JP4690095B2 - X-ray inspection equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an X-ray inspection apparatus that irradiates an article with X-rays and inspects foreign matters mixed into the article, abnormal shape of the article, and the like, and belongs to the technical field of article inspection.

  Conventionally, an X-ray source and an X-ray detector are accommodated in a shield box, X-rays are irradiated on the article, and X-rays transmitted through the article are detected. An X-ray inspection apparatus that inspects abnormal shapes and the like is used.

  In such an X-ray inspection apparatus, generally, the shorter the X-ray transmission distance, the higher the accuracy of detection of foreign matter contamination, shape abnormality, etc., so the X-ray irradiation direction on the article is optimized to ensure inspection. For example, X-ray inspection apparatuses disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 are exemplified.

  First, as shown in FIG. 15, the X-ray inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 can switch the X-ray irradiation direction indicated by a two-dot chain line between a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. As a result, in the case of a tall article M, as shown in FIG. 15A, the X-ray source 401 and the X-ray detector 402 are disposed opposite to each other with the article M in between, and X-rays are emitted. In the case of a wide article M that is irradiated in the horizontal direction, as shown in FIG. 15B, the X-ray source 401 and the X-ray detector 402 are arranged vertically opposite to each other with the article M interposed therebetween. By irradiating X-rays in the vertical direction, the transmission distance of X-rays can be shortened according to the shape of the article M.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, the X-ray inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes two pairs of an X-ray source 411 and an X-ray detector 412, and X for an article M conveyed by a conveyer 413. These are arranged so that the irradiation direction of the line is the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. Thereby, in the case of the article M having a width dimension larger than the height dimension in the cross section traversing the conveyance path of the article M, X-rays are irradiated in the vertical direction, while the height dimension is larger than the width dimension. In the case of the article M having a large size, the X-ray transmission distance can be shortened in any case by irradiating the X-ray in the horizontal direction.

  Although the X-ray transmission distance is not shortened as in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, by changing the posture of the article and irradiating the article with X-rays before and after that, There is an X-ray inspection apparatus configured to improve detection accuracy. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the X-ray inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3 inspects an article M passing through a pipeline P via a fluid, so that X-ray sources 421 and 2 are sandwiched between the pipelines P. X-ray detectors 422A and 422B. Then, by changing the posture of the article M passing through the pipeline P between the two X-ray detectors 422A and 422B, a protrusion is formed on the inner surface of the pipeline P in order to reliably detect foreign matter entering the article M. A portion P ′ is provided to generate a turbulent flow in the fluid to change the posture of the article M to, for example, a solid line state or a chain line state. As a result, X-rays can be irradiated to the articles M before and after the posture change, and the abnormality detection accuracy is improved.

JP 2003-279502 A JP 2000-241368 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-57946

  By the way, due to the construction of a series of production lines, an article having a height dimension larger than a width dimension is carried into an X-ray inspection apparatus that irradiates X-rays in the vertical direction within a cross section that traverses the article conveyance path. In this case, the transmission distance of the X-rays irradiated from the X-ray source becomes long, and in order to maintain the X-ray dose transmitted through the article at a level that can be detected with high accuracy, the irradiation X-ray dose is increased according to the height dimension. There is a need. As a result, there arises a problem that there is a concern about leakage of X-rays to the outside of the apparatus as the irradiation X-ray dose increases. On the other hand, when an article having a width dimension larger than a height dimension in a cross section crossing the transport path is carried into an X-ray inspection apparatus of a type that irradiates X-rays in the horizontal direction, the same as described above. Problems arise.

  In order to solve this problem, the X-ray inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 can be applied. However, in the former case, the structure for removing and attaching the X-ray source and the X-ray detector is complicated. In addition, the work itself when changing the irradiation direction is troublesome, and in particular, the alignment of the irradiation X-ray between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector is troublesome. However, since it is necessary to provide two sets of a pair of X-ray sources and X-ray detectors, there arises a problem of complication and enlargement of the apparatus.

  Note that the X-ray inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3 irradiates X-rays on an article in two arbitrary postures for inspection of an article whose posture is originally unclear. It is not intended to irradiate X-rays on a certain posture article from a certain direction. In addition, since two X-ray detectors are provided, in this case as well, problems of complication and enlargement of the apparatus cannot be avoided.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an X-ray inspection apparatus that can accurately inspect supplied articles with a simplified configuration and that can effectively prevent leakage of X-rays to the outside of the apparatus. Let it be an issue.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

First, the invention according to claim 1 is provided at a position opposite to the X-ray source, a transfer means for transferring an article, an X-ray source for irradiating the article conveyed by the transfer means with X-rays An X-ray inspection apparatus having an X-ray detector for detecting X-rays irradiated from the X-ray source and transmitted through the article, wherein the X-ray source is located upstream and downstream of an X-ray irradiation region by the X-ray source. An X-ray leakage prevention member provided with an article passage port and an upstream side of the upstream X-ray leakage prevention member, and orthogonal to the article conveyance direction so as to shorten the X-ray transmission distance. A first posture changing means for changing the posture of the article in the direction, and the posture of the article that is provided downstream of the downstream X-ray leakage preventing member and whose posture is changed by the first posture changing means. Second posture change to change back to the direction perpendicular to the transport direction And the X-ray source and the X-ray detector are vertically opposed to each other, and the first posture changing means is higher than a width dimension in a cross section crossing the article transport path. The posture of the article having a larger dimension is changed so that the height is smaller than the width, and the second posture changing means is higher than the width by the first posture changing means. The posture of the article whose size is smaller is changed to return to the posture where the height dimension is larger than the original width dimension, and the article passage port of both X-ray leakage prevention members is, Both are set lower than the height dimension of the article before the posture change by the first posture changing means, and the first posture changing means is disposed on the upstream side of the conveying means, Lower belt conveyor to be transported and transport of the lower belt conveyor An upper belt conveyor which is provided so as to advance in the width direction of the conveying surface toward the downstream side above the surface and pushes the upper part of the article on the conveying surface in the width direction of the conveying surface from one side; Of the article whose posture is changed by being pushed downward by the upper belt conveyor so that the downstream side is closer to the conveying surface of the lower belt conveyor on the opposite side of the upper belt conveyor. And a receiving member that receives the upper portion on the other side .

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the lower belt conveyor has an upper side on one side along the conveying direction along the conveying direction by the upper belt conveyor. It has the projection part which receives the lower end part of the article pushed from the other side.

The invention according to claim 3 is provided at a position opposite to the X-ray source, a conveying means for conveying the article, an X-ray source for irradiating the article conveyed by the conveying means with X-rays. An X-ray inspection apparatus having an X-ray detector for detecting X-rays irradiated from the X-ray source and transmitted through the article, wherein the X-ray source is located upstream and downstream of an X-ray irradiation region by the X-ray source. An X-ray leakage prevention member provided with an article passage port and an upstream side of the upstream X-ray leakage prevention member, and orthogonal to the article conveyance direction so as to shorten the X-ray transmission distance. A first posture changing means for changing the posture of the article in the direction, and the posture of the article that is provided downstream of the downstream X-ray leakage preventing member and whose posture is changed by the first posture changing means. The second posture change is changed back to the original direction by changing the direction perpendicular to the transport direction. And the X-ray source and the X-ray detector are vertically opposed to each other, and the first posture changing means is higher than a width dimension in a cross section crossing the article transport path. The posture of the article having a larger dimension is changed so that the height is smaller than the width, and the second posture changing means is higher than the width by the first posture changing means. The posture of the article whose size is smaller is changed to return to the posture where the height dimension is larger than the original width dimension, and the article passage port of both X-ray leakage prevention members is, Both are set lower than the height dimension of the article before the posture change by the first posture changing means, and the second posture changing means is disposed on the downstream side of the conveying means and in the conveying direction. A pair of belt conveyors arranged side by side along Eteori and wherein the one belt conveyor supports the one side of the article and the other belt conveyor having an other side is lower than the one of the belt conveyor as floating conveying surface of the article And

  First, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the X-ray source and the X-ray detector provided are fixed and a pair may be used. As in the case of using to change the irradiation direction, the structure for removing and attaching them becomes complicated, and the operation itself when changing the irradiation direction is troublesome, particularly between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector. There is no problem that the alignment of the irradiated X-rays is troublesome. As in the case where two pairs of the X-ray source and the X-ray detector are provided, the configuration is simple without causing the apparatus to be complicated or large.

In addition, since the first posture changing means for changing the posture of the article so as to shorten the X-ray transmission distance is provided on the upstream side of the upstream X-ray leakage preventing member, the article before the posture change. The X-ray transmission distance is shorter than when X-rays are irradiated. Therefore, the X-ray irradiation amount on the article is not increased in order to maintain an accurate inspection, so that X-ray leakage to the outside of the apparatus can be effectively prevented.

The inspection article after orientation has been changed by the first attitude changing means of the upstream side, since return to the original posture by the second attitude changing unit on the downstream side, for example the layout of a series of production line This is suitable when it is necessary to return the posture of the inspected article to its original position, and the production line can be further automated.

In addition, when X-rays are irradiated in the vertical direction, the first posture changing means changes the posture of the article whose height is larger than the width by using the first posture changing means on the upstream side of the upstream X-ray leakage preventing member. The posture in which the height dimension is smaller than the dimension is set so that the posture of the article changed by the first posture changing means is restored by the second posture changing means on the downstream side of the downstream X-ray leakage preventing member. And the article passage ports of both X-ray leakage prevention members are set lower than the height dimension of the article before the posture change by the first posture changing means. The upper edge of the X-ray source is far from the X-ray source installed above, and X-rays leaking from the article passage opening are sufficiently attenuated, and X-ray leakage through the article passage opening is reduced. Effectively prevented.

When the article supplied to the first attitude changing means has its longitudinal direction oriented in the vertical direction, the attitude is changed by the first attitude changing means so that the longitudinal direction of the article is orthogonal to the transport direction. Therefore, since the longitudinal direction of the article is not directed in the conveying direction after the attitude change by the first attitude changing means , the interval between the articles conveyed by the conveying means can be set narrow, thereby increasing the speed of inspection. There is a merit that can be.

And according to this invention of Claim 1 , the structure of the 1st attitude | position change means of an upstream is actualized. In other words, when the upper belt conveyor pushes the upper part of the article from one side in the width direction of the conveying surface of the lower belt conveyor and changes the attitude, the upper part on the opposite side of the article whose attitude is changed is received on the other side. While being received by the member, the upper part of the article can be gradually brought closer to the conveying surface of the lower belt conveyor by the receiving member, so that the posture of the article is smoothly changed during the conveyance, and the article is removed from the conveying path. There will be no inconvenience that deviates or the posture is disturbed. In addition, by using the upper belt conveyor having a driving force, smooth conveyance of articles by the lower belt conveyor can be assisted.

In that case, according to the invention described in claim 2 , the lower surface portion of the article in which the protrusion is provided along the conveying direction on the conveying surface of the lower belt conveyor, and the upper belt conveyor pushes the upper portion from one side. Is received from the other side by the projection. Therefore, the lower belt of the article whose upper part is pushed by the upper belt conveyor does not move in the wrong direction, that is, the action of the upper belt conveyor which tries to change the posture by pushing the upper part of the article is not impaired. Therefore, the posture of the article can be changed more reliably.

According to the invention of claim 3 , in the same X-ray inspection apparatus as the X-ray inspection apparatus according to the invention of claim 1, in place of the embodiment of the first posture changing means on the upstream side, The configuration of the second posture changing means on the downstream side is embodied. That is, the posture of an article having a height dimension larger than the width dimension in the cross section crossing the article conveyance path is changed by the first posture changing means so that the height dimension becomes smaller than the width dimension, and inspected. After that, it is delivered to the second posture changing means. In that case, since the pair of belt conveyors arranged side by side with different heights of the conveying surface is used for the second posture changing means, the center of gravity is positioned above the belt conveyor having a low conveying surface. When the article is delivered to the second posture changing means, the article passes through a step generated between the pair of belt conveyors, that is, the article is transported on the edge of the belt conveyor having a high conveying surface as a fulcrum. The belt is rotated in the direction of the lower belt conveyor and transferred to the belt conveyor having the lower conveying surface in the original posture in which the height dimension is larger than the width dimension. Note that this simple configuration does not require a long time or conveyance distance to change the posture, and is therefore suitable when changing the posture at high speed or when the space in the article conveyance direction is restricted.

  An X-ray inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The X-ray inspection apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is packed with supplied flour, powdered sugar, etc., and conveys a self-supporting article M whose longitudinal direction is in the vertical direction in the direction of arrow a. It is for inspecting the presence or absence of foreign matter in the article M. The first posture changing unit 10, the main body 20, the sorting device 30, and the second posture changing unit 40 are arranged in order from the upstream side as main components. It is installed.

  The first attitude changing unit 10 changes the attitude of the article M by 90 ° in the height dimension h0 which is larger than the width dimension w0 in the cross section crossing the article conveyance path, and changes the attitude of the height dimension h1 from the width dimension w1. Is provided with a lower belt conveyor 11, an upper belt conveyor 12, and a receiving member 13.

  The lower belt conveyor 11 has a flat belt 11a that forms a conveyance surface. The upper belt conveyor 12 is inclined above the flat belt 11a of the lower belt conveyor 11 so as to advance downstream in the width direction of the flat belt 11a, and travels as indicated by an arrow b. A round belt 12a that pushes the upper portion of the article M on the flat belt 11a from one side in the width direction of the flat belt 11a is provided. In that case, the inclination angle of the upper belt conveyor 12 with respect to the transport direction a is about 20 to 30 °. The round bar-shaped receiving member 13 is provided on the opposite side of the upper belt conveyor 12 across the article M so as to be inclined downward so as to approach the flat belt 11a of the lower belt conveyor 11 toward the downstream side. The upper side of the article M whose posture is changed by being pushed by the upper belt conveyor 12 is received on the other side.

  The main unit 20 constitutes an inspection unit for inspecting the article M, and includes a shield box 21, an X-ray source 22, an X-ray detector 23, a belt conveyor 24, a main power switch 25, an operation panel 26 with a monitor, and a display. A lamp 27 is provided.

  The shield box 21 is generally box-shaped, and as shown in FIG. 3, the article passage openings 21a 'and 21b' through which the article M passes are formed on the vertical walls 21a and 21b on the upstream and downstream sides. It is set lower than the height dimension h0 of the article M before the posture change by the first posture change unit 10. That is, these article passage openings 21a 'and 21b' have opening dimensions that allow the article M having a posture with a height dimension h1 smaller than the height dimension h0 before the posture change to pass through.

  Further, in order to prevent the scattered X-rays from leaking from the shield box 21, the X-ray shielding curtains 28 and 28 that cover the article passage openings 21 a ′ and 21 b ′ form flat belts that form the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 24. It hangs down to 24a. The X-ray shielding curtain 28 is made of a metal plate or a rubber material containing lead.

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the X-ray source 22 is accommodated above the shield box 21, and an X-ray irradiation area A indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure is shown through a slit mechanism (not shown). While forming, the article M is irradiated with X-rays. The X-ray detector 23 is a line sensor having a large number of pixels (not shown) arranged in a row in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction a of the article M, facing the lower side of the X-ray source 22. X-rays transmitted through M are detected. When the article M passes through the X-ray irradiation area A, the detection signal from the X-ray detector 23 acquired at a predetermined timing is subjected to image processing, and contamination of the article M is inspected. Will be.

  Both end portions of the belt conveyor 24 slightly protrude from both article passage openings 21a 'and 21b' of the shield box 21, and receive an article M whose posture has been changed by the first posture changing unit 10, and will be described later. Pass to.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the sorting device 30 passes the non-defective product out of the inspected product M received from the main body 20 in the direction of the arrow a and discharges the defective product in the direction of the arrow c or the arrow c ′. A belt conveyor 31 having a flat belt 31a for receiving articles M from the downstream end of the belt conveyor 24 of the main body portion 20, and two-dot chain lines provided on both sides of the conveying direction a with the downstream end as a fulcrum. As shown in FIG. 4, the arm includes swinging arms 32 and 32 that swing.

  The second posture changing unit 40 changes the posture of the article M whose posture has been changed by the first posture changing unit 10 and returns it to the original, and upper and lower belts arranged side by side along the conveyance direction a. The flat belt 41a that includes the conveyors 41 and 42 and that constitutes the conveying surface of the upper belt conveyor 41 supports one side of the article M, and the flat belt 42a that constitutes the conveying surface of the lower belt conveyor 42 is the article. The vehicle travels at a position lower than the flat belt 41a of the upper belt conveyor 41 so that the other side of M is lifted. A guide member 43 that guides the article M whose posture has been returned to the original position is disposed on the downstream side of the lower belt conveyor 42.

  The belt conveyors 11, 12, 24, 31, 41, 42 and the sorting arms 32, 32 are driven by driving means (not shown).

  Next, the control system of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 50 that comprehensively controls the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 outputs a control signal to the X-ray source 22. In addition, a detection signal from the X-ray detector 23 is input and image processing is performed based on the detection signal, and then the article M is determined to be a non-defective product and a defective product. A control signal for operating the sorting arms 32, 32 of the device 30 is output.

  The control unit 50 drives the lower and upper belt conveyors 11 and 12 of the first posture changing unit 10, the belt conveyor 31 of the sorting device 30, and the upper and lower belt conveyors 41 and 42 of the second posture changing unit 40. A control signal for controlling is output.

  Here, the operation of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5A, from the upstream side to the first posture changing unit 10, the height dimension h0 is higher than the width dimension w0 in the cross section in which the longitudinal direction is directed in the vertical direction, that is, across the article conveyance path. When the larger article M is supplied, the upper part of the article M placed on the flat belt 11a of the lower belt conveyor 11 comes into contact with the round belt 12a of the upper belt conveyor 12 installed on one side. become. At this time, the article M is not supported by the receiving member 13.

  When the article M is conveyed further downstream by the lower belt conveyor 11, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the upper part of the article M moves upward in the width direction of the flat belt 11a of the lower belt conveyor 11 toward the downstream side. It is pushed in the direction of the arrow d from one side by the round belt 12a of the belt conveyor 12 and finally falls down so that it is provided on the opposite side of the upper belt conveyor 12 across the article M so as to approach the flat belt 11a toward the downstream side. It is received on the other side by the receiving member 13 inclined downward.

  When the article M is conveyed further downstream by the lower belt conveyor 11, the article M is separated from the round belt 12a and the receiving member 13 of the upper belt conveyor 12 as shown in FIG. The height dimension h <b> 1 is smaller than the width dimension w <b> 1 in the cross section crossing the sheet, and is further conveyed by the lower belt conveyor 11 and delivered to the main body 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the article M whose posture is changed and delivered to the upstream end of the belt conveyor 24 protruding from the shield box 21 is the article passage port formed in the upstream vertical wall 21 a of the shield box 21. The X-ray shielding curtain 28 is pushed away through 21 a ′ and carried into the shield box 21. Then, the X-rays irradiated from the X-ray source 22 and transmitted through the article M passing through the X-ray irradiation region A are incident on the X-ray detector 23, and image processing based on the detection signal acquired at a predetermined timing is performed. The inspection for contamination is performed.

  The inspected article M that has passed through the X-ray irradiation region A is directed to the article passage opening 21b 'formed in the downstream vertical wall 21b of the shield box 21, and pushes out the X-ray shielding curtain 28 to retreat the article passage opening 21b'. From the downstream end of the belt conveyor 24 protruding from the shield box 21, it is delivered to the sorting device 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the article M is a non-defective product, the sorting arms 32 and 32 do not operate, so that the article M passes through the belt conveyor 31 in the direction of the arrow a as it is. Passed to the posture change unit 40. On the other hand, when the article M is defective, it is discharged in the directions of the arrows c and c ′ when one of the sorting arms 28 is operated, and is collected, for example, in a defective product collection box.

  The article M delivered from the belt conveyor 31 of the sorting device 30 to the second posture changing unit 40 is first an upper belt conveyor 41 having substantially the same height as the belt conveyor 31 as shown by a solid line in FIG. The other side of the article M, which is supported by the flat belt 41a, and then the center of gravity G is rotated downward with the edge of the upper belt conveyor 41 as a fulcrum, It is supported by the flat belt 42a of the lower belt conveyor 42 in a posture in which the longitudinal direction is directed in the vertical direction, that is, in a posture in which the height dimension h0 is larger than the width dimension w0 in the cross section crossing the article conveyance path. Become. The article M changed to the original posture is supplied to, for example, a boxing process.

  With the configuration described above, the X-ray source 22 and the X-ray detector 23 provided are fixed and a pair may be used. Therefore, the conventional X-ray source and X-ray detector are used. As in the case of changing the irradiation direction, the removal and mounting structure becomes complicated, and the work itself when changing the irradiation direction is troublesome, especially the irradiation between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector. There is no problem that the alignment of X-rays is troublesome. As in the case where two pairs of the X-ray source and the X-ray detector are provided, the configuration is simple without causing the apparatus to be complicated or large.

  In addition, since the first posture changing unit 10 that changes the posture of the article M so that the X-ray transmission distance is shortened is provided on the upstream side of the upstream vertical wall 21a of the shield box 21, the posture change is performed. The X-ray transmission distance is shorter than when the previous article M is irradiated with X-rays. Therefore, since the X-ray irradiation amount with respect to the article M is not increased in order to maintain an accurate inspection, it is possible to effectively prevent leakage of X-rays to the outside of the apparatus.

  Further, since the article M inspected after the posture is changed by the upstream first posture changing unit 10 is returned to the original posture by the downstream second posture changing unit 40, for example, on the layout of a series of production lines. This is suitable when it is necessary to return the posture of the inspected article M to the original position, and the production line can be further automated.

  In the configuration in which X-rays are irradiated in the vertical direction, the posture of the article M in which the height dimension h0 is larger than the width dimension w0 by the first posture changing unit 10 on the upstream side of the upstream vertical wall 21a of the shield box 21. Of the article M changed by the first posture changing unit 10 by the second posture changing unit 40 on the downstream side of the downstream vertical wall 21b. The posture is returned to the original position, and the article passage openings 21a 'and 21b' of the vertical walls 21a and 21b are the height dimensions of the article M before the posture change by the first posture change unit 10. Since it is set lower than h0, the upper edge of each article passage opening 21a ', 21b' is far from the X-ray source 22 installed above and tries to leak from the article passage openings 21a ', 21b'. You X-rays will be sufficiently attenuated, the article passage holes 21a ', 21b' leakage of X-rays through is effectively prevented.

  The article M supplied to the first posture changing unit 10 has the longitudinal direction oriented in the vertical direction, and the first posture changing unit 10 causes the longitudinal direction of the article M to be orthogonal to the transport direction a. By changing the posture, that is, after the posture is changed by the first posture changing unit 10, the interval between the articles M conveyed by the belt conveyor 24 is set narrow by preventing the longitudinal direction of the article M from being directed in the conveying direction a. Therefore, there is an advantage that the inspection speed can be increased.

  Further, according to the configuration of the first posture changing unit 10 on the upstream side, when the upper belt conveyor 12 pushes the upper part of the article M from one side in the width direction of the flat belt 11a of the lower belt conveyor 11, the posture is changed. The upper part on the opposite side of the article M whose posture is changed is received by the receiving member 13 on the other side, and the upper part of the article M is gradually approached to the flat belt 11a of the lower belt conveyor 11 by the receiving member 13. Therefore, the posture of the article M is smoothly changed during transportation, and there is no problem that the article M deviates from the transportation path or the posture is disturbed. In addition, by using the upper belt conveyor 12 having a driving force, smooth conveyance of the article M by the lower belt conveyor 11 can be assisted.

  And according to the structure of the 2nd attitude | position change unit 40 of a downstream, since the upper and lower belt conveyors 41 and 42 arranged in parallel with the height of a conveyance surface being used are used, the gravity center G is conveyed. When the article M is delivered to the second posture changing unit 40 so as to be positioned above the lower belt conveyor 42 having a low surface, the article M passes through a step generated between the upper and lower belt conveyors 41 and 42. That is, the article M rotates in the direction of the lower belt conveyor 42 having a lower conveying surface with the edge of the upper belt conveyor 41 having a higher conveying surface as a fulcrum, and the original posture in which the height dimension h0 is larger than the width dimension w0. Thus, it is transferred to the lower belt conveyor 42. This simple configuration is suitable for changing the posture at high speed or for restricting the space in the article conveyance direction a because it does not require a long time or a conveyance distance to change the posture.

  Here, the modification of the 1st attitude | position change unit 10 is demonstrated. Unless otherwise confusing, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as those described above.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the first posture changing unit 10 on the upstream side of the main body 20 includes the lower belt conveyor 11, the upper belt conveyor 12, and the receiving member 13 as described above. ing. In that case, in particular, the flat belt 11a constituting the conveying surface of the lower belt conveyor 11 is provided along the conveying direction a, and the lower end of the article M whose upper part is pushed from one side by the round belt 12a of the upper belt conveyor 12. And a protrusion 11a 'for receiving the portion on the other side.

  According to this, as shown in FIG. 8, the lower end portion of the article M whose upper portion is pushed in the direction of the arrow d from one side by the round belt 12a of the upper belt conveyor 12 is located on the other side by the projection 11a ′. Can be taken from. Accordingly, the lower end portion of the article M whose upper part is pushed by the upper belt conveyor 12 does not move unnecessarily in the pushing direction d. That is, as shown by the two-dot chain line, the upper part of the article M is pushed to change the posture. The action of the upper belt conveyor 12 is not impaired, and the posture of the article M can be changed more reliably. In addition, the said protrusion part 11a 'may be provided continuously in the conveyance direction a, and may be provided discontinuously.

Next, a reference example of the first posture changing unit will be described in relation to the present invention .

  First, the first posture change unit 110 shown in FIG. 9 is applied to change the posture of a box-shaped article M such as a milk pack, for example. A first belt conveyor 111 having a belt 111a, and flat belts 112a and 113a which are arranged above the first belt conveyor 111 and are twisted so as to be vertical at the upstream end and horizontal at the downstream end. And a pair of upper and lower second and third belt conveyors 112 and 113 respectively. In that case, the second and third belt conveyors 112 and 113 have a lower running surface of the flat belt 112a of the upper second belt conveyor 112 and an upper running surface of the flat belt 113a of the lower third belt conveyor 113. Arranged so as to oppose each other at an appropriate interval, the article M is sandwiched between the traveling surfaces and conveyed.

  According to the first posture changing unit 110, the article M supplied with its longitudinal direction oriented in the up-down direction is initially in the process of being conveyed in the direction of the arrow a, with its orientation initially oriented in the up-down direction. Is supported by the first belt conveyor 111 and is gradually sandwiched between the second and third belt conveyors 112 and 113 and gradually changed to a posture in which the longitudinal direction is directed in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction a as it is conveyed. In other words, the posture is changed to a posture in which the height dimension is smaller than the width dimension, and is transferred to the main body portion 20 on the downstream side. In addition, this 1st attitude | position change unit 110 is suitable for changing the attitude | position, conveying stably the goods M in which the content easily moves irregularly during conveyance like the milk cart mentioned above. . And it can be used as a 2nd attitude | position change unit by reversing the upstream and downstream structure of the 1st attitude | position change unit 110 of such a structure.

  The first posture changing unit 210 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is applied to an article M that easily rolls on the conveyance surface when the posture is changed, for example, a round can. However, the conventional belt conveyor 24 is changed to the plate conveyor 224 in the figure.

  First, the first posture changing unit 210 includes a belt conveyor 211, a screw conveyor 212, a guide member 213, and a pressing member 214. The belt conveyor 211 provided below conveys the articles M supplied in the direction of arrow a with the longitudinal direction thereof being directed upward and downward. The screw conveyor 212 provided above the belt conveyor 211 is engaged with the substantially central portion of the article M via the spiral groove 212a and supported from one side, and is rotated with the belt conveyor 211. In cooperation, the article M is conveyed in the direction of arrow a. A round bar-shaped guide member 213 provided above the belt conveyor 211 on the opposite side of the screw conveyor 212 across the article M extends along the screw conveyor 212 on the upstream side, and the screw conveyor on the downstream side. Inclined downward while gradually separating from 212. The push member 214 provided on the opposite side of the guide member 214 with the article M sandwiched between and above the belt conveyor 212 releases the engagement between the article M and the groove 212a of the screw conveyor 212. In order to separate the upper part of the article M from the screw conveyor 212, the article M is disposed so as to be further away from the screw conveyor 212 toward the downstream side.

  On the other hand, the plate conveyor 224 includes a pair of upstream and downstream (only one on the upstream side) sprockets 224a... 224a, two endless chains 224b and 224b wound between the corresponding sprockets 224a and 224a, and two strips. A plurality of receiving plates 224c... 224c that are attached across the endless chains 224b and 224b and have arc-shaped concave portions in a side view for holding the article M at the center. The endless chains 224b and 224b and the receiving plates 224c... 224c are made of resin so as not to unnecessarily shield the X-rays that pass through the article M passing through the X-ray irradiation region A and enter the X-ray detector 23. Has been.

  According to the first posture changing unit 210, the article M supplied with its longitudinal direction oriented in the vertical direction is initially the belt conveyor 211 at the bottom, the screw conveyor 212 at one side, and the other side at the other side. While being supported by the guide member 213, it is conveyed in the direction of arrow a. Then, on the downstream side, the article M is pushed upward from one side by the pressing member 214 to be disengaged from the groove 212 a of the screw conveyor 212 and tries to fall down in the width direction of the belt conveyor 211. On the other hand, since the guide member 213 provided on the opposite side of the pressing member 214 across the article M is inclined downwardly away from the screw conveyor 212, the upper portion of the article M to be overturned is the guide member. While being received from the other side by 213, the article M is guided toward the plate conveyor 224.

  The article M that falls in the longitudinal direction in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction a, that is, the posture in which the height dimension is smaller than the width dimension in the cross section crossing the article conveyance path, is delivered to the plate conveyor 224. It is. That is, the articles M that fall are sequentially transferred to the receiving plates 224c, and are conveyed to the X-ray irradiation region A while being stably held via the side portions of the articles M and the concave portions of the receiving plates 224c. Will be. In addition, it can be used as a 2nd attitude | position change unit by reversing the upstream / downstream structure of the 1st attitude | position change unit 210 of such a structure roughly.

Next, a reference example of the second posture changing unit will be described in relation to the present invention .

  The second posture changing unit 340 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 changes the posture of the article M packed with flour, powdered sugar, etc., and is divided into left and right via the gap S along the transport direction a. A belt conveyor 341 having flat belts 341A and 341B is provided. In the gap S, a belt conveyor 342 having a round belt 342a which is inclined so as to advance toward the right side flat belt 341B as it goes downstream is disposed as indicated by an arrow e.

  According to the second attitude changing unit 340, first, as shown in FIG. 14A, the article M is directed from the upstream side in the longitudinal direction in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction a, that is, across the article conveyance path. Is supplied across both flat belts 341A and 341B so that the height dimension h1 is smaller than the width dimension w1 in the cross section and the center of gravity G is located on the right flat belt 341B side of the belt conveyor 341. Is done. At this time, the round belt 342a of the belt conveyor 342 is directly below the article M and does not protrude from the gap S.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 14B, when the article M is further conveyed downstream by the belt conveyor 341, the round belt 342 a of the belt conveyor 342 protrudes upward from the gap S, and the illustrated example of the article M is shown. The left side is gradually lifted by the round belt 342a, and the article M is supported by the right flat belt 341B at the right end in the figure.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 14 (c), the article M is placed on the right flat belt by the round belt 342a that moves upward and in the width direction of the right flat belt 341B of the belt conveyor 341 in the process of being further conveyed downstream. It is supported on 341B in a posture in which the longitudinal direction is directed in the vertical direction, that is, in a posture where the height dimension h0 is larger than the width dimension W0.

In the first posture changing unit 10 in the above embodiment, the traveling speeds of the flat belt 11a and the round belt 12a of the lower belt conveyor 11 and the upper belt conveyor 12 are adjusted, respectively, or in the second posture changing unit 40, The running speed of the flat belts 41a and 42a of the upper belt conveyor 41 and the lower belt conveyor 42 may be adjusted, respectively, to further stabilize the article conveyance and further smooth the posture change in the posture changing units 10 and 40. .

  As described above, according to the present invention, the supplied article can be accurately inspected with a simplified configuration, and X-ray leakage to the outside of the apparatus can be effectively prevented. A line inspection apparatus is provided. That is, the present invention relates to an X-ray inspection apparatus that inspects an article for X-ray irradiation, contamination inspection of the article, abnormal shape of the article, and the like, and is widely applicable to the technical field of article inspection.

It is a side view of the X-ray inspection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is also a plan view. It is a sectional side view which extracts and shows the principal part of a main-body part. It is a block diagram which shows a control system. In order to explain the operation of the first posture changing unit, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an excerpt of the main part viewed from the direction II in FIG. 2, (a) immediately before the posture change, (b) during the posture change, and (c ) Indicates immediately after the posture change. It is a figure which extracts and shows the principal part seen from the III direction of FIG. 2, in order to demonstrate the effect | action of a 2nd attitude | position change unit. It is a top view which extracts and shows a part which shows the modification of a 1st attitude | position change unit. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an excerpt of the main part viewed from the IV direction in FIG. 7 in order to explain the operation of the protrusion. It is a top view of the 1st attitude | position change unit which concerns on the reference example of this invention . It is a principal part side view of the 1st attitude | position change unit which concerns on another reference example, and the plate conveyor of the main-body part which follows. It is also a plan view. It is a principal part side view of the 2nd attitude | position change unit which concerns on the reference example of this invention . It is also a plan view. In order to explain the operation of the second posture changing unit, it is a diagram showing an excerpt of the main part seen from the VI direction of FIG. 13, (a) just before the posture change, (b) during the posture change, and ( c) shows immediately after the posture change. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional X-ray inspection apparatus. It is a figure which similarly shows the structure of another X-ray inspection apparatus. It is a figure which similarly shows the structure of another X-ray inspection apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 X-ray inspection equipment
10 first posture changing unit ( first posture changing means)
11 Lower belt conveyor 11a 'Protruding portion 12 Upper belt conveyor 13 Receiving member 21a Upstream vertical wall (upstream X-ray leakage preventing member)
21a 'Article passage 21b Downstream vertical wall (downstream X-ray leakage prevention member)
21b 'Article passage port 22 X-ray source 23 X-ray detector 24 Belt conveyor (conveying means)
40 second posture changing unit (second posture changing means)
41 Upper belt conveyor (belt conveyor with high conveying surface)
42 Lower belt conveyor (belt conveyor with low transport surface)
A X-ray irradiation area M Article

Claims (3)

Conveying means for conveying an article, an X-ray source for irradiating the article conveyed by the conveying means with X-rays, and provided at a position opposite to the X-ray source and irradiated from the X-ray source for the article An X-ray inspection apparatus having an X-ray detector for detecting X-rays transmitted through
An X-ray leakage preventing member provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the X-ray irradiation region by the X-ray source, and having an article passage port;
A first posture changing means provided on the upstream side of the upstream X-ray leakage preventing member, and changing the posture of the article in a direction orthogonal to the article conveying direction so that a transmission distance of X-rays is shortened ;
A second side provided on the downstream side of the downstream X-ray leakage preventing member, and changes the posture of the article whose posture has been changed by the first posture changing means to a direction orthogonal to the article transport direction and returns it to the original state. Posture changing means, and
The X-ray source and the X-ray detector are vertically opposed to each other,
The first posture changing means changes the posture of the article whose height dimension is larger than the width dimension in a cross section traversing the article conveyance path, and makes the height dimension smaller than the width dimension.
The second posture changing means changes the posture of the article whose height dimension is smaller than the width dimension by the first posture changing means, and the height dimension is larger than the original width dimension. To return to posture, and
Both the article passage ports of the X-ray leakage preventing members are set lower than the height dimension of the article before the posture change by the first posture changing means,
The first posture changing means includes
A lower belt conveyor disposed upstream of the conveying means for conveying articles;
An upper part that is provided so as to advance in the width direction of the conveying surface toward the downstream side above the conveying surface of the lower belt conveyor, and pushes the upper part of the article on the conveying surface from one side in the width direction of the conveying surface. A belt conveyor;
The lower belt conveyor is provided on the opposite side of the upper belt conveyor so as to approach the conveying surface of the lower belt conveyor, and the posture is changed by being pushed by the upper belt conveyor. An X-ray inspection apparatus comprising: a receiving member that receives an upper part of an article on the other side . The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1,
The lower belt conveyor has a protruding portion for receiving, on the other side, a lower end portion of an article whose upper portion is pushed from one side by the upper belt conveyor along a conveying direction on a conveying surface thereof. X-ray inspection equipment. Conveying means for conveying an article, an X-ray source for irradiating the article conveyed by the conveying means with X-rays, and provided at a position opposite to the X-ray source and irradiated from the X-ray source for the article An X-ray inspection apparatus having an X-ray detector for detecting X-rays transmitted through
An X-ray leakage preventing member provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the X-ray irradiation region by the X-ray source, and having an article passage port;
A first posture changing means provided on the upstream side of the upstream X-ray leakage preventing member, and changing the posture of the article in a direction orthogonal to the article conveying direction so that a transmission distance of X-rays is shortened;
A second side provided on the downstream side of the downstream X-ray leakage preventing member, and changes the posture of the article whose posture has been changed by the first posture changing means to a direction orthogonal to the article transport direction and returns it to the original state. Posture changing means, and
The X-ray source and the X-ray detector are vertically opposed to each other,
The first posture changing means changes the posture of the article whose height dimension is larger than the width dimension in a cross section traversing the article conveyance path, and makes the height dimension smaller than the width dimension.
The second posture changing means changes the posture of the article whose height dimension is smaller than the width dimension by the first posture changing means, and the height dimension is larger than the original width dimension. To return to posture, and
Both the article passage ports of the X-ray leakage preventing members are set lower than the height dimension of the article before the posture change by the first posture changing means,
The second posture changing means includes
Provided with a pair of belt conveyors arranged on the left and right sides along the transport direction and disposed on the downstream side of the transport means; and
One belt conveyor supports one side of the article,
2. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the other belt conveyor has a lower conveyance surface than the one belt conveyor so that the other side of the article is lifted .

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