X-ray inspection equipment

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray inspection apparatus that can adjust the sensitivity without passing an article through it multiple times. [Solution] The X-ray inspection apparatus 10 comprises a conveyor 12, an X-ray irradiator 13, an X-ray line sensor 14, a foreign object inspection unit 21b, an HDD 25, a controller 20, and a monitor 30. The foreign object inspection unit 21b performs predetermined processing on the X-ray transmission image of the item G, which is generated based on the detection result of the X-ray line sensor 14, to create a judgment image. Furthermore, the foreign object inspection unit 21b determines whether the item is good or bad by comparing the pixel value indicated by each pixel of the judgment image with a preset threshold. The HDD 25 stores the maximum pixel value Pmax, which is the maximum value of the pixel, as a feature quantity. The controller 20 aggregates the maximum pixel value Pmax to generate statistical data 33. The monitor 30 displays the statistical data 33.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus that determines the quality of an inspection object based on a transmission image of X-rays irradiated on the inspection object.

Background Art

[0002] As an apparatus for inspecting the presence or absence of defects such as foreign matter混入 in an article, an X-ray inspection apparatus is widely used. For example, the inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-12011) includes correction means for correcting an X-ray transmission image in order to perform more accurate inspection.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] In the above X-ray inspection apparatus, although the corrected image can be confirmed in real time, it is necessary to rotate the article a plurality of times after adjusting the sensitivity of the correction means. This is because it is not easy to determine the degree of difference between good products and defective products, so in practice, it is necessary to perform operations of increasing or decreasing the sensitivity of the correction means.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray inspection apparatus capable of adjusting sensitivity without rotating an article a plurality of times.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The X-ray inspection apparatus according to the first aspect comprises a transport unit, an X-ray irradiation unit, an X-ray detection unit, an inspection unit, a storage unit, a control unit, and a display unit. The transport unit transports the articles. The X-ray irradiation unit irradiates the transported articles with X-rays. The X-ray detection unit detects the X-rays that have passed through the articles. The inspection unit creates a judgment image by performing predetermined processing on the X-ray transmission image of the articles generated based on the detection results of the X-ray detection unit. Furthermore, the inspection unit determines the quality of the articles by comparing the pixel values ​​indicated by each pixel in the judgment image with a preset threshold. The storage unit stores the feature quantities of the pixel values. The control unit aggregates the feature quantities to generate statistical data. The display unit displays the statistical data.

[0006] Here, the feature quantity refers to the maximum pixel value when the defective area is processed to appear white, and to the minimum pixel value when the defective area is processed to appear black. This X-ray inspection device allows for sensitivity adjustment by changing the threshold setting based on statistical data, eliminating the need to run the item through multiple times and reducing the work required for sensitivity adjustment.

[0007] The X-ray inspection apparatus relating to the second perspective is the same as the X-ray inspection apparatus relating to the first perspective, wherein the control unit creates a statistical graph based on statistical data and causes the display unit to display the statistical graph.

[0008] This X-ray inspection device aggregates the characteristic values ​​of the pixel values ​​and displays them as a statistical graph, allowing users to set the optimal threshold while visually observing the characteristics of the data appearing in the statistical graph.

[0009] The X-ray inspection device relating to the third perspective is the same as the X-ray inspection device relating to the second perspective, and the statistical graph is displayed as a histogram.

[0010] This X-ray inspection device makes it easier to make adjustments, such as resetting the threshold between polarized data points.

[0011] The X-ray inspection apparatus of the fourth perspective is an X-ray inspection apparatus relating to the second or third perspective, wherein the display unit displays statistical graphs by color-coding values ​​smaller than the threshold and values ​​larger than the threshold.

[0012] This X-ray inspection device provides a reference point for resetting thresholds when data is polarized.

[0013] The X-ray inspection apparatus of the fifth perspective is an X-ray inspection apparatus relating to any one of the items of the second to fourth perspectives, wherein the inspection unit has a plurality of determination units with different processing methods. The inspection is performed for each determination unit. The display unit displays a statistical graph for each determination unit.

[0014] In this X-ray inspection device, given that the inspection unit uses multiple judgment methods during actual inspections, displaying statistical graphs for each judgment unit on the display unit makes it easier to set thresholds for each judgment unit.

[0015] The X-ray inspection apparatus relating to the sixth viewpoint is an X-ray inspection apparatus relating to any one of the items from the second viewpoint to the fifth viewpoint, wherein the display unit displays an axis showing the pixel values ​​of a statistical graph and an axis showing the pixel values ​​of an adjustment bar for adjusting a threshold, arranged parallel to each other and facing each other.

[0016] With this X-ray inspection device, operators can set thresholds while viewing statistical graphs.

[0017] The X-ray inspection apparatus relating to the seventh viewpoint is an X-ray inspection apparatus relating to one of the second to fifth viewpoints, wherein the display unit displays a statistical graph and an adjustment bar for adjusting the threshold superimposed on it. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] In the X-ray inspection apparatus according to the present invention, sensitivity can be adjusted by changing the threshold value based on statistical data, eliminating the need to run the item through multiple times and reducing the workload of sensitivity adjustment. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0019] [Figure 1] This is an external perspective view of an X-ray inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a front-back process configuration diagram of the X-ray inspection apparatus. [Figure 3] This is an internal configuration diagram of the shield box of the X-ray inspection apparatus. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram showing the principle of X-ray inspection. [Figure 5] This is a block configuration diagram of the controller. [Figure 6] This is a front view of a screen displaying a plurality of determination units and an X-ray transmission image of "chicken breast meat" with marks in regions determined to be foreign objects by them. <​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The item G to be inspected is transported to the X-ray inspection device 10 by the upstream conveyor 60. The item G is classified as good or defective in the X-ray inspection device 10. The inspection results from the X-ray inspection device 10 are sent to the sorting mechanism 70 located downstream of the X-ray inspection device 10.

[0022] The sorting mechanism 70 sends items G determined to be good products by the X-ray inspection device 10 to the conveyor 80 that discharges good products, and sorts items G determined to be defective products by the X-ray inspection device 10 into the defective product discharge directions 90 and 91.

[0023] (2) Detailed configuration Figure 3 is an internal configuration diagram of the shield box 11 of the X-ray inspection apparatus 10. In Figures 1 and 3, the X-ray inspection apparatus 10 consists of a shield box 11, a conveyor 12, an X-ray irradiator 13, an X-ray line sensor 14, a monitor 30 with touch panel functionality, and a controller 20 (see Figure 5).

[0024] (2-1) Shield box 11 Openings 11a are formed on both sides of the shield box 11 to allow articles G to be moved in and out of the shield box 11. The openings 11a are covered by shielding curtains 11b to prevent X-ray leakage to the outside of the shield box 11. The shielding curtains 11b are molded from lead-containing rubber and are pushed aside by the articles G as they pass through the openings 11a.

[0025] The shield box 11 houses the conveyor 12, the X-ray irradiator 13, the X-ray line sensor 14, and the controller 20. The upper front of the shield box 11 also features a monitor 30, a key slot, and a power switch.

[0026] (2-2) Conveyor 12 The conveyor 12 transports the articles G inside the shield box 11, and as shown in Figure 1, it is positioned to pass through the openings 11a formed on both sides of the shield box 11. The conveyor 12 transports the articles G placed on the belt by rotating an endless belt with drive rollers driven by a conveyor motor 12a (see Figure 5).

[0027] The conveying speed of the conveyor 12 is precisely controlled by the inverter control of the conveyor motor 12a via the controller 20 so that it matches the set speed entered by the operator. The conveyor motor 12a is also equipped with an encoder 12b (see Figure 5) that detects the conveying speed of the conveyor 12 and sends the information to the controller 20.

[0028] (2-3)X-ray irradiator 13 As shown in Figure 3, the X-ray irradiator 13 is positioned above the conveyor belt 12 and irradiates X-rays in a fan-shaped irradiation range Rx toward the X-ray line sensor 14 below.

[0029] (2-4) X-ray line sensor 14 Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of X-ray inspection. In Figure 4, the X-ray line sensor 14 is positioned below the conveyor 12 and mainly consists of a large number of pixel sensors 14a. These pixel sensors 14a are arranged horizontally in a straight line perpendicular to the direction of transport by the conveyor 12. Each pixel sensor 14a detects X-rays that have passed through the object G or the conveyor 12 and outputs an X-ray transmission signal. The X-ray transmission signal indicates the brightness of the X-rays.

[0030] (2-5) Monitor 30 Monitor 30 is a full-dot liquid crystal display that shows a screen prompting the operator to input the necessary judgment unit, filter, and parameter threshold values ​​required during inspection. Monitor 30 also has a touch panel function to accept input from the operator.

[0031] (2-6) Controller 20 Figure 5 is a block diagram of the controller 20. In Figure 5, the controller 20 is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, ROM (Read-Only Memory) 22, RAM (Random Access Memory) 23, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 25, and a drive 24 for inserting storage media.

[0032] The CPU 21 executes various programs stored in the ROM 22 and HDD 25. The HDD 25 also stores and saves inspection results. The conditions and items required for inspection can be set and changed by the operator using the touch panel function of the monitor 30. The operator can configure the system to save this data not only on the HDD 25 but also on the storage media inserted in the drive 24.

[0033] The controller 20 is also connected to the conveyor motor 12a, encoder 12b, X-ray irradiator 13, X-ray line sensor 14, and photoelectric sensor 15. The photoelectric sensor 15 is a synchronization sensor for detecting the timing when the object G to be inspected passes through the fan-shaped X-ray irradiation range Rx (see Figure 3).

[0034] (3) Configuration of CPU21 The HDD 25 of the controller 20 stores inspection programs, including an image generation module and a foreign object inspection module. The CPU 21 of the controller 20 then reads and executes these program modules, thereby operating as the image generation unit 21a and the foreign object inspection unit 21b.

[0035] (3-1) Image generation section 21a The image generation unit 21a generates an X-ray transmission image of object G based on the X-ray transmission signal output from the X-ray line sensor 14. The image generation unit 21a acquires X-ray transmission signals output from each pixel sensor 14a of the X-ray line sensor 14 at fine time intervals as object G passes through the fan-shaped X-ray irradiation range Rx (see Figure 3), and generates an X-ray transmission image of object G based on the acquired X-ray transmission signals. The timing of object G passing through the fan-shaped X-ray irradiation range Rx is determined by the signal from the photoelectric sensor 15. The image generation unit 21a generates an X-ray transmission image of object G by concatenating the data on X-ray brightness obtained from each pixel sensor 14a of the X-ray line sensor 14 in a matrix in a time series.

[0036] Furthermore, the image generation unit 21a has an edge processing function that emphasizes spatial changes in brightness in the X-ray transmission image as contours in order to identify contours. In other words, by detecting areas (edges) in the X-ray transmission image where brightness changes sharply, the boundary between object G and other objects (contour of object G) can be detected.

[0037] (3-2) Foreign object inspection department 21b The foreign object inspection unit 21b has multiple determination units that use an X-ray transmission image of the item G to determine whether or not the item G contains foreign objects and to detect foreign objects. Figure 6 is a front view of screen 30a displaying the multiple determination units and an X-ray transmission image of "chicken breast" with marks placed in the areas determined to contain foreign objects by these units.

[0038] In Figure 6, an X-ray transmission image is displayed in the first region 31 of screen 30a, and multiple determination units are displayed in the second region 32 adjacent to the first region 31. The multiple determination units include the first determination unit J1 to the ninth determination unit J9. Each of the first determination unit J1 to the ninth determination unit J9 uses a different process for determination, or even if the same process is used, the conditions differ. Each determination unit performs, for example, edge processing or binarization processing.

[0039] Each of the first to ninth determination units J1 to J9 performs a predetermined processing on the X-ray transmission image, as set for each determination unit, to create a determination image. Each determination unit compares the pixel value indicated by each pixel in the determination image with a preset threshold.

[0040] Hereinafter, a "sensitivity filter" is defined as a device that creates a judgment image from an X-ray transmission image and allows comparison between the pixel value indicated by each pixel in the judgment image and a pre-set threshold. The sensitivity threshold is set by moving the cursor 32b of the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a of each judgment unit in Figure 6 left or right.

[0041] Here, the pixel value is a value that indicates the degree of darkness or opacity. A grayscale image, which represents the shades of black and white, uses 8 bits to represent each pixel and contains only brightness information, without any color information. A pixel value of 0 represents black, and a pixel value of 255 represents white.

[0042] In this embodiment, the defective areas (foreign matter) are treated in the predetermined processing step described above so that they turn white, resulting in an inverse contrast between the X-ray transmission image and the judgment image. Therefore, dark areas in the X-ray transmission image appear bright in the judgment image, and the pixel values ​​of the pixels in those areas are large. Conversely, bright areas in the X-ray transmission image appear dark in the judgment image, and the pixel values ​​of the pixels in those areas are small.

[0043] Therefore, moving the cursor 32b on the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a to the left will decrease the threshold, and setting it too low will increase the sensitivity, making it easier to detect a foreign object even when there is none. Conversely, moving the cursor 32b on the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a to the right will increase the threshold, and setting it too high will decrease the sensitivity, making it easier to detect a foreign object even when there is one, making it easier to detect no foreign object.

[0044] The foreign object inspection unit 21b marks the pixels in the X-ray transmission image that correspond to pixels in the judgment image that show a pixel value greater than the threshold, so that it is clear which judgment unit has identified them as foreign objects.

[0045] (4) Saving the maximum pixel value In this embodiment, to facilitate the setting of thresholds, the maximum pixel value Pmax, which is the maximum pixel value, is stored as a feature for each created judgment image in HDD25, and statistical data is generated by aggregating this data.

[0046] Here, a feature refers to the maximum pixel value when the area with a defect is processed to appear white, and the minimum pixel value when the area with a defect is processed to appear black.

[0047] Figure 7 is a flowchart of sensitivity adjustment using statistical data of the maximum pixel value Pmax in X-ray inspection equipment 10.

[0048] The program for adjusting the sensitivity is controlled by the coordinated operation of the CPU 21, which includes the image generation unit 21a and the foreign object inspection unit 21b, and the HDD 25 as a storage device; therefore, the controller 20, which includes these components, is the main operator. The following explanation will be given with reference to Figure 7.

[0049] (Step S1) In step S1, the controller 20 generates an X-ray transmission image of the inspected item via the image generation unit 21a.

[0050] (Step S2) In step S2, the controller 20 performs a predetermined processing on the X-ray transmission image via the foreign object inspection unit 21b to create a judgment image. A judgment image is created for each judgment unit.

[0051] (Step S3) In step S3, the controller 20 obtains the pixel value Pi of each pixel in the judgment image.

[0052] (Step S4) In step S4, the controller 20 extracts the maximum pixel value Pmax, which is the maximum value of the pixel value Pi, and saves it to the HDD 25. The maximum pixel value Pmax is sorted and saved for each determination unit.

[0053] (Step S5) In step S5, the controller 20 aggregates the maximum pixel value Pmax and creates statistical data. The aggregation of the maximum pixel value Pmax and the creation of statistical data are performed for each determination unit.

[0054] (Step S6) In step S6, the controller 20 determines whether or not a sensitivity adjustment instruction is required. If the operator has doubts about the quality judgment result of item G, for example, if there are doubts that the frequency of foreign object detection is too high, the operator will adjust the sensitivity.

[0055] For example, in Figure 6, the area enclosed by the leader line labeled "J7" indicates the area that the seventh determination unit J7 determined to have a foreign object. The areas enclosed by the labels other than the one labeled "J7" clearly contain areas that can be identified as foreign objects. In contrast, the area enclosed by the label "J7" appears to contain no areas that can be identified as foreign objects. The following explanation will proceed under the assumption that the seventh determination unit J7 has made a misjudgment.

[0056] The operator presses the sensitivity button 31a displayed on the monitor 30, then presses the field for the seventh determination unit J7 which is the target of sensitivity adjustment, and then slides the cursor 32b on the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a to change the threshold.

[0057] When the sensitivity button 31a is pressed, the controller 20 determines that a sensitivity adjustment instruction has been given and proceeds to step S7. If there is no doubt in the determination, the sensitivity button 31a is not pressed, and the controller 20 returns to step S1.

[0058] (Step S7) In step S7, the controller 20 determines whether or not there is an instruction to display statistical data. The operator presses the statistics button 31b displayed on the monitor 30 to read the statistical data, in order to refer to the statistical data of the maximum pixel value Pmax when adjusting the sensitivity.

[0059] When the statistics button 31b is pressed, the controller 20 determines that there is an instruction to display statistical data and proceeds to step S8. If the statistics button 31b is not pressed, the controller 20 changes the sensitivity threshold without viewing the statistical data and jumps to step S9.

[0060] (Step S8) In step S8, the controller 20 displays statistical data on the screen 30a of the monitor 30. Figure 8A is an example of the sensitivity adjustment screen before sensitivity adjustment of the 7th determination unit J7. Figure 8B is an example of the sensitivity adjustment screen after sensitivity adjustment of the 7th determination unit J7. In Figures 8A and 8B, statistical data 33 is displayed as a graph 33G below the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a. In Figures 8A and 8B, the cursor 32b of the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a is of the type that slides left and right, so the monitor 30 displays the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and the graph 33G side by side vertically to make comparison easier.

[0061] However, the cursor 32b of the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a may be of the type that slides up and down, in which case the monitor 30 displays the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and the graph 33G side by side. In either case, the monitor 30 displays the axis indicating the pixel value of the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and the axis indicating the pixel value of the graph 33G side by side, parallel to each other.

[0062] Graph 33G is preferably a histogram, but in this embodiment, considering visibility in a limited display area, it is displayed as a "frequency distribution polygon" by connecting the midpoints of the top sides of each rectangle of the histogram with straight lines. However, the monitor 30 can also enlarge the histogram as shown in Figure 9. The horizontal axis of graph 33G shows the maximum pixel value Pmax, and the horizontal axis of the graph shows the number of saved values ​​of that maximum pixel value Pmax.

[0063] The sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and the horizontal axis of graph 33G are configured to show the same pixel value at the same position in the horizontal direction.

[0064] In normal inspections, foreign matter contamination is extremely rare. Therefore, if the maximum pixel value Pmax is continuously saved, it is anticipated that the peak number of objects on the left side of the front view in Figure 9 will exceed the displayable value. Consequently, if the number exceeds a predetermined number, it will not be displayed.

[0065] As shown in Figures 8A and 8B, two peaks appear in graph 33G. The distribution centered on the left peak in the front view is thought to represent good products (no foreign matter), while the distribution centered on the right peak in the front view is thought to represent defective products (with foreign matter).

[0066] (Step S9) In step S9, the controller 20 changes the threshold. The operator looks at the screen in Figure 8A and determines that the threshold "18" before sensitivity adjustment overlaps with the location where good products are distributed, and that it is highly likely that good products were being detected as defective.

[0067] Then, as shown in Figure 8B, the operator moves the cursor 32b of the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a to the midpoint between the two peaks to change the threshold. For example, as explained in Figure 9, the average value "68" of the maximum pixel value "15" which is the peak on the left side of the front view and the maximum pixel value "121" which is the peak on the right side of the front view may be used as the new threshold.

[0068] Alternatively, a new threshold can be set between the maximum value "27" in the distribution range on the left side of the front view and the minimum value "106" in the distribution range on the right side of the front view. The changed threshold is confirmed when the operator presses the confirmation button 32c after changing the threshold.

[0069] (Step S10) In step S10, the controller 20 checks whether the misjudgment has been resolved by the changed threshold. Triggered by the confirmation of the changed threshold, the controller 20 reads the X-ray transmission image of item G ("chicken breast") which had caused doubt during inspection, and causes the seventh determination unit J7, which determined "foreign object present" in the X-ray transmission image, to perform a foreign object inspection.

[0070] Figure 10 shows an example of a screen comparing the results of foreign object inspection before and after changing the threshold. In Figure 10, the upper section displays the X-ray transmission image of "chicken breast" before the threshold change, the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a of the 7th judgment unit J7, and the graph 33G, while the lower section displays the X-ray transmission image of "chicken breast" after the threshold change, the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a of the 7th judgment unit J7, and the graph 33G.

[0071] After changing the threshold of the seventh judgment unit J7 from "18" to "68", the area that was initially judged as having a "foreign object" disappeared, and the misjudgment was resolved.

[0072] If the misjudgment has been resolved, the operator presses the inspection button 34 to continue the inspection with the modified threshold. The controller 20 determines that the misjudgment has been resolved by the modified threshold because the inspection button 34 has been pressed.

[0073] Furthermore, if the inspection button 34 is not pressed, but the sensitivity button 31a is pressed, the controller 20 determines that the misjudgment has not been resolved and returns to step S6.

[0074] (Step S11) In step S11, the controller 20 determines whether or not there is a command to terminate the inspection. If there is a command to terminate the inspection, the controller 20 terminates the inspection; otherwise, it returns to step S1 and continues the inspection based on the modified threshold.

[0075] As described above, in this embodiment, the maximum pixel value Pmax in the judgment image created by each judgment unit can be saved to the HDD25, aggregated, and displayed as statistical data 33. Therefore, if there is any doubt about the foreign object inspection result, the operator can simultaneously display the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and the graph 33G on the monitor 30 and change the sensitivity threshold to an appropriate value based on the statistical data 33.

[0076] (5) Variant (5-1) First variation In the above embodiment, the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and the graph 33G of statistical data 33 are displayed side by side, but the embodiment is not limited to this. Figure 11 is a front view of a screen showing other ways of displaying the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and statistical data 33.

[0077] In Figure 11, the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and the graph 33G of statistical data 33 are displayed superimposed. The operator sets the threshold by moving the cursor 32b between the two peaks in graph 33G.

[0078] (5-2) Second variation In the above embodiment, the controller 20 reads only the X-ray transmission image of item G ("chicken breast") for which an inspection is questionable, and performs a foreign object inspection on that X-ray transmission image. However, in order to confirm whether the changed threshold is appropriate, a re-inspection may be performed on all past X-ray transmission images stored in the HDD 25.

[0079] (5-3) Third variation The distributions in Figures 8A and 8B of the above embodiment may be displayed in different colors, such as displaying the distribution centered on the left side of the front view in black and the distribution centered on the right side of the front view in red. This makes it clear that the data is polarized into a distribution of good products and a distribution of defective products, which can be used as a reference when resetting the threshold.

[0080] (6) Characteristics (6-1) The X-ray inspection apparatus 10 comprises a conveyor 12, an X-ray irradiator 13, an X-ray line sensor 14, a foreign object inspection unit 21b, an HDD 25, a controller 20, and a monitor 30. The conveyor 12 transports the item G. The X-ray irradiator 13 irradiates the transported item G with X-rays. The X-ray line sensor 14 detects the X-rays that have passed through the item G. The foreign object inspection unit 21b performs predetermined processing on the X-ray transmission image of the item G, which is generated based on the detection result of the X-ray line sensor 14, to create a judgment image. Furthermore, the foreign object inspection unit 21b determines the quality of the item by comparing the pixel value indicated by each pixel of the judgment image with a preset threshold. The HDD 25 stores the maximum pixel value Pmax, which is the maximum value of the pixel, as a feature quantity. The controller 20 aggregates the maximum pixel value Pmax to generate statistical data 33. The monitor 30 displays the statistical data. In the X-ray inspection device 10, sensitivity can be adjusted by setting a threshold based on statistical data 33, and since it is not necessary to run the item through multiple times, the work required for sensitivity adjustment is reduced.

[0081] (6-2) The controller 7 creates a graph 33G based on the statistical data 33 and displays the graph 33G on the monitor 30. In the X-ray inspection device 10, the maximum pixel value Pmax is aggregated and displayed as graph 33G, so the optimal threshold can be set while visually observing the characteristics of the data appearing in graph 33G.

[0082] (6-3) Graph 33G is displayed as a frequency distribution polygon or histogram. In the X-ray inspection device 10, adjustments can be easily made, for example, by resetting the threshold between polarized data points.

[0083] (6-4) When the monitor 30 displays graph 33G, it distinguishes between values ​​below the threshold and values ​​above the threshold using different colors. This serves as a reference for the X-ray inspection device 10 when the data is polarized, allowing it to readjust the threshold.

[0084] (6-5) The foreign object inspection unit 21b has multiple determination units, specifically the first determination unit J1 to the ninth determination unit J9, which perform different processing methods on the X-ray transmission image. Inspection is performed for each determination unit. The monitor 30 displays a graph 33G for each determination unit. In the X-ray inspection device 10, considering that the foreign object inspection unit 21b uses multiple determination methods in actual inspection, the monitor 30 displaying a graph 33G for each determination unit makes it easy to adjust the threshold value for each determination unit.

[0085] (6-6) The monitor 30 displays a sensitivity adjustment bar 32a for adjusting the threshold and a graph 33G of statistical data 33 side by side. In the X-ray inspection device 10, the operator can adjust the threshold while looking at the graph 33G. However, the cursor 32b of the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a may be of the type that slides up and down, in which case the monitor 30 displays the sensitivity adjustment bar 32a and the graph 33G side by side.

[0086] (6-7) The monitor 30 displays a sensitivity adjustment bar 32a for adjusting the threshold and a graph 33G of statistical data 33 superimposed on it. In the X-ray inspection device 10, the operator can adjust the threshold while looking at the graph 33G.

[0087] (7) Others In the above embodiment, the controller 20 performs X-ray inspection of foreign objects contained in the article G. However, it may also perform X-ray inspection of defective products due to cracks or chips in the article G, or due to a shortage in the quantity of individual parts in an article composed of multiple individual parts. In this case, the controller 20 stores the shape of a reference individual part and determines cracks or chips by comparing it with the shape recognized as an individual part in the obtained image. The CPU 21 also stores the area of ​​an individual part and determines the quantity by dividing the area recognized as an article by the area of ​​the individual part. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0088] 10 X-ray inspection equipment 12. Conveyor (transport section) 13 X-ray irradiator (X-ray irradiator) 14. X-ray line sensor (X-ray detection unit) 20 Controller (Control Unit) 21b Foreign Object Inspection Department (Inspection Department) 25 HDD (storage unit) 30 Monitor (Display Unit) 32a Sensitivity adjustment bar (adjustment bar) 33 Statistical Data 33G Graph (Statistical Graph) J1-J9 Judging Section 1-9 (Multiple Judging Sections) G Goods Pmax: Maximum pixel value (maximum pixel value, feature quantity) [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0089] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-12011

Claims

1. A conveying unit for transporting goods, An X-ray irradiation unit that irradiates the transported article with X-rays, An X-ray detection unit for detecting the X-rays that have passed through the aforementioned article, An inspection unit performs a predetermined processing on the X-ray transmission image of the article generated based on the detection results of the X-ray detection unit to create a judgment image, and performs an inspection to determine whether the article is good or bad by comparing the pixel value indicated by each pixel of the judgment image with a preset threshold. A storage unit for storing the characteristic quantities of the aforementioned pixel values, A control unit that aggregates the aforementioned features and generates statistical data, A display unit for displaying the aforementioned statistical data, Equipped with, X-ray inspection equipment.

2. The control unit creates a statistical graph based on the statistical data and causes the display unit to display the statistical graph. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned statistical graph is displayed as a histogram. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The display unit, when displaying the statistical graph, displays values ​​smaller than the threshold and values ​​larger than the threshold in different colors. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3.

5. The inspection unit has a plurality of determination units that differ in the processing method, The inspection is performed for each of the determination units. The display unit displays the statistical graph for each of the determination units. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3.

6. The display unit displays an axis showing the pixel values ​​of the statistical graph and an axis showing the pixel values ​​of the adjustment bar for adjusting the threshold, arranged parallel to each other and facing each other. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3.

7. The display unit displays the statistical graph and the adjustment bar for adjusting the threshold superimposed on each other. The X-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3.

Images