CN217060526U - Conveying device and inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a transfer device defining a transfer channel in a first direction, comprising: a support frame having a support face extending in a first direction for supporting conveyed articles in a support direction; in a second direction, the area of the support surface near the midline is recessed opposite the support direction relative to the area of the support surface near the sides, wherein the second direction is transverse to the first direction. An inspection apparatus is also provided.

Description

Conveying device and inspection apparatus

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of security inspection. In particular, the present invention relates to a conveyor and an inspection apparatus.

Background

CT inspection devices are widely used for a variety of inspections and are now used for security inspection of luggage items. In a CT examination apparatus, for example, an X-ray CT generator and a detector are mounted on a circular bearing and perform a rotational motion. The space defined by the central bore of the circular bearing constitutes the inspection channel.

It is desirable to provide an inspection apparatus with improved performance capable of improving inspection efficiency without increasing cost.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyor configured to convey articles in a first direction, the conveyor comprising a support frame having a support surface extending in the first direction for supporting conveyed articles in a support direction; wherein in a second direction, the area of the support surface near the midline is recessed opposite the support direction with respect to the area of the support surface near the sides, wherein the second direction is transverse to the first direction.

In one embodiment, the transfer device further comprises a plurality of flexible members, each of the plurality of flexible members being supported by the support surface and being movable around the periphery of the support frame,

wherein the plurality of flexible members extend in a first direction on the support surface and are movable in the first direction.

In one embodiment, a plurality of flexible members are distributed on the support surface spaced from each other in the second direction.

In one embodiment, the support surface is cambered in the second direction; or alternatively

Wherein the support surface includes a plurality of regions having a polygonal cross-section in the second direction.

In one embodiment, a plurality of deflection wheels are respectively provided on end faces of both end portions of the support frame, each deflection wheel guiding a corresponding one of the plurality of flexible pieces to travel away from the support surface and along the end face of the support frame in a direction opposite to a normal direction of the support surface.

In one embodiment, a plurality of steering wheels are arranged on the end faces of both ends of the support frame and along the contour of the support surface in the second direction on the end faces of both ends, wherein on the right side of the lowest position of the contour of the support surface the steering wheels are arranged to support the flexure on the left side of the flexure corresponding thereto and on the left side of the lowest position of the contour the steering wheels are arranged to support the flexure on the right side of the flexure corresponding thereto.

In one embodiment, the plurality of steered wheels on the end face of one of the two end portions of the support frame are denser than the plurality of steered wheels on the end face of the other end portion.

In one embodiment, the support surface includes a plurality of grooves, each of the plurality of flexures is disposed within a corresponding one of the plurality of grooves, and at least a portion of each of the plurality of flexures protrudes outside of the support surface.

In one embodiment, the transfer device further comprises a drive shaft disposed on an opposite side of the support frame from the support surface, wherein the plurality of flexible members pass around an outer surface of the drive shaft to be driven by the drive shaft.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an inspection apparatus comprising the conveying device as described above.

In one embodiment, the inspection apparatus further comprises an inspection device through which the conveyor passes such that the inspection device rotates around at least part of the conveyor to obtain three-dimensional information of the object under inspection on the conveyor.

Drawings

One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a detection device according to an embodiment of the disclosure, the left part being an end view and the right part being a side view.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic of a cross section of a transfer device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of a cross-section of a transfer device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 shows a partially enlarged schematic view of an end face of a conveyor according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of an inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the left drawing being a schematic end view and the right drawing being a partially enlarged schematic end view.

Fig. 6 shows a top view of a support surface of a conveyor according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

In the following embodiments, the terms "first", "second", "third", and the like are used to distinguish different components, rather than to rank or represent primary and secondary. The terms "upper", "lower", and the like in the specification indicate orientation and do not mean absolute orientation, but indicate relative position between components.

As shown in fig. 1, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a conveyor for conveying an article in a first direction (e.g., from left to right as indicated by the arrow in fig. 1), the conveyor including a support frame 10, the support frame 10 having a support surface 10-1 extending in the first direction, the support surface 10-1 being for supporting the conveyed article in a support direction. In the present embodiment, in the second direction (in the left part of fig. 1, the first direction may be from left to right or from right to left), the region of the support surface 10-1 near the center line is recessed in the opposite direction to the support direction with respect to the regions of the support surface 10-1 near both sides, or may be considered as being recessed downward. In the present embodiment, the second direction is a transverse direction to the first direction. The conveyor of this embodiment allows more items to be conveyed supported on the support surface 10-1 because the support surface 10-1 has a concave configuration, or can be considered to have a concave or recessed cavity.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the cross-section of the support surface 10-1 is drawn as an arc, and in FIG. 1, the center region of the support surface 10-1 is recessed, and both side regions of the support surface 10-1 are positioned higher than the regions near the center; or, the region near the center line of the support surface 10-1 is located lower than the regions on both sides of the support surface 10-1.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of support surface 10-1, support surface 10-1 being arcuate in shape, the concavity of support surface 10-1 allowing more items to be supported on support surface 10-1 than flat support surface 10-1 when conveying items due to the concavity of the central region; also, due to the arc shape of the support surface 10-1, conveyed articles tend to concentrate toward the middle and thus are less likely to fall off the support surface 10-1. In, for example, an inspection apparatus, the inspection apparatus can inspect more articles at a time without increasing the entire volume due to the provision of the recess.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a support surface 10-1 of another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the present embodiment, the support surface 10-1 includes a plurality of regions having a polygonal shape in section along the second direction. As shown in fig. 3, the support surface 10-1 is composed of inclined surfaces at both sides and a flat surface in the middle. In this embodiment, the plane located lower is located near the middle area, and the inclined surfaces, i.e., the support surface 10-1 inclined from the upper position to the lower position, are located near both sides of the support surface 10-1. The support surface 10-1 of this embodiment has an increased volume over a flat support form due to the concave shape of the support surface 10-1.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the support surface 10-1 may also have other forms, for example, the support surface 10-1 is polygonal, and other shapes may be derived from embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 1, the conveying device further includes a plurality of flexible members 11, each of the plurality of flexible members 11 is supported by the supporting surface 10-1 and can move around the periphery of the supporting frame 10, in other words, each flexible member 11 moves at least on the supporting surface 10-1, or each flexible member 11 moves through the supporting surface 10-1, so as to drive the movement of the articles on the supporting surface 10-1. In this embodiment, the support frame 10 or the support surface 10-1 of the support frame 10 itself does not move, and the articles of the support surface 10-1 are moved on the support surface 10-1 by the driving of the flexible members 11. In this embodiment, the conveyed article is pressed against the flexible member 11 when it is on the supporting surface 10-1, and the flexible member 11 moves to drive the article to move together due to the friction between the flexible member 11 and the article. In this embodiment, it is advantageous that the support surface 10-1 is a smooth flat surface. For example, the support surface 10-1 is a smooth metal surface; the support surface 10-1 is a plastic surface; the support surface 10-1 is a ceramic surface; the support surface 10-1 may be a surface of other material.

In one embodiment, rollers or balls may be provided on the support surface 10-1, and the tops of the rollers or balls may support the object, so that the object may be moved by the flexible members 11 under the rotation of the rollers or balls, and the arrangement of the rollers and balls may further reduce the resistance to the movement of the object. In this embodiment, rollers or balls are provided between the flexible members 11.

In one embodiment, the flexible member 11 is a rubber member, or other flexible cord or cable. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, each flexure 11 may be supported on a support surface 10-1 and moved from within the page to outside the page. In another embodiment, the flexure 11 may be supported on the support surface 10-1 and move from out of the page into the page. In another embodiment, the flexible member 11 may be supported on the support surface 10-1 and may be reciprocated on the support surface 10-1 as desired.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of flexible members 11 are substantially uniformly arranged on the support surface 10-1, that is, the spacing between the plurality of flexible members 11 is substantially equal. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of flexible pieces 11 may be arranged in parallel on the support surface 10-1. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the spacing between the plurality of flexible members 11 is not equal. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of flexible pieces 11 may be arranged on the support face 10-1 non-parallel to each other.

For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 1, a plurality of flexible members 11 are distributed over the curved support surface 10-1 in the second direction (transverse to the conveying direction). A plurality of flexible members 11 may be evenly spaced on the support surface 10-1.

In one embodiment, a plurality of flexible members 11 are arranged parallel to each other on the support surface 10-1, and the flexible members 11 near the middle of the support surface 10-1 are more densely distributed, and the flexible members 11 near both sides of the support surface 10-1 are more sparsely distributed, which is advantageous in driving the movement of the article; however, this is not required.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the plurality of flexible members 11 tend to converge in the conveying direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the plurality of flexible members 11 at one end (upper end of the paper in the figure) of the supporting surface 10-1 are distributed more densely than the plurality of flexible members 11 at the other end (lower end of the paper in the figure 1) of the supporting surface 10-1, and the arrangement is such that the article is subjected to a frictional force along the conveying direction by the flexible members 11 and a lateral frictional force by the flexible members 11 during conveyance, specifically, the flexible members 11 at the left side of the supporting surface 10-1 in FIG. 6 apply a frictional force component to the right, and the flexible members 11 at the right side of the supporting surface 10-1 in FIG. 6 apply a frictional force component to the left. According to the embodiment of fig. 6, the article conveyed on the support surface 10-1 will be driven by the flexible members 11 towards the vicinity of the midline of the support surface 10-1 or be subjected to a force towards the midline during the conveyance in the conveying direction, and thus the article will not easily fall off the support surface 10-1.

In one embodiment, a plurality of steering wheels 12 are respectively arranged on the end surfaces of the two end parts of the supporting frame 10, and each steering wheel 12 is used for guiding a corresponding flexible piece 11 to leave the supporting surface 10-1 along the normal direction of the supporting surface 10-1 and travel along the end surfaces of the supporting frame 10. In this embodiment, the guide wheel may be non-rotating, and the flexible member 11 is in sliding friction with the surface of the guide wheel; in another embodiment, the guide wheel may be rotatable.

Fig. 4 shows a partially enlarged schematic view of the end face of the conveyor. If the support frame 10 is divided into two halves from the middle, fig. 4 shows a part of the left half of the end of the support frame 10. Under the supporting action of the guide wheel, the flexible part 11 leaves the supporting surface 10-1 along the normal direction of the supporting surface and moves downwards along the end surface, and after moving around a part of the cambered surface of the guide wheel, moves downwards along the vertical direction. In other words, the guide wheels are arranged to allow the flexible element 11 to change from a first direction of travel along the support surface 10-1 to a direction away from the support surface 10-1 in a direction normal to the support surface 10-1 and to travel over the end surface of the support frame 10. In the present embodiment, the plurality of steered wheels 12 are arranged along the profile of the cross section of the support surface 10-1 in the second direction, and as shown in fig. 4, the plurality of steered wheels 12 are arranged along the arc of the cross section. Each steering wheel 12 corresponds to one flexible element 11. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1 and 4, the steering wheel 12 is arranged to support the flexible element 11 on the left side of the flexible element 11, on the right side of the lowest position of the profile of the cross-section, and the steering wheel 12 is arranged to support the flexible element 11 on the right side of the flexible element 11, on the left side of the lowest position of the profile of the cross-section.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the steered wheels 12 are arranged evenly under a flat part in the middle of the supporting surface, in which case the steered wheels 12 are not necessary. In the vicinity of the inclined portions on both sides of the support surface, the steering wheels 12 cause the flexible member 11 to travel on the end of the support frame 10 in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1 and 4, the support surface 10-1 includes a plurality of grooves 10-2, each of the plurality of flexible members 11 is disposed within one of the plurality of grooves 10-2, and at least a portion of each of the plurality of flexible members 11 protrudes outside the support surface 10-1. It is advantageous to provide the groove 10-2 such that the flexible member 11 can be stably arranged in the groove 10-2 and travel along the groove 10-2; meanwhile, as a part of the flexible piece 11 protrudes out of the groove 10-2, the flexible piece can support the object on the supporting surface 10-1 and can drive to travel through friction force. Due to the groove 10-2, the course of the flexible member 11 on the support surface 10-1 is fixed, and the flexible member 11 is stably conveyed with support of the steering wheel 12.

In one embodiment, the steerable wheel 12 is non-rotating and the fixed axle 12-0 of the steerable wheel 12 is movable. As shown in fig. 5, the steerable wheel 12 can be moved within a certain range with respect to the fixed shaft 12-0, whereby the steerable wheel 12 can be positionally adjusted, which arrangement results in an increased assembly allowance.

In one embodiment, the plurality of steered wheels 12 on the end face of one of the two end portions of the support frame 10 are denser than the plurality of steered wheels 12 on the end face of the other end portion. As shown in fig. 6, fig. 6 schematically shows the arrangement of the flexible members 11 on the support surface in an embodiment in which the flexible members 11 tend to converge in the traveling direction of the flexible members 11 or in the conveying direction. Under the drive of the flexible element 11, the items will be concentrated towards the middle part of the support surface, so that falling of the items from the support surface can be avoided. In the present embodiment, the grooves 10-2 are also arranged so as to tend to converge from one end toward the other end; the steerable wheels 12 are compliantly arranged such that the spacing between the steerable wheels 12 decreases at the end of one end of the support surface 10-1 compared to the end of the other end.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transfer device may further include a drive shaft 13. The driving shaft 13 may be disposed at an opposite side of the support frame 10 to the support surface 10-1. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the driving shaft 13 is arranged at a lower portion of the support frame 10. The drive shaft 13 also serves as a steering. As shown in fig. 1, a plurality of flexible members 11 pass around the outer surface of the drive shaft 13 to be driven by the drive shaft 13. The flexible member 11 forms a loop and can travel along the loop under the supporting action of the outer surface of the drive shaft 13 and the steerable wheel 12. The right drawing of fig. 1 schematically shows a loop of the flexible element 11. The arrows in fig. 1 show the conveying direction, it being understood that the flexible elements 11 can run in the opposite direction, the conveying direction being variable.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an inspection apparatus including the aforementioned conveyance device.

In one embodiment, the inspection apparatus includes an annular inspection device defining an inspection channel therethrough and performing the inspection by emitting radiation at the article in the inspection channel. The inspection device may include, for example, a radiation source that emits radiation toward the article and a detector (not shown) that detects the radiation after interaction with the article, thereby allowing inspection of the article to be accomplished. For example, the inspection apparatus includes an X-ray source that emits radiation toward the articles being conveyed on the inspection tunnel and a detector that detects the radiation after transmission through the articles so that imaging of the articles can be accomplished. The inspection apparatus may also emit X-rays toward the article from a plurality of angles in a time-division manner, and detect the rays transmitted through the article each time, forming a three-dimensional image of the article by processing the detection signals.

At least part of the support frame 10 of the transport device is arranged in the examination channel, e.g. at least a main part of the support frame 10 is in the examination channel. Thereby, the main body portion of the support frame 10 and the flexible member 11 supported on the support surface 10-1 are located within the inspection passage.

For example, the inspection apparatus may comprise a ring-shaped structure on which the radiation source and the detector are arranged, the ring-shaped structure being rotated such that the radiation source and the detector rotate along a circular trajectory, enabling inspection of the article within the inspection channel, e.g. building a three-dimensional transmission image of the article. At least part of the support frame 10 passes through the annular structure. The inner wall of the annular structure may define the shape of a cylinder or other channel. The annular structural outer wall may have other shapes as desired. In one embodiment, the examination apparatus may be a CT examination apparatus.

Since the examination apparatus comprises a ring-shaped structure defining a transport path through the ring-shaped structure, the radiation source and the detector are arranged on the ring-shaped structure. The space of the conveyor channel within the endless structure is limited, and the conveyors used to support the articles of the existing CT examination apparatuses have flat surfaces. In contrast, the support surface of the conveyor of the present disclosure is concave, thereby allowing more items to be placed on the support surface and fed into the conveying or inspection lane together. Further, since the support surface of the conveyor has a concave shape, the articles placed on the support surface are not easily dropped from the support surface.

Other assemblies, automatic injection devices, and features thereof can be devised by the skilled person without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In particular, it should be noted that one or more features included in one or more of the figures may be integrated into the automatic injection device shown in other figures, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this description.

Claims (11)

1. A conveyor configured to convey articles in a first direction, the conveyor comprising:

a support frame having a support face extending in a first direction for supporting conveyed articles in a support direction; wherein

In a second direction, the area of the support surface near the midline is recessed opposite the support direction with respect to the area of the support surface near both sides, wherein the second direction is transverse to the first direction.

2. The transfer device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of flexible members, each of the plurality of flexible members supported by a support surface and movable about a periphery of the support frame,

wherein the plurality of flexible members extend in a first direction on the support surface and are movable in the first direction.

3. A transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of flexible members are spaced apart from one another in the second direction on the support surface.

4. A conveyor as in claim 1 wherein the support surface is cambered in the second direction; or alternatively

Wherein the support surface includes a plurality of regions having a polygonal cross-section in the second direction.

5. A conveyor as claimed in claim 2 wherein a plurality of diverting wheels are provided on the end faces of the two ends of the support frame, respectively, each diverting wheel guiding a respective one of the plurality of flexible members away from the support surface in a direction opposite to its normal direction and along the end face of the support frame.

6. A conveyor according to claim 5, characterised in that the diverting wheels are arranged on the end faces of both ends of the support frame and along the contour of the support surface in the second direction on the end faces of both ends,

wherein, to the right of the lowest position of the contour of the support surface, the diverting wheel is arranged to support a flexible element on the left side of the flexible element corresponding thereto, and to the left of the lowest position of the contour, the diverting wheel is arranged to support a flexible element on the right side of the flexible element corresponding thereto.

7. The transfer device of claim 6, wherein the plurality of steerable wheels on the end face of one of the two end portions of the support frame are denser than the plurality of steerable wheels on the end face of the other end portion.

8. The transfer device of claim 2, wherein the support surface includes a plurality of grooves, each of the plurality of flexible members is disposed within a corresponding one of the plurality of grooves, and at least a portion of each of the plurality of flexible members protrudes outside of the support surface.

9. The transfer device of claim 2, further comprising a drive shaft disposed on an opposite side of the support frame from the support surface, wherein the plurality of flexible members pass around an outer surface of the drive shaft to be driven by the drive shaft.

10. An inspection apparatus, comprising: the delivery device of any one of claims 1-9.

11. The inspection apparatus of claim 10, further comprising an inspection device through which the conveyor passes such that the inspection device rotates about at least a portion of the conveyor to obtain three-dimensional information of the inspected object on the conveyor.

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