JP4080256B2 - X-ray generator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an X-ray generator that generates X-rays, and more particularly to an X-ray generator that improves the performance and size of the apparatus by improving a cooling structure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The X-ray generator is required to have a cooling structure that cools the heat generated when X-rays are generated. In the cooling structure, there is a structure in which an insulating oil is filled in a housing that accommodates an X-ray tube, and this insulating oil is circulated by a pump through a radiator outside the housing. However, since the X-ray generator having the above cooling structure requires a radiator and a pump outside the apparatus, there is a concern about an increase in size. In addition, the X-ray generator may break down due to the mechanical life of the radiator and pump, which are external structures.
[0003]
For this reason, conventionally, the cooling structure shown in FIG. 7 is employed.
In the X-ray generator shown in FIG. 7, an insulating oil 102 is filled in a casing 101 that houses the X-ray tube 100. The upper opening 101a of the housing 101 is closed by an iron substrate 103 so that the insulating oil 102 does not leak. A plurality of (in the figure, 12) rod-like cooling bodies 104 are attached to the substrate 103. The cooling body 104 is bonded (or welded) to a hole provided in the substrate 103, immersed in the insulating oil 102 in the housing 101 inside the substrate 103, and extends outside the substrate 103. In this cooling structure, the heat generated by the X-ray tube 100 is transmitted to the cooling body 104 via the insulating oil 102 and is radiated to the outside of the housing 101 by the cooling body 104.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional X-ray generator described above, it is necessary to increase the number of the cooling bodies 104 in order to improve the cooling efficiency. For this reason, the housing 101 is enlarged and the capacity of the insulating oil is increased. As a result, there is a problem that the apparatus is enlarged and the total weight is increased.
[0005]
The cooling body 104 is attached to a hole provided in the substrate 103. For this reason, there exists a problem that the reliability of sealing of the housing | casing 101 will fall.
[0006]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray generator capable of achieving sufficient cooling efficiency, reducing the size of the device, and improving the reliability of sealing in order to solve the above-described problems. .
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an X-ray generator according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises:
A housing 11 filled with an insulating oil 13 for accommodating an X-ray tube 12 for generating X-rays and immersing the X-ray tube 12;
A lid 17 having heat conductivity for sealing the opening 11a of the housing 11;
Radiating fins 18 provided outside the lid body 17;
In the X-ray generator provided with the heat absorption part 19 attached to the inside of the lid 17 and immersed in the insulating oil 13 ,
The heat absorption part 19 includes a heat transfer plate 19 a attached to the inside of the lid body 17 and heat absorption fins 19 b provided on the heat transfer plate 19 a and immersed in the insulating oil 13 .
[0009]
The X-ray generator according to claim 2 is the X-ray generator according to claim 1 ,
With respect to the X-ray tube 12, the heat transfer plate 19 a does not interfere with the generation of X-rays by the X-ray tube 12 at the position of the heat absorption fins 19 b and can maintain insulation from the X-ray tube 12. It is formed so as to be arranged at a close position.
[0010]
The X-ray generator according to claim 3 is the X-ray generator according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The heat transfer plate 19a is provided along the inner wall of the casing 11 so as not to prevent the convection of the insulating oil 13 generated when X-rays are generated by the X-ray tube 12, and the heat absorption fins 19b are provided. The plate is formed in a plate shape along the convection so as not to disturb the convection of the insulating oil 13 generated when X-rays are generated by the X-ray tube 12.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, an X-ray foreign object detection apparatus employing the X-ray generation apparatus of the present invention will be described as an example. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an X-ray foreign object detection apparatus employing an X-ray generation apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the X-ray generation apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. It is sectional drawing of a line generator.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 1, the X-ray foreign object detection apparatus 1 conveys an object to be inspected, such as raw meat, fish, processed food, medicine, etc., and an object to be inspected in the apparatus main body 2. And a foreign matter detector 6 for detecting foreign matter in the middle of the road.
[0013]
The conveyor 3 is driven by a drive motor (not shown) so that the inspection object carried in from the carry-in port 4 is carried out to the carry-out port 5. The foreign matter detection unit 6 includes an X-ray detector 7 provided in the conveyor 3 and an X-ray generator 10 of the present invention provided above the conveyor 3.
[0014]
The X-ray detector 7 detects whether or not foreign matters such as metal scraps and bones are included from the amount of X-rays transmitted to the inspection object.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 2, the X-ray generator 10 accommodates a cylindrical X-ray tube 12 inside a metal casing 11 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the X-ray tube 12 is filled with an insulating oil 13. It is a soaked configuration. The X-ray tube 12 generates X-rays by irradiating an anode target with an electron beam from a cathode. Further, the X-ray tube 12 is provided so that the longitudinal direction thereof is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the inspection object. The X-ray generated in the X-ray tube 12 has a substantially conical shape downward, but a slit (not shown) provided along the longitudinal direction of the X-ray tube 12 on the bottom side of the housing 11 is provided. By passing through, it is exposed to the lower X-ray detector 7 in a substantially triangular screen shape.
[0016]
On the outer bottom surface of the housing 11, a fitting portion 14 to be fitted in a fitting groove 30 of a mounting table 29 described later is provided. Further, L-shaped angles 15 are provided on both side surfaces of the housing 11.
[0017]
In addition, the X-ray generator 10 has a radiator 16.
The radiator 16 is based on a lid 17 that seals the upper opening 11 a of the housing 11. The lid body 17 is made of a metal plate such as an aluminum alloy having heat conductivity, and is fixed by screwing or the like with a packing sandwiched between a flange 11b provided at the periphery of the opening 11a of the housing 11.
[0018]
Radiating fins 18 are provided on the upper surface that is the outside of the lid 17. The radiating fins 18 are made of a metal plate such as an aluminum alloy having heat conductivity, and a plurality of the radiating fins 18 are erected on the upper surface of the lid 11 by welding or the like. Each radiating fin 18 is provided side by side so that the plate surfaces thereof are directed in the same direction and the gap between the plate surfaces is communicated from one side to the other side.
[0019]
A heat absorbing portion 19 is provided on the bottom surface inside the lid body 17. The heat absorption part 19 includes a heat transfer plate 19a and heat absorption fins 19b. The heat transfer plate 19a is made of a metal plate such as an aluminum alloy having heat transfer properties, and is attached to the bottom surface of the lid 17 by welding or the like with its plate surface in contact. The heat transfer plate 19 a is bent downward from the portion attached to the lid body 17 and is immersed in the insulating oil 13. Further, the heat transfer plate 19 a is provided along the inner wall of the housing 11 so as not to prevent the convection of the insulating oil 13 generated when the X-ray tube 12 generates X-rays. The heat transfer plate 19a does not necessarily have to be immersed in the insulating oil 13.
[0020]
The heat-absorbing fins 19b are made of a metal plate such as an aluminum alloy having heat conductivity, and a plurality of heat-absorbing fins 19b are immersed in the insulating oil 13 by being erected on the surface of the heat transfer plate 19a by welding or the like. Each endothermic fin 19b is provided side by side so that the plate surfaces thereof are directed in the same direction and a gap between the plate surfaces is communicated from one side to the other side. That is, the endothermic fins 19b are arranged along the convection so as not to prevent the convection of the insulating oil 13 generated when the X-ray tube 12 generates X-rays. The endothermic fins 19b preferably do not hinder the generation of X-rays and are located closer to the X-ray tube 12. For this reason, the length by which the radiation fins 19b are erected on the heat transfer plate 19a and the bent shape of the heat transfer plate 19a are formed according to the above positions.
[0021]
A shielding member 20 is provided on the lid body 17. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the shielding member 20 is formed by bending a metal plate that does not transmit X-rays, such as iron and lead, into a substantially U-shaped section in the downward direction. The shielding member 20 has projecting pieces 20a bent in the horizontal direction at both opened lower ends. The shielding member 20 covers the heat radiating fins 18 by fixing the protruding pieces 20a on the portion of the lid 17 fixed to the flange 11b by welding or the like. Thereby, the upper surface of the lid body 17 forms a lateral connection passage 21 that is surrounded by the shielding member 20 and penetrates from one side to the other side. The direction of penetration of the connecting passage 21 is the same as the direction in which the gap between the plate surfaces of each radiating fin 18 leads from one side to the other side.
[0022]
4 is a front partial sectional view of the upper part of the apparatus main body in which the X-ray generator is accommodated, and FIG. 5 is a side partial sectional view of the upper part of the apparatus main body in which the X-ray generator is accommodated.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 4, the upper part of the apparatus main body 2 is partitioned into a control chamber 23 and a storage chamber 26 by a partition plate 22. The control chamber 23 is provided with a control unit 24 in which a circuit board for controlling the foreign matter detection unit 6 and the conveyor 3 is accommodated. The control unit 24 is isolated from the storage chamber 26 by the partition plate 22. In addition, a cooling fan mechanism 25 is provided on one side surface of the apparatus main body 2 forming the control chamber 23 so as to cool the control unit 23.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 4, the storage chamber 26 stores the X-ray generator 10 to which the shielding member 20 and the radiator 16 are attached. Opening windows 9 communicating with the outside are formed above both outer side surfaces of the storage chamber 26. On the rear surface of the partition plate 22, a rectangular tube body 27 having both ends opened is fixed. The rectangular cylinders 27 form a pair, and each one end 27a is in contact with the inner opening edge of the opening window 9 and serves as a ventilation port communicating with the outside. The other end 27b of the rectangular tube 27 is opposed to each other with a predetermined interval, and the connecting passage 21 is connected therebetween. Thereby, each square cylinder 27 and the connection channel | path 21 comprise the one linear ventilation path 40. As shown in FIG. Note that, like the shielding member 20, a metal that does not transmit X-rays such as iron and lead is used for the rectangular cylinder 27.
[0025]
A pair of mounting tables 29 are provided on the bottom surface of the storage chamber 26, and a fitting groove 30 that fits with the fitting portion 14 of the X-ray generator 10 is formed therebetween. The X-ray generator 10 is placed on each placement table 29 with the fitting portion 14 fitted in the fitting groove 30. The X-ray generator 10 slides in the depth direction on each mounting table 29 in this state. The mounting table 29 is provided with, for example, a limit switch (not shown). When the X-ray generator 10 is slid to a desired position, the mounting table 29 is engaged and positioned with an operating piece of the limit switch. On the upper surface of each mounting table 29, a protruding piece 29a is formed outward in the horizontal direction, and is fixed to the angle 15 by bolting. In addition, you may position the X-ray generator 10 using a proximity sensor instead of a limit switch.
[0026]
By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper part of the apparatus main body 2 accommodates the X-ray generator 10 described above, and the storage / removal and control unit 24 of the X-ray generator 10 is disposed on the front surface thereof. In order to perform maintenance, a front plate 8 that can open and close the control chamber 23 and the storage chamber 26 is provided.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, the front plate 8 is pulled forward to open the storage chamber 26. Then, the X-ray generator 10 is placed on the mounting table 29 and the fitting portion 14 is fitted into the fitting groove 30 of the mounting table 29. The X-ray generator 10 is slid in the depth direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, engaged with the operating piece of the limit switch and positioned, and the X-ray generator 10 is fixed to the mounting table 29.
[0028]
At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, both side edges of the shielding member 20 that open are in contact with the opening edges of the other end 27 b of the pair of rectangular cylinders 27 that face each other. 21 is connected and the ventilation path 40 is comprised. In the ventilation path 40, there are radiating fins 18 through which gaps between the plate surfaces communicate in the same direction as the connected direction.
[0029]
When the positioning of the X-ray generator 10 is completed, the front plate 8 is closed. Thereafter, the conveyor 3 is operated to convey the object to be inspected, and X-rays are exposed from the X-ray generator 10. And it is detected whether the foreign material is contained from the transmission amount of the X-rays exposed with the X-ray detector 10.
[0030]
When the X-ray exposure is continued, the X-ray tube 12 generates heat, and the heat is transmitted from the insulating oil 13 to the heat radiating fins 18 through the heat absorbing fins 19b, the heat transfer plates 19a and the lid body 17. The heat transmitted to the radiating fin 18 is radiated to the outside through the ventilation path 40 from the ventilation port 27a. Thereby, the radiation fin 18 is cooled.
[0031]
Therefore, in the X-ray generator 10 configured as described above, the heat generated from the X-ray tube 12 is absorbed by the heat absorbing portion 19 (the heat absorbing fins 19b and the heat transfer plate 19a) from the insulating oil 13 to dissipate the lid 17 and the heat. It is transmitted to the fin 18. For this reason, it is possible to obtain sufficient cooling efficiency. In addition, since sufficient cooling efficiency is obtained, the X-ray generator 10 can be downsized. Moreover, since the lid 17 has the heat radiating fins 18 on the top surface and the heat absorbing portion 19 on the bottom surface, the lid 11 reliably closes the opening 11a of the housing 11, thereby improving the sealing reliability. In addition, leakage of the insulating oil 13 and X-ray leakage can be prevented.
[0032]
Moreover, in the heat absorption part 19, the heat-transfer plate 19a is provided along the inner wall of the housing | casing 11 so that the convection of the insulating oil 13 produced at the time of the X-ray generation | occurrence | production by the X-ray tube 12 may not be disturbed, The convection is arranged along the convection so as not to disturb the convection of the insulating oil 13 generated when the X-ray tube 12 generates X-rays. Thereby, since the heat is absorbed along the convection of the insulating oil 13, sufficient cooling efficiency is obtained, and the X-ray generator 10 can be further downsized.
[0033]
Moreover, in the heat absorption part 19, the length by which the radiation fin 19b was erected on the heat transfer plate 19a and the bent shape of the heat transfer plate 19a did not prevent the generation of X-rays, and the X-ray tube 12 On the other hand, it is formed according to a closer position. Thereby, since the heat generated from the X-ray tube 12 is absorbed efficiently, sufficient cooling efficiency can be obtained, and the X-ray generator 10 can be further downsized.
[0034]
In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a cooling fan mechanism 31 may be attached to the vent hole 27a as a cooling means. The cooling fan mechanism 31 is supplied with power from the control unit 24 of the control room 23. The cooling fan mechanism 31 may be attached to at least one of the vent holes 27a.
[0035]
Thereby, ventilation in the ventilation path 40 is forcibly performed, and the heat radiation fin 18 can be efficiently cooled to suppress the temperature rise of the X-ray generator 10. Moreover, since the ventilation opening 27a is not connected with the storage chamber 26 of the X-ray generator 10, X-rays do not leak.
[0036]
In the above-described embodiment, the X-ray foreign object detection device 1 is described as an example of adopting the X-ray generation device 10, but the present invention is not limited to this.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the X-ray generator according to the present invention absorbs the heat generated from the X-ray tube from the insulating oil at the heat absorbing portion and transmits the heat to the lid and the radiation fin. For this reason, it is possible to obtain sufficient cooling efficiency. And since sufficient cooling efficiency is obtained, size reduction of an X-ray generator can be achieved.
[0038]
In addition, since the lid has a heat radiating fin on the top surface and a heat absorbing part on the bottom surface separately, the lid of the housing is reliably closed, so that the sealing reliability is improved and the insulating oil Leakage and X-ray leakage can be prevented.
[0039]
Moreover, since the heat absorption part is composed of a heat transfer plate attached to the inside of the lid and a heat absorption fin provided on the heat transfer plate and immersed in insulating oil, the heat absorption generated from the X-ray tube is favorably absorbed. It can be carried out.
[0040]
In particular, the X-ray tube is formed by forming the heat transfer plate so that the position of the heat-absorbing fin does not hinder the generation of X-rays by the X-ray tube and is positioned closer to the X-ray tube. Sufficient cooling efficiency can be obtained because the heat generated from the heat is efficiently absorbed. Further, in particular, a heat transfer plate is provided along the inner wall of the housing so as not to disturb the convection of the insulating oil generated when X-rays are generated by the X-ray tube, and the heat absorption fin is provided by X-rays by the X-ray tube. By forming the plate along the convection so as not to hinder the convection of the insulating oil generated at the time of occurrence of heat, the heat is absorbed along the convection of the insulating oil, so that sufficient cooling efficiency can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an X-ray foreign object detection apparatus employing an X-ray generator according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an X-ray generator according to the present invention.
3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of the X-ray generator.
FIG. 4 is a front partial cross-sectional view of the upper part of the apparatus main body of the X-ray foreign object detection apparatus in which the X-ray generation apparatus is stored.
FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the upper part of the apparatus main body of the X-ray foreign object detection apparatus in which the X-ray generation apparatus is stored.
FIG. 6 is a partial front sectional view of the upper part of the apparatus main body showing an embodiment in which cooling means is provided in the X-ray foreign object detection apparatus.
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional X-ray generator.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Housing | casing, 11a ... Opening, 12 ... X-ray tube, 13 ... Insulating oil, 17 ... Lid body, 18 ... Radiation fin, 19 ... Heat absorption part, 19a ... Heat-transfer plate, 19b ... Heat absorption fin

Claims (3)

A housing (11) filled with an insulating oil (13) that houses an X-ray tube (12) that generates X-rays and that immerses the X-ray tube, and an opening (11a) of the housing are sealed. A heat-transmitting lid (17), a heat dissipating fin (18) provided outside the lid, and a heat-absorbing part (19) attached to the inside of the lid and immersed in the insulating oil In an X-ray generator comprising:
The heat absorption part (19) has a heat transfer plate (19a) attached to the inside of the lid (17), and a heat absorption fin (19b) provided on the heat transfer plate and immersed in the insulating oil (13). An X-ray generator characterized by comprising: The X-ray tube in which the heat transfer plate (19a) does not prevent the X-ray tube (12) from generating X-rays at the position of the heat sink fin (19b) and can maintain insulation from the X-ray tube. The X-ray generation device according to claim 1 , wherein the X-ray generation device is arranged so as to be disposed at a position closer to each other. The heat transfer plate (19a) is provided along the inner wall of the casing (11) so as not to disturb the convection of the insulating oil (13) generated when X-rays are generated by the X-ray tube (12). And the said heat absorption fin (19b) is formed in the plate shape along the said convection so that the convection of the said insulating oil produced at the time of the generation | occurrence | production of the X-ray by the said X-ray tube may not be prevented. The X-ray generator of Claim 1 or Claim 2 .

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