JP5364297B2 - Article conveying apparatus and article inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article carrying device capable of breaking down superimposed articles to be separated from one another during carrying, and feeding them to an inspecting means. <P>SOLUTION: Above a carrying means 6 provided in a front stage of the inspecting device and carrying a plurality of articles A to the inspecting device 1, a rod-shaped element 13 is suspended so as to rock in a carrying direction while keeping the height of a lower end from a carrying surface less than the height H of the article. In the rod-shaped element, an interval in a width direction of the carrying surface orthogonal to the carrying direction is not more than the length L of the article. The carried articles contact with the rod-shaped element and break down on the carrying surface to be in a flat placed state, so that each article is individually separated to be subjected to an inspection such as a shape inspection. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus used for conveying a large number of articles supplied in bulk to an inspection apparatus in order to inspect the quality of the article, and an article inspection apparatus including the article conveying apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an article transport apparatus and an article inspection apparatus that allow an article in an overlapped state, which may cause trouble in inspection, to be broken during transportation and to be individually separated and inspected.

  In the article inspection using the X-ray foreign matter detection device, not only the foreign matter contained in the article is inspected but also the shape of the article may be inspected. For example, in the inspection of foods such as wieners, sausages, and carrots using an X-ray foreign matter detection device, not only the inspection of whether or not each item contains foreign matter but also the shape of the item itself is predetermined. An inspection may also be performed as to whether or not the above criteria are satisfied. In the inspection of such a shape, a large number of articles are transported on an article transport apparatus such as a belt conveyor in a loose state that is not wrapped in a bag or the like, and brought into the inspection apparatus for inspection.

  In the inspection of the above shape, the prescribed shape of the article is determined by the length, etc., and the length of the article is calculated from the perimeter of the image of the article obtained from the detection result of the X-ray foreign object detection device, the image area, etc., and this value May be determined based on whether or not is within the allowable range of the length representing the specified shape.

  When the shape inspection method as described above is adopted, when a large number of individually separated articles are placed on the article transport device in a separated state and transported to the inspection device, the inspection may be performed depending on the state of the article supplied to the article transport device. The device may not be able to recognize individual articles separately, and problems may arise in the inspection results.

  As a specific example, let us consider a case where an X-ray foreign object detection apparatus is entered in a state where two wieners having a length within a specified range overlap each other. Since the X-ray foreign object detection apparatus handles two overlapping images of the wiener as one inspection object, the peripheral length and the image area can be obtained from the image data to calculate the wiener length. , There is a possibility that it will be judged as a rejected article having a large length.

  In order to avoid such inconvenience, a technique is known in which the images of two overlapping articles are individually decomposed by reducing the obtained image as a whole, and two wieners overlap each other at the ends. In a special case such as a straight line as a whole, it is possible to determine one image by dividing it into two Wiener images by such an image reduction method. In cases such as when they overlap in the vicinity of the approximate center and have an X shape as a whole, each wiener cannot be disassembled and recognized individually by image reduction, and inspection by accurate shape recognition is difficult. It was.

Although a mechanism having a function capable of effectively eliminating the overlap of articles in the preceding stage of the inspection apparatus as described above has not been known in the past, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, for example, loose frozen foods such as pilaf and fried rice The present invention relates to a method for producing a high-quality loose frozen food with little grain breakage in a sanitary manner with a high yield, and a loosening device for loosening the frozen frozen food is disclosed. That is, in the present invention, a conveying belt conveyor for conveying loose frozen food is disposed in the longitudinal direction in a horizontally long casing surrounded by a heat insulating wall to form a conveying space in the longitudinal direction. It is divided into at least a plurality of refrigeration areas in order from the upstream side of the conveyance space, is maintained at a different refrigeration temperature for each refrigeration area, is provided with a loosening means, and the inlet side of the first refrigeration area of each refrigeration area Is provided with a supply means for supplying the loose frozen food into a plate shape. Here, the frozen frozen food is formed into a lump of a certain size by a primary loosening device that is formed thin and wide with a roller and further comprises a fixed comb and a rotating comb having radial comb teeth disposed on the upper part of the conveyor belt. It is loosened and supplied to the next stage.
JP 2001-252028 A

  However, the loosening device in the apparatus for producing frozen frozen foods of Patent Document 1 is suitable for loosening frozen frozen foods such as pilaf and fried rice formed into a plate shape into a certain size lump, In order to individually inspect the shape of the above-described loose article such as the wiener, it is not suitable for an application for eliminating the overlap of the articles and cannot be used.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an article transport apparatus and an article inspection apparatus that can collapse and separate individual articles in an overlapping state that may cause problems in the inspection of the articles. It is said.

Next, means for solving the above problems will be described with reference to the drawings corresponding to the embodiments.
An article conveying apparatus according to claim 1 is provided.
In order to inspect the quality of the article A formed in a predetermined shape, in the article transport apparatus for transporting a plurality of the articles A to the inspection apparatus 1,
A transport unit 6 provided in a front stage of the inspection apparatus and configured to place the plurality of articles A on a transport surface and transport the article A to the inspection apparatus 1;
The interval in the width direction of the conveying surface perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means 6 and the height of the lower end from the conveying surface are based on the shape of the article, and the wobbling along the conveying direction of the conveying means 6. It is suspended above the conveying means 6 so as to be movable, and is in contact with the article A conveyed to the conveying means 6 in a state of being overlapped in the thickness direction, thereby eliminating the overlapping state of the articles A. A plurality of rods 13;
Equipped with,
The rod-like bodies 13 are arranged at different positions in the transport direction of the transport means 6, thereby being arranged in a staggered manner in the transport direction of the transport means 6 .

The article inspection apparatus according to claim 2 is:
In an inspection apparatus for inspecting the quality of an article formed in a predetermined shape,
Inspection means 1 for inspecting the article;
A transport unit 6 provided in a preceding stage of the inspection unit 1 to place the plurality of articles A on a transport surface and transport the article A to the inspection unit 1;
The interval in the width direction of the conveying surface perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means 6 and the height of the lower end from the conveying surface are based on the shape of the article, and the wobbling along the conveying direction of the conveying means 6. It is suspended above the conveying means 6 so as to be movable, and is in contact with the article A conveyed to the conveying means 6 in a state of being overlapped in the thickness direction, thereby eliminating the overlapping state of the articles A. A plurality of rods 13;
Equipped with,
The rod-like bodies 13 are arranged at different positions in the transport direction of the transport means 6, thereby being arranged in a staggered manner in the transport direction of the transport means 6 .

The article inspection apparatus according to claim 3 is the article inspection apparatus according to claim 2 ,
The inspection means 1 is an X-ray inspection apparatus,
Position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the rod-shaped body 13 in order to adjust the height of the lower end from the transport surface;
The height of the lower end from the conveyance surface is set by controlling the position adjusting means according to the shape of the article A detected by the X-ray inspection apparatus.

The article inspection apparatus according to claim 4 is the article inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 3 ,
The article A is characterized in that the height H and the length L are formed to have predetermined dimensions.

According to the article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, when a large number of articles formed in a predetermined shape are placed on the conveying surface of the conveying means in a separated state and conveyed to the inspection apparatus, the article is conveyed on the conveying surface. Even if there is a possibility that the inspection will be hindered because they overlap each other, the plurality of rods suspended above the transport surface are separated from the transport surface in the width direction and the distance from the transport surface. Since the height of the lower end is based on the shape of the article, the lower end of the rod-shaped body always touches at least the upper article among the articles overlapping in the thickness direction on the conveyance surface, and is hung on the article. Since the force is applied to the upper article while swinging in the conveying direction with the conveyance of the conveying means, the upper article is separated and falls on the conveying surface, and the articles are surely overlapped with each other. It will be resolved. For this reason, there is no problem in the inspection of the shape and the like which is subsequently sent to the inspection apparatus. Furthermore, since the rod-shaped bodies are arranged in a zigzag shape in the transport direction of the transport means, any bar-shaped body may be located on the transport surface regardless of the position in the width direction of the transport surface. It is possible to obtain an effect of surely canceling the state in which the articles overlap each other by always contacting the upper article on which the articles overlap and dropping the article on the conveying surface.

According to the article inspection apparatus according to claim 2 ,
When a large number of articles formed in a predetermined shape are placed in a loose state on the transport surface of the transport means and transported to the inspection device, the articles are likely to overlap each other on the transport surface, which may cause problems in inspection. Even in this case, the plurality of rod-like bodies suspended above the conveyance surface are based on the shape of the article in terms of the interval in the width direction of the conveyance surface and the height of the lower end from the conveyance surface. The lower end of the rod-shaped body is always in contact with at least the upper article among the articles overlapping on the conveyance surface, and is hooked on the article and swings in the conveyance direction along with the conveyance of the conveyance means. Since the force is applied to the article, the upper article falls apart and falls onto the conveyance surface, and the state where the articles overlap each other is surely eliminated. For this reason, there will be no trouble in the inspection of the shape and the like which is subsequently sent to the inspection means. Furthermore, since the rod-shaped bodies are arranged in a zigzag shape in the transport direction of the transport means, any bar-shaped body may be located on the transport surface regardless of the position in the width direction of the transport surface. It is possible to obtain an effect of surely canceling the state in which the articles overlap each other by always contacting the upper article on which the articles overlap and dropping the article on the conveying surface.

According to the article inspection apparatus described in claim 3 , in the effect of the article inspection apparatus according to claim 2 ,
X-ray transmission data relating to the article is obtained by the X-ray inspection apparatus as the article inspection means, and the shape of the article can be known from this data. By controlling the position adjusting means according to the shape, The height from the conveying surface at the lower end can be accurately set based on the shape of the article. For this reason, of the articles overlapping on the transport surface, at least the upper article is reliably brought into contact with the lower end of the rod-like body so that the upper article is dropped on the transport surface so that inspection by the inspection means can be performed without hindrance. Can be.

According to the article inspection apparatus described in claim 4 , in the effect of the article inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 3 , the article A has a height H and a length L having predetermined dimensions. The plurality of rod-shaped bodies that are formed as described above and are suspended above the conveyance surface have an interval in the width direction of the conveyance surface of L or less, and the height of the lower end from the conveyance surface is less than H. As described above, the above-described effect that the article on the upper side of the overlapping article is scattered and dropped on the conveying surface to eliminate the overlapping state of the article has the height H and the length L. The effect that it can be reliably achieved based on the shape of the article is obtained.

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.
1 is a front view of the article inspection apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the article inspection apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the article conveying apparatus in the article inspection apparatus according to the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an operation of the rod-shaped body of the article transport device in the article inspection apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the article inspection apparatus of the embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the effect | action of the rod-shaped body of an article conveyance apparatus.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an X-ray foreign object detection apparatus 1 that is an article inspection apparatus (inspection means) of this example is an inspection object that is provided as a part of a production line for food and the like and is conveyed. Irradiate an article such as food with X-rays, and detect foreign matter such as bone, metal, glass, stone, and synthetic resin mixed in the object to be inspected based on the amount of transmission, and shape of the article Also check for (eg length).

  For example, if the wiener which is a food is taken as an example of the article in this example, the shape is L when measured along the longitudinal direction, and the diameter in the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, that is, placed flat on the conveying surface or the like. It is assumed that the case is a long article having a height of H, and a large number of articles are transported in a loose state without being wrapped at the time of inspection and applied to the inspection apparatus.

The configuration of the X-ray foreign object detection device 1 of this example will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the X-ray foreign object detection device 1 of the present example includes a housing 2 as a main body for housing a mechanism portion of the device. The housing 2 has a shielding structure using a radiation protection material so that a harmful amount of X-rays does not leak outside from the inside, and is supported on the installation surface by the gantry 3.

  On the left and right sides of the lower part of the housing 2, there are opened an inlet 4 and an outlet 5 for a product to enter and exit, and a shielding curtain (not shown) made of a flexible X-ray shielding material. Each is attached. A belt conveyor 6 as a conveying means is provided inside the lower portion of the housing 2 through the inlet 4 and the outlet 5, and articles are carried into the interior from the outside of the housing 2 through the inlet 4, and thereafter After inspection in an inspection area which is an internal space below the housing 2, it is configured so that it can be carried out through the outlet 5. In addition, a door 7 that can be freely opened and closed is provided at the opening on the front surface of the housing 2, and the work is performed in an inspection area (an internal space below the housing 2) where articles are conveyed for the purpose of cleaning and other maintenance work. It is configured so that a person can access as needed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an X-ray generator 8 is provided in the upper part of the housing 2 downward. The X-ray generator 8 can irradiate X-rays toward an article conveyed by the belt conveyor 6 in an inspection region below the housing 2. Further, in the belt conveyor 6 provided in the inspection area of the casing 2, X-rays transmitted through the articles conveyed by the belt conveyor 6 are received and converted into light at the center lower position of the upper belt. An X-ray detector 9 that outputs a detection signal is provided in the control unit that does not.

  The belt conveyor 6 as a conveying means penetrating the lower part of the housing 2 of the X-ray foreign object detection device 1 has the same length as the conveying length of the inspection area inside the housing 2. Projecting to the front side (upstream in the transport direction, left side in FIGS. 1 and 2). The part of the belt conveyor 6 is supported by a gantry 3 that supports the casing 2, and constitutes an article conveying apparatus for conveying and introducing an article to an inspection apparatus.

  A shielding case 10 is provided on the belt conveyor 6 protruding in front of the housing 2. The shielding case 10 is arranged continuously with the housing 2 so as to cover the inlet 4 of the housing 2, and there is a possibility that X-rays may leak from the inlet 4 of the housing 2. However, it has a function of reliably shielding this from the outside. In addition, a door 11 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front side of the shielding case 10 so that an operator can access the shielding case 10 as necessary for cleaning and other maintenance work.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the lower surface of the upper wall of the shielding case 10 is brought into contact with the articles to be conveyed in order to break the overlap of the articles conveyed by the belt conveyor 6. As a means for dropping it down, the rod-like body 13 is suspended via the locking member 12 so as to be swingable in the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 6.

  First, in order to install the rod-shaped body 13, the locking member 12 is attached to the lower surface of the upper wall of the shielding case 10. The locking member 12 includes two locking grooves 15, 15 arranged in the front and rear at a predetermined interval in the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 6 in each of the pair of left and right locking portions 14, 14. The locking groove 15 is opened obliquely upward on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 6. And a pair of latching | locking parts 14 and 14 are the same positions regarding a conveyance direction, Comprising: It is arrange | positioned at predetermined intervals about the width direction of the belt conveyor 6 orthogonal to a conveyance direction.

  The pair of left and right locking portions 14, 14 of the locking member 12 are supported between the two locking grooves 15, 15 on the front side and between the two locking grooves 15, 15 on the rear side, respectively. The rod 16 is pivotably hooked. Accordingly, the support bars 16 are arranged in a horizontal state parallel to the width direction of the belt conveyor 6 at the front and rear positions in the transport direction. Each of the support bars 16 has two rod-like bodies 13 fixed at different intervals in the width direction of the belt conveyor 6 so as to face in the same direction orthogonal to the support bars 16, In the state where no external force is applied, any rod-like body 13 hangs vertically downward.

In the state where the rod-shaped body 13 is waiting for articles conveyed by the belt conveyor 6 and no external force is applied to the rod-shaped body 13, the dimension (height) from the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 6 to the lower end of the rod-shaped body 13 ) Is less than the height H of the article. That is, with respect to the height, if the articles are transported in an overlapping manner, the rod-shaped body 13 comes into contact with the lower article and becomes resistance to movement. It moves relative to the belt, and the article overlying it can be broken and dropped onto the conveying surface.
The height H of the article indicates the thickness or outer diameter depending on the shape of the article. That is, if it is a rectangular parallelepiped article, it refers to the length (thickness) of one side orthogonal to the bottom surface in the conveyed state, and if it is a cylindrical article, it refers to its outer diameter.

  Further, there are four rod-like bodies 13 in total, two for each of the two front and rear support rods 16, 16. The arrangement is as follows. That is, the two rod-like bodies 13 on the upstream side in the conveying direction are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line parallel to the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 6, and the interval is smaller than the length L of the article. Further, the two rod-shaped bodies 13 on the downstream side in the transport direction are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line parallel to the transport direction of the belt conveyor 6, and the interval is larger than the interval between the two rod-shaped bodies 13 on the upstream side. Is also big. However, with respect to the width direction of the belt conveyor 6, the downstream side rod-like bodies 13 are set such that the distance from the upstream side nearest rod-like body 13 is smaller than the length L of the article. Is also set to be less than L. Thus, the four rod-shaped bodies 13 are arranged in a staggered pattern along the conveying direction, and the distance in the width direction of the belt and the gap with the end portion of the belt have the length L of the article at any position. It does not exceed.

  Thus, with respect to the width direction of the belt conveyor 6, the distance between the rod-shaped body 13 and the rod-shaped body 13 and the distance between the rod-shaped body 13 and the end of the belt conveyor 6 are less than the length L of the article at any position. Therefore, depending on the direction of the article placed on the conveying surface, when the article passes through the rod-shaped body 13, it may contact the lower end of the rod-shaped body 13 whose height is less than H. The bar-like body 13 comes into contact with the upper or lower article, and the upper article can be dropped onto the transport surface by breaking the overlap of the articles.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a hopper 17 for throwing articles into the belt conveyor 6 and supplying it to the belt conveyor 6 is integrally provided in the shielding case 10 at the start end of the belt conveyor 6.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the belt conveyor 6 as a conveying means penetrating the lower part of the housing 2 of the X-ray foreign object detection device 1 is located on the rear side (downstream in the conveying direction, The terminal portion protrudes on the right side in FIGS. The end portion of the belt conveyor 6 is supported by a gantry 3 that supports the casing 2 and is covered by a shielding case 18. In the shielding case 18, a sorting means 19 is provided adjacent to the end of the belt conveyor 6. When the inspection result is acceptable, the sorting unit 19 is set at a predetermined position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and discharges the article to a predetermined position outside the apparatus via the chute 20, and the inspection result is unacceptable. In this case, the article is set at a predetermined position indicated by a chain line in FIG.

Next, an article conveying operation in the X-ray foreign object detection device 1 of this example will be described.
A large number of articles are thrown from the hopper 17 in a loose state. These articles are stacked on the belt of the belt conveyor 6 in a random arrangement, and are conveyed through the shielding case 10 toward the inspection unit of the X-ray foreign object detection device 1 as the belt moves.

  As indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4, in the state where the rod-shaped body 13 is not in contact with the article A and hangs vertically downward, the distance between the lower end of the rod-shaped body 13 and the conveying surface is greater than the height H of the article A. Is also small. Therefore, even when the articles A are not stacked, the articles A on the transport surface always come into contact with the lower end portion of the rod-shaped body 13 as long as the articles A are conveyed to the position where the rod-shaped body 13 exists in the transport direction. When the article A moves with the movement of the belt and comes into contact with the rod-shaped body 13, the rod-shaped body 13 is pushed by the article A to be conveyed and swings backward in the conveying direction, as shown by a solid line in FIG. On the contrary, the article A receives resistance from the rod-like body 13 to receive a force in the direction opposite to the conveying direction, and moves relative to the belt while being conveyed.

  Although not shown in FIG. 4, when another article A overlaps with the article A placed on the transport surface, the lower article A moves in contact with the rod-shaped body 13 as described above. In this case, the upper article A collapses and falls onto the conveying surface, and the overlap of the articles A is eliminated. Needless to say, if the rod-shaped body 13 comes into contact with the overlapping upper article A, a force can be directly applied to the upper article A and dropped onto the conveying surface.

  In addition, since the rod-shaped body 13 in contact with the article A can be swung toward the downstream side in the transport direction in this way, the article A is not sandwiched between the rod-shaped body 13 and the belt, and the rod-shaped body 13 becomes the article A. There is no possibility of inconvenience that the article A is damaged by the rod-like body 13 such as being stuck in

  FIGS. 5 and 6 show the action of the rod-like body 13 on two articles A that have been transported in an overlapping manner. The articles A are overlapped in the same way, but from different positions in the width direction of the belt. Since it was sent to the area of the rod-shaped body 13, the difference in operation between the case where the rod-shaped body 13 contacts the upper article (FIG. 5) and the case where it contacts the lower article (FIG. 6) is shown. In FIGS. 4 and 5, among the two articles that have been transported in an overlapping manner, the lower article is represented by A1, and the upper article is represented by A2 (the same sign is also used after the drop shown in each figure (c)). .)

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, when the preceding bar 13 comes into contact with the upper article A <b> 2 of the overlapping article A, the bar 13 swings rearward in the transport direction, and the upper article A <b> 2 moves to the bar 13. Is dropped on the transport surface, and as a result, the articles A1 and A2 are individually separated suitable for inspection. The rod-like body 13 separated from the article A2 returns to the original position facing the original vertically downward direction by its own weight.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the preceding bar 13 comes into contact with the lower article A1 of the overlapping article A, the bar 13 swings rearward in the transport direction and the lower article A1 Since the rod-shaped body 13 receives an action and moves relative to the conveyance surface, the upper article A2 placed thereon falls down from this, and as a result, the articles A1 and A2 are individually separated suitable for inspection. It will be in the state. The rod-like body 13 separated from the article A1 returns to the original position directed under the original vertical direction by its own weight.

  Although not shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, even if it does not come in contact with any of the articles A1 and A2 on which the two rod-like bodies 13 in the previous stage overlap and the overlap of the articles A1 and A2 cannot be eliminated, Since the next rod-like body 13 is installed at a position where the width direction of the belt is different in the subsequent stage, one of the added articles A1 and A2 contacts any of these rod-like bodies 13. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the overlap will be eliminated.

  In this way, when a large number of articles A are thrown in from the hopper 17, even if some of these articles A overlap each other on the belt of the belt conveyor 6, the rod 13 Overlap is eliminated by contact with a plurality of stages and a plurality of rod-shaped bodies 13 while being transported by a transport device having a large number of articles A, and a large number of articles A are separated from each other and placed directly flat on the transport surface. Sent to the inspection device. Therefore, when inspecting the shape (length, etc.) by X-ray irradiation in the inspection device, each individual article A is measured accurately, and the shape is accurately passed or rejected against a predetermined standard. Can be determined.

  In the example described above, a total of four rod-shaped bodies 13 are provided at two different positions in the transport direction, but two rod-shaped bodies 13 are arranged at intervals of less than L in the belt width direction. If it is arranged, a certain effect can be obtained. For example, one rod-like body 13 may be provided at each of two staggered positions different in both the transport direction and the belt width direction.

  Further, in the example described above, the rod-like body 13 is fixedly attached at a predetermined position on the ceiling surface of the shielding case 10, and the distance between the lower end portion in the free state and the conveying surface is based on the height H of the article A. As a predetermined value less than H. However, since the distance between the lower end portion of the rod-shaped body 13 and the conveyance surface is determined based on the height of the article A, the installation position of the rod-shaped body 13 is different if the height of the article A to be conveyed / inspected is different. It is also necessary to change (or the height of the lower end).

  Therefore, the vertical position of the locking member 12 that supports the support bar 16 to which the bar-shaped body 13 is attached may be configured to be freely adjustable by the position adjusting means. Although the mechanism of the position adjusting means is not particularly limited, a rack is attached along the vertical direction to the locking member 12 guided so as to be movable up and down, and this rack is engaged with a pinion provided on the shielding case 10 side. You may make it adjust the height by raising / lowering the locking member 12 by rotating this pinion by manual thru | or power. In addition, the locking member 12 guided so as to freely move up and down is suspended by a wire, the wire is wound around a pulley or the like on the shielding case 10 side, and the pulley is rotated manually or by power to move the locking member 12 up and down. You may make it adjust height. In addition, in order to adjust the position in the height direction where the rod-shaped body 13 is installed or the position of the lower end of the rod-shaped body 13, various mechanisms and structures can be selected.

  When the position adjusting means for the rod-like body 13 is provided in this way, when the height of the article A to be put into the apparatus is known, the user operates the position adjusting means based on this value. The height of the rod-like body 13 can be set optimally. Or when using an X-ray inspection apparatus as an inspection means like the said embodiment, according to the thickness of the article | item A calculated | required from the transmission amount of the X-ray detected by the X-ray inspection apparatus, ie, the height H of the article | item A Thus, the position adjusting means may be automatically driven so that the height from the conveyance surface at the lower end of the rod-shaped body 13 is less than the height H of the article A.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an article inspection apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the article inspection apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the article transport device in the article inspection apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view showing the rod-shaped body of the article transport device in the article inspection apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the action of the rod-shaped body of the article transport device in the article inspection apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the action of the rod-shaped body of the article transport device in the article inspection apparatus of the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... X-ray foreign material detection apparatus as article inspection apparatus (inspection apparatus) 6 ... Belt conveyor as article conveyance apparatus (conveyance means) 8 ... X-ray generator 9 ... X-ray detector 12 ... Locking member 13 ... Rod-shaped body 14 ... Locking portion 15 ... Locking groove 16 ... Support rod A ... Article

Claims (4)

In order to inspect the quality of an article (A) formed in a predetermined shape, an article transporting apparatus that transports a plurality of the articles to the inspection apparatus (1),
A conveying means (6) provided in a front stage of the inspection apparatus and configured to place a plurality of the articles on a conveyance surface and convey the articles to the inspection apparatus;
The interval in the width direction of the conveying surface perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means and the height of the lower end from the conveying surface are based on the shape of the article and can swing along the conveying direction of the conveying means. A plurality of rod-shaped bodies (which are installed suspended above the conveying means and contact with the article conveyed to the conveying means in a state of being overlapped in the thickness direction to eliminate the overlapping state of the articles ( and 13), comprising a,
The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rod-like body (13) is arranged in a staggered manner in the conveying direction of the conveying means by being arranged at different positions in the conveying direction of the conveying means (6) . In an inspection apparatus for inspecting the quality of an article formed in a predetermined shape,
Inspection means (1) for inspecting the article;
A transport unit (6) provided in a preceding stage of the inspection unit and configured to place a plurality of the articles on a transport surface and transport the article to the inspection unit;
The interval in the width direction of the conveying surface perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means and the height of the lower end from the conveying surface are based on the shape of the article and can swing along the conveying direction of the conveying means. A plurality of rod-shaped bodies (which are installed suspended above the conveying means and contact with the article conveyed to the conveying means in a state of being overlapped in the thickness direction to eliminate the overlapping state of the articles ( and 13), comprising a,
The article inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rod-shaped body (13) is arranged in a staggered manner in the transport direction of the transport means by being disposed at different positions in the transport direction of the transport means (6) . The inspection means (1) is an X-ray inspection apparatus,
Position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the rod-like body (13) in order to adjust the height of the lower end from the conveying surface;
3. The article inspection according to claim 2 , wherein a height of the lower end from the conveying surface is set by controlling the position adjusting unit according to the shape of the article detected by the X-ray inspection apparatus. apparatus. The article inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein the article (A) is formed so that a height (H) and a length (L) have predetermined dimensions.

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