Radiation Inspection System

• US 20080197279A1
• Filed: 01/08/2007
• Published: 08/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nuctech Company Limited (Tsinghua Tongfang Co., Ltd.), Tsinghua University
• Original Assignee: Nuctech Company Limited (Tsinghua Tongfang Co., Ltd.), Tsinghua University
• Inventors: Yang, Guang, Li, Jianjun, Sun, Shangmin, Chen, Zhiqiang, Kang, Kejun, Bi, Yong, Wu, Yucheng, Zhang, Fengjun, Liu, Rongxuan, Hu, Halfeng
• Granted Patent: US 7,817,775 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/306
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 7/065 Scissor linkages, i.e. X-configuration
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 7/08 hydraulically or pneumatically operated
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/04 and forming images of the material
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 5/20 Detecting prohibited goods, e.g. weapons, explosives, hazardous substances, contraband or smuggled objects

Abstract

Disclosed is an inspection system for inspecting a cargo by using radiation, comprising: a main plate conveyor; a radiation scanning unit that spans said main plate conveyor and is provided above said main plate conveyor, for scanning the cargo provided on the main plate conveyor; auxiliary conveyors that are provided at the front end and rear end of said main plate conveyor, respectively, so as to load the cargo to be inspected onto said main plate conveyor and to unload the inspected cargo from said main plate conveyor; and lifting devices for lifting said auxiliary conveyors. The inspection system according to the present invention occupies less area, has simple corollary equipments, a lower operating cost, and excellent compatibility, and can be widely applied.

Claims

1. An inspection system for inspecting a cargo by using radiation, comprising:

a main plate conveyor;

a radiation scanning unit that spans said main plate conveyor and is provided above said main plate conveyor, for scanning the cargo provided on the main plate conveyor;

auxiliary conveyors that are provided at a front end and a rear end of said main plate conveyor, respectively, so as to load the cargo to be inspected onto said main plate conveyor and to unload the inspected cargo from said main plate conveyor; and

lifting devices for lifting said auxiliary conveyors.

2. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein said auxiliary conveyors are roller conveyors.

3. The inspection system according to claim 2, wherein each of said lifting devices comprises:

an upper platform that supports said roller conveyor on an upper surface thereof and is provided along a longitudinal direction thereof with an upper sliding groove;

a low platform that is provided along a longitudinal direction thereof with a lower sliding groove corresponding to the upper sliding groove;

a link mechanism including a first link and a second link, in which said first link and said second link are pivotally connected with each other at respective substantial centers along longitudinal directions thereof, and an upper end of the first link and a low end of the second link are pivotally connected to the upper platform and the low platform, respectively, and a low end of the first link and an upper end of the second link are slidably engaged in said low sliding groove and said upper sliding groove, respectively; and

an actuator for driving said first link and said second link to pivot with respect to each other, so that the upper platform is lifted and lowered.

4. The inspection system according to claim 3, wherein guiding wheels are provided at the low end of the first link and at the upper end of the second link, respectively, and the guiding wheels are slidably engaged in the upper sliding groove and the low sliding groove.

5. The inspection system according to claim 4, wherein said upper sliding groove is formed on a longitudinal side face of the upper platform, and said low sliding groove is formed on a longitudinal side face of the low platform which is on the same side as the longitudinal side face of the upper platform, and

the upper end of the first link and the low end of the second link are hinged to the longitudinal side faces of the upper platform and the low platform, respectively.

6. The inspection system according to claim 5, wherein one end of said actuator is pivotally connected near the low end of the second link, and the other end thereof is pivotally connected between the upper end of the first link and the longitudinal center of the first link.

7. The inspection system according to claim 6, wherein said actuator comprises a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder.

8. The inspection system according to claim 6, wherein said actuator comprises:

a lead screw;

a threaded sleeve that is engaged with the lead screw, so that the threaded sleeve can longitudinally move with respect to the lead screw by rotation of the lead screw; and

a motor for driving the lead screw to rotate.

9. The inspection system according to claim 6, wherein said actuator comprises a telescopic bar.

10. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein said radiation scanning unit comprises:

a radiation source that is provided at a first side of the maim plate conveyor and emits rays;

a collimator that is provided between the radiation source and the first side of the main plate conveyor and is adapted to collimate the rays emitted from the radiation source;

an upright arm frame that is provided at a second side of said main plate conveyor opposite to the first side of the main plate conveyor, and is provided with a first detector array that receives the rays emitted from the radiation source and collimated by the collimator, and

a horizontal or a transverse arm frame, one end of which is connected with an upper end of the upright arm frame, and the other end of which spans said main plate conveyor so as to be connected with the collimator, so that the upright arm frame, the horizontal or transverse arm frame, and the collimator constitute an inverted-U shaped frame, and the horizontal or transverse arm frame is provided with a second detector array that receives the rays emitted from the radiation source and collimated by the collimator.

12. The inspection system according to claim 10, further comprising protection frames that are provided at ends of said auxiliary conveyors apart from said main plate conveyor, respectively.

13. The inspection system according to claim 10, further comprising traction devices that are provided on ends of said upper platforms close to said main plate conveyor, respectively, each of the traction devices comprises:

a drum;

a motor for driving the drum to rotate; and

a traction rope, one end of which is wound on said drum, and the other end of which drags the cargo to be inspected, so that the cargo is dragged onto the auxiliary conveyors or is dragged down from the auxillary conveyors.

14. The inspection system according to claim 10, wherein said radiation source is an X-ray tube or isotope radiation source.

15. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein each of said lifting devices comprises:

a platform for supporting said auxiliary conveyor; and

a hydraulic cylinder provided under the platform and used to support and lift said platform.

16. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein each of said lifting devices comprises:

a platform for supporting said auxiliary conveyor; and

a leading screw transmission device comprising;

a leading screw,

a motor for driving the leading screw, and

a nut engaged with the leading screw and fixed to a bottom surface of said platform, so that said nut moves along the leading screw, thereby lifting said platform and said auxiliary conveyor, when the motor is actuated to drive the leading screw to rotate.

11. (canceled)