A contaminant detection machine (1) including a conveyor (3) which causes an object under inspection (79) to pass through a plane (48) of emitted x-ray radiation. The plane is generated by an x-ray tube (55) that emits a lateral beam, thereby permitting the distance (88) between the x-ray tube and t
A contaminant detection machine (1) including a conveyor (3) which causes an object under inspection (79) to pass through a plane (48) of emitted x-ray radiation. The plane is generated by an x-ray tube (55) that emits a lateral beam, thereby permitting the distance (88) between the x-ray tube and the object under inspection to be reduced. A photo diode arch mounting assembly (104) is placed above the object under inspection and is mated to a collimator assembly (125) that also serves as the mounting bracket for the x-ray generation assembly (38), thereby preserving optical alignment between the photo diode detector array (28) and the emitted x-ray plane (48). The detector array (28) scans the object under inspection (79) so as to produce a continuous series of discrete lines, each line being analyzed by an image processing unit (116) to determine the presence or absence of a contaminant. The conveyor (3) passes over a pair of slider bed surfaces (155, 156) which are mounted in a hinged manner such that the leading edge (168) of one surface (156) is parallel to and spaced apart from the trailing edge (172) of the other surface (155), thereby creating a gap that is coplanar with the collimation slot (129) and the emitted x-ray plane (48). Each bed surface (155, 156) is rigidly constrained within open ended mounting brackets (159, 160, 161 and 162) yet can be removed by hand without the use of tools. Similarly, the conveyor (3) is supported by a roller assembly (182) that includes a tracking block (142) and pivot pin (143) which permits the roller assembly to be mounted to and removed from flip up mounts (151, 152) by hand and without the need of tools. Graphical user interfaces (249, 260, 261, 266, 275, 282 and 288) permit a user to operate the machine (1) by means of a liquid crystal display touch screen (20).
대표청구항▼
We claim: 1. A contaminant detector (1) for detecting dense contaminants within a food product, the contaminant detector having an x-ray beam emitting vacuum tube (55) and a substantially horizontal conveyor belt (3) adapted to transport a food product through the x-ray beam characterized in that:
We claim: 1. A contaminant detector (1) for detecting dense contaminants within a food product, the contaminant detector having an x-ray beam emitting vacuum tube (55) and a substantially horizontal conveyor belt (3) adapted to transport a food product through the x-ray beam characterized in that: the vacuum tube (55) has a longitudinal axis and emits a substantially planar x-ray beam (48) in an upward direction that is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (64) of the vacuum tube; the conveyor belt (3) is located above the x-ray generator; an array of photo diodes (28) is located above the conveyor belt, the array of photo diodes being adapted to intercept x-ray energy that has passed through the food product, wherein a first greatest distance (88) between the x-ray generator and the conveyor belt and a second greatest distance (89) between the conveyor belt and the array of photo diodes is approximately equal; a tank assembly (38), the tank assembly being adapted to enclose the vacuum tube (55), wherein the tank assembly comprises: a heat absorbing liquid; an impeller (51), the impeller being adapted to circulate the heat absorbing liquid within the tank assembly; a heat sink, the heat sink being mounted adjacent to the impeller and being isolated from the heat absorbing liquid; a fan (207), the fan being mounted adjacent to the heat sink and being isolated from the heat absorbing liquid such that heat is transferred from the vacuum tube to the heat absorbing liquid to the heat sink to atmospheric air being transported across the heat sink by the fan; a vortex cooler (198); a cabinet (9), the cabinet housing the tank assembly (55); and a vortex cooler adapter (199), the vortex cooler adapter being affixed to the cabinet, the vortex cooler adapter having a first end attached to the vortex cooler and a second end attached to a channel that directs relatively cool air entering the vortex cooler into an interior region of the cabinet, thereby maintaining a positive air pressure within the cabinet, wherein the array of photo diodes is mounted on a rigid arch (104) such that approximately two hundred seventy degrees of a perimeter of the food product residing within the substantially planar x-ray beam (48) resides between the x-ray generator (55) and at least one photo diode (91, 92, 93, 94). 2. The contaminant detector of claim 1, further comprising a collimator, the collimator comprising: a collimation gap (132), the collimation gap residing within the substantially planar x-ray beam (48) between the x-ray generator (55) and the conveyor belt (3); a pair of receptacles (192) adapted to receive a portion of the rigid arch supporting the photo diodes such that the photo diodes are optically aligned with the substantially planar x-ray beam; a computer (31), the computer being programmed to cause the array of photo diodes to repeatedly scan the food product while the food product is being conveyed through the substantially planar x-ray beam so as to produce a series of discrete lines of received x-ray intensity data; an image processing unit (116), the image processing unit being adapted to examine each discrete line of received x-ray intensity data for an indication of a contaminant within the food product; and a digital signal processor (30), the digital signal processor being adapted to receive instructions from the computer regarding at least one of a) object characteristics, b) contaminant characteristics, c) object location with respect to the x-ray sensor array, and d) a sequence of operations to be performed by the digital signal processor, the digital signal processor being adapted to deliver operating commands to the x-ray sensor array regarding x-ray sensor operation including at least one of a) scan rate, b) gain and c) integration time. 3. The contaminant detector of claim 2, wherein the image processing unit (116) is adapted to create a complete image of a scanned food product by sequentially mating each discrete line of received x-ray intensity data, the image processing unit being adapted to examine the complete image for an indication of a contaminant within the food product. 4. The contaminant detector of claim 3, wherein the computer (31) is adapted to select at least one digital filter to be applied by the image processing unit when the image processing unit is examining received x-ray intensity data from the array of photo diodes (28). 5. The contaminant detector of claim 4, wherein the image processing unit (116) is adapted to process a single batch of data corresponding to a single scan line of the object produced by the array of photodiodes (28) and determine a likelihood of contaminant presence within the object based on an analysis of the single batch of data. 6. The contaminant detector of claim 5, wherein the image processing unit (116) is adapted to create an image of the object by combining a plurality of single scan line batch data so as to create multiple lines of adjoining data which form an image of the object, the image processing unit being adapted to analyze the image of the object to ascertain a contaminant presence within the object. 7. The contaminant detector of claim 1, further comprising: two slider bed surfaces (157, 158), each slider bed supporting a portion of the conveyor belt (3), each slider bed surface being substantially planar and being substantially orthogonal to the substantially planar x-ray beam (48), the slider bed surfaces being arranged in an opposed, spaced apart relationship such that an emission plane formed by the substantially planar x-ray beam is able to pass between the two slider bed surfaces. 8. The contaminant detector of claim 7, wherein each slider bed surface further comprises: a first edge (163); a second edge (166); a first rod (174) formed adjacent to the first edge; and a second rod (189) formed adjacent to the second edge, wherein the first rod is adapted to engage a first indention (177) on the contaminant detector and pivot with respect to the first indentation, the second rod being adapted to engage a second indented surface (181) on the contaminant detector so as to prevent rotation of the first rod with respect to the first indentation, thereby securing the slider bed surface in a fixed position.
연구과제 타임라인
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
이 특허에 인용된 특허 (4)
Wayne I. Knigge ; Brian A. Piotrowski, Detection of variable manufacturing tolerance packages utilizing x-rays.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.