X-ray inspection apparatus

• US 8,068,656 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2006
• Issued: 11/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ishida Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ishida Company Limited
• Inventors: Hirose, Osamu
• Primary Examiner(s): Glick; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): CORBETT, JOHN M
• Application Number:
  US12/089,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20090147987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,840 Days
• Field of Search: 382131-132, 378/54, 378/57, 378/205, 378/207, 701/101
• US Class Current: 382/132
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 9/005 using radiations, e.g. radioactive analysing materials by the use of wave or particle radiation G01N23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/04 and forming images of the material

Abstract

An x-ray inspection apparatus includes a sample image obtaining unit, an ideal curve generating unit, a curve adjustment unit, and a mass estimation unit as a function block generated by a control computer. The sample image obtaining unit obtains 10 x-ray transmission images of sample inspected products each of whose mass is known in advance. The ideal curve generating unit generates a table based on a formula that indicates a relationship between the brightness of an area included in the x-ray transmission images and the estimated mass of the area. The curve adjustment unit refers to the input actual mass of each x-ray transmission image and adjusts the table such that the estimated mass approximates the actual mass. The mass estimation unit determines the estimated mass per unit area based on the post-adjusted table and adds up these masses to determine the total estimated mass of the product.

Claims

1. An x-ray inspection apparatus comprising:

an irradiation unit configured and arranged to irradiate x-rays to an inspected object;

an x-ray detection unit configured and arranged to detect an amount of x-rays that are irradiated by the irradiation unit and transmitted through the inspected object;

a sample image obtaining unit configured to obtain a plurality of sample x-ray transmission images of a plurality of sample inspected objects based on an amount of x-rays irradiated to each of the sample inspected objects detected by the x-ray detection unit;

an input unit configured to receive inputs of actual masses of the sample inspected objects;

an ideal curve generating unit configured to generate an ideal curve which indicates a mass per unit area with respect to a brightness per unit area included in the sample x-ray transmission images;

a curve adjustment unit configured to adjust the ideal curve generated by the ideal curve generating unit for a plurality of gradation levels based on the actual masses input in the input unit; and

a mass estimation unit configured to estimate a mass of the inspected object based on the amount of x-rays irradiated to the inspected object and detected by the x-ray detection unit according to the ideal curve adjusted by the curve adjustment unit.

2. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the curve adjustment unit is further configured

to determine a reference estimated mass that corresponds to the brightness of one of the graduation levels per unit area, an upper estimated mass that corresponds to a value that is larger than the reference estimated mass by a prescribed percentage, and a lower estimated mass that corresponds to a value that is smaller than the reference estimated mass by the prescribed percentage,

to select one of the reference estimated mass, the upper estimated mass and the lower estimated mass that provides a least variation when the masses of the sample inspected objects are estimated by using the reference estimated mass, the upper estimated mass and the lower estimated mass for the one of the graduation levels, and

to adjust the ideal curve by replacing a value of the mass per unit area corresponding to the brightness of the one of the graduation levels in the ideal curve with the one of the reference estimated mass, the upper estimated mass and the lower estimated mass that was selected.

3. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the curve adjustment unit is configured to repeat replacing the value of the mass per unit area for the brightness of each of the graduation levels until the brightness reaches a predetermined gradation level.

4. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the curve adjustment unit is configured to repeat replacing the value of the mass per unit area for the brightness of each of the graduation levels until a variation in estimated masses of the sample inspected objects estimated by using the ideal curve falls within a predetermined range.

5. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the curve adjustment unit is configured to repeat replacing the value of the mass per unit area for the brightness of each of the graduation levels for a predetermined number of times.

6. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the curve adjustment unit is configured to repeat replacing the value of the mass per unit area for the brightness of each of the graduation levels until a predetermined period of time elapses.

7. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the ideal curve generating unit is configured to calculate the mass per unit area corresponding to the brightness for every ten levels of gradation, and to generate the ideal curve by linear interpolation of intermediate values.

8. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the ideal curve generating unit is configured to generate a table that indicates a relationship between the brightness with respect to an estimated mass for the brightness based on a predetermined formula that represents the mass per unit area with respect to the brightness per unit area included in an x-ray transmission image.

9. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the unit area corresponds to one pixel in an x-ray transmission image.

10. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the ideal curve generating unit is configured to calculate the mass per unit area corresponding to the brightness for every ten levels of gradation, and to generate the ideal curve by calculating a moving average of a function obtained by linear interpolation of intermediate values.

11. The x-ray inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the ideal curve generating unit is configured to calculate the masses per unit area corresponding to the brightness for every ten levels of gradation, and to generate the ideal curve by curve interpolation of intermediate values.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with an x-ray inspection program which, when implemented on a computer, configures the computer to estimate a mass of an inspected object based on an amount of transmitted x-rays that are irradiated to the inspected object and further configures the computer to perform

a first step in which an amount of x-rays that are irradiated to a plurality of the sample inspected objects is detected, and x-ray transmission images of the sample inspected objects are obtained based on the amount of x-rays detected;

a second step in which inputs of actual masses of the sample inspected objects whose x-ray transmission images are obtained in the first step are received;

a third step in which an ideal curve derived based on a mass per unit are with respect a brightness per unit area included in the x-ray transmission images is generated;

a fourth step in which the ideal curve generated in the third step is adjusted for a plurality of gradation levels based on the actual masses input in the second step; and

a fifth step in which the mass of the inspected object is estimated based on the ideal curve adjusted in the fourth step.