US 4,366,382 AGranted

X-Ray line scan system for use in baggage inspection

AssigneeScanray Corporation

InventorAndreas F. Kotowski

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Abstract

A baggage system which employs a fan-shaped x-ray beam which scans baggage on a conveyor belt and produces images of the contents of the baggage on a video monitor. The output of an x-ray source is collimated into a narrow linear beam. Objects to be scanned are exposed to this beam with successive slices of the object being so exposed as the conveyor moves the object past the beam. A light emitting screen receives the beam after it has passed through the object and emits a light pattern in accordance with the characteristics of the object being scanned. The light output of the screen is received by an array of photodetectors which generate electrical signals in accordance with the intensity of the light received thereby. The outputs of the photo-detectors are sequentially sampled to provide a series of signals in accordance with the photo-detector outputs. These signals are converted to digital form and stored in a memory. The output of the memory is fed through appropriate video output circuits to a video monitor where an image of the object being scanned is displayed.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A system for inspecting objects including

an x-ray source,
conveyor means for moving said objects through rays in the output of said source,
means for receiving said rays after they have passed through said objects,
means responsive to the output of said receiving means for providing a video display in accordance with the receiving means output comprising a light-emitting screen in the form of a strip, an array of photo-detectors opposite said screen for generating electrical signals in accordance with the light emission of the portions of the screen thereopposite, separate means for individually integrating the output of each of said detectors, electronic sampling circuit means for time multiplexing the outputs of said integrating means to provide a series of sequential pulses representing the outputs of said integrating means, means responsive to said pulses for generating video output signals, and video monitor means responsive to said video output signals for displaying said video output signals, and
means for collimating the rays of said source into a narrow fan-shaped beam prior to their passage through the objects, said beam scanning said objects in successive slices as the conveyor means moves the objects therethrough.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.