conveyance of the sheets while the sheets on the waiting tray is kept clamped by the pivoting roller and the pinch roller, and once releases the clamping by the pivoting roller and the pinch roller, and
the controller causes the first waiting tray unit or the second waiting tray unit on which the sheets are stacked to move to the second waiting tray unit side or the first waiting tray unit side by a predetermined amount and controls the waiting tray to push a side of the stacked sheets with a lateral wall of the moving waiting tray unit to sort the sheets.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the waiting tray to sort the sheets in units of a number of sheets up to three.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein, in causing the first waiting tray unit to move to the second waiting tray unit side, the controller also causes the second waiting tray unit to move in a direction away from the first waiting tray unit or, in causing the second waiting tray unit to move to the first waiting tray unit side, the controller also causes the first waiting tray unit to move in a direction away from the second waiting tray unit to increase a sheet moving amount.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the sheets for which the sorting is completed are discharged to the stacking tray by the pivoting roller.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, in causing the first waiting tray unit to move to the second waiting tray unit side, the controller also causes the second waiting tray unit to move in a direction away from the first waiting tray unit or, in causing the second waiting tray unit to move to the first waiting tray unit side, the controller also causes the first waiting tray unit to move in a direction away from the second waiting tray unit to increase a sheet moving amount.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sheets for which the sorting is completed are discharged to the stacking tray by the pivoting roller.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sheet processing apparatus controls the waiting tray such that the moving waiting tray unit returns to an original position before the movement and the first waiting tray unit and the second waiting tray unit alternately perform the series of operations.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the waiting tray includes the first waiting tray unit and the second waiting tray unit as a pair.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein
a processing tray is disposed below the waiting tray, and
the sheet processing apparatus temporarily puts a sheet, which is conveyed anew during processing work in the processing tray or during discharge conveyance of a sheet after the processing, on standby in the waiting tray.
10. An image forming apparatus provided adjacent to a sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus sends a sheet having an image formed thereon into the sheet processing apparatus.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pivoting roller clamps a leading end of the sheets on the waiting tray.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, the controller sorts the sheet on the waiting tray when the sheet number of sheets to sort is less than a predetermined number of sheets.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus for estimating a sensitivity distribution of a multicoil composed of a plurality of RF coils, characterized in that the apparatus comprising:
production means for producing an initial sensitivity map of the multicoil; and
fitting means for obtaining a sensitivity map by fitting GCS (Global Coverage Splines) to the initial sensitivity map.
2. A coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus for estimating a sensitivity distribution of a multicoil composed of a plurality of RF coils, the multicoil being used for parallel MR imaging, characterized in that the apparatus comprising:
production means for producing an initial sensitivity map of the multicoil; and
fitting means for obtaining an unfolding sensitivity map by fitting GCS (Global Coverage Splines) to the initial sensitivity map.
3. The coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the production means is formed into mans for producing the initial sensitivity map by synthesizing pixel values of images acquired respectively by the plurality of RF coils.
4. The coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the production means is formed into means for using, as the initial sensitivity map, an image acquired using a whole-body coil.
5. The coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fitting means has means for performing processing composed of at least one of automatic positioning of a basis function of the GCS, external addition of a target point to an image in performing the unfolding processing, and embedding known information about the sensitivity map for the unfolding processing.
6. The coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the fitting means has means for performing the automatic positioning of the basis function of the GCS, wherein the performance means is formed into means for automatically positioning a grid in which grid points thereof become control points.
7. The coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the production means and the fitting means are configured to apply both the production of the initial sensitivity map and the obtaining processing of the sensitivity map to at least one of absolute value components of MR data and phase components of the MR data.
8. The coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the production means is formed into means for producing a two-dimensional initial sensitivity map of each RF coil based on the echo data and
the fitting means is formed into means for obtaining a two-dimensional unfolding sensitivity map by fitting the GCS to the two-dimensional initial sensitivity map.
9. The coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the production means is formed into means for producing a three-dimensional initial sensitivity map of each RF coil based on the echo data and
the fitting means is formed into means for obtaining a three-dimensional unfolding sensitivity map by fitting the GCS to the two-dimensional initial sensitivity map.
10. The coil sensitivity distribution estimating apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising scanning means for scanning an object to be examined to acquire echo data via the multiple coil, wherein
the production means is formed into means for produce the initial sensitivity map of the multicoil based on the echo data acquired by the scanning means.
11. A coil sensitivity distribution estimating method for estimating a sensitivity distribution of a multicoil composed of a plurality of RF coils, characterized in that the method comprising the steps of:
producing an initial sensitivity map of the multicoil; and
obtaining a sensitivity map by fitting GCS (Global Coverage Splines) to the initial sensitivity map.
12. A coil sensitivity distribution estimating method for estimating a sensitivity distribution of a multicoil composed of a plurality of RF coils, the multicoil being used for parallel MR imaging, characterized in that the method comprising the steps of:
producing an initial sensitivity map of the multicoil; and
obtaining an unfolding sensitivity map by fitting GCS (Global Coverage Splines) to the initial sensitivity map.
13. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for obtaining an MR image of an object to be examined using a multiple coil composed of a plurality of RF coils, characterized in that the apparatus comprising:
first production means for producing first sensitivity maps of the RF coils, respectively, on the basis of echo data received from the plurality of RF coils of the multicoil and acquired from a pre-scan;
second production means for producing second sensitivity maps by fitting GCS (Global Coverage Splines) to the first sensitive maps, respectively;
reconstruction means for reconstructing echo data scanned by parallel MR imaging and received via the plurality of RF coils of the multicoil; and
imaging obtaining means for obtaining the MR image by processing an image reconstructed by the reconstruction means, the processing including unfolding processing carried out using the second sensitivity maps.
14. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first production means comprises scanning means for obtaining a volume data made up of three-dimensional echo data by performing the pre-scan and calculation means for calculating, as the first sensitivity map, a first three-dimensional sensitivity map of each RF coil on the basis of the volume coil, and
the second production mans is formed into means for fitting the GCS to each three-dimensional first sensitivity map to obtain, as the second sensitivity map, a second three-dimensional sensitivity map.
15. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the image obtaining means comprises cutting means for cutting out a sectional sensitivity map from the second three-dimensional sensitivity map depending on the image reconstructed by the reconstruction means and unfolding means for performing the unfolding processing with the use of the sectional two-dimensional map cut out by the cutting means.
16. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first production means is formed into means for producing the first sensitivity map by synthesizing pixel values of images acquired respectively by the plurality of RF coils.
17. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the second production means has means for performing processing composed of at least one of automatic positioning of a basis function of the GCS, external addition of a target point to an image in performing the unfolding processing, and embedding known information about the sensitivity map for the unfolding processing.
18. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the second production means has means for performing the automatic positioning of the basis function of the GCS, wherein the performance means is formed into means for automatically positioning a grid in which grid points thereof become control points
19. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus in which a magnetic gradient and a radio frequency signal is applied to an object to be examined placed in a static magnetic filed in accordance with a parallel MR imaging technique, an MR (magnetic resonance) signal emanating from the object is received by a multicoil composed of a plurality of element coils, and the MR signal received by the individual element coils is subjected to imaging, characterized in that the apparatus comprising:
a receiver configured to receive and process each of the MR signals individually received by the plurality of element coils so that reception signal is produced; and
a calculator configured to have the functions of:
producing an initial sensitivity map of the multicoil from a plurality of sets of reception data produced individually from the receiver through a preparation scan;
fitting GCS (Global Coverage Splines) to the initial sensitivity map to obtain an unfolding sensitivity map; and
producing an image based on the first imaging technique using a plurality of sets of reception data produced individually from the receiver through an imaging scan and the unfolding sensitivity map.