X-ray inspection device

Abstract

To provide an X-ray inspection device which can easily control opening or closing of doors even if the size of the device becomes large and the weight of the doors is increased.SOLUTION: An X-ray inspection device (1) includes: a device body (3) having an inspection room (6); a belt conveyor (2); and an opening-closing door (9) for opening or closing the inspection room. The opening-closing door has one main door (10) and at least one sub door (20, 30) lining in a conveyance direction (A). Edge surfaces (231, 331), located in edge parts on the main door side of the sub door and also located on the inspection room side, have interference parts (27, 37) extending to the main door side. The main door has an electromagnetic lock mechanism (43). Since the weight is dispersed to each door and one safety switch (an electromagnetic lock mechanism 43) is sufficient for the main door 10 in the configuration, the safety measures are not complicated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an X-ray inspection apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] X-ray inspection equipment irradiates an object to be inspected with X-rays and inspects for foreign objects, etc. based on the detection results of the X-rays that have passed through the object (X-ray transmission image). The main body of the equipment, which constitutes the inspection room where the X-rays are irradiated, has a tunnel shape, and the object to be inspected is transported to the inspection room by a conveyer belt. The front of the main body of the equipment has an opening and closing door, which can be opened to open the inspection room and perform maintenance of the conveyer belt in the inspection room (cleaning, belt replacement, etc.) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7131798 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, as the size of the equipment increases, the size of the opening and closing door must be increased, and the door structure must also be made more robust to handle the increased X-ray output, which increases the weight of the opening and closing door and increases the risk of opening and closing it.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an X-ray inspection device that has a configuration that makes it easy to control the opening and closing of the door, even if the device becomes larger and the weight of the door increases. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention is an X-ray inspection apparatus comprising an apparatus main body equipped with an inspection room, a belt conveyor that passes through the inspection room and transports the inspection object in a transport direction, and an opening / closing door that opens and closes the inspection room and is provided on a side perpendicular to the transport direction, wherein the opening / closing door comprises one main door and one or more sub-doors that are aligned in the transport direction, and an end face of the sub-door on the main door side that is on the inspection room side comprises an interference portion extending toward the main door, and the main door is equipped with an electromagnetic locking mechanism.

[0007] In the X-ray inspection apparatus of the second aspect, in the first aspect, it is also preferable that the interference portion is formed by bending a plate that constitutes the sub-door.

[0008] In the X-ray inspection apparatus of the third aspect, in the first or second aspect, it is also preferable that the main door and the sub door are each fixed so as to be rotatable around an axis at their lower parts, and that the sub door has a smaller rotation angle than the main door.

[0009] In the X-ray inspection apparatus of the fourth aspect, in any one of the first to third aspects, it is also preferable that the interference portion is formed with a length in the vertical direction corresponding to an area where the sub door contacts the inspection room.

[0010] In the X-ray inspection apparatus of the fifth aspect, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, it is also preferable that the opening and closing door includes one main door and two sub-doors on both sides of the main door.

[0011] In the X-ray inspection apparatus of the sixth aspect, in the fifth aspect, it is also preferable that the door width of the sub-door in the transport direction is formed slightly larger than the installation width of the shielding curtain installed in the inspection room in the transport direction. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an X-ray inspection apparatus having a configuration that allows easy control of opening and closing of a door even if the apparatus becomes larger and the door becomes heavier. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a front perspective view of an X-ray inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the device body with the door open; [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a front perspective view of the device body for explaining the door pivot mechanism; [Figure 6] 4A is a perspective view of the main door in FIG. 3, FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the sub-door in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4C is a perspective view of the opening and closing door when the main door is opened at a rotation angle different from that in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2A is an electrical configuration diagram of an X-ray inspection device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2B is an electrical configuration diagram of a comparative example. [Figure 8] 1A is a cross-sectional view of the main door and the first sub-door when closed, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the main door and the second sub-door when closed. [Figure 9] 11A to 11C are diagrams showing variations in division of the opening and closing door according to the first modified example. [Figure 10] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing variations in the position of an interference portion according to Modification 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the directions of front, back, left, right, top and bottom are as shown in the drawings.

[0015] (Overall composition) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an X-ray inspection device 1 according to an embodiment. The X-ray inspection device 1 includes a belt conveyor 2, a device body 3, a control box 4, and a stand 5 on which the device body 3 is attached. The X-ray inspection device 1 is disposed in a part of a conveying path (line) of an entire manufacturing or inspection system (not shown). For example, an inspection object is conveyed by the belt conveyor 2 from the upstream of the line to an inspection room 6 (see FIG. 3 described later) in the device body 3 of the X-ray inspection device 1, irradiated with X-rays in the inspection room 6, and then sent to the downstream of the line (hereinafter, the conveying direction is indicated by the symbol A). The belt conveyor 2 includes a driving pulley and a driven pulley (both not shown), and sends the inspection object in the conveying direction A by a motor 201. The X-ray transmission image is displayed on a display unit 8 provided in the control box 4. The side of the device body 3 on the front side of the device, which is in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction A (the perpendicular direction is indicated by the symbol B), is an openable and closable door 9.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a front view of the apparatus main body 3, and Fig. 3 is a front perspective view of the apparatus main body 3 with the opening / closing door 9 open. As shown in Fig. 2, the opening / closing door 9 is divided into three in the transport direction A, and consists of a central main door 10 and sub-doors 20 and 30 on either side of the main door 10. The main door 10 and the sub-door 20, and the main doors 10 and 30 are adjacent to each other, and the main door 10 and the sub-doors 20 and 30 each have a handle 40 that can be pulled toward you to open the examination room 6.

[0017] 3, the examination room 6 is opened by opening the opening / closing doors 9 (main door 10 and sub doors 20, 30), and a curtain unit 7 is provided at each of the entrance and exit of the examination room 6. The curtain unit 7 is configured so that a plurality of shielding curtains 701 are lined up in the transport direction A to prevent leakage of X-rays, and is unitized.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. 3 with the curtain unit 7 removed. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the device body 3 is box-shaped and has a tunnel-like shape inside, which serves as the examination room 6. The X-ray irradiation unit 304 (see FIG. 4) is provided on the ceiling 301 of the examination room 6, and the examination room 6 has left and right entrances shielded by shielding curtains 701, a lower part shielded by the belt conveyor 2, a rear part shielded by the back part 302 of the device body 3, and a front part shielded by the opening and closing door 9 (main door 10 and sub doors 20, 30). The belt conveyor 2 is fixed to the back part 302 of the device body 3 and supported by a cantilever, and when the opening and closing door 9 is closed, it is supported by both the back part 302 and the opening and closing door 9. The bottom part 303 of the device body 3 is a fixed part to the stand 5, and the lower part of the opening and closing door 9 is fixed to it so as to be rotatable.

[0019] (Overall structure of the opening and closing door) The opening and closing door 9 will now be described. As shown in Fig. 3, the main door 10 and the sub doors 20 and 30 each have a door lock mechanism 42 such as a ball catch, a door pin is provided on the door 10, 20, and 30 side, and a housing that serves as a receiving portion for the door pin is provided on the ceiling part 301 side of the device main body 3.

[0020] Furthermore, of the main door 10 and the sub doors 20 and 30, only the main door 10 is provided with an electromagnetic lock mechanism 43, which is a so-called safety switch. For example, an actuator 431 of the electromagnetic lock mechanism 43 is provided inside the main door 10, and a connector 432 serving as a receiving portion of the electromagnetic lock mechanism 43 is provided on the front side surface of the ceiling portion 301 of the apparatus body 3. The control box 4 is provided with a control unit 401 (see FIG. 7 described later) having a CPU and memory for controlling the X-ray irradiation unit 304, and the control unit 401 controls the X-ray irradiation unit 304 to irradiate X-rays only when the actuator 431 is inserted into the connector 432 and the electromagnetic lock mechanism 43 is energized, and controls the X-ray irradiation unit 304 not to irradiate X-rays when the actuator 431 is not inserted into the connector 432 and the electromagnetic lock mechanism 43 is not energized, thereby performing safety control to prevent X-ray exposure due to forgetting to close the opening and closing door 9.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 3, the lower surface 15 of the main door 10, the lower surface 25 of the sub door 20, and the lower surface 35 of the sub door 30 are provided with door rotation mechanisms 51, 52, and 53, respectively, and the main door 10 and the sub doors 20 and 30 rotate (open and close) independently. The door rotation mechanisms 51, 52, and 53 are fixed, for example, by screws to the front side of the bottom part 303 of the device main body 3. Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of the device main body 3 for explaining the door rotation mechanisms 51, 52, and 53. The door rotation mechanisms 52 and 53 of the sub doors 20 and 30 are provided with a pair of left and right hinges 501 provided on an arm 500 attached across the lower part (lower surfaces 25 and 35) of the door, and a stop plate 502 having a predetermined angle from the vertical downward direction to the front direction. The stop plate 502 is provided with a shock absorbing material 503 such as a rubber ball, and the shock absorbing material 503 comes into contact with the surfaces 26, 36 of the sub-doors 20, 30 to regulate the rotation angle of the sub-doors 20, 30 (see also symbol F in Figs. 2 and 4). The door rotation mechanism 51 of the main door 10 includes a pair of left and right hinges 501 provided on an arm 500 attached across the lower part (lower surface 15) of the door, and a stop plate 504 extending vertically downward (see also Fig. 2). The stop plate 504 is provided with a shock absorbing material 505 such as a long cushion rubber, and the shock absorbing material 505 comes into contact with the surface 16 of the main door 10 to regulate the rotation angle of the main door 10. The main door 10 and the sub doors 20, 30 rotate toward the front of the device around door rotation mechanisms 51, 52, 53 installed along the lower part (lower sides 15, 25, 35) of each door, and as shown in Fig. 4, the rotation angle G of the sub doors 20, 30 is restricted to be smaller than the rotation angle H of the main door 10. The reason for this will be described later.

[0022] (Details of each door) Fig. 6(A) is a perspective view of the main door 10 in Fig. 3, Fig. 6(B) is a perspective view of the sub-doors 20 and 30 in Fig. 3, and Fig. 6(C) is a perspective view of the opening and closing door 9 with the main door 10 opened at a different rotation angle from that in Fig. 3. The front-rear, left-right, top-bottom directions in Fig. 6 are directions as seen when each door is closed (as in Fig. 2). For ease of explanation, the sub-door 20 located on the left is referred to as the first sub-door, and the sub-door 30 located on the right is referred to as the second sub-door.

[0023] The main door 10 is made of a stainless steel plate and is formed into a rectangular box shape having sides so as to provide a buffer in the front direction of the apparatus (direction B) with respect to the examination room 6 from the viewpoint of preventing X-ray leakage. The main door 10 has a shielding surface 11 facing the examination room 6, a first side surface 12 that abuts against the first sub door 20 when the door is closed, a second side surface 13 that abuts against the second sub door 30 when the door is closed, an upper side surface 14 that abuts against the ceiling part 301 of the apparatus main body 3 when the door is closed, and the above-mentioned lower side surface 15.

[0024] A shielding plate 17, which is a metal plate having a predetermined thickness, is installed on the shielding surface 11 in order to improve the shielding performance against X-rays. The shielding plate 17 is fixed to an area I of the shielding surface 11 that contacts the examination room 6. A door lock mechanism 42 of the main door 10 is provided on the upper surface of the shielding plate 17, and an actuator 431 of the electromagnetic lock mechanism 43 is provided on a fixing portion formed, for example, by bending the upper surface 14 toward the examination room 6 and abutting it against the shielding surface 11. Side end portions 18 of the first side surface 12 and the second side surface 13 are formed to have rectangular recesses 19 in a range slightly longer than the vertical length LI of the area I in the vertical direction.

[0025] The first sub door 20 and the second sub door 30 are also formed in a rectangular box shape having sides so as to provide a buffer in the front direction (direction B) of the apparatus with respect to the examination room 6 in terms of preventing X-ray leakage. The first sub door 20 and the second sub door 30 have shielding surfaces 21, 31 facing the examination room 6, outer surfaces 22, 32, inner surfaces 23, 33 that abut against the main door 10 when the door is closed, upper surfaces 24, 34 that abut against the ceiling part 301 of the apparatus main body 3 when the door is closed, and the above-mentioned lower surfaces 25, 35. The door lock mechanism 42 of the first sub door 20 and the second sub door 30 is provided on a fixing part in which the upper surfaces 24, 34 are bent toward the examination room 6 and abut against the shielding surfaces 21, 31, for example. The outer surfaces 22, 32 and the inner surfaces 23, 33 are formed with recesses 25, 35 through which a receiving stand on which the belt of the belt conveyor 2 is wound is passed, respectively.

[0026] An end face 231 of the inner side face 23, which is the end face on the rear side (examination room 6 side) of the inner side face 23 that is the end face on the main door 10 side of the first sub door 20, has an interference portion 27 formed by bending an area corresponding to the recessed portion 19 of the main door 10 by 90 degrees toward the main door 10 side. Similarly, an end face 331 of the inner side face 33, which is the end face on the rear side (examination room 6 side) of the inner side face 33 that is the end face on the main door 10 side of the second sub door 30, has an interference portion 37 formed by bending an area corresponding to the recessed portion 19 of the main door 10 by 90 degrees toward the main door 10 side. The interference portions 27, 37 of the sub doors 20, 30 contact the side faces 12, 13 (recessed portions 19) of the main door 10, respectively.

[0027] (Opening and closing the door) Here, the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing door 9 in the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described. First, in the opening operation of the opening and closing door 9, if the sub-doors 20, 30 are to be opened without opening the main door 10, the interference parts 27, 37 of the sub-doors 20, 30 interfere with the side surfaces 12, 13 of the main door 10, so the sub-doors 20, 30 cannot be opened unless the main door 10 is opened. Next, in the closing operation of the opening and closing door 9, if the main door 10 is closed, the interference parts 27, 37 of the sub-doors 20, 30 interfere with the side surfaces 12, 13 of the main door 10, so the sub-doors 20, 30 are also closed in conjunction with the main door 10. In this way, the opening and closing of the sub-doors 20, 30 is linked to the opening and closing of the main door 10.

[0028] (Action and effect) As described above, according to the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment, by dividing the opening / closing door 9 into one main door 10 and one or more sub-doors 20, 30 in the transport direction A, the weight is distributed to each door, and the danger of handling the door when opening and closing is reduced compared to when the opening / closing door 9 is configured as a single door. Furthermore, by providing the interference parts 27, 37 to the sub-doors 20, 30, the sub-doors 20, 30 are physically linked to the opening and closing of the main door 10, so that the opening and closing operations of the doors do not become complicated.

[0029] Furthermore, according to the X-ray inspection device 1 of this embodiment, the safety measures for the doors are not complicated as follows. Fig. 7(A) is an electrical configuration diagram of the X-ray inspection device 1 of this embodiment, and Fig. 7(B) is an electrical configuration diagram of a comparative example. When the sub-doors 20, 30 do not have the interference parts 27, 37 as in the comparative example, safety measures to prevent exposure to X-rays are required for each of the doors 10, 20, 30, that is, a safety switch (electromagnetic lock mechanism 43) must be provided for each of the doors 10, 20, 30. In contrast, in this embodiment, the sub-doors 20, 30 are linked to the opening and closing of the main door 10 by the interference parts 27, 37, so that it is sufficient to provide one safety switch (electromagnetic lock mechanism 43) for the main door 10. Even if there are multiple doors, only one main door 10 is required to have electrical wiring for safety measures, and the design of a safety control circuit with the X-ray irradiation unit 304 is not complicated.

[0030] 4, in this embodiment, the rotation angle G of the sub doors 20, 30 is restricted to be smaller than the rotation angle H of the main door 10. This prevents the rotation angle G of the sub doors 20, 30 from exceeding the rotation angle H of the main door 10 when the opening / closing door 9 is opened or closed, and prevents the interference parts 27, 37 from unnecessarily hitting the main door 10 and being damaged.

[0031] Furthermore, the interference portions 27, 37 according to this embodiment can be formed simply by bending a portion of the metal plate that constitutes the sub doors 20, 30, so that the design and processing are simple and the manufacturing costs can be kept low.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 6, the interference parts 27, 37 according to this embodiment are formed over a range slightly longer than the vertical length LI of the region I of the shielding surfaces 21, 31 of the sub-doors 20, 30 that contacts the examination room 6. FIG. 8(A) is a cross-sectional view of the main door 10 and the first sub-door 20 in a closed state, and FIG. 8(B) is a cross-sectional view of the main door 10 and the second sub-door 30 in a closed state. In this way, the interference parts 27, 37 cover the side surfaces 12, 13 of the main door 10 over the vertical direction, and fill the gap K between the main door 10 (side surfaces 12, 13) and the sub-doors 20, 30 (inner surfaces 23, 33). Therefore, the interference parts 27, 37 prevent X-rays from leaking at the boundary between the doors, and also contribute to improving the X-ray leakage prevention effect.

[0033] 8, in the main door 10, due to the processing accuracy of the shielding plate 17 and the need to ensure workability during fixing, a space J is generated between the shielding plate 17 and the first side surface 12 and between the shielding plate 17 and the second side surface 13. For this reason, it is also preferable to form the interference parts 27, 37 according to this embodiment so as to extend to cover the space J in the main door 10. This allows the interference parts 27, 37 to function as a lid for the space J and prevents X-rays from escaping the shielding plate 17 and entering the space J, thereby contributing to an improvement in the effect of preventing X-ray leakage.

[0034] 3, it is also preferable that the door width C (length in the conveying direction A) of the sub doors 20, 30 is formed to be slightly larger than the installation width D (length from the inner curtain to the outer curtain in the conveying direction A) of the shielding curtain 701. This makes it possible to prevent the shielding curtain 701 from being caught when the opening and closing door 9 is opened or closed.

[0035] (Modification) Next, modifications of the above-described embodiment will be described. The same components as those in the embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0036] 9 is a diagram showing variations in division of the opening / closing door 9 according to the first modified example. In (A), the opening / closing door 9 is a two-part door consisting of one main door 10 and one sub-door 20. In (B), the opening / closing door 9 is a five-part door consisting of one main door 10, two first sub-doors 20, 20 on the left, and two second sub-doors 30, 30 on the right. In (C), the opening / closing door 9 is a four-part door consisting of one main door 10, one sub-door 20 on the left, and two sub-doors 30, 30 on the right. In this way, if the first sub-door 20 arranged on the left side of the main door 10 is provided with an interference portion 27 on the right side, and the second sub-door 30 arranged on the right side of the main door 10 is provided with an interference portion 37 on the left side, all the sub-doors 20, 30 are physically linked to the opening and closing of the main door 10. That is, even if the number of divisions of the door is adjusted, the effect of preventing X-ray leakage is weakened, but the operation of opening and closing the door does not become difficult, and only one main door 10 is required with electrical wiring for safety measures, so that the design of the safety control circuit for X-ray irradiation does not become complicated, as described above. In this respect, the number of divisions of the door is not limited to that in the embodiment, and the size of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 can be adjusted by the number of divisions of the door.

[0037] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing variations in the positions of the interference parts 27, 37 according to the second modification. From the viewpoint of linking the sub-doors 20, 30 with the opening and closing of the main door 10, the interference parts 27, 37 may be formed partially. (A) shows an example in which one is formed above the sub-doors 20, 30, (B) shows one below the sub-doors 20, 30, (C) shows two above and below the sub-doors 20, 30, and (D) shows three above, below and in the center of the sub-doors 20, 30. In this way, even if the positions of the interference parts 27, 37 are arranged, the effect of preventing X-ray leakage is weakened, but the opening and closing operation of the door is not complicated, and only one main door 10 is required for electrical wiring for safety measures, and as described above, the design of the safety control circuit for X-ray irradiation is not complicated. In this respect, the positions of the interference parts 27, 37 are not limited to those in the embodiment, and the interference parts 27, 37 may be provided at one location or at multiple locations intermittently.

[0038] Although the preferred embodiment and modifications of the present invention have been described above, these can be modified and combined based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and such modifications are also included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1...X-ray inspection device, 2...belt conveyor, 3...device body, 4...control box, 401...control unit, 6...inspection room, 701...shielding curtain, 9...opening / closing door, 10...main door, 17...shielding plate, 20,30...sub-door, 22,32...outer surface, 23,33...inner surface, 231,331...end surface of inner surface, 27,37...interference portion, 43...electromagnetic lock mechanism, 51,52,53...door rotation mechanism, A...transport direction, B...direction perpendicular to transport direction, C...door width of sub-door, D...installation width of shielding curtain, G...rotation angle of sub-door, H...rotation angle of main door, I...area adjacent to inspection room

Claims

1. An apparatus body including an inspection chamber; a belt conveyor that passes through the inspection room and conveys the inspection object in a conveying direction; an opening / closing door for opening and closing the inspection chamber, the opening / closing door being provided on a side in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, The opening and closing door is The conveyor includes one main door and one or more sub doors arranged in the conveying direction, an end surface of the sub door on the main door side and on the examination room side includes an interference portion extending toward the main door; The main door is provided with an electromagnetic lock mechanism.

1. An X-ray inspection apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interference portion is formed by bending a plate that constitutes the sub-door.

3. 2. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main door and the sub door are fixed so as to be rotatable about an axis at their lower parts, and the sub door has a smaller rotation angle than the main door.

4. 2. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interference portion is formed with a length in the vertical direction corresponding to an area where the sub door contacts the inspection room.

5. 2. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening and closing door comprises one main door and two sub-doors on both sides of the main door.

6. 6. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a door width of the sub door in the transport direction is formed slightly larger than an installation width of a shielding curtain installed in the inspection room in the transport direction.

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