Inspection equipment

Abstract

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

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus provided with a heat exchanger in which a heat absorption part and a heat exhaust part arranged inside and outside a housing are connected by a heat conduction pipe. In particular, by arranging an external fan for circulating air in the heat exhaust part in a characteristic posture, a decrease in the heat transfer amount of the heat exhaust part is improved, and the present invention relates to an inspection apparatus provided with a heat exchanger having heat dissipation performance required for the inspection apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses an invention of an X-ray inspection apparatus that dissipates heat inside a housing to the outside of the housing by a heat exchanger provided inside the housing without using an expensive air conditioner. The inside of the first housing 3 of this X-ray inspection apparatus 1 is partitioned into a plurality of cooling sections C1 to C4 by a partition wall 16 based on a use limit temperature or the like, and heat sources 17 to 20 having respective specific use limit temperatures are housed in each of the sections C2, C3, and C4. Since the air flow path B is set in the cooling section so that the heat sources 19 and 20 with a low use limit temperature are arranged upstream of the heat sources 17 and 18 with a high use limit temperature, the cooling efficiency is good. Further, the heat absorption part 15a of the heat exchanger 15 is inside the first housing 3, and the heat dissipation part is inside the second housing communicating with the outside air, and since there is no protrusion of the heat dissipation part as a whole of the housing, it is said to have good cleanability.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] According to the X-ray inspection apparatus described in Patent Document 1 above, it is possible to dissipate heat from inside the enclosure to the outside using a heat exchanger without using an air conditioner that consumes electricity, thus meeting the requirement for power saving. However, since both the heat absorption and heat dissipation parts that make up the heat exchanger are housed inside the enclosure, outside air must be drawn into the enclosure in order to dissipate heat to the outside. This is not a problem if the environment in which the X-ray inspection apparatus is installed is clean, but when the X-ray inspection apparatus is used in a dusty environment in a factory or a similar environment, there is a problem that the mechanisms and equipment inside the enclosure become contaminated with dust, etc., while the air taken into the X-ray inspection apparatus is circulated inside the enclosure.

[0005] To solve these problems, the inventors of this invention have invented a heat exchanger for an X-ray inspection apparatus that uses a heat exchanger instead of an air conditioner. In order to prevent dust-containing air from being introduced into the enclosure, the heat absorption section is located inside the enclosure, the heat exhaust section is located outside the enclosure, and the heat absorption section and the heat exhaust section are connected by a heat conduction tube that penetrates the enclosure. An X-ray inspection apparatus equipped with such a heat exchanger does not consume electricity for cooling and can be used in dusty environments in factories.

[0006] However, in recent years, there has been a growing demand for higher-performance X-ray inspection equipment, and accordingly, the performance of the components installed inside the housing of the X-ray inspection equipment has also become more sophisticated. As a result of this increased performance, the amount of heat generated by these components has also increased. Therefore, the performance requirements for thermal management or cooling means installed in X-ray inspection equipment are also shifting to a higher level, and this is also true for X-ray inspection equipment that uses a heat exchanger instead of an air conditioner, as explained earlier.

[0007] For the reasons stated above, there is a growing need to improve the performance of heat exchangers in X-ray inspection equipment that uses heat exchangers as a cooling means. Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have been diligently conducting research and development to improve the heat dissipation capacity of the heat exchangers in the aforementioned X-ray inspection equipment, as described below.

[0008] In the early stages of research and development, the inventors of the present invention experimented with a structure that increased the surface area of ​​the fins in the heat absorption and heat dissipation sections of the heat exchanger. However, this structure resulted in a larger heat exchanger, which was undesirable as it increased the overall length of the X-ray inspection device. Therefore, instead of increasing the surface area of ​​the fins, they experimented with a structure that increased the number of fins by narrowing the gaps between them. However, with such a complex structure, the pressure loss when air passes through the gaps between the fins increased, resulting in increased thermal resistance of the heat exchanger and making it difficult for heat to flow from the heat absorption section to the heat dissipation section. As a result, the overall heat dissipation performance of the heat exchanger was not necessarily improved.

[0009] Figure 8 is a side view of an X-ray inspection apparatus 1' invented by the present inventor, which is equipped with a heat exchanger 10' in which a heat absorption section 11 inside a housing 2 and a heat exhaust section 12 outside the housing 2 are connected by a plurality of heat conduction tubes 15. The housing 2, which houses a heat source (not shown), and the duct 30, which houses the heat exhaust section 12, are shown with the portion in which the heat exchanger 10' is installed cut out. Figure 9 is a rear view of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1'. In this X-ray inspection apparatus 1', the heat absorption section 11 and the heat exhaust section 12 are each provided with a heat absorption fan 40 and a heat exhaust fan 50, respectively, to forcibly pass air through them.

[0010] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the shape of the heat dissipation section 12 is a rectangular parallelepiped in which the width dimension (the left-right dimension in Figure 9) is longer than the horizontal length, i.e., the depth dimension (the left-right dimension in Figure 8). The heat dissipation fan 50 of the heat dissipation section 12 has an outer diameter that matches the depth dimension of the heat dissipation section 12, as shown in Figure 8. Therefore, as shown in Figure 9, it is smaller than the width dimension of the heat dissipation section 12 and is mounted approximately in the center in the width direction. The heat dissipation fan 50 is mounted so that the intake side (the upper side in Figures 8 and 9) is in direct contact with the exhaust port of the duct 20, which is the bottom surface of the heat dissipation section 12 (this mounting structure is called direct mounting).

[0011] In the heat exchanger 10' of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1' shown in Figures 8 and 9, invented by the present inventor, sufficient heat dissipation performance was not always obtained. Therefore, as the next step in research and development, the present inventor focused on a heat dissipation fan as a means other than the aforementioned structure that increases the surface area of ​​the fins, or a structure that increases the number of fins by narrowing the gaps between the fins, and came to consider improving the capacity of the heat exchanger 10' by improving the capacity of the fan.

[0012] In the X-ray inspection apparatus 1' shown in Figures 8 and 9, if a larger diameter, higher-suction-force exhaust fan is used, directly attaching the exhaust fan to the exhaust section 12 would cause a portion of the fan to protrude behind the exhaust section 12, preventing the fan from performing at its full potential. Therefore, extending the duct 30 of the exhaust section 12 to cover the entire larger diameter exhaust fan would increase the length of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1', which is also unacceptable. As another structural example, a second duct with a diameter that increases downwards could be placed between the duct 30 of the exhaust section 12 and an exhaust fan (of a larger diameter) positioned horizontally at a distance below it. However, this structure would also increase the length of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1' and complicate the structure, so it is also unacceptable.

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

[0014] The inventors of this application investigated a 120mm square propeller fan as an example of a heat dissipation fan. They measured the wind speed on the intake side of this propeller fan at various positions in space, indicated by the radial position of the propeller and the axial position of the propeller. As a result, they found that the wind speed in a roughly ellipsoidal region on the intake side of the propeller fan, including the position corresponding to the end of the propeller shaft or the center of the propeller, and a position on the axis of the propeller shaft at a distance of about 10mm to 15mm from the center of the fan on the intake surface, was significantly lower than the wind speed at positions outside this region. The inventors of this application named this region with significantly low wind speed the "dead zone," meaning that it is a region in which the fan is ineffective in drawing in air, which is its purpose. In this example, the wind speed was 12m / s in the high-wind-speed region, while the wind speed in the dead zone corresponding to the center of the propeller was about 5m / s.

[0015] The inventors of this application conducted further research into how the dead zone of the heat dissipation fan affects heat transfer in the heat dissipation section 12, and as a result, discovered the following facts. As shown in Figure 10, the exhaust fan 50 is directly attached to the exhaust port 30a of the duct 30, and the intake surface of the exhaust fan 50 coincides with the exhaust port 30a of the duct 30. Therefore, the dead zone that appears in the center of the intake side of the exhaust fan 50 (which we will refer to as the first dead zone Z1 for convenience) extends into the interior of the duct 30 of the heat dissipation unit 12. Also, as shown in Figure 10, the exhaust fan 50 is narrower than the duct 30 of the heat dissipation unit 12 and is attached approximately in the center of the width direction of the duct 30. Therefore, a second dead zone Z2 appears in the part of the duct 30 that does not face the exhaust fan 50, i.e., outside the effective range of the suction force of the exhaust fan 50. The second dead zone Z2 has a shape in which the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the heat dissipation fan 50 gradually decreases as it moves away from the heat dissipation fan 50 (as shown in the figure, the cross-sectional shape is 1 / 4 the shape of a spheroid), and it occurs inside the duct 30 of the heat dissipation section 12. In this way, the first and second dead zones Z1 and Z2, which are regions in which air cannot be effectively drawn in, are created inside the duct 30 of the heat dissipation section 12, and therefore sufficient air does not flow to a considerable portion of the heat dissipation fins. The inventors of the present invention have come to believe that the two dead zones Z1 and Z2 of the heat dissipation fan 50 that occur inside the duct 30 of the heat dissipation section 12 reduce the heat exchange efficiency per heat dissipation fin inside the duct 30, resulting in a lower heat transfer efficiency, and consequently the overall heat dissipation capacity of the heat exchanger 10' does not meet the level required for an X-ray inspection device.

[0016] The present invention is based on the problems of the conventional technology described above, and new discoveries and insights obtained as a result of technological development by the inventors of the present invention in response to those problems. The purpose of this invention is to provide an inspection device having a heat exchanger in which a heat absorption section and a heat dissipation section are arranged inside and outside the housing and connected by a heat conduction tube, and the heat exchanger has the necessary heat dissipation performance by effectively applying the suction force of air from a heat dissipation fan to the heat dissipation section. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] The inspection apparatuses 1, 1a according to claim 1 are a housing 2 having heat sources 4, 5 inside, a heat absorption section 11 provided inside the housing 2 and including a plurality of heat absorption fins 13, a heat dissipation section 12 provided outside the housing 2 and including a plurality of heat dissipation fins 14, and heat exchangers 10, 10a having a heat conduction pipe 15 that penetrates the housing 2 and thermally connects the heat absorption fins 13 and the heat dissipation fins 14, an inspection apparatus 1, 1a including The heat absorption section 11 includes a heat absorption duct 16 with heat absorption fans 17 and 18 attached to both open sides. The heat dissipation section 12 is an intake port 20 on the upper surface and a first exhaust port 21 on the lower surface, and a first duct 19 that houses the heat dissipation fins 14 and is attached to the housing 2, For heat dissipation and a heat dissipation fan 25 attached to the first exhaust port 21 of the first duct 19 in an inclined posture with the exhaust direction being the direction away from the housing 2 and obliquely downward, For heat dissipation and , more powerful than the heat absorption fans 17 and 18 is characterized by including.

[0018] The inspection apparatuses 1, 1a according to claim 2 are the inspection apparatuses 1, 1a according to claim 1, wherein the first duct 19 For heat dissipation is provided with a second exhaust port 24 that communicates with the inside of the first duct 19 and to which the heat dissipation fan 25 is attached in the inclined posture, and a second duct 22 is characterized by including. For heat dissipation For heat dissipation

[0019] The inspection apparatuses 1, 1a according to claim 3 are the inspection apparatuses 1, 1a according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The housing 2 is composed of an upper housing 2a, a lower housing 2b, and an intermediate housing 2c that connects the upper housing 2a and the lower housing 2b, and the heat exchangers 10, 10a are provided on the back of the upper housing 2a. the inspection apparatuses 1, 1a irradiate an object to be inspected W conveyed by a conveying means 3 with The X-ray generator 4, which is the heat source 4, 5 provided in the upper housing 2a, X-rays, The X-ray detector 5, which is the heat source 4, 5 provided in the lower housing 2b, and based on the X-rays Detect transmitted through the object to be inspected W The aforementioned ​​​It is characterized by being an X-ray inspection device 1,1a for inspecting the object W to be inspected. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] According to the inspection apparatus described in claim 1, a heat dissipation fan is attached to the first exhaust port of the first duct located outside the housing. This heat dissipation fan is mounted in an inclined position such that the air drawn in from inside the first duct is exhausted diagonally downward away from the housing. Therefore, a heat dissipation fan with sufficient suction power can be used, as it has an outer diameter larger than the depth dimension of the first duct which is perpendicular to the back of the housing. In addition, there is a dead zone on the intake side of the heat dissipation fan where the suction power is reduced. However, since the heat dissipation fan is mounted in an inclined position relative to the first exhaust port of the first duct, an airflow path (gap) with a shape narrowed toward the heat dissipation fan is created between the intake side of the heat dissipation fan and the first exhaust port. As a result, the dead zone that extends beyond the first exhaust port becomes smaller, or the dead zone does not extend beyond the first exhaust port at all. Therefore, the airflow distribution in the suction direction of the first duct becomes uniform, the flow velocity in the first duct increases, the heat exchange efficiency per heat dissipation fin in the first duct improves, the heat transfer efficiency increases, and as a result, the overall heat dissipation capacity of the heat exchanger is improved.

[0021] According to the inspection apparatus described in claim 2, the duct structure consists of a first duct and a second duct that communicate with each other, and a heat dissipation fan is installed in the inclined position at the second exhaust port of the second duct, so that the suction force of the heat dissipation fan works effectively within the first duct. As a result, a smooth airflow is achieved in which low-temperature air from outside the enclosure is drawn in through the intake port of the first duct, and the air is circulated to every corner of the first duct, thereby efficiently transferring heat to the air using the entire heat dissipation fins, and exhausting the air to the outside through the second duct and the heat dissipation fan.

[0022] The inspection apparatus described in claim 3 offers significant practical advantages because it can achieve the effects of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, particularly in X-ray inspection apparatuses where heat dissipation from the X-ray generator is a major problem. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0023] [Figure 1] This is a partial perspective view of the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first embodiment, viewed from the rear at an oblique angle. [Figure 2] This is a right side view of the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first embodiment, with the heat exchanger portion cut out. [Figure 3] This is a rear view of the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a plan view showing the heat exchanger portion of the X-ray inspection apparatus according to the first embodiment, with the portion cut out. [Figure 5] This is a partially enlarged right side view showing the heat exchanger portion of the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first embodiment with a cutout. [Figure 6] This is a partially enlarged rear view showing the airflow within the first duct of the heat dissipation section of the X-ray inspection apparatus of the first embodiment, indicated by arrows. [Figure 7] This is a rear view of the X-ray inspection apparatus of the second embodiment. [Figure 8] This is a right side view showing a cutout of the heat exchanger portion of an X-ray inspection apparatus invented by the present inventor prior to the present invention. [Figure 9] This is a rear view of an X-ray inspection device invented by the present inventor prior to the present invention. [Figure 10] This is a partially enlarged rear view illustrating the problems of an X-ray inspection device invented by the present inventor prior to the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] The X-ray inspection apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. The configuration of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 will be explained with reference to Figures 1 to 4. The X-ray inspection apparatus 1 has a housing 2 with an X-ray shielding structure. The housing 2 is composed of a relatively large upper housing 2a, a relatively small lower housing 2b, and an intermediate housing 2c that connects the upper housing 2a and the lower housing 2b. The area enclosed by the upper housing 2a, the intermediate housing 2c, and the lower housing 2b is the inspection space S of the object to be inspected. A transport means 3 for transporting the object to be inspected W is provided in the inspection space S so as to penetrate the inspection space S horizontally. Inside the upper housing 2a is an X-ray generator 4, which is a heat source that irradiates X-rays downward. Inside the lower housing 2b is an X-ray detector 5, which is a heat source that detects X-rays that have passed through the object to be inspected W.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, within the inspection space S, the object to be inspected W is transported by the transport means 3, while the X-ray generator 4 irradiates the object to be inspected W with X-rays, and the X-ray detector 5 detects the X-rays that have passed through the object to be inspected W. Based on the X-ray image obtained from the output signal of the X-ray detector 5, it is possible to perform inspections such as whether or not the object to be inspected W contains foreign matter.

[0026] Note that the structure of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 shown in Figures 1 to 4 is schematic, and the X-ray generator 4, X-ray detector 5, and transport means 3 are represented schematically. Furthermore, the equipment inside the housing 2 other than the heat exchanger 10, the support legs supporting the housing 2, and the structure of the X-ray shielding structure of the inspection space S are omitted from the illustration. Among the equipment inside the housing 2 that is omitted from the illustration are some that serve as heat sources.

[0027] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, a heat exchanger 10 is provided at the upper part of the rear of the housing 2 of the X-ray inspection apparatus 1. This device guides the heat released from the heat source inside the housing 2 to the outside of the housing 2 for heat dissipation. As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4, the heat exchanger 10 comprises a heat absorption section 11 located inside the housing 2 and a heat dissipation section 12 located outside the housing 2. In particular, as shown in Figure 4, the heat absorption section 11 is equipped with multiple rectangular heat absorption fins 13 (38 for example) arranged at predetermined intervals parallel to the vertical direction, and the heat dissipation section 12 is equipped with multiple rectangular heat dissipation fins 14 (20 for example) arranged at predetermined intervals parallel to the vertical direction. The heat absorption fins 13 and the heat dissipation fins 14 are identical in shape and have the same surface area. The heat absorption fins 13 are made of aluminum, for example, and the heat dissipation fins 14 are made of copper, which has a higher thermal conductivity than aluminum. The heat absorption fins 13 and the heat dissipation fins 14 are collectively referred to as fins.

[0028] The aforementioned fin spacing refers to the length of the gap between two opposing surfaces of adjacent fins. The spacing of the heat dissipation fins 14 (referred to as the second spacing) is set wider than the spacing of the heat absorption fins 13 (referred to as the first spacing). The second spacing is set larger than the first spacing to improve cleanability. For example, when using air for cleaning, it can be set to 4-5 mm to allow the insertion of an air nozzle, and when using water for cleaning, it can be set to about 8 mm to allow the insertion of a water nozzle.

[0029] The aforementioned multiple heat-absorbing fins 13 and heat-dissipating fins 14 are connected to each other by passing through multiple independent heat conduction tubes 15 (for example, 16 tubes in total, arranged in four pairs of two in two rows, upper and lower) that are installed through the housing 2, and are thermally coupled to each other.

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

[0031] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the heat dissipation section 12 is equipped with a box-shaped first heat dissipation duct 19 that houses the heat dissipation fins 14. The first heat dissipation duct 19 corresponds to the "first duct" in the claims of this application. The first heat dissipation duct 19 is open only on its top and bottom surfaces. The opening on the top surface is the first air intake (see Figure 1), and the opening on the bottom surface is the first exhaust port 21 (see Figure 2).

[0032] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a second heat exhaust duct 22 is provided on the back of the first heat exhaust duct 19 and the housing 2, communicating with the first heat exhaust duct 19 via a first exhaust port 21. The second heat exhaust duct 22 corresponds to the "second duct" in the claims of this application. The second heat exhaust duct 22 is a hollow triangular prism case with a right-angled triangular cross-section. A second intake port 23, which communicates with the first exhaust port 21 of the first heat exhaust duct 19, is open on the upper surface of the second heat exhaust duct 22 (see Figure 2), and a second exhaust port 24 is open on its inclined lower surface (see Figure 2). As shown in Figure 2, the right-angled corner of the right-angled triangular cross-section of the second heat exhaust duct 22 coincides with the intersection line of the lower surface of the first heat exhaust duct 19 and the back of the housing 2. Therefore, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the front side of the lower surface of the second heat exhaust duct 22, through which the second exhaust port 24 is opened, is on the opposite side from the rear of the housing 2 and faces diagonally downward towards the rear of the housing 2.

[0033] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a propeller fan, the heat exhaust fan 25, is mounted in an inclined position with its intake side aligned with the second exhaust port 24 of the second heat exhaust duct 22. Therefore, the exhaust side of the heat exhaust fan 25 faces the rear, opposite to the back of the housing 2, and is angled downwards relative to the housing 2. Consequently, the exhaust direction of the heat exhaust fan 25 is away from the housing 2, and is angled downwards relative to the back of the housing 2.

[0034] The operation of the heat exchanger 10 in the X-ray inspection apparatus 1 will be explained with reference to Figures 5 and 6. As shown in Figure 5, the exhaust fan 25 is mounted in a predetermined inclined position so that the air drawn out from inside the first exhaust duct 19 is exhausted diagonally downward away from the housing 2. Therefore, as indicated by the dimension lines in Figure 5, when selecting the exhaust fan 25, a propeller fan with sufficient suction power and an outer diameter L2 larger than the depth dimension L1 of the first exhaust duct 19, which is perpendicular to the back of the housing 2, can be used.

[0035] As shown by the shaded areas in Figure 5, there are first and second dead zones Z1 and Z2 on the intake side of the heat exhaust fan 25 where the suction force is reduced. However, since the heat exhaust fan 25 is mounted in the aforementioned predetermined inclined position relative to the first exhaust port 21 of the first heat exhaust duct 19 which is facing directly downwards, a gap equal to the space inside the second heat exhaust duct 22 is created between the intake side of the heat exhaust fan 25 and the first exhaust port 21. As a result, the dead zone that extends further inward than the first exhaust port 21 is reduced, or the dead zone does not extend further inward than the first exhaust port 21 at all. In the example shown in Figure 5, the entire first dead zone Z1 is outside the first heat exhaust duct 19, and the second dead zone Z2 hardly touches the heat exhaust fins 14. Therefore, the suction force of the heat exhaust fan 25 acts effectively from the first exhaust port 21 into the first heat exhaust duct 19.

[0036] Furthermore, the angle of the heat dissipation fan 25 is set so that the exhaust is directed diagonally downward away from the housing 2, so the exhaust is smoothly dispersed into the space without colliding with the housing 2, and the high-temperature air does not collide with the housing 2 and raise the temperature of the housing 2. In addition, even if the X-ray generator 1 is installed in a dusty environment, the heat dissipation fan 25 is located on the lower side of the heat dissipation section 12, far from the floor where dust tends to accumulate and linger, so the air drawn in from the upper intake port is relatively clean, and dust is less likely to clog the heat dissipation fins 14.

[0037] When the heat dissipation fan 25 is activated, as shown by the arrows in Figure 6, the air outside the housing 2 (indicated by the solid arrows), which is cooler than the air inside the housing 2, is forcibly drawn into the first heat dissipation duct 19 from the upper first air intake 20 by the suction force of the heat dissipation fan 25. This air reaches every corner of the first heat dissipation duct 19 (indicated by the dashed arrows), and heat is efficiently transferred by contacting the entire surface of the multiple heat dissipation fins 14 (see Figure 5). The heat then passes through the second heat dissipation duct 22 and the heat dissipation fan 25, and is forcibly exhausted towards the rear and diagonally downwards of the housing 2. Therefore, the heat generated by the X-ray generator 4, etc., inside the housing 2 is transferred from the air inside the housing 2 to the heat absorption fins 13, conducted from the heat conduction tube 15 to the heat dissipation fins 14, and further transferred from the heat dissipation fins 14 to the air outside the housing 2 and dissipated into the atmosphere.

[0038] As described above, the duct structure consisting of a first heat exhaust duct 19 and a second heat exhaust duct 22 that communicate with each other, and the installation of a heat exhaust fan 25 in the inclined position at the second exhaust port 24 of the second heat exhaust duct 22, allows the suction force of the heat exhaust fan 25 to act effectively within the first heat exhaust duct 19. As a result, the airflow distribution in the suction direction within the first heat exhaust duct 19 becomes uniform, the airflow within the first heat exhaust duct 19 becomes smooth, and the flow velocity increases because the airflow path is narrowed by the second heat exhaust duct 22. This improves the heat exchange efficiency per heat exhaust fin 14 within the first heat exhaust duct 19, increasing the heat transfer efficiency, and consequently improving the overall heat dissipation capacity of the heat exchanger 10.

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

[0040] Furthermore, although the spacing between the heat dissipation fins 14 is greater than the spacing between the heat absorption fins 13, the number of heat dissipation fins 14 is less than the number of heat absorption fins 13. Therefore, the depth dimension in the direction perpendicular to the fin surface (the longitudinal direction of the heat conduction tube 15) is smaller in the heat dissipation section 12 than in the heat absorption section 11. In other words, the number and spacing of the heat dissipation fins 14 are appropriately set so that the heat dissipation section 12 has the necessary ease of cleaning, and the height of the heat dissipation section 12 is smaller than that of the heat absorption section 11.

[0041] According to this heat exchanger 10, Heat transfer Among the various conditions that determine this, the spacing between the fins is larger for the heat dissipation fins 14 than for the heat absorption fins 13, and the number of fins is smaller for the heat dissipation fins 14 than for the heat absorption fins 13. Therefore, the amount of heat transferred in the heat dissipation section 12 may be lower than the amount of heat transferred in the heat absorption section 11. However, as explained earlier with reference to Figure 5, the heat dissipation section 12 of this heat exchanger 10 is equipped with one heat dissipation fan 25 that is larger in diameter (L2) than the depth dimension L1 of the heat dissipation section 12 and is more powerful than the first heat absorption fan 17 and the second heat absorption fan 18. Furthermore, the heat dissipation fan 25 is installed in an inclined position so that the first and second dead zones Z1 and Z2 do not overlap with the heat dissipation fins 14. Therefore, these constitute an effective structure for improving heat dissipation performance, and the amount of heat transferred in the heat dissipation section 12 will not fall below the amount of heat transferred in the heat absorption section 11. Therefore, heat conduction from the heat absorption section 11 to the heat dissipation section 12 is performed well, and as a result, the heat dissipation performance of the heat exchanger 10 can achieve the level required for the heat dissipation means of the X-ray generator 1.

[0042] Furthermore, as another heat dissipation performance improvement structure of this heat exchanger 10, the thickness of the heat dissipation fins 14 is set to be greater than the thickness of the heat absorption fins 13. Therefore, the heat dissipation fins 14 can store more heat than the heat absorption fins 13, so even if the number of heat dissipation fins 14 is small and the spacing between them is large, the amount of heat transferred to the heat dissipation section 12 will not be less than the amount of heat transferred to the heat absorption section 11. Thus, it is guaranteed that heat conduction from the heat absorption section 11 to the heat dissipation section 12 will be carried out well even with this heat dissipation performance improvement structure.

[0043] Referring to Figure 7, the X-ray inspection apparatus 1a according to the second embodiment will be described. As shown in Figure 7, in the X-ray inspection apparatus 1a of the second embodiment, the second heat exhaust duct 22 and heat exhaust fan 25 provided in the heat exhaust section 12 of the heat exchanger 10a are mounted off-center from the center to one end (right side in Figure 7) in the width direction (left-right direction in Figure 7) of the first heat exhaust duct 19. The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0044] Although not shown in Figure 7, the heat exchanger 10a of this X-ray inspection apparatus 1a, similar to the first embodiment shown in Figure 4, has a first heat absorption fan 17 for intake attached to one opening of the heat absorption duct 16 (the opening on the right in Figure 7), and a second heat absorption fan 18 for exhaust attached to the other opening (the opening on the left in Figure 7). Generally, in a structure where relatively hot air is drawn in from either the left or right side of the heat absorption duct 16, and the relatively cooler air after heat absorption is drawn out from the other side of the heat absorption duct 16, the area near the first heat absorption fan 17 that draws in the relatively hot air, i.e., the position shifted to the right in Figure 7, becomes relatively hot. Therefore, in the heat exhaust section 12 connected by the heat conduction tube 15, the heat exhaust fins 14 located on the right side become relatively hot due to the uneven distribution of heat conduction. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, if the second heat exhaust duct 22 and the heat exhaust fan 25 are positioned to the right, efficient heat transfer can be achieved in the heat exhaust section 12 to compensate for uneven heat conduction in the left-right direction. In addition, the left-right position of the heat exhaust fan 25 in the heat exhaust section 12 may be appropriately set to correspond to the position of the heat source within the housing 2. [Explanation of symbols]

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

Claims

1. A housing (2) having heat sources (4, 5) inside, A heat exchanger (10, 10a) having a heat absorption section (11) provided inside the housing and equipped with multiple heat absorption fins (13), a heat dissipation section (12) provided outside the housing and equipped with multiple heat dissipation fins (14), and a heat conduction tube (15) that penetrates the housing and thermally connects the heat absorption fins and the heat dissipation fins, An inspection device equipped with, The heat absorption section includes a heat absorption duct (16) with heat absorption fans (17, 18) attached to both open sides. The heat dissipation section is, A first heat exhaust duct (19) is attached to the housing and has an air intake on the top and a first exhaust port on the bottom, and houses the heat exhaust fins. A heat exhaust fan (25) is mounted to the first exhaust port (21) of the first heat exhaust duct in an inclined position such that the exhaust direction is away from the housing and diagonally downward, and is more powerful than the heat absorption fan. An inspection device (1, 1a) characterized by comprising the following:

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

3. The housing is composed of an upper housing (2a), a lower housing (2b), and an intermediate housing (2c) connecting the upper housing and the lower housing, and the heat exchanger is provided on the back of the upper housing, The inspection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 (1, 1a), wherein the inspection apparatus irradiates an object to be inspected (W) transported by a transport means (3) with X-rays from an X-ray generator (4) which is a heat source provided in the upper housing, and inspects the object to be inspected based on an X-ray image obtained by detecting the X-rays that have passed through the object to be inspected with an X-ray detector (5) which is a heat source provided in the lower housing.

Images