Inspection device

Abstract

To realize heat radiation performance needed in a heat exchanger of an inspection device.SOLUTION: An X-ray inspection device 1 includes: a housing 2 having a heat source; and a heat exchanger 10 having a heat absorption part 11 and a heat exhaust part 12 which are provided inside and outside the housing 2. The heat exhaust part includes: a first duct 19 which includes an air suction port 20 on an upper surface and a first exhaust port 21 on a lower surface and houses heat exhaust fins 14; a second duct 22 communicating with the first duct; and a heat exhaust fan 25 attached to the second duct in an inclined state. Since dead zones Z1, Z2, where the suction force of the heat exhaust fan is reduced, does not enter into the first heat exhaust duct 19 (Fig. 5), unevenness in an air quantity distribution in a suction direction in the duct is eliminated. Further, a passage is narrowed by the second duct to increase the flow speed in the duct and thereby improve the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exhaust fins and heat radiation performance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an inspection device equipped with a heat exchanger in which heat absorption parts and heat exhaust parts arranged inside and outside a housing are connected by a heat conduction pipe, and in particular to an inspection device equipped with a heat exchanger that has the heat dissipation performance required for the inspection device, by arranging an external fan in a characteristic position to circulate air through the heat exhaust part, thereby improving the decrease in the heat transfer rate of the heat exhaust part. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses an invention of an X-ray inspection device that dissipates heat in the housing to the outside of the housing by a heat exchanger provided in the housing without using an expensive air conditioner. The inside of the first housing 3 of this X-ray inspection device 1 is divided into a plurality of cooling sections C1 to C4 by partitions 16 based on the use limit temperature, etc., and each of the sections C2, C3, and C4 houses heat sources 17 to 20 having their own use limit temperature. Since the air flow path B is set in the cooling section so that the heat sources 19 and 20 with low use limit temperatures are arranged upstream of the heat sources 17 and 18 with high use limit temperatures, the cooling efficiency is good, and the heat absorption section 15a of the heat exchanger 15 is in the first housing 3, and the heat dissipation section is in the second housing communicated with the outside air, and the heat dissipation section does not protrude from the housing as a whole, so that the cleaning is easy. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-109488 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] According to the X-ray inspection device described in the above Patent Document 1, the heat in the housing can be dissipated to the outside using a heat exchanger without using an air conditioner that consumes electricity, and therefore the demand for power saving can be met. However, since both the heat absorbing part and the heat dissipating part that constitute the heat exchanger are housed in the housing, outside air must be taken into the housing in order to dissipate heat to the outside of the housing. If the environment in which the X-ray inspection device is installed is clean, there is no problem, but when the X-ray inspection device is used in a dusty environment in a factory or a similar environment, there is a problem that the mechanism and equipment in the housing become dirty with dust and the like while the air taken into the X-ray inspection device is circulated inside the housing.

[0005] To solve these problems, the inventor of the present application invented a heat exchanger for an X-ray inspection device that uses a heat exchanger instead of an air conditioner, in which the heat absorption part is placed inside the housing and the heat exhaust part is placed outside the housing, and the heat absorption part and the heat exhaust part are connected by a heat conduction pipe that penetrates the housing, so as to prevent dust-containing air from being introduced into the housing. An X-ray inspection device equipped with such a heat exchanger does not consume electricity for cooling, and can be used in a dusty environment in a factory.

[0006] However, in recent years, there has been a trend toward demand for higher performance X-ray inspection devices, and the performance of components installed inside the housing of the X-ray inspection device has also become more advanced, and the amount of heat generated by the components has increased along with the advanced performance. Therefore, the performance required for the heat control means or cooling means installed in the X-ray inspection device is also shifting to a higher level, and this is also the case for the X-ray inspection device described above that uses a heat exchanger instead of an air conditioner.

[0007] For the above reasons, there is an increasing need to improve the performance of heat exchangers even in X-ray inspection equipment that uses a heat exchanger as a cooling means. For this reason, the inventors of the present application have actively conducted research and development into improving the heat dissipation capacity of the heat exchangers of the X-ray inspection equipment, as described below.

[0008] In the early stages of research and development, the inventors of the present application tried a structure that increases the surface area of ​​the fins of the heat absorbing part and the heat dissipating part of the heat exchanger. However, this structure makes the heat exchanger larger, and the length of the X-ray inspection device is also increased, which is not preferable. Therefore, instead of increasing the surface area of ​​the fins, a structure was tried in which the gaps between the fins were narrowed and the number of fins was increased. However, with such a complex structure, the pressure loss when air passes through the gaps between the fins increases, and as a result, the thermal resistance of the heat exchanger increases, making it difficult for heat to flow from the heat absorbing part to the heat dissipating part, and the heat dissipation performance of the heat exchanger as a whole was not necessarily improved.

[0009] Fig. 8 is a side view of an X-ray inspection device 1' invented by the present inventor, which includes a heat exchanger 10' having a structure in which a heat absorption section 11 inside a housing 2 and a heat exhaust section 12 outside the housing 2 are connected by a plurality of heat conduction pipes 15, and shows a cutaway portion of the housing 2 that contains a heat source (not shown) and a duct 30 that contains the heat exhaust section 12, where the heat exchanger 10' is provided. Fig. 9 is a rear view of the X-ray inspection device 1'. In this X-ray inspection device 1', a heat absorption fan 40 and a heat exhaust fan 50 for forcibly passing air are provided in the heat absorption section 11 and the heat exhaust section 12, respectively.

[0010] 8 and 9, the shape of the heat exhaust section 12 is a rectangular parallelepiped whose width dimension (left-right dimension in FIG. 9) perpendicular to the horizontal length, i.e., depth dimension (left-right dimension in FIG. 8), is longer than the horizontal length. The heat exhaust fan 50 of the heat exhaust section 12 has an outer diameter that matches the depth dimension of the heat exhaust section 12 as shown in FIG. 8, and therefore is smaller than the width dimension of the heat exhaust section 12 and is attached approximately in the center in the width direction as shown in FIG. 9. The heat exhaust fan 50 is attached so that the suction side surface (the upper surface in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9) is in direct contact with the exhaust port of the duct 20, which is the lower surface of the heat exhaust section 12 (this attachment structure is called direct attachment).

[0011] The heat exchanger 10' of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1' invented by the present inventor and shown in Figures 8 and 9 did not necessarily provide sufficient heat dissipation performance. Therefore, as the next stage of research and development, the present inventor focused on a heat exhaust fan as a means other than the structure that increases the surface area of ​​the fins described above, or the structure that narrows the gaps between the fins and increases the number of fins, and came to think of improving the capacity of the heat exchanger 10' by improving the capacity of the fan.

[0012] In the X-ray inspection device 1' shown in Figures 8 and 9, when a larger-diameter, high-power exhaust fan is used, if the exhaust fan is directly attached to the exhaust unit 12, a part of the exhaust fan will protrude rearward from the exhaust unit 12, and the performance of the fan will not be fully utilized. Therefore, if the duct 30 of the exhaust unit 12 is extended rearward to cover the entire larger-diameter exhaust fan, the length of the X-ray inspection device 1' will increase, and this cannot be adopted. As another structural example, it is possible to provide a second duct whose diameter increases downward between the duct 30 of the exhaust unit 12 and a larger-diameter exhaust fan arranged horizontally below it at a distance, but this structure also increases the length of the X-ray inspection device 1' and is complex, so it cannot be adopted either.

[0013] In the next stage of the research and development described above, the inventors of the present application re-examined the suction force of the heat exhaust fan provided in the X-ray inspection apparatus 1' shown in Figs. 8 and 9 and discovered the following fact.

[0014] The inventors of the present application have studied a 120mm square propeller fan as an example of a heat exhaust fan. The wind speed on the suction side of this propeller fan was measured at each position in space indicated by the radial position of the propeller and the axial position of the propeller. As a result, it was found that the wind speed in a roughly spheroidal region on the suction side of the propeller fan, including a position corresponding to the end of the propeller shaft or the center of the propeller, and a position on the axis of the propeller shaft that is about 10mm to 15mm away from the center of the fan on the suction surface, is clearly lower than the wind speed at positions outside this region. The inventors of the present application have named such a region with a significantly low wind speed as a dead zone, meaning that it is a region ineffective in sucking in air, which is the purpose of the fan. In this example, the wind speed in the high-speed region was 12m / s, while the wind speed in the dead zone corresponding to the center of the propeller was about 5m / s.

[0015] The present inventors have further studied the effect of the dead zone of the heat exhaust fan on the heat transfer in the heat exhaust section 12 and have come to the following discovery. 10, the heat exhaust fan 50 is attached directly to the exhaust port 30a of the duct 30, and the suction surface of the heat exhaust fan 50 coincides with the exhaust port 30a of the duct 30, so that the dead zone that appears in the center of the suction side of the heat exhaust fan 50 (for convenience, this will be referred to as the first dead zone Z1) enters the inside of the duct 30 of the heat exhaust section 12. Also, as shown in FIG. 10, the heat exhaust fan 50 has a smaller width than the duct 30 of the heat exhaust section 12, and is attached approximately in the center of the duct 30 in the width direction, so that a second dead zone Z2 appears in the part of the inside of the duct 30 that does not face the heat exhaust fan 50, i.e., outside the effective range of the suction force of the heat exhaust fan 50. The second dead zone Z2 has a shape in which the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the heat exhaust fan 50 gradually decreases with increasing distance from the heat exhaust fan 50 (as shown in the figure, the cross-sectional shape is a quarter of a spheroid), and occurs inside the duct 30 of the heat exhaust section 12. In this way, the first and second dead zones Z1 and Z2, which are areas in which air cannot be effectively sucked, are generated inside the duct 30 of the heat exhaust section 12, and therefore sufficient air does not flow through a significant portion of the heat exhaust fins. The inventors of the present application have come to the conclusion that the two dead zones Z1 and Z2 of the heat exhaust fan 50 generated inside the duct 30 of the heat exhaust section 12 reduce the heat exchange efficiency per heat exhaust fin in the duct 30, resulting in a low heat transfer efficiency, and as a result, the heat dissipation capacity of the heat exchanger 10' as a whole does not meet the standard required for an X-ray inspection device.

[0016] The present invention has been made based on the problems in the conventional technology described above, and on new discoveries and knowledge obtained as a result of the technological development carried out by the present inventors in response to these problems, and aims to provide an inspection device having a heat exchanger in which heat absorption and heat exhaust parts are arranged inside and outside a housing and connected by a heat transfer tube, by effectively applying the air suction force of a heat exhaust fan to the heat exhaust part, thereby providing an inspection device equipped with a heat exchanger having the necessary heat dissipation performance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] The inspection device 1, 1a described in claim 1 comprises: A housing 2 having heat sources 4 and 5 therein; a heat exchanger 10, 10a having a heat absorbing section 11 provided with a plurality of heat absorbing fins 13 and arranged inside the housing 2, a heat dissipating section 12 provided with a plurality of heat dissipating fins 14 and arranged outside the housing 2, and a heat conduction pipe 15 penetrating the housing 2 and thermally connecting the heat absorbing fins 13 and the heat dissipating fins 14; An inspection device 1, 1a comprising: a first duct 19 that is provided with an air intake 20 on an upper surface and a first exhaust 21 on a lower surface, houses the heat exhaust fin 14, and is attached to the housing 2; a heat exhaust fan 25 attached to the first exhaust port 21 of the first duct 19 in an inclined position such that the exhaust direction is a direction away from the housing 2 and a diagonally downward direction; The present invention is characterized by being provided with the following:

[0018] The inspection apparatus 1, 1a according to claim 2 is the inspection apparatus 1, 1a according to claim 1, The first duct 19 is provided with a second duct 22 that is provided at the first exhaust port 21 thereof so as to communicate with the interior of the first duct 19 and has a second exhaust port 24 to which the heat exhaust fan 25 is attached in the inclined position.

[0019] The inspection device 1, 1a described in claim 3 is the inspection device 1, 1a described in claim 1 or 2, The inspection device 1, 1a is characterized in that it is an X-ray inspection device 1, 1a that irradiates X-rays onto the object to be inspected W transported by the transport means 3 and inspects the object to be inspected W based on an X-ray image obtained from the X-rays that have passed through the object to be inspected W. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the inspection device described in claim 1, a heat exhaust fan is attached to the first exhaust port of the first duct outside the housing, and this heat exhaust fan is attached in an inclined position so that the air sucked from inside the first duct is exhausted in a diagonally downward direction away from the housing. Therefore, the heat exhaust fan has an outer diameter larger than the depth dimension of the first duct perpendicular to the rear surface of the housing, so that a heat exhaust fan with sufficient suction power can be used. In addition, a dead zone where the suction power is reduced exists on the suction side of the heat exhaust fan. However, since the heat exhaust fan is attached in an inclined position with respect to the first exhaust port of the first duct, an air flow path (gap) with a shape narrowed toward the heat exhaust fan is formed between the suction side of the heat exhaust fan and the first exhaust port, and the dead zone that enters inside beyond the first exhaust port becomes smaller, or the dead zone does not enter inside beyond the first exhaust port. As a result, there is no unevenness in the distribution of air volume in the suction direction in the first duct, the flow rate in the first duct increases, and the heat exchange efficiency of each heat exhaust fin in the first duct improves, thereby increasing the heat transfer efficiency, resulting in an improvement in the overall heat dissipation capacity of the heat exchanger.

[0021] According to the inspection device described in claim 2, the duct structure consisting of the first duct and the second duct that communicate with each other, and the heat exhaust fan installed in the inclined position at the second exhaust port of the second duct allow the suction force of the heat exhaust fan to work effectively inside the first duct. This allows low-temperature air outside the housing to be sucked in through the intake port of the first duct, and by circulating the air to every corner of the first duct, the entire heat exhaust fin is used to efficiently transfer heat to the air, and the air is then exhausted from the second duct to the outside via the heat exhaust fan, realizing a smooth air flow.

[0022] According to the inspection device described in claim 3, in an X-ray inspection device in which the dissipation of heat generated by the X-ray generating device is particularly problematic, the effects of the invention according to claim 1 or 2 can be obtained, and therefore the practical advantage is great. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a partial see-through perspective view of an X-ray inspection apparatus according to a first embodiment, as viewed obliquely from behind. [Diagram 2] 2 is a right side view showing a cutaway portion of a heat exchanger in the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the X-ray inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 2 is a cutaway plan view of a heat exchanger portion in the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] 2 is a partially enlarged right side view showing a cutaway portion of a heat exchanger in the X-ray inspection device of the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a partially enlarged rear view showing the air flow in a first duct of a heat exhaust part by arrows in the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a rear view of the X-ray inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a right side view showing a cutaway portion of a heat exchanger in an X-ray inspection apparatus invented by the present inventor prior to the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a rear view of an X-ray inspection apparatus invented by the present inventor prior to the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged rear view for explaining a problem with an X-ray inspection apparatus invented by the present inventor prior to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] An X-ray inspection apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The configuration of an X-ray inspection device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The X-ray inspection device 1 has a housing 2 with an X-ray shielding structure. The housing 2 is composed of a relatively large upper housing 2a, a relatively small lower housing 2b, and an intermediate housing 2c that connects the upper housing 2a and the lower housing 2b, and the area surrounded by the upper housing 2a, the intermediate housing 2c, and the lower housing 2b is an inspection space S for the object to be inspected. In the inspection space S, a transport means 3 for transporting the object to be inspected W is provided so as to penetrate the inspection space S along the horizontal direction. An X-ray generator 4, which is a heat source that irradiates X-rays downward, is provided inside the upper housing 2a. An X-ray detector 5, which is a heat source that detects X-rays that have passed through the object to be inspected W, is provided inside the lower housing 2b.

[0025] 3, while the inspection object W is being transported by the transport means 3 within the inspection space S, an X-ray generator 4 irradiates the inspection object W with X-rays, and an X-ray detector 5 detects the X-rays that have passed through the inspection object W. Based on an X-ray image obtained from the output signal of the X-ray detector 5, it is possible to inspect the inspection object W for the presence or absence of foreign matter, etc.

[0026] 1 to 4 show an outline of the structure of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1, and the X-ray generator 4, the X-ray detector 5, and the transport means 3 are shown in a schematic manner. Also, the devices in the housing 2 other than the heat exchanger 10 described below, the support legs that support the housing 2, and the X-ray shielding structure of the inspection space S are not shown. The devices in the housing 2 that are not shown include a heat source.

[0027] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, a heat exchanger 10, which is a device that guides heat emitted from a heat source inside the housing 2 to the outside of the housing 2 and dissipates the heat, is provided on the upper back surface of the housing 2 of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the heat exchanger 10 includes a heat absorbing section 11 inside the housing 2 and a heat dissipating section 12 outside the housing 2. As shown in Fig. 4 in particular, the heat absorbing section 11 includes a plurality of rectangular heat absorbing fins 13 (for example, 38 fins) arranged parallel to the vertical direction at a predetermined interval, and the heat dissipating section 12 includes a plurality of rectangular heat dissipating fins 14 (for example, 20 fins) arranged parallel to the vertical direction at a predetermined interval. The heat absorbing fins 13 and the heat dissipating fins 14 have the same shape and the same surface area. The heat absorbing fins 13 are made of aluminum as an example, and the heat dissipating fins 14 are made of copper, which has a higher thermal conductivity than aluminum. The heat absorbing fins 13 and the heat dissipating fins 14 are collectively called fins.

[0028] The fin spacing mentioned above means the length of the gap between the two opposing surfaces of adjacent fins. The spacing between the heat exhaust fins 14 (referred to as the second spacing) is set wider than the spacing between the heat absorption fins 13 (referred to as the first spacing). The second spacing is set larger than the first spacing to improve cleaning performance, and as an example, it can be 4 to 5 mm so that an air nozzle can be inserted when air is used for cleaning, and about 8 mm so that a water nozzle can be inserted when water is used for cleaning.

[0029] The multiple heat absorption fins 13 and heat dissipation fins 14 mentioned above are connected to multiple independent heat transfer pipes 15 (for example, four pairs of two fins in two upper and lower rows, totaling 16 fins) that penetrate the housing 2, and are thermally coupled to each other.

[0030] As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the heat absorption section 11 includes a box-shaped heat absorption duct 16 that houses the heat absorption fins 13. The heat absorption duct 16 is open only on both the left and right sides, and a first heat absorption fan 17 for intake is attached to one opening, and a second heat absorption fan 18 for exhaust is attached to the other opening. Both the first heat absorption fan 17 and the second heat absorption fan 18 can be configured as propeller fans. As shown by arrow A1 in Fig. 1, warm air in the housing 2 is forcibly taken into the heat absorption duct 16 by the first heat absorption fan 17, passes through the heat absorption fins 13 (see Fig. 4), and is then forcibly discharged by the second heat absorption fan 18 outside the heat absorption duct 16 into the housing 2.

[0031] As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the heat exhaust section 12 is provided with a box-shaped first heat exhaust duct 19 that houses the heat exhaust fins 14. The first heat exhaust duct 19 corresponds to the "first duct" in the claims of the present application. Only the top and bottom of the first heat exhaust duct 19 are open. The opening on the top is the first air intake port (see Fig. 1), and the opening on the bottom is the first exhaust port 21 (see Fig. 2).

[0032] As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the second heat exhaust duct 22 is provided on the first heat exhaust duct 19 and the rear surface of the housing 2 so as to communicate with the inside of the first heat exhaust duct 19 via the first exhaust port 21. The second heat exhaust duct 22 corresponds to the "second duct" in the claims of the present application. The second heat exhaust duct 22 is a triangular prism-shaped hollow case with a cross section of a right-angled triangle. A second air intake port 23 communicating with the first exhaust port 21 of the first heat exhaust duct 19 is opened on the upper surface of the second heat exhaust duct 22 (see FIG. 2), and a second exhaust port 24 is opened on the inclined lower surface (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 2, the right-angle corner of the cross section of the right-angled triangle of the second heat exhaust duct 22 coincides with the intersection line between the lower surface of the first heat exhaust duct 19 and the rear surface of the housing 2. Therefore, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the front side of the lower surface of the second heat exhaust duct 22 where the second exhaust port 24 is open is opposite the back surface of the housing 2 and faces diagonally downward to the rear of the housing 2.

[0033] 1 to 3, a heat exhaust fan 25, which is a propeller fan, is attached to the second exhaust port 24 of the second heat exhaust duct 22 in an inclined position with its suction side surface aligned with the second exhaust port 24. Therefore, the exhaust side surface of the heat exhaust fan 25 faces rearward, which is the opposite side to the back surface of the housing 2, and faces diagonally downward from the housing 2. Therefore, the exhaust direction of the heat exhaust fan 25 is a direction away from the housing 2, and is diagonally downward with the back surface of the housing 2 as its back.

[0034] The operation of the heat exchanger 10 in the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, the heat exhaust fan 25 is attached at a predetermined inclination so that the air sucked out from inside the first heat exhaust duct 19 is exhausted in a diagonally downward direction away from the housing 2. For this reason, as shown by the dimension lines in FIG. 5, when selecting the heat exhaust fan 25, a propeller fan with sufficient suction power and an outer diameter L2 larger than the depth dimension L1 of the first heat exhaust duct 19 perpendicular to the back surface of the housing 2 can be used.

[0035] As shown as the shaded areas in FIG. 5, the first and second dead zones Z1 and Z2 where the suction force is reduced exist on the suction side of the heat exhaust fan 25. However, since the heat exhaust fan 25 is attached in the above-mentioned predetermined inclined posture with respect to the first exhaust port 21 of the first heat exhaust duct 19 facing directly downward, a gap is formed between the suction side of the heat exhaust fan 25 and the first exhaust port 21 by the space inside the second heat exhaust duct 22. As a result, the dead zone that goes inside beyond the first exhaust port 21 becomes smaller, or the dead zone does not go inside beyond the first exhaust port 21. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the first dead zone Z1 is entirely outside the first heat exhaust duct 19, and the second dead zone Z2 is hardly applied to the heat exhaust fins 14. Therefore, the suction force of the heat exhaust fan 25 effectively acts from the first exhaust port 21 into the first heat exhaust duct 19.

[0036] The inclination of the heat exhaust fan 25 is set so that the exhaust air faces diagonally downward away from the housing 2, so that the exhaust air is smoothly dispersed into space without colliding with the housing 2, and hot air does not collide with the housing 2 and increase the temperature of the housing 2. Even if the X-ray generating device 1 is installed in a dusty environment, the heat exhaust fan 25 is provided on the underside of the heat exhaust part 12 and is located far from the vicinity of the floor surface where dust is likely to accumulate and remain, so that the air sucked in from the air intake on the upper side is relatively clean, and therefore dust is unlikely to clog the heat exhaust fins 14.

[0037] When the heat exhaust fan 25 is operated, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 6, the air outside the housing 2 (indicated by the solid arrow), which is lower in temperature than the air inside the housing 2, is forcibly taken into the first heat exhaust duct 19 from the first upper air intake 20 by the suction force of the heat exhaust fan 25, spreads to every corner inside the first heat exhaust duct 19 (indicated by the dashed arrow), and heat is efficiently transferred by contacting the entire surfaces of the multiple heat exhaust fins 14 (see Fig. 5), passes through the second heat exhaust duct 22, passes through the heat exhaust fan 25, and is forcibly exhausted diagonally downward toward the rear of the housing 2. Therefore, the heat generated by the X-ray generator 4 and the like inside the housing 2 is transferred from the air inside the housing 2 to the heat absorption fins 13, is conducted from the heat conduction tube 15 to the heat exhaust fins 14, and is further transferred from the heat exhaust fins 14 to the air outside the housing 2 and dissipated into the atmosphere.

[0038] In this way, by providing a duct structure consisting of the first heat exhaust duct 19 and the second heat exhaust duct 22 that communicate with each other, and by providing the heat exhaust fan 25 in the inclined position at the second exhaust port 24 of the second heat exhaust duct 22, the suction force of the heat exhaust fan 25 acts effectively inside the first heat exhaust duct 19. As a result, there is no unevenness in the air volume distribution in the suction direction in the first heat exhaust duct 19, the air flow in the first heat exhaust duct 19 becomes smooth, and the flow rate increases because the air flow path is narrowed by the second heat exhaust duct 22. This improves the heat exchange efficiency of each heat exhaust fin 14 in the first heat exhaust duct 19, increasing the heat transfer efficiency, and as a result, the heat dissipation capacity of the heat exchanger 10 as a whole is improved.

[0039] According to the X-ray inspection device 1 of this embodiment, the fin spacing of the heat dissipation fins 14 is greater than the fin spacing of the heat absorption fins 13, so that the heat dissipation section 12 outside the housing 2 is easy to clean, and dust and other foreign matter can be easily removed by injecting water or air between the fins.

[0040] Also, the spacing between the heat exhaust fins 14 is greater than the spacing between the heat absorption fins 13, but the number of heat exhaust fins 14 is less than the number of heat absorption fins 13, so the depth dimension in the direction perpendicular to the fin surface (the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer tube 15) is smaller in the heat exhaust section 12 than in the heat absorption section 11. In other words, the number and spacing of the heat exhaust fins 14 are appropriately set so that the heat exhaust section 12 can be easily cleaned and the heat exhaust section 12 is smaller in height than the heat absorption section 11.

[0041] According to this heat exchanger 10, Heat transfer rate Among the various conditions that determine the above, the fin spacing is larger in the heat exhaust fins 14 than in the heat absorption fins 13, and the number of fins is smaller in the heat exhaust fins 14 than in the heat absorption fins 13, so that the amount of heat transfer in the heat exhaust section 12 may be lower than that in the heat absorption section 11. However, as described above with reference to Fig. 5, the heat exhaust section 12 of this heat exchanger 10 is provided with one heat exhaust fan 25 that has a larger diameter (L2) than the depth dimension L1 of the heat exhaust section 12 and is more powerful than the first heat absorption fan 17 and the second heat absorption fan 18, and furthermore, the heat exhaust fan 25 is installed in an inclined position so that the first and second dead zones Z1 and Z2 do not overlap the heat exhaust fins 14, so that these provide an effective heat dissipation performance improving structure, and the amount of heat transfer in the heat exhaust section 12 will not be lower than that in the heat absorption section 11. Therefore, heat is transferred well from the heat absorbing portion 11 to the heat dissipating portion 12, and as a result, the heat dissipation performance of the heat exchanger 10 can achieve a level required as a heat dissipation means for the X-ray generating device 1.

[0042] Furthermore, as another heat dissipation performance improving structure of the heat exchanger 10, the thickness of the heat dissipation fins 14 is set to be greater than the thickness of the heat absorption fins 13. Therefore, since the heat dissipation fins 14 can store more heat than the heat absorption fins 13, even if the number of heat dissipation fins 14 is small and the spacing between them is large, the amount of heat transferred from the heat dissipation section 12 will not be less than the amount of heat transferred from the heat absorption section 11. Therefore, the heat dissipation performance improving structure also ensures that heat is transferred well from the heat absorption section 11 to the heat dissipation section 12.

[0043] An X-ray inspection apparatus 1a according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7, in the X-ray inspection device 1a of the second embodiment, the second heat exhaust duct 22 and the heat exhaust fan 25 provided in the heat exhaust part 12 of the heat exchanger 10a are attached at a position shifted from the center position to one end (the right side in FIG. 7) in the width direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 7) of the first heat exhaust duct 19. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0044] Although the heat exchanger 10a of this X-ray inspection device 1a is not shown in Fig. 7, a first heat absorption fan 17 for intake is attached to one opening (the opening on the right side in Fig. 7) of the heat absorption duct 16, and a second heat absorption fan 18 for exhaust is attached to the other opening (the opening on the left side in Fig. 7). In general, in the case of a structure in which relatively high temperature air is sucked from one side of the heat absorption duct 16, and relatively low temperature air after heat absorption is sucked from the other side of the heat absorption duct 16, the vicinity of the first heat absorption fan 17 that sucks in the relatively high temperature air, that is, the position shifted to the right side in Fig. 7, becomes relatively hot. Therefore, even in the heat exhaust section 12 connected by the heat conduction pipe 15, the heat exhaust fin 14 located on the right side becomes relatively hot due to the shift in heat conduction. 7, by providing the second heat exhaust duct 22 and the heat exhaust fan 25 in a position offset to the right, it is possible to realize efficient heat transfer corresponding to the thermal conduction offset in the left-right direction in the heat exhaust section 12. Furthermore, the left-right position of the heat exhaust fan 25 in the heat exhaust section 12 may be appropriately set in accordance with the position of the heat source inside the housing 2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1,1a…X-ray inspection equipment 2. Housing 4…X-ray generator, which is the heat source 5…X-ray detector, which is the heat source 10,10a…Heat exchanger 11...Heat absorption section 12…Heat exhaust section 13...Heat absorption fin 14…Heat dissipation fin 15…Heat transfer tube 19…First exhaust heat duct (first duct) 20…First intake port (intake port) 21…First exhaust port 22…Second heat exhaust duct (second duct) 24…Second exhaust port 25…Heat exhaust fan

Claims

1. A housing (2) having a heat source (4) therein; a heat exchanger (10, 10a) having a heat absorption section (11) provided with a plurality of heat absorption fins (13) and arranged inside the housing, a heat exhaust section (12) provided with a plurality of heat exhaust fins (14) and arranged outside the housing, and a heat conduction pipe (15) penetrating the housing and thermally connecting the heat absorption fins and the heat exhaust fins; An inspection device comprising: a first duct (19) having an air intake port on an upper surface and a first exhaust port on a lower surface, housing the heat exhaust fin, and attached to the housing; a heat exhaust fan (25) attached to the first exhaust port (21) of the first duct in an inclined position such that the exhaust direction is in a direction away from the housing and obliquely downward; An inspection device (1, 1a) comprising:

2. The inspection device (1, 1a) according to claim 1, further comprising a second duct (22) that is provided in the first exhaust port (21) of the first duct (19) so as to communicate with the inside of the first duct and has a second exhaust port (24) to which the heat exhaust fan (25) is attached in the inclined position.

3. The inspection device (1, 1a) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inspection device is an X-ray inspection device that irradiates X-rays onto an object to be inspected (W) transported by a transport means (3) and inspects the object to be inspected based on an X-ray image obtained from the X-rays that have passed through the object to be inspected.

Images