Radiographic Inspection System Conveyor Chain Background Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Radiographic inspection systems using modular conveyor chains face image interference due to transmittance variations in the conveyor chain, which are not effectively addressed by existing calibration methods, leading to degraded X-ray images.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that calibrate and process radiographic images to remove background interference caused by the conveyor chain and radiation detector factors, using a calibration mode to acquire and store digital data for each modular segment, allowing for accurate normalization and removal of conveyor chain background in the inspection mode, with each segment featuring a registration coordinate for precise image correlation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a modular conveyor chain is used in a radiographic inspection system, then the conveyor chain can transport articles through the radiation path, but transmittance variations in the conveyor chain cause background interference and degrade image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing calibration before actual inspection. A calibration mode is executed where the conveyor chain is imaged without articles, and this calibration image is stored and later subtracted from inspection images. This preliminary calibration step captures the conveyor chain's transmittance variations in advance, allowing them to be compensated during actual inspection operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful background interference caused by the conveyor chain into a beneficial calibration signal. The same conveyor chain that causes image degradation is used to create a calibration image that characterizes its transmittance variations. By measuring and storing this calibration data, the system transforms the harmful effect into useful information for compensation.
2Measurement precision
If calibration methods are used to address conveyor chain interference, then image quality can be improved, but existing calibration methods do not effectively address transmittance variations in modular conveyor chains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses copying by creating a digital copy of the conveyor chain's transmittance characteristics through calibration imaging. Instead of physically modifying the conveyor chain or using complex hardware corrections, the system creates a digital representation (calibration image) of the conveyor chain's radiation transmission properties, which is then used to correct inspection images through digital subtraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the image data parameters rather than the physical conveyor chain. The calibration image captures transmittance variation parameters, and these parameters are used to adjust the inspection images through arithmetic processing (subtraction). This changes the parameters of the image data to compensate for the conveyor chain's interfering effects.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the radiation source is positioned vertically above the conveyor and detector vertically below, then the radiation passes through the bottom of containers and conveyor, but the conveyor chain's transmittance variations create background image interference
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calibration imaging of the conveyor chain in the same geometric arrangement before actual inspections. This calibration image captures the background interference pattern created by the conveyor chain's transmittance variations under the exact same radiation geometry, allowing it to be used for compensation during inspections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful background interference pattern into a useful calibration reference. The same geometric arrangement that creates the interference problem is used to capture the interference pattern as calibration data. This calibrated pattern is then subtracted from inspection images, transforming the harmful interference into a correctable background reference.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method effectively cancels the background image caused by the conveyor chain, resulting in clearer radiographic images of the inspected articles without the interfering background, enhancing image quality and enabling the use of modular conveyor chains in radiographic inspection systems.
Implementation Method 1
a radiation source for emitting scanning rays... a radiation detector for receiving scanning rays... the scanning rays pass through the articles and the conveyor chain
Implementation Method 2
a radiation detector for receiving scanning rays and converting them into detector signals
Data Source
AI summary
A method of operating a radiographic inspection system is disclosed for a system in which a conveyor chain with identical modular chain segments transports articles under inspection. Two operating modes of the radiographic inspection system includes a calibration mode in which calibration data characterizing the radiographic inspection system with an empty conveyor chain are generated; and an inspection mode in which raw image data of articles under inspection with the background of the conveyor chain are acquired and arithmetically processed with calibration data into a clearer output image, without the interfering background of the conveyor chain.