Apparatus for inspecting peripheral surfaces of nuclear fuel pellets
First Claim
1. An apparatus for inspecting peripheral surfaces of nuclear fuel pellets, comprising:
- a handling unit for holding a plurality of nuclear fuel pellets in a line and rotating the same on axes thereof;
a loading device for loading said nuclear fuel pellets onto said handling unit;
an image pick-up device disposed adjacent to said handling unit for picking up image data as to the peripheral surfaces of said nuclear fuel pellets;
a judging device operably connected to said image pick-up device for analyzing said image data outputted from said image pick-up device to output judging signals; and
a sorting unit operably connected to said judging device for separating defective pellets from non-defective pellets based on said judging signals, said sorting unit including a plurality of sorting members disposed adjacent to said handling unit so as to correspond to said nuclear fuel pellets, respectively, and operating means operably connected to said judging device and said sorting members for operating said sorting members based on said judging signals;
wherein;
said handling unit includes a first roller having a first predetermined diameter disposed rotatably about an axis thereof and adjacent to said loading device, a second roller having a second predetermined diameter which is comparatively larger than the first predetermined diameter of the first roller disposed adjacent to said first roller so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to said axis of said first roller, said first roller and said second roller cooperating to define an inspecting position therebetween, said second roller including at least one ejecting groove for receiving and carrying said plurality of nuclear fuel pellets, said ejecting groove being formed in a peripheral surface of said second roller so as to extend axially thereof.
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Abstract
There is disclosed an inspection apparatus for peripheral surfaces of nuclear fuel pellets which includes a handling unit, an image pick-up device, a judging device and a sorting unit. The handling unit holds a prescribed number of nuclear fuel pellets in a line and rotates the same on their axes. The image pick-up device is disposed adjacent to the handling unit, and picks up image data as to the peripheral surfaces of the nuclear fuel pellets. The judging device is operably connected to the image pick-up device, and analyzes the image data outputted from the image pick-up device to output judging signals. The sorting unit is operably connected to the judging device and separates defective pellets from non-defective pellets based on the judging signals. The sorting unit includes a plurality of sorting members and actuators. The sorting members are disposed adjacent to the handling unit so as to correspond to the nuclear fuel pellets, respectively. The actuators are operably connected to the judging device and the sorting members, and operate the sorting members based on the judging signals.
27 Citations
8 Claims
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1. An apparatus for inspecting peripheral surfaces of nuclear fuel pellets, comprising:
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a handling unit for holding a plurality of nuclear fuel pellets in a line and rotating the same on axes thereof; a loading device for loading said nuclear fuel pellets onto said handling unit; an image pick-up device disposed adjacent to said handling unit for picking up image data as to the peripheral surfaces of said nuclear fuel pellets; a judging device operably connected to said image pick-up device for analyzing said image data outputted from said image pick-up device to output judging signals; and a sorting unit operably connected to said judging device for separating defective pellets from non-defective pellets based on said judging signals, said sorting unit including a plurality of sorting members disposed adjacent to said handling unit so as to correspond to said nuclear fuel pellets, respectively, and operating means operably connected to said judging device and said sorting members for operating said sorting members based on said judging signals; wherein;
said handling unit includes a first roller having a first predetermined diameter disposed rotatably about an axis thereof and adjacent to said loading device, a second roller having a second predetermined diameter which is comparatively larger than the first predetermined diameter of the first roller disposed adjacent to said first roller so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to said axis of said first roller, said first roller and said second roller cooperating to define an inspecting position therebetween, said second roller including at least one ejecting groove for receiving and carrying said plurality of nuclear fuel pellets, said ejecting groove being formed in a peripheral surface of said second roller so as to extend axially thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification