X-ray inspection equipment

Abstract

To supply a plurality of heat sources inside an enclosure of an X-ray inspection device with appropriately distributed cool air from an air supply part on the outside of the enclosure and to supply each heat source with the required amount of cool air to cool it down.SOLUTION: An X-ray inspection device 1 has an enclosure 2, an air blowing unit 12 that supplies cool air into the enclosure through an air blowing hole 13, an X-ray generator 7 and an X-ray detector 10 installed in the enclosure 2, a first air conduit 17 and a second air conduit 20 that lead cool air to the X-ray generator 7 and the X-ray detector 10, and a first inlet port 21 and a second inlet port 22 that are located opposite the air blowing hole 13 and lead the cool air to the first and second air conduits 17, 20. The cool air is distributed as it enters the enclosure according to the area of the first and second inlet ports facing the air blowing hole and is capable of supplying the heat source with the proper amount of cool air required for cooling.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an X-ray inspection device that has an X-ray generating unit and an X-ray detecting unit, which are heat sources, inside a housing, and cools each heat source by a blowing unit provided outside the housing. In particular, the present invention relates to an X-ray inspection device in which cold air sent from the blowing unit is distributed to each heat source at the stage of entering the housing, and the required amount of cold air is supplied to each heat source to ensure reliable cooling. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses an invention of an X-ray inspection device. The inside of the first housing 3 of this X-ray inspection device is divided by a partition 16 into a plurality of cooling sections C1, C2, C3, C4 based on the use limit temperature, etc., and each section C2, C3, C4 houses a heat source 17, 18, 19, 20 having its own use limit temperature. The air flow path B is set so that the heat source 19, 20 with a low use limit temperature is arranged upstream of the heat source 17, 18 with a high use limit temperature, so that the cooling efficiency is good. The heat absorption part 15a of the heat exchanger 15 is located in the first housing 3, and the heat radiation part is located in the second housing that communicates with the outside air. According to this invention, it is possible to achieve a high cooling effect without using an expensive air conditioner.

[0003] The following Patent Document 2 discloses an invention of an X-ray foreign object detection device. In this X-ray foreign object detection device 1, when the temperature inside the housing 3 detected by the temperature sensor 14 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the control means 10 opens the control valve 13 and operates the vortex tube 11 provided on the upper surface of the housing 3 to supply cooling air into the housing 3 and cool the X-ray generating means 7. At the same time, the actuator 20 is operated to drive the door 16 and open the exhaust port 15 of the housing 3. According to this invention, the pressure rise inside the housing is suppressed and the cooling efficiency is improved by exhausting the air. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses an example in which an air conditioner 102 is provided on the back side of the housing 101 of the X-ray foreign object detection device 100 in FIG. 14 to cool the inside of the housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-109488 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-300379 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] According to the invention of the X-ray inspection device disclosed in the above Patent Document 1, an air flow path is provided within the housing so that a heat source with a lower usage limit temperature is located upstream of a heat source with a higher usage limit temperature. Therefore, although a certain cooling effect can be obtained, there is a problem that a high cooling effect cannot be obtained as in the case of using a cooler.

[0006] According to the invention of the X-ray foreign object detection device disclosed in the above Patent Document 2, cooling air is introduced into the housing, which is a single space, by a vortex tube provided on the top surface of the housing. In the X-ray foreign object detection device disclosed in FIG. 14 of the same document, cool air supplied from an air conditioner at the rear of the housing is directly supplied from the rear side of the housing into the housing, which is a single space. In both configurations, if priority is given to directing cool air to a main heat source such as an X-ray generator, it becomes difficult for the cool air to reach other heat sources such as an X-ray detector or a power supply unit, and there is a problem that the cooling efficiency for these heat sources such as the X-ray detector is poor.

[0007] In addition, with the recent progress in the performance of X-ray inspection devices, the types of devices to be cooled tend to increase. For example, the control units are multiple, such as a first control unit for image processing and a second control unit that controls the output of inspection data and image data to external devices and linkage with peripheral devices, and appropriate cooling performance is required for each of the many cooling targets in X-ray inspection devices. In particular, with regard to the above-mentioned control unit, as an example of the performance improvement of X-ray inspection devices, improvement in the resolution of transmitted images is required, and X-ray detectors with a larger number of elements than before are used to achieve high resolution, and the load on the CPU of the control unit required for image processing is increasing. Since the performance of the CPU decreases with increasing temperature, attention must be paid to the effect of cooling, especially in the vicinity of the PC (CPU) of the control unit. Furthermore, as another example of the performance improvement of X-ray inspection devices, the addition of deep learning may be required, in which case a GPU is used as an element necessary for deep learning, which further increases the number of heat sources and makes efficient cooling even more necessary.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide an X-ray inspection device that can appropriately distribute and supply cold air from a blower section provided on the outer surface of the housing to multiple heat sources, including at least an X-ray generation section and an X-ray detection section located inside the housing, and can guide the required amount of cold air to each heat source to ensure reliable cooling. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The X-ray inspection apparatus 1, 1a described in claim 1 comprises: A housing 2; An X-ray generating unit 7 disposed in the housing 2; An X-ray detection unit 10 disposed in the housing 2; a blower 12 arranged on an outer surface of the housing 2 and supplying cool air from a blower hole 13 communicating with the inside of the housing 2; a first air guide 17 provided in the housing 2 and configured to guide cool air supplied from the air blower 12 to the X-ray generating unit 7; a second air guide 20 provided in the housing 2 and configured to guide the cool air supplied from the air blower 12 to the X-ray detection unit 10; a first inlet 21 that is disposed in the housing 2 opposite the air blowing hole 13 and that guides the cool air supplied into the housing 2 through the air blowing hole 13 to the first air guide passage 17; a second inlet 22 arranged opposite the air blowing hole 13 in the housing 2 and configured to guide the cool air supplied into the housing 2 through the air blowing hole 13 to the second air guide passage 20; Have death, At least one opening of the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 is disposed in the same plane as the air outlet 13 so that the cool air to be supplied to at least one of the first air guide passage 17 and the second air guide passage 20 does not leak into the housing 2; The first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 are disposed adjacent to each other with a common boundary wall. It is characterized by the fact that

[0010] The X-ray inspection apparatus 1, 1a according to claim 2 is the X-ray inspection apparatus 1, 1a according to claim 1, before The first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 Both The opening of the air conditioner is characterized in that it is arranged on the same plane as the air blowing hole 13.

[0011] The X-ray inspection apparatus 1, 1a according to claim 3 is the X-ray inspection apparatus 1, 1a according to claim 1, The first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 is integrally formed in a roughly square shape, and The entire air hole 13 is covered. attitude It is characterized by the fact that

[0012] The X-ray inspection apparatus 1, 1a according to claim 4 is the X-ray inspection apparatus 1, 1a according to claim 1, A control unit 9 is provided in the housing 2 and controls the X-ray generating unit 7 and the X-ray detecting unit 10. The air blower hole 13 has an opening 25 that does not face the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22, and is characterized in that cold air supplied from the opening 25 into the housing 2 cools the control unit 9.

[0013] The X-ray inspection apparatus 1a according to claim 5 is the X-ray inspection apparatus 1a according to claim 1, The first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 are provided on the side farther from the air hole 13, and the rotation shafts 27 and 29 are provided on the side farther from the air hole 13. Supported bySwingable walls 26, 28 as the common boundary wall. It is characterized by the fact that Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the X-ray inspection device described in claim 1, the cool air generated by the air blowing section is supplied into the housing through the air blowing hole. In the housing, a first inlet which is an inlet of the first air guide passage and a second inlet which is an inlet of the second air guide passage are provided in a predetermined arrangement facing the air blowing hole. Therefore, the cool air is distributed when it enters the housing according to the respective areas of the first inlet and the second inlet facing the air blowing hole, and is supplied to the first air guide passage and the second air guide passage, respectively. Therefore, the amount of cool air required for proper cooling can be supplied to the X-ray generating section and the X-ray detecting section, respectively, to perform proper cooling. Furthermore, for example, if the opening of the first inlet is disposed on the same plane as the surface on which the air blower hole is open, the entire amount of cold air supplied from the air blower hole into the housing to be supplied to the first inlet reliably enters the first inlet without leakage, so that the cold air sent through the first air guide path can reliably cool the X-ray generating unit appropriately. Furthermore, for example, if the opening of the second inlet is disposed on the same plane as the surface on which the air blower hole is open, the entire amount of cold air supplied from the air blower hole into the housing to be supplied to the second inlet reliably enters the second inlet without leakage, so that the cold air sent through the second air guide path can reliably cool the X-ray detecting unit appropriately. Furthermore, since the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 are formed as two adjacent rooms in a single box body with a common partition wall, the structure is simple and easy to manufacture.

[0015] According to the X-ray inspection device described in claim 2, , No. 1. Place the opening of the intake on the same plane as the surface on which the air vent is open. Because Of the cool air supplied into the housing from the ventilation hole, the entire amount of the cool air intended to be supplied to the first inlet certainly enters the first inlet without leakage, so that the cool air sent through the first air guide path can certainly perform proper cooling of the X-ray generating unit. , No. 2. Inlet opening too , located on the same plane as the surface on which the air vents are open Because Of the cold air supplied into the housing from the air outlet, the entire amount of cold air intended to be supplied to the second inlet reliably enters the second inlet without any leakage, so that the cold air sent through the second air guide path can reliably perform proper cooling of the X-ray detection unit.

[0016] According to the X-ray inspection apparatus described in claim 3, Consisting of one unit The first and second inlets are It is a square , This is a circular The entire vent hole Completely coveredTherefore, compared to cases where there is a gap or where the size is such that it only covers a specific part of the air hole, the housing structure is relatively simple and it is easy to position it relative to the air hole, making it easier to manufacture.

[0017] According to the X-ray inspection device recited in claim 4, the control unit can be cooled by cool air coming out from the opening of the air blower hole that does not face the first inlet and the second inlet.

[0018] According to the X-ray inspection apparatus of claim 5, the first introduction port and the second introduction port are separated from each other. It is a common bulkhead By swinging the wall, the area of ​​the air outlet facing the first inlet and the area of ​​the air outlet facing the second inlet can be changed, allowing the amount and ratio of cool air supplied to the X-ray generating unit and the X-ray detecting unit to be set as desired. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a right side view of the X-ray inspection apparatus according to the embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Diagram 3] 2A to 2C are schematic diagrams showing variations in the positional relationship between a first inlet and a second inlet, and air blowing holes, as viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment showing a structure in which the distribution of cool air supplied to the first inlet and the second inlet can be changed, where FIG. 11(a) is a cross-sectional view of the first example, and FIG. 11(b) is a vertical cross-sectional view of the second example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] An X-ray inspection apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The X-ray inspection apparatus 1 of the first embodiment is an apparatus that inspects the object to see whether or not there are foreign objects contained in the object, the material of the object, etc. by irradiating the object with X-rays from an X-ray generator and detecting the X-rays that have passed through the object with an X-ray detector.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 1, the X-ray inspection device 1 includes a housing 2 which is a container for storing various components required to perform the above-mentioned functions. The housing 2 is installed on an installation surface GL with a support stand 3. The housing 2 includes a vertically long base 4 which forms the rear side of the housing 2, a large box-shaped upper part 5 provided on the upper front part of the base 4, and a thin small box-shaped lower part 6 provided on the lower front part of the base 4 and spaced apart in the vertical direction from the upper part 5. As shown in Fig. 1, the housing 2 has a generally U-shaped overall shape with a recessed inspection area S for inspecting an object to be inspected below the front side (left side in the figure).

[0022] 1, an X-ray generation unit 7 is disposed inside the upper part 5 of the housing 2, and an operation panel 8 is provided on the outer front surface of the upper part 5 of the housing 2. A control unit 9 is disposed inside the base part 4 of the housing 2. An X-ray detection unit 10 is disposed inside the lower part 6 of the housing 2.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 1, a conveying means 11 (such as a belt conveyor) for conveying an object W to be inspected along a conveying direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Fig. 1 is provided on the upper surface of the lower part 6 of the housing 2. A freely openable and closable lid 11 is provided on the front side (left side in the figure) of the space between the upper part 5 and lower part 6 of the housing 2, i.e., the inspection area S in which the conveying means 11 is provided. Although not shown in Fig. 1, an entrance and an exit are provided on the rear and front sides of the conveying means 11 in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Fig. 1, through which the object W to be inspected enters and exits the inspection area S. The housing 2, the lid 11 provided in the inspection area S, and the entrance and exit are all X-ray shielding structures.

[0024] According to the above configuration, the object W to be inspected can be inspected by transporting the object W within the inspection area S by the transport means 11 while irradiating X-rays downward by the X-ray generating unit 7 in the upper part 5 and detecting the X-rays that have passed through the object W by the X-ray detecting unit 10 in the lower part 6.

[0025] Next, a cooling system in this X-ray inspection apparatus 1 will be described. 1, a vertically long, thin panel-like air blower 12 (cooler or air conditioner) is provided on the rear side (right side in FIG. 1) of the base 4 among the outer surfaces of the housing 2. The air blower 12 generates cool air that is lower in temperature than the outside air, supplies it to the inside of the housing 2, and collects the air (warm air) whose temperature has increased after cooling an object, and circulates and supplies it again to the inside of the housing 2 as cool air.

[0026] The wall of the blower 12 in contact with the base 4 shown in FIG. 1 and the wall on the back of the base 4 in contact with the blower 12 are provided with a blower hole 13 that penetrates the housing 2 and the blower 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the blower hole 13 is a circular hole through which the cool air generated by the blower 12 and supplied to the housing 2 passes. When there is a slight gap between the housing 2 and the blower 12 as shown in FIG. 1, the short cylindrical communication path connecting the housing 2 and the blower 12 in this gap is also referred to as the blower hole 13. As shown in FIG. 2, the blower hole 13 is provided with a mesh guard 14, and further provided with a blower blower 15 that blows cool air into the housing 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an intake port 16 is provided below the blower hole 13 to suck in air that has returned from the housing 2. In addition, when there is no gap between the housing 2 and the air blowing unit 12 as shown in Figure 1 and there is only one wall separating the housing 2 and the air blowing unit 12, a circular hole formed in this wall becomes the air blowing hole 13.

[0027] Since the inside of the circular opening of the air blower hole 13 is the part through which the cold air passes, there is naturally no obstruction such as a wall or structure, but a circular surface is imagined within the range of the hole, and this surface is referred to as the air blowing surface in the sense of a surface that indicates the range through which the cold air can pass. In other words, the air blowing surface or a plane including the air blowing surface is substantially flush with the surface of the wall of the housing 2 in which the air blower hole 13 is formed or the wall of the air blowing section 12. The term "air blowing surface" is a convenient concept for explaining the positional relationship between the opening of the inlet (duct entrance) of the air guide path that guides the cold air inside the housing 2 and the air blower hole 13, as will be explained below.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, inside the base 4 and the upper part 5 of the housing 2, a first air guide 17 is provided, which is a duct that guides the cold air supplied from the blower 12 to the X-ray generating part 7. The first air guide 17 has a cold air inlet (described later) at an upper part in the base 4 close to the blower hole 13, and extends upward from there and further extends toward the front inside the upper part 5 to reach the X-ray generating part 7 in the upper part 5. A fan 19 is provided at a first outlet 18 of the first air guide 17 close to the X-ray generating part 7 to suck in the cold air and reliably supply it to the X-ray generating part 7. A first inlet 21, which is an inlet for the cold air of the first air guide 17, is a rectangular cylindrical member, connected to one end of the first air guide 17 in the base 4, and disposed opposite the blower hole 13 (or the blower surface).

[0029] As shown in FIG. 1, inside the base 4 of the housing 2, a second air guide 20 is provided as a duct that guides the cool air supplied from the air blower 12 to the X-ray detection unit 10. The second air guide 20 has a cool air inlet (described later) in the base 4 close to the air blower hole 13, and extends downward from there, and further extends inside the base 4 toward the front, reaching the X-ray detection unit 10 in the lower portion 6. A fan 19 is provided in a part of the X-ray detection unit 10 close to the second outlet 23 of the second air guide 20 to suck in the cool air and reliably supply it to the X-ray detection unit 10. The second inlet 22, which is the inlet for the cool air of the second air guide 20, is a rectangular cylindrical member, connected to one end of the second air guide 20 in the base 4, and disposed adjacent to the lower side of the first inlet 21 and facing the air blower hole 13 (or the air blowing surface).

[0030] The positional relationship between the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 and the air blowing hole 13 (or the air blowing surface) will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 3. Note that Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing variations in the positional relationship between the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 and the air blowing hole 13 when viewed in the direction of arrow B in Figure 1, and the positional relationship shown in Figure 1 corresponds to sub-diagram (a) in Figure 3.

[0031] First, as shown in Fig. 1, the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 are arranged opposite the air blowing hole 13. "Arranged opposite" means that the openings of the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 face the air blowing surface or a plane including the air blowing surface at a close distance, or abut against the air blowing surface or a plane including the air blowing surface. "Abutting" means that the openings of the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 are arranged in the same plane as the air blowing surface or a plane including the air blowing surface. In this case, the openings of the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 may be fixed to the plane including the air blowing surface by welding or the like without any gaps, or may simply abut without being fixed. With such an arrangement, the cool air sent from the ventilation holes 13 into the housing 2 is distributed and flows into the opposing first inlet 21 and second inlet 22 in accordance with the area (or the ratio) of the first inlet 21 and second inlet 22 covering the ventilation holes 13 when viewed from the direction of arrow B in Fig. 1, and the cool air that should flow into the first inlet 21 and second inlet 22 does not leak into the housing 2. Therefore, if the area (or the ratio) of the first inlet 21 and second inlet 22 covering the ventilation holes 13 is appropriately determined, an amount of cool air suitable for cooling can be reliably supplied to the X-ray generation unit 7 and the X-ray detection unit 10. 1 and 3(a), the ratio of the area of ​​the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 covering the air blower hole 13 is approximately 6:4, and approximately 60% of the cool air entering through the air blower hole 13 is supplied to the X-ray generation unit 7, and approximately 40% is supplied to the X-ray detection unit 10. In the explanation in this section, both the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 are arranged to face the air blower hole 13, but if at least one of them is arranged in this way, a desired amount of cool air is reliably supplied to the inlet and the air guide path communicating therewith, and a desired effect is obtained.

[0032] In addition, the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3(a) cover the entire air blast hole 13 and are arranged adjacent to each other. That is, as can be seen from Fig. 3(a), the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 are both box-shaped members, but since they are made as two adjacent rooms in one box body with a common member as a partition wall, the structure is simple and easy to manufacture. In addition, the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22, which are integrally formed, are square as shown in Fig. 3(a), and completely cover the circular air blast hole 13, so that positioning with respect to the air blast hole 13 can be easily performed compared to a configuration in which a part of the air blast hole 13 is exposed at a specific location (shown in Figs. 3(e), (f), and (g) described later), and therefore manufacturing is also easy in this respect. Such advantages in manufacturing are also the same for the modified examples shown in Figs. 3(b), (c), and (d) described next.

[0033] Fig. 3(b) shows a first modified example which is an arrangement example of the first inlet 21b and the second inlet 22b with respect to the air blowing hole 13. In the first modified example, the first inlet 21b and the second inlet 22b are formed in a substantially square shape covering the entire air blowing hole 13, and are arranged adjacent to each other on the left and right in the same proportion as in Fig. 3(a).

[0034] 3(c) shows a second modified example which is an arrangement example of the first inlet 21c and the second inlet 22c with respect to the air blowing hole 13. In the second modified example, the first inlet 21c and the second inlet 22c are formed in a substantially square shape covering the entire air blowing hole 13 as in the first modified example, the first inlet 21c is structured to cover the left half of the air blowing hole 13 and the upper half of the right half, the second inlet 22c is structured to cover the lower half of the right half of the air blowing hole 13, and the first inlet 21c and the second inlet 22c are structured to be adjacent to each other with a partition wall that looks L-shaped when viewed from the arrow B in FIG. 1 as a common member. Therefore, approximately 75% of the cool air entering from the air blowing hole 13 is supplied to the X-ray generating unit 7, and approximately 15% is supplied to the X-ray detecting unit 10.

[0035] 3(d) shows a third modified example which is an arrangement example of first inlet 21d and second inlet 22d with respect to air blowing hole 13. In the third modified example, first inlet 21d is made substantially square-shaped to cover entire air blowing hole 13 as in the first modified example, and second inlet 22d has a thin rectangular tubular structure which penetrates one side surface of first inlet 21d to communicate the inside and outside of first inlet 21d. According to this structure, in the illustrated state, approximately 75% of the cool air entering through the air outlet 13 is supplied to the X-ray generating unit 7, and approximately 15% is supplied to the X-ray detection unit 10. However, when mounting the X-ray generating unit 7 and the X-ray detection unit 10 on a different model of X-ray inspection device 1 in which the heat generation amounts of the X-ray generating unit 7 and the X-ray detection unit 10 are different, the basic configuration of the inlet is the same as that shown in Figure 3(d), and during assembly, by adjusting the insertion length of the second inlet 22d into the first inlet 21d and then fixing both, the distribution of cool air supplied to the first air duct 17 and the second air duct 20 can be adjusted within a certain range, and it can be accommodated to the X-ray generating unit 7 and the X-ray detection unit 10 which have different heat generation amounts.

[0036] FIG. 3(e) shows a fourth modified example which is an arrangement example of the first inlet 21e and the second inlet 22e with respect to the air blowing hole 13. In the fourth modified example, the first inlet 21e and the second inlet 22e do not completely cover the air blowing hole 13, and a part of the air blowing hole 13 is exposed inside the housing 2 at approximately the center of the air blowing hole 13. That is, the first inlet 21e is structured to cover the upper half of the air blowing hole 13, and the second inlet 22e is structured to cover the lower half of the lower half of the air blowing hole 13, and a part of the air blowing hole 13 or the air blowing surface is exposed inside the housing 2 because neither of the inlets faces each other between the first inlet 21e and the second inlet 22e. This exposed part of the air blowing hole 13 is called an open part 25 of the air blowing hole 13 or the air blowing surface. 3(e) is incorporated into the structure in FIG. 1, opening 25 is located at the position indicated by arrow B in FIG. 1, and so cool air supplied from opening 25 into housing 2 is blown onto and cools control unit 9. With this structure, approximately 50% of the cool air entering through ventilation holes 13 is supplied to X-ray generation unit 7, approximately 25% is supplied to X-ray detection unit 10, and approximately 25% is supplied to control unit 9. Since opening 25 is long in the horizontal direction, the cool air also spreads out in the horizontal direction before being supplied to control unit 9, and this is suitable for cases where the area in control unit 9 that needs to be cooled in particular is long in the horizontal direction.

[0037] Fig. 3(f) shows a fifth modified example which is an arrangement example of the first inlet 21f and the second inlet 22f relative to the air blower hole 13. In the fifth modified example, the arrangement shown in Fig. 3(e) of the fourth modified example is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise. The ratio of cool air supplied to the X-ray generating unit 7, the X-ray detecting unit 10, and the control unit 9 is the same as in the fourth modified example. Since the open part 25 is long in the vertical direction, the cool air also spreads in the vertical direction and is supplied to the control unit 9, so this is suitable for the case where the area to be cooled in the control unit 9 is particularly long in the vertical direction.

[0038] FIG. 3(g) shows a sixth modified example which is an arrangement example of the first inlet 21g and the second inlet 22g with respect to the air blowing hole 13. In the sixth modified example, the first inlet 21g is structured to cover the left half of the air blowing hole 13, and the second inlet 22g is structured to cover the lower half of the right half of the air blowing hole 13, and the upper half of the right half of the air blowing hole 13 is an open part 25 where the air blowing hole 13 or the air blowing surface is exposed inside the housing 2 because neither of the inlets faces the upper half. The first inlet 21g and the second inlet 22g are adjacent to each other via a common boundary wall. Approximately 50% of the cool air entering from the air blowing hole 13 is supplied to the X-ray generating unit 7, approximately 25% is supplied to the X-ray detecting unit 10, and approximately 25% is supplied to the control unit 9.

[0039] 4 shows a sixth modified example which is an example of the structure of the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 and their arrangement relative to the air blower hole 13. It is a schematic diagram showing a structure in which the distribution of cool air supplied to the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22 can be changed, with FIG. 4(a) being a horizontal cross-sectional view of the first example and FIG. 4(b) being a vertical cross-sectional view of the left side of the first example.

[0040] Two structural examples of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 4(a) and 4(b). The basic structure of the mechanism involved in the X-ray inspection of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1a of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to Fig. 1. Among the configuration of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1a of the second embodiment, the structure substantially differs from that of the first embodiment in the portions of the first inlet 21 and the second inlet 22, and therefore the description will be centered on these portions.

[0041] Fig. 4(a) is a cross-sectional view showing a first example of the second embodiment. The first inlet 21h and the second inlet 22h are configured as an integrated box shape adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, as shown in Fig. 3(b) showing a modified example of the first embodiment, and face the air blowing surface while covering the entire air blowing hole 13. The wall portion 26 that is the boundary between the first inlet 21h and the second inlet 22h is parallel to the vertical direction (direction perpendicular to the paper in the figure) and is pivotally supported by a rotating shaft 27 arranged parallel to the vertical direction on the side farther from the air blowing hole 13, so that it can be freely swung. Therefore, by swiveling the wall portion 26 in the left-right direction as shown in the figure, the area of ​​the air blowing hole 13 facing the first inlet 21h and the area of ​​the air blowing hole 13 facing the second inlet 22h can be changed, and the amount and ratio of cool air supplied to the X-ray generating unit 7 and the X-ray detecting unit 10 can be arbitrarily set.

[0042] FIG. 4(b) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a second example of the second embodiment. The first inlet 21k and the second inlet 22k are configured as an integral box shape adjacent to each other in the vertical direction, as in FIG. 3(a) showing the first embodiment, and face the blowing surface while covering the entire blowing hole 13. The wall portion 28 which is the boundary between the first inlet 21k and the second inlet 22k divides the first inlet 21k and the second inlet 22k into upper and lower parts, and is supported by a rotating shaft 29 arranged parallel to the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the paper in the figure) on the side farther from the blowing hole 13, so that the front edge can be freely swung in the vertical direction. Therefore, by swinging the wall portion 28 up and down as shown in the figure, the area of ​​the blowing hole 13 facing the first inlet 21k and the area of ​​the blowing hole 13 facing the second inlet 22k can be changed, and the amount and ratio of the cool air supplied to the X-ray generating unit 7 and the X-ray detecting unit 10 can be set arbitrarily. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1,1a…X-ray inspection equipment 2. Housing 7…X-ray generating section 9...Control section 10…X-ray detector 12...Blower section 13...Air vent 17...1st air guide path 20…Second air guide path 21…First entrance 22…Second entrance 25...Open part 26,28…Wall part 27, 29…Pivot shaft W: Inspection item S: Inspection area

Claims

1. A housing (2); An X-ray generating unit (7) disposed within the housing; An X-ray detection unit (10) disposed within the housing; a blower (12) arranged on the outer surface of the housing and supplying cool air from a blower hole (13) leading to the inside of the housing; a first air guide duct (17) provided in the housing for guiding the cool air supplied from the air blowing unit to the X-ray generating unit; a second air guide duct (20) provided in the housing for guiding the cool air supplied from the air blowing unit to the X-ray detection unit; a first inlet (21) disposed in the housing opposite the air blowing hole and configured to guide the cool air supplied into the housing through the air blowing hole to the first air guide path; a second inlet (22) disposed in the housing opposite the air blowing hole and guiding the cool air supplied into the housing through the air blowing hole to the second air guide path; having an opening of at least one of the first inlet and the second inlet is disposed in the same plane as the air outlet so that the cool air to be supplied to at least one of the first air guide passage and the second air guide passage does not leak into the housing; The X-ray inspection apparatus (1, 1a) is characterized in that the first inlet and the second inlet are disposed adjacent to each other with a common boundary wall therebetween.

2. An X-ray inspection apparatus (1, 1a) as described in claim 1, characterized in that both the openings of the first inlet (21) and the second inlet (22) are arranged in the same plane as the air blower hole (13).

3. 2. The X-ray inspection device (1, 1a) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first inlet (21) and the second inlet (22) are integrally formed into a substantially square shape and cover the entire circular air blower hole (13).

4. The device further includes a control unit (9) that is provided in the housing (2) and controls the X-ray generating unit (7) and the X-ray detecting unit (10), The X-ray inspection device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the air blower (13) has an opening (25) that does not face the first inlet (21) and the second inlet (22), and cold air supplied from the opening into the housing cools the control unit.

5. 2. The X-ray inspection apparatus (1a) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first inlet (21) and the second inlet (22) have, as the common boundary wall, a freely swingable wall portion (26, 28) supported by a rotating shaft (27, 29) on the side farther from the air blower hole (13).

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