JP5475263B2 - X-ray inspection equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an X-ray inspection apparatus that carries in and out an inspection object with respect to the casing by a conveying means in order to inspect the inspection object with X-rays inside the casing, and in particular falls down during conveyance. The present invention relates to an X-ray inspection apparatus having a compact configuration capable of stably transporting an easily inspected object and not requiring an excessively large overall length and requiring a small installation space.

  In general, an X-ray inspection apparatus includes an X-ray generation means for irradiating an inspection object with X-rays inside an X-ray shielding structure housing, and an X-ray detection means for detecting X-rays transmitted through the inspection object. And a transporting means for transporting the object to be inspected from the front stage of the housing through the housing to the rear stage of the housing. In addition, curtains having an X-ray shielding structure are provided inside the housing at both positions before and after the inspection position. These curtains are members that are provided in the vicinity of each opening of the casing that is the entrance and exit of the object to be inspected, and prevent X-rays from leaking from each opening, and intersect the transport direction of the transport means. A plurality of sheets are suspended above the conveying means in the arrangement. In such a configuration, whether or not there is a foreign object inside the inspection object by carrying the inspection object into the housing by the transport means and detecting the transmitted X-ray by irradiating the inspection object while irradiating the inspection object with the X-ray. It is possible to inspect such things.

  In the X-ray inspection apparatus having such a configuration, for example, inspecting an object to be inspected that is relatively large in comparison with the size and shape of the bottom surface, such as milk in a paper pack or a dressing in a plastic container, and easily falls during transportation. There is a case. In such a case, if the curtain for X-ray shielding is left installed in the housing, the object to be inspected moving by the transport means receives the force from the curtain when it passes through the curtain and loses the balance. , May fall. For this reason, when inspecting such an object to be easily toppled, the X-ray shielding curtain is removed, and instead, the transfer means covered by the cover of the X-ray shielding structure is connected to the housing and the transportation means. The length of the conveyance line which is continuously attached to the means and shielded is increased. The transfer conveying means is adjacent in series to the external conveying means constituting the inspection object production line at the opening of the end face of the cover, and receives the inspection object from the external conveying means through the opening.

  As described above, the X-ray inspection apparatus is often provided in a part of the production line of the inspection object. However, in the production line of the inspection object, a top chain conveyor may be used as the conveying means. The top chain conveyor is configured by attaching a member called a top, which is made of a long plastic resin plate that is easy to slide on the transported material placed on the top chain, to the top chain. In this case, the object to be conveyed is placed on the top and conveyed.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration for transferring a product conveyed by a conveyor of a production line such as a top chain conveyor to a conveying unit of an inspection unit for inspection. That is, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the articles conveyed by the preceding conveyor are sandwiched between the article transfer devices provided with the opposite conveying surfaces, are carried into the run-up conveyor, and are inspected by various inspection devices. It is configured.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-60199

  As described in the background art, in the case of inspecting an inspection object that is relatively large in height and easily falls during transportation in an X-ray inspection apparatus, when the X-ray shielding curtain is removed, instead However, there is a problem in that the length of the shielded transfer line is increased in this case. In other words, the cover of the transfer means for transit is formed with an opening at the end face so that the internal transfer means is adjacent to the external transfer means in series, but in order not to leak X-rays from this opening, It is necessary to arrange the opening as far as possible from the housing. As a result, the shielded transfer line must be lengthened to increase the overall length of the X-ray inspection apparatus, and a large installation space is required. It will end up.

  In addition, the article transfer apparatus of Patent Document 1 that holds and transfers articles described in the background art on the left and right opposing transfer surfaces is a transfer means that is generally also referred to as an embedding conveyor, and has two conveyors with different diameters. When the article is transferred by abutting the end portions in series, it is separately arranged in the gap portion between the conveyors and used as an auxiliary for transfer. That is, for example, a large-diameter top chain conveyor and a small-diameter conveyor are arranged on the same straight line and arranged so that each end faces each other with a small interval, and an article is placed on the small-diameter conveyor from the top chain conveyor. If it is made to move, a gap will arise between the conveyors due to the curvature of the conveyor end, and there may be a problem that the article falls into the gap and the transfer is not successful. In such a case, the holding conveyor is provided at a transfer portion of the conveyor.

  As described above, when the X-ray inspection apparatus is provided in a part of the production line of the inspection object and the top chain conveyor is used as the conveying means in this production line, the X-ray inspection apparatus is started from the top chain conveyor. However, in this case as well, as described above, there is a problem that the article falls into the gap formed between the two conveyors and the transfer is not successful.

  In addition, in this X-ray inspection apparatus, if a tall article as described above is used as the inspection object, the inspection object is easy to fall down at the delivery position of the conveyor because the stability is not good. The chances of not doing so are even higher.

  Therefore, when considering the installation of the so-called embrace conveyor as described above on the part where the inspection object is transferred from the top chain conveyor to the conveying means of the X-ray inspection apparatus provided with the cover, When the whole or part of the conveyor is arranged in the cover, the opening of the end face of the cover becomes large, which is not preferable for the convenience of X-ray shielding. Therefore, it is unavoidable to have a configuration in which a part of the conveying means is protruded outside the cover and a holding conveyor is provided between the protruding portion and the end of the top chain conveyor. However, if this is done, the length of the X-ray inspection equipment including the part of the conveying means that protrudes outside the cover and the part of the embedding conveyor provided here will be extended and a long space will be required for installation. Become.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of various problems in the X-ray inspection apparatus or the conveyance apparatus described above, and can inspect an inspection object that easily falls during conveyance in an especially stable manner. It is an object of the present invention to provide an X-ray inspection apparatus having a compact configuration that is less likely to leak and does not have an excessively large overall length and requires a small installation space.

The X-ray inspection apparatus 1 described in claim 1 includes:
A housing 2 having an X-ray shielding structure; an X-ray generating means for irradiating an inspection object provided in the housing 2 and carried into the housing 2; X-ray detection means for detecting X-rays transmitted through the object to be inspected, and conveying means 6 and 8 for conveying the object to be inspected from the front stage of the casing 2 through the casing 2 to the rear stage of the casing 2 And an X-ray inspection apparatus 1 comprising an X-ray shielding structure cover 9 that covers the conveying means 8 outside the housing 2,
In at least one of the front and rear stages of the housing 2,
The end surface 11 of the cover 9 that intersects the transport direction of the object to be inspected by the transport means 8 is closed, and is open in one of the pair of wall surfaces of the cover 9 that is near the end surface 11 and parallel to the transport direction. 12 is formed,
Via the opening 12 of the cover 9 to the end of the external conveying means 7 that supplies the inspection object to the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 along a conveying direction that is parallel to and does not coincide with the conveying direction of the conveying means 8. The ends of the conveying means 8 are juxtaposed,
The inspection object is directly transferred between the external transfer means 7 and the transfer means 8 through the opening 12.

The X-ray inspection apparatus 1 according to claim 2 is the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 according to claim 1,
The covers 9 are respectively provided at both the front and rear stages of the casing 2, and the openings 12 are respectively provided on the back sides of the pair of wall surfaces of the covers 9 at the front and rear stages of the casing 2. It is formed, The conveyance direction of the external conveyance means 7 arrange | positioned in the front | former stage of the said housing | casing 2 and the conveyance direction of the external conveyance means 7 arrange | positioned in the back | latter stage of the said housing | casing 2 correspond, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Yes.

  The X-ray inspection apparatus 1 described in claim 3 is the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the end of the external transfer means 7, the opening 12 of the cover 9, and the transfer A guide means 15 for guiding the conveyance of the inspection object is provided along the conveyance path of the inspection object between the end portions of the means 8.

According to the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first aspect, the end surface of the cover of the X-ray shielding structure that covers the transport unit outside the housing is closed, and the cover in the vicinity of the end surface and parallel to the transport direction is closed. An opening is formed in the wall surface, and the end of the external transport means parallel to the transport means is aligned with the end of the transport means and the opening in the direction intersecting the transport direction. The possibility that X-rays leak from the opening is low, and the inspection object can be stably transferred through a substantially Z-shaped path without a gap in which the inspection object directly reaching the conveyance means from the external conveyance means passes through the opening. .

  According to the X-ray inspection apparatus described in claim 2, in the effect of the X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, an opening is formed on each back side of each cover provided in both the front stage and the rear stage of the housing. In addition, since the transport directions of the external transport means arranged at the front stage and the rear stage of the casing are made to coincide with each other, the configuration in which the X-ray inspection apparatus is installed by separating the middle of the existing continuous external transport means. Can be adopted.

  According to the X-ray inspection apparatus described in claim 3, in the effect of the X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, along the substantially Z-shaped path from the external transfer means to the transfer means through the opening. Since the guide means for guiding the conveyance of the inspection object is provided, the inspection object can be stably guided and conveyed from the external conveyance means to the conveyance means through the opening.

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.
1 is a front view of an X-ray inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a right side view thereof, FIG. 4 is a plan view with a cover removed, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a rear view of the transfer means for transfer on the rear stage after removing the cover and the sorting section, and FIG. 7 is a view of the cover and the sort section removed. It is the right view of the conveyance means for the transfer of the back | latter stage side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes a housing 2 having an X-ray shielding structure. The casing 2 includes a central portion 3 having a large machine height, and an inlet portion 4 and an outlet portion 5 on both sides communicating with the central portion 3 and having a small machine height. The above-described shielding curtain can be hung inside the inlet portion 4 and the outlet portion 5 on both sides, but in this example, an object to be inspected that is relatively high in height and easily falls during transportation is to be inspected. Therefore, no curtain is provided in each of the inlet portion 4 and the outlet portion 5 on both sides of the housing 2, and instead, a transfer means 8 and a cover 9 as a connecting conveyor, which will be described later, are provided at the front stage of the housing 2. And are provided in the subsequent stage.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a conveying means 6 is horizontally disposed at the lower part of the housing 2. Although not shown in detail, an X-ray generation means for irradiating the inspection object carried into the housing 2 by the transport means is provided above the transport means in the central portion 3 of the housing 2. ing. Further, an X-ray that detects X-rays transmitted through the object to be inspected carried by the conveying means 6 is located below the central portion 3 of the casing 2 and at a position just below the upper belt of the conveying means. Detection means are provided. The inspection object conveyed through the housing 2 by the conveying means 6 is irradiated with X-rays from the X-ray generation means, and the X-ray detection means detects X-rays that have passed through the inspection object and outputs a detection signal. . The detection signal output from the X-ray detection means is sent to a control means (not shown) and analyzed, and foreign matter inspection is performed to determine whether foreign matter is mixed in the inspection object, and the inspection object mass and other inspections are performed. .

  The front stage and the rear stage of the housing 2 are inspected between the transport means 6 provided in the housing 2 and the external transport means 7 such as a top chain conveyor which is a part of the production line of the test object. Conveying means 8 is provided as a connecting conveyor for transferring objects. The transfer means 8 as a transfer conveyor is provided with the property that the article to be transferred is slippery and can move without resistance, for example, because the belt is coated with polyester, for example, to smoothly transfer the inspection object. ing. And the conveying means 8 as the transfer conveyor mentioned above outside the housing 2 is covered with a cover 9 having an X-ray shielding structure. The transfer means 8 and the X-ray shielding structure cover 9 which are these connecting conveyors have substantially the same structure in the front stage and the rear stage. However, as shown in FIG. A sorter 10 is provided for selecting the inspection object to be inspected according to the inspection result. In this respect, the structure is different from the preceding stage.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cover 9 of the conveying means 8 serving as a transit conveyor has a rectangular tube shape as a whole, and the housing 2 is opened via openings (not shown) of the inlet portion 4 and the outlet portion 5 of the housing 2. 2 is connected in series. And as shown in FIG. 4, the conveyance means 8 as a transit conveyor in the inside of the cover 9 is arrange | positioned in series on the same conveyance line at the both ends of the conveyance means 6 in the housing | casing 2, The inspection object is received from the external conveying means 7 of the production line of the inspection object, passes the casing 2 from the front stage of the housing 2 and transports the inspection object to the rear stage of the housing 2, and the external conveying means on the rear stage side. The object to be transported can be sent to 7. The conveying means 8 as the transfer conveyor and the conveying means 6 in the housing 2 are both small-diameter conveyors, so that the gap when they are abutted in series can be reduced. The transfer of can be done without hindrance.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cover 9 of the transfer means 8, which is a transit conveyor, has an end surface 11 that intersects with the transfer direction of the object to be inspected by the transfer means 8, and is shielded in the housing 2. Even without a curtain, the end face 11 intersecting with the X-ray coming from the housing 2 side can be shielded to the extent that safety can be ensured. An opening 12 is formed on the back side of the pair of wall surfaces (both side surfaces in the transport direction) of the cover 9 in the vicinity of the end surface 11 and parallel to the transport direction, and comes from the housing 2 side. The inspection object can be transferred from the side opening 12 while minimizing the leakage of X-rays to the outside.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, next to the transfer means 8 that is a transit conveyor, an external transfer means 7 of the production line that supplies the inspection object to the apparatus 1 is installed in parallel. That is, the transport direction of the external transport means 7 is parallel to the transport direction of the transport means 8 that is a transit conveyor, but is not coincident, and is the end of the external transport means 7 and the transit conveyor. The end of the transport means 8 is arranged adjacent to each other so as to have a predetermined size overlap in each transport direction.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, at the end of the external transport means 7 and the end of the transport means 8 that are adjacently arranged with a predetermined size overlap in the transport direction, the frame 20 of the transport means 8 has an external portion. Since the portion adjacent to the end of the conveyance means 7 is removed, the gap between the external conveyance means 7 and the conveyance means 8 in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction (width direction of the conveyor belt) is set to be extremely narrow. . For this reason, when the inspection object is transferred between the external conveying means 7 and the conveying means 8, there is little possibility that the inspection object will fall between the two and fall, and the transfer will fail. Transfer is possible.

  As can be seen from FIGS. 2 to 4, the end of the external transfer means 7 and the end of the transfer means 8, which is a transit conveyor, are arranged in parallel at the opening 12 portion of the cover 9. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the end of the external transfer means 7 adjacent to the end of the transfer means 8, which is a transit conveyor, is covered with a shielding member 13 attached to the cover 9. Yes. The shielding member 13 is closed except that the side facing the opening 12 of the cover 9, the side on which the external conveying means 7 carries in or out the object to be inspected, and the lower surface side are opened.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, a guide unit 15 that guides the conveyance of the inspection object is provided between the end of the external conveyance unit 7 and the end of the conveyance unit 8. The guide means 15 is composed of a pair of guide rails arranged at intervals substantially matching the widths of the external transport means 7 and the transport means 8 and is disposed at a predetermined height above the external transport means 7 and the transport means 8. . This height is set according to the height of the object to be inspected. As is apparent from the plan view shown in FIG. 5, the guide unit 15 has a curved shape that gently connects the conveyance direction of the conveyance unit 8 and the conveyance direction of the external conveyance unit 7. Further, the entrance 16 of the guide means 15 on the side of the transport means 8 is widened so that the object to be inspected can be easily received.

Therefore, the inspection object conveyed by the conveying means 8 enters the guiding means 15 from the entrance 16 and is guided and contacted to change the course, and from the inside of the cover 9 to the outside of the cover 9 through the opening 12. It is possible to go out and transfer to the external transport means 7 and carry it out. Note that FIG. 5 described here shows the transfer means 8 and the external transfer means 7 as a transfer conveyor on the rear stage side of the casing 2 in the transport direction of the inspection object, and is on the front stage side of the casing 2. In the case of the transport means 8 and the external transport means 7, the inspection object transported by the external transport means 7 is guided by the guide means 15 to change the course, and from the outside of the cover 9 through the opening 12 to the cover 9. And transfer to the transport means 8 and be transported to the housing 2 of the present apparatus.
The guide means shown in FIG. 5 exists in parallel to both sides of the inspection object so as to sandwich the inspection object, but the inspection object is a substantially cylindrical object such as a dressing of a plastic container. If there is, the guide means may prepare a guide on one side so that the inspection object is transferred between the transport means 8 and the external transport means 7.

  According to the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the cover 9 that covers the conveying means 8 outside the housing 2 has a structure that is linearly continuous from the housing 2 with the X-ray generating means. However, the end face 11 is closed, and the opening 12 of the cover 9 through which the inspection object enters and exits is formed on the back side substantially parallel to the direction in which the X-rays are emitted. Even so, the possibility that X-rays leak from the opening 12 is low, and X-ray shielding is reliably performed.

  Further, since the end face 11 of the cover 9 is closed in this way, the inspection object sent by the external conveying means 7 is carried into the cover 9 and is also conveyed by the conveying means 8 inside the cover 9. In order to carry the inspection object out of the cover 9 and place it on the external transport means 7, it is necessary to change the traveling direction of the inspection object. For this purpose, the opening 12 of the cover 9 through which the inspection object enters and exits is provided above. As described above, it is provided on the back side of both the front and rear covers 9, 9, and the conveying means 8 in each cover 9 is arranged in parallel through the openings 12 with respect to the external conveying means 7 in the same conveying direction. Since the guide means 15 for smoothly moving the inspection object is provided between the two, the inspection object moving between the conveyors does not fall into the gap between the conveyors, and the inspection object is carried in and out. Is approximately Z-shaped offset Is stably carried out in the route, there is no possibility that the conveyance of the object to be inspected stagnates.

  Further, as described above, the openings 12 are formed on the back sides of the respective covers 9 provided in both the front and rear stages of the housing 2, and are transported by the external transport means 7 disposed in the front and rear stages of the housing 2. Since the directions are made to coincide with each other, it is possible to separate the middle of the continuous external conveying means 7 already provided in the production line of the inspection object, and to install the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 between them. , The degree of freedom of arrangement of inspection processes in the production line is high.

  As described above, according to the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve both stable conveyance of an inspection object and prevention of X-ray leakage. As a result, the length of the cover 9 provided continuously to the casing 2 to cover the conveying means 8 outside the casing 2 can be shortened, the installation area of the apparatus can be reduced, and the overall configuration of the apparatus can be made compact. Thus, the installation space can be shortened.

  According to the present embodiment, the above-described effects can be obtained as the article to be inspected has a high height and easily falls. That is, in the case of a tall article, it is necessary to remove the X-ray shielding curtain from the inside of the casing 2 as described above, and instead set the cover 9 outside the casing 2 to be long. If the structure in which the end surface 11 of the cover 9 is closed and the opening 12 is provided on the back surface and the object to be inspected is connected via a substantially Z-shaped bent path, the X-ray shielding ability is enhanced by the structure. The length can be shortened.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an X-ray inspection apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same. FIG. 3 is a right side view of the same. FIG. 4 is a plan view with the cover removed. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the transfer means for connecting on the rear stage side after removing the cover and the sorting portion. FIG. 6 is a rear view of the transfer means for connecting on the rear stage side after removing the cover and the sorting portion. FIG. 7 is a right side view of the transfer means for connecting on the rear stage side after removing the cover and the sorting portion.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... X-ray inspection apparatus 2 ... Housing | casing 6 ... Conveying means in a housing | casing 7 ... External conveying means 8 ... Conveying means as a connecting conveyor outside a housing | casing 9 ... Cover 11 ... End surface of a cover 12 ... Opening of a cover 15 ... Guiding means

Claims (3)

A housing (2) having an X-ray shielding structure, X-ray generation means for irradiating an inspection object provided in the housing and carried into the housing, and an inspection device provided in the housing X-ray detection means for detecting X-rays transmitted through an object, transport means (6, 8) for transporting an inspection object from the front stage of the casing to the rear stage of the casing through the casing, In an X-ray inspection apparatus (1) comprising an X-ray shielding structure cover (9) covering the transport means (8) outside the housing,
In at least one of the front and rear stages of the housing,
The end surface (11) of the cover that intersects the transport direction of the object to be inspected by the transport means is closed, and is open in one of the pair of wall surfaces of the cover that is near the end surface and parallel to the transport direction (12 ) Is formed,
The transport through the opening of the cover to the end of the external transport means (7) for supplying the object to be inspected to the X-ray inspection apparatus along a transport direction parallel to and not coincident with the transport direction of the transport means. The ends of the means are juxtaposed,
An X-ray inspection apparatus characterized in that an inspection object is directly transferred between the external transfer means and the transfer means through the opening. The covers (9) are provided on both the front and rear stages of the casing (2), respectively, and the openings are respectively formed on the back sides of the pair of wall surfaces of the covers in the front and rear stages of the casing. (12) is formed, and the conveyance direction of the external conveyance means (7) arranged in the front stage of the casing coincides with the conveyance direction of the external conveyance means (7) arranged in the rear stage of the casing. The X-ray inspection apparatus (1) according to claim 1, wherein the X-ray inspection apparatus (1) is provided. Inspected along the transport path of the inspection object between the end of the external transport means (7), the opening (12) of the cover (9), and the end of the transport means (8) The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein guide means (15) for guiding the conveyance of an object is provided.

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