Inspection system

A module formed as a construction part for a facility in which objects are transported and inspected during their transport, said module comprising:

• a housing;
• an inspection system having a free space allowing objects to pass through the system and including an inspection area (A) in which objects are inspected visually;
• an illumination device for illuminating at least the peripheral surface of an object when in the inspection area;
• and
• six camera/sensor devices equidistantly spaced, each configured to take an image of a surface section of said peripheral surface in its respective field of view by receiving light running along a respective light path from the illuminated object to the camera/sensor device, the fields of view of the camera/sensor devices in combination providing for full peripheral coverage of azimuth angle 360° of the inspection area;
• wherein a length of at least one of the light paths is longer than a spatial distance between its ends (S, E);
• wherein the six camera/sensor devices and corresponding mirrors are arranged such that light from the peripheral surface reaches the respective camera/sensor device by running along a first portion of the respective light path with a major path direction component being in particular radial within a reference plane being a plane (T×W) of the azimuth angle and a second portion with major path component along a reference axis normal to said reference plane, wherein a ratio by which the path length of one of the first and second portions is larger than the other is selected to be lower than 2;
• and
• wherein components of the inspection system are connected with and arranged within the housing such that at least one of mounting or removal of the housing from the facility automatically leads to providing/removal of said components.

An arrangement comprising:

• a supporting rack;
• a module having a housing;
• an inspection system having a free space allowing objects to pass through the system and including an inspection area (A) in which objects are inspected visually;
• an illumination device for illuminating at least the peripheral surface of an object when in the inspection area;
• and
• six camera/sensor devices equidistantly spaced, each configured to take an image of a surface section of said peripheral surface in its respective field of view by receiving light running along a respective light path from the illuminated object to the camera/sensor device, the fields of view of the camera/sensor devices in combination providing for full peripheral coverage of azimuth angle 360° of the inspection area;
• wherein a length of at least one of the light paths is longer than a spatial distance between its ends (S, E);
• wherein the six camera/sensor devices and corresponding mirrors are arranged such that light from the peripheral surface reaches the respective camera/sensor device by running along a first portion of the respective light path with a major path direction component being in particular radial within a reference plane being a plane (T×W) of the azimuth angle and a second portion with major path component along a reference axis normal to said reference plane, wherein a ratio by which the path length of one of the first and second portions is larger than the other is selected to be lower than 2;
• and
• wherein all of the components of the inspection system are connected with and arranged within the housing such that at least one of mounting or removal of the housing from the arrangement automatically leads to providing/removal of said components, the module being height-adjustable with respect to a supporting frame.