JP2011163870A - X-ray inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an X-ray inspection apparatus which is enhanced in workability, by dispensing with having to perform operations, such as start of photographing, or the like, by an operator, for obtaining the image of an object to be inspected as a whole used for displaying an observation position. <P>SOLUTION: The X-ray inspection apparatus is equipped with a detection means 5b for detecting that the object W to be inspected is mounted on an observation stage 3 and photographs the entire image of the appearance of the object W to be inspected by a CCD camera 6, on the basis of the detection of the mounting of the object W to be inspected to use the same as a map for the display of the momentary observation position at actual inspection, thereby making it unnecessary to perform operation for photographing the image of the object W to be inspected as a whole, prior to inspection by the operator and prevents photographing from being forgotten, at the same time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an X-ray inspection apparatus that performs inspection using X-ray transmission information obtained by irradiating an inspection object such as an industrial product with X-rays.

  In an X-ray inspection apparatus that inspects the presence or absence of defects of an inspection object using an X-ray fluoroscopic image obtained by irradiating the inspection object with X-rays, generally, as schematically shown in FIG. The X-ray detector 52 is disposed opposite to the X-ray generator 51, and the movable observation stage 53 is disposed between the X-ray detector 52 and the object W mounted thereon. The X-ray generator 51 generates cone-beam X-rays, and the X-ray detector 52 is a two-dimensional detector.

  In such a configuration, in principle, the two-dimensional X-ray detector 52 receives X-rays that radiate from the X-ray generator 51 so that it has a visual field larger than the size of the X-ray detector 52 in principle. In general, the region that can be observed at one time is narrow, and only a partial region of the inspection object W can be observed in many cases, and it is difficult to grasp the observation position on the inspection object W.

  In order to solve such a problem, as shown in FIG. 7, conventionally, partial images P1, P2, P3,... An entire X-ray image of W, that is, a panoramic image P0, is created and used as a map, and the observation position V at the time of inspection is superimposed and displayed (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2) or a wide range is photographed. A known measure is that an external appearance image of the entire object to be inspected is captured by a visible light camera that can be used (see, for example, Patent Document 3), and the external observation image is similarly used as a map to superimpose and display the observation position by X-rays. It has been.

JP 2003-028812 A JP 2004-037386 A JP 2006-343193 A

  By the way, conventionally, in order to obtain a combined X-ray overview image of the inspection object used for displaying the observation position, or an external appearance image of the entire inspection object by the optical camera, an operator has to perform an operation for starting the imaging. It takes. In addition, when an overall image of the object to be inspected is obtained by combining partial X-ray images, the observation stage is moved to the imaging start position because the area that can be captured at one time is narrow and a considerable number of partial images must be captured. In many cases, an operator operation is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and eliminates the need for an operator to perform an operation such as start of imaging in order to obtain an entire image of an object to be used for displaying an observation position. An object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray inspection apparatus capable of improving the quality of the image.

  In order to solve the above problems, the X-ray inspection apparatus of the present invention has an observation stage on which an object to be inspected is placed between an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector arranged to face each other, A fluoroscopic image display means for displaying an X-ray fluoroscopic image of the inspection object based on the output of the X-ray detector, a moving mechanism for changing the observation position of the inspection object by moving the observation stage, In an X-ray inspection apparatus provided with observation position display means for storing a full-view image of the inspection object or a part of the image and displaying the observation position of the inspection object using the image. It has a detecting means for detecting that it is mounted on the observation stage, and is characterized by automatically taking an image used by the observation position display means by detecting the mounting.

  Here, in the present invention, the X-ray generator, the X-ray detector, and the observation stage are accommodated in a protective box having a door for taking in and out the inspection object, and the detection means A configuration (Claim 2) that detects the loading of the inspection object by opening and closing can be employed.

  In the present invention, an optical camera for photographing an inspection object on the observation stage is provided, and an image used by the observation position display means is an appearance image of the inspection object photographed by the optical camera (claim). 3) can be adopted.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, it is possible to suitably employ a configuration (claim 4) in which conditions for photographing an image used by the observation position display means are automatically set by detection by the detection means.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the moving mechanism automatically positions the observation stage at a preset position when mounting the inspection object, and the image used by the observation position display means at that position. It is desirable to adopt a configuration (claim 5) in which the image is taken.

  In the present invention, the image used by the observation position display means may be a partial image in addition to the full-view image of the inspection object. That is, when the area to be inspected is a part of the object to be inspected, it is sufficient that the image used as the map has only a part of the area appearing. , Based on this.

  The present invention detects that the inspection object is mounted on the observation stage, and by taking the whole scene image or a part of the image for automatically displaying the observation position by the detection, the actual inspection is performed. This eliminates the need for the operator to take an image for use in the map.

  Various means such as a pressure-sensitive sensor and a light-shielding sensor may be used as means for detecting the mounting of the inspection object, and X-rays from the X-ray generator leak outside as in the invention according to claim 2. It can also be detected by opening and closing the door of the protective box to prevent this.

  The image used as the map can have a large field of view by being an image photographed using visible light as in the invention according to claim 3, that is, an image photographed by an optical camera. Alternatively, it may be an image obtained by combining partial images by X-rays.

  According to the present invention, by mounting the inspection object on the observation stage, the mounting is detected, and the whole scene image or a part of the image of the inspection object used for displaying the observation position is automatically captured. As a result, there is no need for the operator to perform an operation for starting imaging as in the prior art, and the imaging is automatically performed, so that the operator forgets to capture a full-scale image of the object to be inspected. Can be prevented.

In the configuration diagram of the embodiment of the present invention, a schematic diagram showing a mechanical configuration and a block diagram showing a main system configuration are shown together. It is a flowchart showing the operation | movement procedure at the time of starting test | inspection work in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows a part of operation | movement at the time of starting the test | inspection work in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows a part of operation | movement at the time of starting the test | inspection work in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows a part of operation | movement at the time of starting the test | inspection work in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing the general structure of the conventional X-ray inspection apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the example of the display method showing the observation position in the conventional X-ray inspection apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. The X-ray generator 1 generates cone-beam-shaped X-rays vertically upward, and a two-dimensional X-ray detector 2 is disposed so as to face the X-ray generator 1. Between these, an observation stage 3 for mounting an object to be inspected is arranged. The observation stage 3 moves in the three axis directions by driving the moving mechanism 4.

  The above X-ray generator 1, X-ray detector 2, and observation stage 3 are housed in an X-ray protective box 5 to prevent X-rays from leaking to the outside. The X-ray protection box 5 is provided with a door 5a, and the inspection object 3 is mounted on the observation table 3 and taken out from the observation table 3 through the door 5a. The door 5a is provided with an open / close detection sensor 5b composed of, for example, a proximity switch or a limit switch.

  A CCD camera 6 is disposed adjacent to the X-ray detector 2. The CCD camera 6 is located immediately above the observation stage 3 in a state where the observation stage 3 comes close to the opening of the door 5a, which will be described later, and takes an entire image of the inspection object on the observation stage 3. be able to.

  The outputs of the X-ray detector 2 and the CCD camera 6 are taken into the control unit 9 via the respective image taking circuits 7 and 8. The control unit 9 also captures a detection signal from the open / close detection sensor 5b, supplies a drive control signal to the moving mechanism 4 of the observation table 3, and further supplies a photographing command signal to the CCD camera 6. .

  The control unit 9 is mainly composed of a computer and its peripheral devices, and includes a display 10 for displaying an X-ray fluoroscopic image of an inspection object and an image representing an observation position described later, a mouse, a keyboard, a joystick, and the like. An operation unit 11 is connected to give various commands to the control unit 9 and to make settings.

  In this embodiment, based on a program installed in the computer of the control unit 9, as shown below, a function for calling the observation stage 3 to a specified position near the door 5a, and opening and closing of the door 5a are used. It has a function of detecting that an object is mounted on the observation stage 3 and automatically capturing and storing an entire image of the object to be inspected by the CCD camera 6.

  Hereinafter, the operation procedure when the inspection object is mounted on the observation stage 3 and the inspection work is started will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, when the operator gives an instruction to start the operation by operating the operation unit 11, as shown in FIG. 3, the observation stage 3 is placed at a specific position set in advance immediately near the opening portion by the door 5a. Move automatically. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, after the operator opens the door 5a and mounts the inspection object W on the observation stage 3, when the door 5a is closed as shown in FIG. 5, the output of the open / close detection sensor 5b That is detected, and the inspection object W is automatically photographed by the CCD camera 6. As described above, the CCD camera 6 is arranged immediately above the observation stage 3 when the observation stage 3 is in a specific position close to the opening portion of the door 5a, and takes an entire image of the inspection object W on the observation stage 3. The captured image is stored in the memory of the control unit 9, and in the subsequent actual fluoroscopic inspection work, the entire image is used as a map for representing the observation position every moment. It is displayed on the display 10 separately from the image.

  The point to be particularly noted in the above embodiment is that the operator does not need to perform an operation for photographing the whole image of the inspection object W used as a map, and the inspection object W is mounted on the observation stage 3. The entire image of the inspection object W is automatically taken by simply closing the door 5a. Thereby, it is possible to save time and effort for the operation for photographing, and at the same time, it is possible to expect an effect that the operator can forget the operation of photographing the whole image of the inspection object W. Also, when the inspection object W is placed on the observation stage 3 and the door 5a is closed, the entire image of the inspection object W is instantaneously captured, so that the time required for image capture can be minimized. There is also an advantage of being able to do it.

  In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the entire image of the inspection object used as a map for displaying the observation position every moment is captured by the CCD camera, but the present invention is limited to this. Alternatively, partial X-ray fluoroscopic images of the object to be inspected can be sequentially captured and combined to form a full-view image, which can be used as a map. In this case, after placing the object to be inspected on the observation stage, by closing the door of the protective box, this is detected and automatically moved to the initial position for capturing the partial fluoroscopic image to start shooting. do it.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 X-ray generator 2 X-ray detector 3 Observation stage 4 Movement mechanism 5 X-ray protective box 5a Door 5b Open / close detection sensor 6 CCD camera 7, 8 Image data capture circuit 9 Control unit 10 Display unit 11 Operation unit W Inspected object

Claims (5)

An observation stage on which the inspection object is mounted is disposed between the X-ray generator and the X-ray detector that are arranged opposite to each other, and the X-ray fluoroscope of the inspection object is based on the output of the X-ray detector. A perspective image display means for displaying an image; a moving mechanism for moving the observation stage to change the observation position of the object to be inspected; In the X-ray inspection apparatus provided with the observation position display means for displaying the observation position of the object to be inspected using the image,
An X-ray inspection apparatus, comprising: a detecting unit that detects that an inspection object is mounted on the observation stage, and automatically capturing an image used by the observation position display unit by detecting the mounting.   The X-ray generator, the X-ray detector, and the observation stage are accommodated in a protective box having a door for taking in and out the inspection object, and the detection means mounts the inspection object by opening and closing the door. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the X-ray inspection apparatus is detected.   An optical camera for photographing an inspection object on an observation stage is provided, and the image used by the observation position display means is an appearance image of the inspection object photographed by the optical camera. The X-ray inspection apparatus described.   4. The X-ray according to claim 1, wherein a condition for capturing an image used by the observation position display unit is automatically set by detection by the detection unit. 5. Inspection device.   The moving mechanism automatically positions the observation stage at a preset position when mounting an object to be inspected, and images used by the observation position display means are taken at that position. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 4.

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