JP7402673B2 - X-ray baggage inspection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the technology of an X-ray baggage inspection device.

According to the X-ray baggage inspection device, an image representing the shape of an object that is included in an object such as a bag and cannot be visually recognized from the outside is displayed. Therefore, the inspector can know what kind of object is contained within the object by looking at the image displayed by the X-ray baggage inspection device without opening the object. Therefore, X-ray baggage inspection devices are widely used at airport baggage inspection stations and the like.

If the X-rays irradiated from the X-ray baggage inspection device onto the object leak outside, inspectors and others near the X-ray baggage inspection device will be exposed to the X-rays, and if the amount increases, it will have a negative effect on the human body. Therefore, many X-ray baggage inspection devices include a box-shaped housing that shields the X-rays irradiated onto the object by the inspection section from the outside.

The housing of the X-ray baggage inspection device is provided with an opening for taking objects in and out. Interlock-type X-ray baggage inspection devices are equipped with a door that closes the opening while the object is being irradiated with X-rays, in order to almost completely block the leakage of X-rays from the opening. ing. However, when using an interlock type X-ray baggage inspection device, it takes time to open and close the door each time an object is inspected. At airport baggage inspection stations, etc., it is necessary to inspect a large number of baggage in a short time, so instead of interlocking, sheets made of flexible materials with low X-ray transmittance (for example, sheets containing lead) are used. A curtain-type X-ray baggage inspection device is often used in which the opening is closed with a rubber sheet (hereinafter referred to as an "X-ray shielding curtain").

A curtain-type X-ray baggage inspection device leaks more X-rays to the outside than an interlock-type X-ray baggage inspection device. Therefore, techniques have been proposed for reducing the amount of X-rays leaking to the outside in Garten-type X-ray baggage inspection systems. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an A line inspection device has been proposed.

JP2016-109622A

For example, in the case of the X-ray inspection apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in order to reduce the amount of leaked X-rays, it is necessary to The object passes completely under one curtain, the X-ray shielding curtain is completely hung down, and the object is irradiated with X-rays while the front and back of the object are covered by two X-ray shielding curtains inside the housing. It is necessary to Therefore, in the X-ray inspection apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the length of the casing in the transport direction of the object is longer than that of a normal curtain-type X-ray baggage inspection apparatus.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a curtain-type X-ray baggage inspection device that is not large in size and leaks a small amount of X-rays compared to the conventional curtain-type X-ray baggage inspection device. The purpose is to provide.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a cover that covers a space in which an object to be inspected is irradiated with X-rays, and includes an opening for the object to be transported to enter and an opening for the object to exit. A flexible X-ray beam that protrudes inward from the side wall surface and ceiling surface inside the cover and has a "U" shape when viewed in the transport direction of the object is provided between the A first aspect of the present invention proposes an X-ray baggage inspection device including a cover having a plurality of shielding portions spaced apart in the transport direction .

According to the X-ray baggage inspection device of the first aspect, a portion of the X-rays directed toward the opening of the cover is blocked by the portion of the cover that protrudes inward from the internal side wall surface and ceiling surface , and not reached. Therefore, compared to a general curtain-type X-ray baggage inspection device according to the prior art, the amount of leaked X-rays is reduced without increasing the size.

In the X-ray baggage inspection device according to the first aspect, the X-ray blocking portion protruding inward from the side wall surface has a band shape substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the object. This may be adopted as the second aspect.

According to the X-ray baggage inspection device of the second aspect, more X-rays can be blocked than when the portion protruding inward from the side wall surface inside the cover is, for example, rod-shaped.

In the X-ray baggage inspection device according to the first or second aspect, the X-ray shielding portion protruding inward from the side wall surface has flexibility that does not restrict the transportation of the object even if the object touches it. A configuration may be adopted as the third aspect.

According to the X-ray baggage inspection apparatus of the third aspect, the conveyance of the object is not hindered by the portion protruding inward from the side wall surface inside the cover.

In the X-ray baggage inspection device according to any one of the first to third aspects described above, the portion that shields the X-rays and projects inward from the ceiling surface has a band shape substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the object. A configuration of "eggplant" may be adopted as the fourth aspect.

According to the X-ray baggage inspection device of the fourth aspect, more X-rays can be shielded than in the case where the portion protruding inward from the ceiling surface inside the cover is, for example, rod-shaped.

In the X-ray baggage inspection device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects above, the portion that shields X-rays and projects inward from the ceiling surface does not restrict transportation of the object even if the object touches it. A configuration having flexibility may be adopted as the fifth aspect.

According to the X-ray baggage inspection apparatus of the fifth aspect, the conveyance of the object is not obstructed by the portion protruding inward from the ceiling surface inside the cover.

In the X-ray baggage inspection device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, a portion that shields X-rays protruding inward from the side wall surface and a portion shielding X-rays protruding inward from the ceiling surface. A configuration may be adopted as the sixth aspect in which the two are arranged on the same plane perpendicular to the conveyance direction.

According to the X-ray baggage inspection device of the sixth aspect, for example, the portion protruding inward from the side wall surface inside the cover and the portion protruding inward from the ceiling surface inside the cover are arranged alternately in the transport direction of the object. The gap between these protruding parts can be narrowed, and more X-rays can be blocked.

In the X-ray baggage inspection device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects above, a portion that shields X-rays protruding inward from the side wall surface and a portion shielding X-rays protruding inward from the ceiling surface. A configuration may be adopted as the seventh aspect in which the two are integrally formed.

According to the X-ray baggage inspection device of the seventh aspect, there is no gap between the part that protrudes inward from the side wall surface inside the cover and the part that protrudes inward from the ceiling surface inside the cover. More X-rays are blocked than if there were gaps between the parts.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an X-ray baggage inspection device according to an embodiment. 1 is a top, left side, and front view of an X-ray baggage inspection device according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the role of an X-ray shielding section provided inside the cover of the X-ray baggage inspection device according to one embodiment. The figure which illustrated the shape of the X-ray shielding part which the cover of the X-ray baggage inspection apparatus according to a modified example has inside. The figure which showed an example of the shape of the plate-like member which can be employ|adopted for the side wall part or ceiling part of the cover of the X-ray baggage inspection apparatus based on a modification.

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an X-ray baggage inspection apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. However, in FIG. 1, many of the components that the X-ray baggage inspection apparatus 1 has in common with a general curtain-type X-ray baggage inspection apparatus according to the prior art are omitted.

The X-ray baggage inspection apparatus 1 includes a transport device 11 and a cover 12 as components that are visible from the outside. Note that, in FIG. 1, an X-ray shielding curtain arranged to close the upstream opening and the downstream opening of the cover 12 is omitted.

The conveyance device 11 is, for example, a belt conveyor, and conveys the object placed on the conveyance surface, for example, from the front right to the back left in FIG. Hereinafter, the direction in which the conveyance device 11 conveys the object will be simply referred to as the "conveyance direction."

The cover 12 includes a box-shaped upper part 12U that covers the upper side of the transport device 11 and has an open bottom surface, and a box-shaped lower part 12B that covers the lower side of the transport device 11 and has an open top surface. . The upper part 12U of the cover 12 is provided with openings on the upstream and downstream sides in the transport direction so that the object transported by the transport device 11 can pass therethrough. The cover 12 is made of a material such as lead, and serves to shield X-rays irradiated inside the cover 12 from the outside.

An X-ray irradiation unit 15 elongated in the left-right direction is arranged above the bottom surface of the lower part 12B of the cover 12. Furthermore, a line sensor 17 that is elongated in the left-right direction is arranged below the upper bottom surface of the upper part 12U of the cover 12. The X-ray irradiation unit 15 irradiates a band-shaped X-ray 8 from bottom to top. The line sensor 17 receives the X-rays 8 irradiated from the X-ray irradiator 15 and measures the intensity thereof. The intensity of the X-rays 8 measured by the line sensor 17 when the object 9 passes through the X-rays 8 from the upstream side to the downstream side changes depending on the transmittance of the X-rays 8 in each part of the object 9. do. Therefore, the shape of the object contained within the object 9 appears in the image (X-ray image) that expresses the intensity of the X-rays measured by the line sensor 17 in shading.

The upper part 12U of the cover 12 includes a plurality of X-ray shielding parts 129 therein. The plurality of X-ray shielding parts 129 are arranged at intervals from each other in the transport direction. Furthermore, in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 and 3 described later, it is assumed that the intervals between adjacent X-ray shielding parts 129 are equal, but the intervals may be different.

The X-ray shielding section 129 is a flexible plate-shaped member that shields X-rays. Examples of the material of the X-ray shielding part 129 include a rubber sheet containing lead. The X-ray shielding part 129 has a shape that is a U-shape rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise when viewed in the transport direction, and the plate-shaped plane is substantially perpendicular to the transport direction. It is located in

The X-ray shielding part 129 includes a band-shaped part that projects inward from the right side wall part 121R inside the cover 12, a band-shaped part that projects inward from the left side wall part 121L inside the cover 12, and a cover 12. A band-shaped portion protruding inward from a ceiling portion 122 inside 12 is integrally formed.

Figure 2 shows the X-ray baggage inspection system 1 viewed from above (Figure 2 (A)), from the left side (Figure 2 (B)), and from the front (Figure 2 (C)). However, in order to show the state of the X-ray shielding part 129 arranged inside the cover 12, the ceiling part 122 of the cover 12 is removed in FIG. In FIG. 2C, the left side wall 121L of the cover 12 is removed, and in FIG. The wall portion (shaped by rotating 90 degrees) and the X-ray shielding curtain 14 have been removed.

The object 9 placed on the transport surface upstream of the cover 12 of the transport device 11 is transported in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 (transport direction). The object 9 first passes through the upstream opening of the cover 12 and enters the inside of the cover 12 . At that time, the object 9 passes under the X-ray shielding curtain 14 that hangs down so as to close the upstream opening of the cover 12.

Inside the cover 12 , the object 9 is inspected by X-rays 8 irradiated from the X-ray irradiation unit 15 , and then passes through an opening on the downstream side of the cover 12 and exits the cover 12 . At this time, the object 9 passes under the X-ray shielding curtain 16 that hangs down so as to close the opening on the downstream side of the cover 12.

When the object 9 passes through the inside of the cover 12, even if the object 9 touches any of the X-ray shielding parts 129, it will be pushed away by the object 9 because the X-ray shielding part 129 is flexible. Therefore, the conveyance of the object 9 is not restricted.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the role of the X-ray shielding section 129. Note that FIG. 3(A) is a diagram of the X-ray baggage inspection apparatus 1 viewed from above, and FIG. 3(B) is a diagram of the X-ray baggage inspection apparatus 1 viewed from the left side.

A part of the X-rays irradiated from the X-ray irradiation unit 15 toward the line sensor 17 is transmitted to the conveyance surface of the conveyance device 11 and the structure disposed below it (the plate that supports the belt of the conveyance device 11 from below). etc.) and head in various directions. Some of those X-rays head toward the side wall 121R or 121L of the upper portion 12U of the cover 12, as shown by solid arrows in FIG. 3(A). Moreover, some of those X-rays head toward the ceiling part 122 that constitutes the upper bottom surface of the upper side part 12U of the cover 12, as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. 3(B).

The X-ray shielding section 129 shields a portion of the X-rays directed toward the side wall section 121R, the side wall section 121L, or the ceiling section 122 as described above. As a result, as shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 3(A) or FIG. 3(B), the light is reflected on the side wall portion 121R, the side wall portion 121L, or the ceiling portion 122, and is reflected on the upstream side of the upper side portion 12U of the cover 12 or A portion of the X-rays that are directed toward the downstream opening do not reach the opening. As a result, compared to the case without the X-ray shielding part 129, the amount of X-rays leaking from the gap between the upstream X-ray shielding curtain 14 and the front wall part 123 of the upper part 12U of the cover 12, The amount of X-rays leaking from the gap between the X-ray shielding curtain 16 on the downstream side and the back wall part 124 of the upper part 12U of the cover 12 is reduced.

According to the above-mentioned X-ray baggage inspection device 1, it has the same size as a general curtain-type X-ray baggage inspection device according to the prior art that does not include the X-ray shielding part 129, and can reduce the amount of X-rays leaking to the outside. can be reduced.

[Modified example]
The X-ray baggage inspection device 1 described above is an example of the X-ray baggage inspection device according to the present invention, and may be variously modified within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Examples of those modifications are shown below. Two or more of the following modifications may be combined as appropriate.

(1) The X-ray shielding part 129 included in the above-described X-ray baggage inspection device 1 includes a part that projects inward from the side wall part 121R, a part that projects inward from the side wall part 121L, and a part that projects inward from the ceiling part 122. It consists of parts. Instead of this, the X-ray shielding part 129 is configured with a part protruding inwardly from the side wall part 121R and a part protruding inwardly from the side wall part 121L, and does not have a part protruding inwardly from the ceiling part 122. good. FIG. 4(A) is a diagram showing an example of the shape of the X-ray shielding section 129 according to this modification. Note that in FIGS. 4A to 4D, the lower part 12B of the cover 12 and the X-ray irradiation part 15 are omitted.

(2) The X-ray shielding part 129 included in the above-mentioned X-ray baggage inspection device 1 includes a part that projects inward from the side wall part 121R, a part that projects inward from the side wall part 121L, and a part that projects inward from the ceiling part 122. The parts are integrally formed. Instead, a portion of the X-ray shielding portion 129 that protrudes inward from the side wall portion 121R, a portion that protrudes inward from the side wall portion 121L, and a portion that protrudes inward from the ceiling portion 122 are separated. Good too. FIG. 4(B) is a diagram showing an example of the shape of the X-ray shielding section 129 according to this modification.

Note that if the portion of the X-ray shielding portion 129 that protrudes inward from the side wall portion 121R, the portion that protrudes inward from the side wall portion 121L, and the portion that protrudes inward from the ceiling portion 122 are separated from each other, these If the portions are arranged on the same plane perpendicular to the conveying direction, the gap will be narrowed, which is desirable from the viewpoint of reducing leakage of X-rays.

However, if the portion of the X-ray shielding portion 129 that protrudes inward from the side wall 121R, the portion that protrudes inward from the side wall 121L, and the portion that protrudes inward from the ceiling portion 122 are separated from each other, may be arranged at different positions in the conveyance direction. FIG. 4C is a diagram showing the shape of an example of the X-ray shielding section 129 according to such a modification.

(3) A portion protruding inward from the side wall 121R, a portion protruding inward from the side wall 121L, and a portion protruding inward from the ceiling 122, which constitute the X-ray shielding portion 129 included in the above-mentioned X-ray baggage inspection device 1. Each part is strip-shaped. The shape of these parts is not limited to a band shape. FIG. 4(D) is a diagram showing the shape of an example of the X-ray shielding section 129 according to this modification.

(4) Instead of or in addition to the fact that the cover 12 of the X-ray baggage inspection device 1 includes the X-ray shielding part 129, one or more of the side wall part 121R, the side wall part 121L, and the ceiling part 122 of the cover 12 may have unevenness. It may be composed of a plate-like member with a diameter. In this case, the convex portion of the uneven plate-like member blocks a portion of the X-rays emitted from the X-ray irradiation unit 15 and directed toward the opening of the cover 12 . FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the shape of a plate-like member that can be adopted as the side wall portion 121R, the side wall portion 121L, or the ceiling portion 122 of the cover 12 according to this modification.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...X-ray baggage inspection device, 9...Object, 11...Transfer device, 12...Cover, 14...X-ray shielding curtain, 15...X-ray irradiation section, 16...X-ray shielding curtain, 17...Line sensor, 121R・121L...Side wall part, 122...Ceiling part, 123/124...Wall part, 129...X-ray shielding part.

Claims (7)

A cover that covers a space in which an object to be inspected is irradiated with X-rays, and has a space inside the cover between an opening for the object to be transported to enter and an opening for the object to exit. X-ray shielding portions that protrude inward from the side walls and ceiling surfaces of the object and have a U-shape when viewed in the transport direction of the object are spaced apart in the transport direction. An X-ray baggage inspection device equipped with multiple covers. The X-ray baggage inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the X-ray shielding portion protruding inward from the side wall surface has a band shape substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the object. The X-ray baggage inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the X-ray shielding portion protruding inward from the side wall surface has flexibility that does not restrict transportation of the object even if it touches the object. The X-ray baggage inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the X-ray blocking portion protruding inward from the ceiling surface has a band shape substantially perpendicular to the object conveyance direction. The X-ray baggage according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the X-ray shielding part protruding inward from the ceiling surface has flexibility that does not restrict transportation of the object even if it touches the object. Inspection equipment. Claims 1 to 5, wherein a portion that shields X-rays protruding inward from the side wall surface and a portion shielding X-rays protruding inward from the ceiling surface are arranged on the same plane perpendicular to the conveyance direction . The X-ray baggage inspection device according to any one of the items . According to any one of claims 1 to 6, a portion that shields X-rays protruding inward from the side wall surface and a portion shielding X-rays protruding inward from the ceiling surface are integrally formed. X-ray baggage inspection equipment.

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