Modular belt conveyor

Abstract

A belt conveyor for conveying products in a conveying direction, having at least two support elements formed from a set of roller-carriage elements (5; 5'; 5") and a core element (3) for forming a conveying plane for supporting a belt (33) for conveying products, wherein the at least two support elements are formed independently and wherein directly adjoining support elements are rigidly connected to one another by means of a securing device, wherein in the installed state the adjoining support elements in the conveying direction have abutting stop faces, wherein the stop faces have mutually complementary profiles, wherein the profiles cooperate so as to ensure a predetermined orientation of the adjoining support elements in three mutually orthogonal spatial directions. The invention also relates to a roller-carriage element and a core element for such a belt conveyor. The invention also relates to an inspection apparatus having such a belt conveyor and to a method for manufacturing or retrofitting such an inspection apparatus.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The invention relates to a belt conveyor. BACKGROUND

[0002] Such belt conveyors are used, for example, in inspection devices such as automatic scales, metal detectors, X-ray scanners, etc. to allow the transport of the products to be inspected, preferably isolated, through an inspection zone.

[0003] The plausibility of the inspection results, in particular the measurement accuracy, has a strong correlation with the continuity and uniformity of the movement of the objects to be inspected through the inspection zone.

[0004] Changes in the position of the products and changes in their speed can adversely affect the inspection results.

[0005] Particularly adverse effects result, for example, from a non-constant transport speed, too strong lateral belt impacts (belt impacts), slippage between the belt and the rollers for driving the belt or changes in the relative position of the products within the product flow on the way up and down.

[0006] In particular, the image analysis of X-ray scanner devices is adversely affected by such effects.

[0007] If an inspection device is to be manufactured or retrofitted, the described requirements must be taken into account, but different application purposes must also be implemented, for example, to inspect products having different dimensions or sizes, in particular having different extents in the conveying direction (product length). SUMMARY

[0008] It is therefore the task of the invention to avoid the above-mentioned disadvantages and to allow a simple adjustment of the belt conveyor for an inspection device to the desired field of application (type and size of the products to be inspected, product spacing, conveying speed).

[0009] According to the invention, this task is accomplished by a belt conveyor, a roller carriage element, a core element, an inspection device and a method for manufacturing a belt conveyor for an inspection device and a retrofitting method.

[0010] The belt conveyor according to the invention is composed of at least two support elements composed of a set of roller carriage elements and core elements. Correspondingly, any combination of roller carriage elements and core elements is possible. This also includes a combination of at least two roller carriage elements of identical design or of different designs with at least two core elements of identical design or of different designs.

[0011] In order to be able to meet different requirements, in particular product sizes, the belt conveyor according to the invention, and thus the corresponding inspection device with such a belt conveyor, can be manufactured or retrofitted in a modular manner from at least two individually composed support elements, preferably forming a flat conveying plane to support the belt for conveying the products in the conveying direction.

[0012] In the installed state, the abutted support elements in the conveying direction have abutment faces (for example, against edges or rims) that abut against one another. The abutment faces have mutually complementary contours (for example, protrusions and recesses, tongue-and-groove), which cooperate in such a way that a predetermined orientation of the abutted support elements in three mutually orthogonal spatial directions is ensured.

[0013] By virtue of the design according to the invention, at least two support elements can be mounted in the desired orientation in all spatial positions in a simple manner, essentially without the need for correction measures. Directional alignment (correction) and possibly also orientation checking of the belt conveyor for a certain purpose can thus advantageously be dispensed with.

[0014] In an advantageous design according to the invention, the contours are formed in the form of mutually interlocking protrusions and complementary recesses in the abutment faces of the abutted support elements of the belt conveyor. The support elements can in this case be designed, for example, as bent plate elements, which have a U-shaped profile in the conveying direction, so that their end faces serve as abutment faces. Straight, i.e. (downwardly or upwardly) unbent end faces are preferably used as abutment faces.

[0015] The fixing means can correspondingly be formed in the form of crosspieces (transverse to the conveying direction) between the downwardly bent side faces in the support elements, wherein the crosspieces of the abutted support elements can be connected by means of screws, bolts or the like.

[0016] In this way, discontinuous transitions, for example in the form of grooves or channels in the conveying plane, can be avoided, so that undesirable dirt deposits are prevented.

[0017] In a particularly preferred design according to the invention, the surfaces of the abutted support elements that form the conveying plane are aligned with one another, so that a flat conveying plane is formed, and correspondingly, the belt supported thereby is approximately free of unevennesses, for example protrusions, elevations or the like, when conveying the product.

[0018] When the outer contour or surface (or the top line transverse to the conveying direction) of the roller and the surface of the abutted support element are aligned, a preferably flat conveying plane is obviously also formed in the sense of the invention.

[0019] In order to allow quick retrofitting in dependence on different product sizes, product spacings, conveying speeds or the like, in a further design according to the invention, the belt conveyor can have fixing means for rigidly connecting the abutted support elements, which are designed in such a way that the connection can be separated without damage (screws, bolt with locking pin, clamps or the like).

[0020] In a preferred design of the application, in the abutment faces of the abutting support elements, a cut extending in the y direction and / or z direction is formed between the protrusions or recesses in at least one of the abutment faces or abutment edges or edges, so that a gap having a predetermined width in the x direction exists between the abutting support elements in at least one local region. The thus open gap (or gaps) simplifies the cleaning of the device (which is required for hygiene reasons, in particular when dealing with unpackaged foodstuffs), since on the one hand dirt cannot settle in the region with the open gap, and on the other hand cleaning (rinsing, steam jet, etc.) can be carried out through the gap.

[0021] It is apparent that the width of the gap (in the x direction) is chosen in such a way that no product sagging occurs in the overhead transport, and that vertical movement (in the z direction) or tilting of the product (which can cause twisting) is excluded.

[0022] According to the application, in a particularly preferred design it is possible to manufacture an inspection device, in particular an X-ray device, a metal detector or a scale, in such a way that parts of the inspection device, for example the inspection unit and in particular the camera or the weighing unit or the load-conducting elements thereof, are fixedly connected to the core, so that no errors occur between the core and the inspection unit after manufacture or do not have to be compensated for by calibration.

[0023] In this case it is possible to further adapt to the product to be inspected by means of the roller frame elements installed according to the application upstream and / or downstream in the conveying direction, so that the desired length of the conveying plane of the belt conveyor is obtained thereby. Correspondingly, the installed inspection device can also be retrofitted in a simple manner (its construction length) in order to be able to inspect other types or sizes of products.

[0024] In a refinement of the application, any other individual components such as collection containers, sorting devices, light barriers, etc. can be arranged in an arbitrary combination in predetermined positions on the belt conveyor, in particular on the belt conveyor in the conveying direction, in particular at the downwardly inclined side.

[0025] It is also possible according to the application to provide a short (and narrow) inspection device, in particular an X-ray inspection machine, in the conveying direction, which preferably can also comprise at least one sorting device (in the short construction space).

[0026] In the sense of the application, a belt can also mean a plurality of individual (parallel) flat or round strips, belts, chains, etc., which are supported by a common planar base as the conveying plane. In contrast thereto are non-planar bases such as, for example, roller beds or conveying belts which support the belt only by means of rollers.

[0027] By means of the belt conveyor according to the application, the conveying of the products to be inspected is advantageously achieved and changes in position (twisting) or intermittent jolts, for example caused by non-continuous transitions in the conveying plane, are prevented.

[0028] Furthermore, the parallelism of the roller axis (roller lying parallel to the conveying plane) and the conveying plane (or the surface of the support) and the correct orientation in terms of height can be ensured simply by the application and the predetermined orientation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] The application is explained in detail below in connection with embodiments as shown in the drawings, which show:

[0030] Figure 1 Perspective view from above of a belt conveyor of the application with one core piece and two roller carrier pieces;

[0031] Figure 2a and 2b Perspective view from below of a core piece as a separate component of a belt conveyor according to Figure 1 ;

[0032] Figure 3 X-ray device with a belt conveyor according to Figure 1 ;

[0033] Figure 4 Bent sheet metal piece of a roller carrier piece according to Figure 1 , shown unbent (not yet bent);

[0034] Figure 5 Detail view of a part of a roller carrier piece according to Figure 4 ;

[0035] Figure 6 Bent sheet metal piece of a roller carrier piece according to Figure 1 , shown not yet bent;

[0036] Figure 7 Detail view of a roller carrier piece according to Figure 6 ;

[0037] Figure 8 Perspective view from above of a second embodiment (medium length) of a belt conveyor of the application;

[0038] Figure 9 Perspective view from above of a third embodiment (large length) of a belt conveyor of the application;

[0039] Figure 10 Detail D of Figure 8 , shown enlarged;

[0040] Figure 11a side view of a belt conveyor according to the application with a belt and a drive device (traction drive device); Figure 1

[0041] Figure 12 a sectional view of the belt along the line S-S' in Figure 10

[0042] Figure 13 a top view of the bending plate member, both the roller carrier member and the adjoining core member being in an as-yet unbent state;

[0043] Figure 14 an enlarged view of detail A of Figure 13 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] As shown in Figure 1 , the belt conveyor 1 of the application has, for example, a core member 3 and two roller carrier members 5 which adjoin it directly on both sides (left and right) in the conveying direction x.

[0045] The core member 1 has a rectangular contour which comprises two flat rectangular surfaces 9 and two substantially rectangular side portions 13 (front side portion) and 13' (rear side portion) which adjoin the surfaces 9 transversely to the conveying direction x and are bent downward perpendicularly.

[0046] A rectangular recess 7 which extends approximately over the entire width (in the y direction) is preferably centrally located in the flat surface 9. Through this recess 7, radiation, in particular X-rays, can pass through the surface without further absorption in operation and be detected by a detector, in particular a camera.

[0047] The corresponding detector can be installed, for example, in a slot 17 (see Figure 2a and 2b ) provided in the core member 1 below the surface 9 or in a camera housing.

[0048] The two roller carrier members 5 shown in Figure 1 on the left and right are designed symmetrically to one another, so that the following explanations made with respect to the left side also apply by implication to the right side. Such a symmetrical roller carrier member 5 can be installed on the left or on the right.

[0049] The roller carrier member 5 has a flat surface 11, wherein the surfaces 11 and 9 are preferably aligned in the installed state and serve as a common flat conveying plane for supporting Figure 1 the not shown belt 33.

[0050] ​​​To ensure in any case that in the installation the roll carrier 5 is oriented, preferably aligned, in the three mutually orthogonal spatial directions in the intended manner, preferably without further adjustment, the roll carrier 5 has in the U-shaped stop face on its end side a profile which is complementary to the profile in the end-side (also U-shaped in cross section) stop face of the core 3.

[0051] In the x direction, the flat end faces of the surfaces 9, 11 and / or of the side portions 13 and 15, 13' and 15' meet one another and are fixed in the installation in the described attitude.

[0052] In the y direction, first and second preferably semicircular protrusions 45, 47 at the stop face or stop edge of the surface 11 cooperate with corresponding first and second recesses 51, 53 in the stop face or stop edge of the surface 9, so that the position in the y direction is also fixed.

[0053] In the z direction, preferably semicircular protrusions 49, 50 formed at the stop face or stop edge of the front and rear side portions 15, 17 cooperate with corresponding recesses 55, 57 in the stop face or stop edge of the front and rear side portions 13, 13', so that the position in the z direction is also fixed.

[0054] For the installation, the core 1 has a crosspiece 19 Figure 2a and 2b at its connection-side region below the surface 9, which is preferably arranged with its end portions parallel to the surface 9, for example by means of screws 23, on the side portions 13, 13'.

[0055] As Figure 12 is shown, the roll carrier 5 also has a crosspiece 65 which is arranged, for example by means of screws 25, on the side portions 15, 15'.

[0056] The crosspiece 19 preferably has two holes 21, while the crosspiece 65 has two threaded holes 69 at the corresponding locations, so that by screwing in and tightening the screws 67 the roll carrier 5 is fixed on the core 3 in the intended attitude by means of the aforementioned profiles.

[0057] Obviously, other types, for example bolts, clips, etc., are also conceivable instead of the aforementioned fastening means. In any case, the intended attitude is ensured by the aforementioned profiles and incorrect installation in the wrong attitude is avoided, independently of the play of the fastening means (before the final fixing).

[0058] It is also possible to Figure 12As can be seen clearly, the side portions 15, 15' of the roller carrier pieces 5, 5' have a protrusion at least in the region of the rollers 27, 28, which protrudes beyond the outer circumferential surface of the rollers 27, 28 (in the drawing plane and transverse to the rollers). By means of this protrusion, lateral guidance (transverse to the conveying direction x) of the belt 33 is ensured, so that the belt 33 cannot run laterally out of place.

[0059] As shown in Figure 3 , the belt conveyor 1 according to the application can be part of an X-ray scanner 31. In this case, above the belt conveyor 1 there is an attachment 39 with an X-ray source, which is not visible in the drawing.

[0060] A chassis 41 is located below the belt conveyor 1 and connects the belt conveyor in a positionally fixed manner to the surroundings.

[0061] In the conveying direction x, the products are conveyed from the right past below the attachment 39 and are penetrated by X-rays. The part of the radiation which has passed through the gap 7 and has not been absorbed by the objects is detected by a camera, perhaps with the aid of a scintillator.

[0062] In the fully installed state, the belt 33 is driven by a traction drive which is located below the belt conveyor 1 and outside the belt conveyor, by means of the rollers 27 and 28 of the belt conveyor 1 and the deflection rollers 34 of the X-ray device 31. The traction drive consists of a motor 37 and a traction drive roller 35 which is driven by it, which traction drive roller bites into the hole in the belt 33 which is located in the belt 33 and drives the belt 33.

[0063] To illustrate the belt guidance (but without the drawing showing the deflection rollers 34), Figure 11 the belt conveyor 1 with the belt 33 and the traction drive roller 35 is shown in a detail view.

[0064] Figure 4 and Figure 5 The surface 11 and the side portions 15, 15' of the roller carrier 5 as a bent sheet metal part are shown in the unbent state. In this state, in addition to the holes 25' and 29' in the side portions 15, 15' which have not yet been bent at an angle, the hole 28' for mounting the aforementioned roller 28 by means of a screw 26 can also be seen.

[0065] In a detail view Figure 5 , it can be seen that in the region of the bent edge 46 there is a recess or cutout 48 which extends upwards in the drawing plane. By means of this preferably straight (transverse to the x direction) cutout, in the installed state a gap 58 (see Figure 10 ) occurs along the stop face or stop edge, dirt does not collect in the gap and the gap improves the cleaning possibility of the belt conveyor 1. In this case, the width of the gap (in the x direction) is sufficiently small that in the overhead conveying no product sagging occurs.

[0066] Figure 6 and Figure 7 a further embodiment 43' of a bent plate part according to Figure 4 and Figure 5 In this embodiment, the cutouts 48' extend up to the vicinity of the protrusions 45, 47, 49 and 50', respectively (see Figure 13 , so that the protrusions 45, 47, 49, 50' have a ledge or shoulder 44.

[0067] As can be seen from Figure 13 and Figure 14 , in this case not only a relatively small gap 58 occurs, but also gaps 77, 79, 81 between the recesses 51' and 53', 53' and 55' and 55' and 57', respectively, in the entire remainder of the mutually opposite end faces of the abutted support parts, in addition to the shoulder 44 which serves as a stop face, and also gaps between the recesses 55', 57' and the outer ends, respectively.

[0068] The cutouts described above can in this case be formed in one of the stop edges of the support part, or, as shown in Figure 13 and Figure 14 , preferably in both stop edges of the abutted support parts.

[0069] In order to better illustrate the possible ways of the application, two further embodiments of the belt conveyor 1 according to the application are shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9 .

[0070] As can be seen from Figure 8 , a belt conveyor 1' with an intermediate belt length is shown, which has an increased length (seen in the direction of transport x) compared to the short version of the belt conveyor 1 shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3 . The intermediate belt size or construction size is obtained by at least one-sided mounting of a roller stand part 5' with an increased length (in the x direction or direction of transport) while the core part 3 preferably remains unchanged.

[0071] As can be seen from Figure 9 , it is also possible to arrange a (long) roller stand part 5" (arranged on the left in the figure) with a further increased length on one unchanged core part 3. In principle, different roller stand parts can be manufactured individually in terms of their configuration or construction length. However, a rich variety can already be achieved by arbitrary combinations of a small number of roller stand standard parts which differ from one another in terms of their length, even in mass production, whereby costs can be saved.

[0072] It is obviously also conceivable to manufacture core parts which differ from one another in terms of their length, whereby adaptation to different requirements can also be achieved. In this case, the roller stand part length can remain constant.

[0073] But in the preferred design of the application the core 1 (because of its complex structure) is fixedly connected in manufacture to the detector, especially the camera, mounted therein or placed thereon, so that undesirable errors at the usual required installation on site do not occur. Since the core remains unchanged, it can be manufactured cheaply in large quantities. The inspection device can also be identically prefabricated as a short basic instrument (containing the core 3 but without the roller carriage 5) in large quantities. Then for each application the respective roller carriage 5 is selected and mounted on the core 3.

[0074] Advantageously, even on site the belt conveyor of the application can be adapted to different product geometries (lengths) and different product spacings and gaps in the production operation, which has not been known in the ordering and manufacture of the inspection device.

[0075] In any case, according to the application the above-mentioned support elements (different roller carriages and / or different cores) can be manufactured separately. At the installation, the support elements are automatically aligned directionally according to the application by the structure, so that they can be quickly and finally installed without time-consuming calibration in the intended attitude.

[0076] List of reference signs

[0077] 1 belt conveyor (short)

[0078] 1' belt conveyor (medium)

[0079] 1" belt conveyor (long)

[0080] 3 core

[0081] 5 roller carriage (short)

[0082] 5' roller carriage (medium)

[0083] 5" roller carriage (long)

[0084] 7 recess for X-ray (fan beam)

[0085] 9 surface of the core 3

[0086] 11 surface of the roller carriage 5

[0087] 13 front side of the core

[0088] 13' rear side of the core

[0089] 15 front side of the roller carriage

[0090] 15' rear side of the roller carriage

[0091] 17 slot for accommodating the X-ray camera

[0092] 19 crossbar of the core

[0093] 21 hole (holes) in the cross member

[0094] 23 fastening screw for the cross member in the core piece 3

[0095] 25 fastening screw for the cross member in the roller carrier piece 5

[0096] 25' hole in the side 15 for the fastening screw 25

[0097] 26 fastening screw for the roller 28

[0098] 27 roller

[0099] 28 roller

[0100] 29 fastening screw for the roller 27

[0101] 25' hole in the side 15 for the fastening screw 29

[0102] 31 X-ray scanning device

[0103] 33 belt

[0104] 34 deflection roller

[0105] 35 traction drive roller for the belt 33

[0106] 37 motor

[0107] 39 attachment with X-ray source

[0108] 41 undercarriage

[0109] 43 bent sheet piece (not bent) of the roller carrier piece 5

[0110] 43' bent sheet piece (not bent) of the roller carrier piece 5 with a shoulder 44

[0111] 44 shoulder

[0112] 45 first protrusion in the surface of the roller carrier piece 5

[0113] 45' first protrusion in the surface of the bent sheet piece 43'

[0114] 46 bent edge

[0115] 47 second protrusion in the surface of the roller carrier piece 5

[0116] 47' second protrusion in the surface of the bent sheet piece 43'

[0117] 48 recess or cutout

[0118] 48' elongated recess

[0119] 49 protrusion in the front side of the roller carrier piece 5

[0120] 49' projection in the front side of the bent plate member 43'

[0121] 50 projection in the rear side of the roller holder member 5

[0122] 50' projection in the rear side of the bent plate member 43'

[0123] 51 first recess in the surface of the core member 3

[0124] 51'first recess in the surface of the bent plate member 71

[0125] 53 second recess in the surface of the core member 3

[0126] 53' second recess in the surface of the bent plate member 71

[0127] 55 recess in the front side 13 of the core member 3

[0128] 55' recess in the front side of the bent plate member 71

[0129] 57 recess in the rear side 13' of the core member 3

[0130] 57' recess in the rear side of the bent plate member 71

[0131] 58 slit

[0132] 59 deflection roller

[0133] 61 protrusion

[0134] 63 protrusion

[0135] 65 cross beam of the roller holder member 5

[0136] 67 screw

[0137] 69 thread

[0138] 71 bent plate member (not bent) of the core member 3

[0139] 73 second embodiment of the bent plate member (not bent) of the roller holder member 5

[0140] 77 slit between 51'and 53' or between 45' and 47'

[0141] 79 slit between 53' and 55' or between 47' and 49'

[0142] 81 slit between 51'and 50'

[0143] A Figure 13 Details in

[0144] D Figure 8details in

[0145] S-S' Figure 10 cutting line in

[0146] x first spatial direction, conveying direction

[0147] y second spatial direction in the conveying plane or surface 11 and transverse to x

[0148] z third spatial direction perpendicular to the surface 11

Claims

1. Belt conveyor for conveying products in a conveying direction, having at least two support elements, which comprise a set of roller carriages (5; 5'; 5") and a core element (3) for forming a conveying plane for supporting a belt (33) for conveying products, a) wherein, the at least two support elements are formed independently and wherein directly adjoining support elements are rigidly connected to each other by means of a fixing device, b) wherein, in the mounted state, the support elements adjoining in the conveying direction have stop faces which abut against each other, c) wherein the stop faces have mutually complementary profiles, wherein the profiles cooperate with each other in such a way that a predetermined orientation of the support elements adjoining each other in three mutually orthogonal spatial directions is ensured, and d) wherein a first spatial direction lies in the conveying plane in the conveying direction, a second spatial direction lies in the conveying plane transversely to the conveying direction and a third spatial direction is perpendicular to the conveying plane, at least one of the at least two support elements is configured as a roller carriage, at least two of the support elements adjoining each other are designed as metal bent plate elements which are U profiles open downwards in the first spatial direction.

2. The belt conveyor of claim 1, wherein, The metal bent plate elements consist of stainless steel.

3. The belt conveyor of claim 1, wherein, The profiles are designed in the form of mutually interlocking projections (45; 45'; 47; 47'; 49; 49'; 50; 50') and recesses (51; 51'; 53; 53'; 55; 55'; 57; 57') which are complementary in shape.

4. The belt conveyor according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The surfaces (9; 11) of the support elements adjoining each other which form the conveying plane are flush.

5. The belt conveyor according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The fixing device is designed in such a way that the connection of the support elements adjoining each other can be separated without damage.

6. The belt conveyor of claim 3, wherein, In at least one of the stop faces abutting against each other there are cutouts between the projections or recesses which extend in the second spatial direction and / or the third spatial direction, so that there is a gap between the support elements adjoining each other which has a predetermined width in the first spatial direction.

7. A roller stand for a belt conveyor according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The roller carriages (5; 5'; 5") have profiles in their stop faces which cooperate with stop faces of the support elements adjoining each other to be mounted in such a way that a predetermined orientation of the support elements adjoining each other in three mutually orthogonal spatial directions is ensured, and wherein a first spatial direction lies in the conveying plane in the conveying direction, a second spatial direction lies in the conveying plane transversely to the conveying direction and a third spatial direction is perpendicular to the conveying plane.

8. The roller stand for a belt conveyor according to claim 7, characterized in that The surfaces (9; 11) of the support elements adjoining each other which form the conveying plane are flush.

9. A core member for a belt conveyor according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The core element (3) has profiles in its stop faces which cooperate with stop faces of the support elements adjoining each other to be mounted in such a way that a predetermined orientation of the support elements adjoining each other in three mutually orthogonal spatial directions is ensured, and wherein a first spatial direction lies in the conveying plane in the conveying direction, a second spatial direction lies in the conveying plane transversely to the conveying direction and a third spatial direction is perpendicular to the conveying plane.

10. A core for a belt conveyor according to claim 9, characterized in that The surfaces (9; 11) of the support elements adjoining each other which form the conveying plane are flush.

11. An inspection apparatus having a belt conveyor according to one of claims 1 to 6.

12. The inspection apparatus of claim 11, wherein, The inspection apparatus is an X-ray apparatus, a weighing apparatus or a metal detection apparatus.

13. A method for manufacturing the inspection device according to claim 11, characterized in that, The at least two support elements are connected to one another, the support elements comprising a set of roller carriages (5; 5'; 5") and a core element (3) for forming a conveying plane for supporting a belt (33) for conveying products in a conveying direction, a) wherein The at least two support elements are formed independently of one another, wherein directly adjoining support elements are rigidly connected to one another by means of a securing device, b) wherein, in the installed state, the support elements adjoining in the conveying direction have stop faces which abut one another, c) wherein the stop faces have mutually complementary profiles, wherein the profiles cooperate in such a way that a predetermined orientation of the adjoining support elements in three mutually orthogonal spatial directions is ensured, and d) wherein a first spatial direction lies in the conveying plane in the conveying direction, a second spatial direction lies in the conveying plane transversely to the conveying direction, and a third spatial direction is perpendicular to the conveying plane.

14. A method for retrofitting an inspection device according to claim 11, characterized in that, The core element remains unchanged in the inspection apparatus, while at least one of the support elements adjoining in the conveying direction is replaced.

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