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US 8,712,009 B2Granted
Can seam inspection
AssigneesHeinz Grossjohann, Alexis Grossjohann
InventorJohannes Albertus Zandhuis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of determining integrity of a can seam including disposing the can seam between an X-ray source and an X-ray detector, exposing an overlap region of the can seam to radiation from the source, and determining an indication of integrity of the overlap region from a measure of variation in radiation intensity readings taken by the detector over a series of circumferential intervals of the can seam.
Claims25
A method of determining integrity of a can seam, comprising:
- disposing the can seam between an X-ray source and an X-ray detector;
- exposing an overlap region of the can seam to radiation from the source;
- measuring a variation in radiation intensity readings taken by the X-ray detector over a series of circumferential intervals of the can seam;
- and
- determining an indication of integrity of the overlap region from the measure of variation in radiation intensity readings,
- wherein, for each of the radiation intensity readings, an angle of between 20 and 70 degrees is made between a central axis line connecting the X-ray source and the X-ray detector and a tangent to an outer circumference of the can seam at a point where the central axis line crosses the outer circumference,
- whereby a beam from the X-ray source passes through one region of the can seam.
4 more elements
An apparatus to determine can seam integrity, comprising:
- an X-ray source;
- an X-ray detector;
- a measurement platform configured to locate a can having a can seam between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector to expose an overlap region of the can seam to radiation from the source;
- and
- a computing device configured to:
- receive readings from the X-ray detector and control operation of the X-ray source and the measurement platform and
- determine an indication of integrity of the overlap region from a measure of variation in radiation intensity readings taken by the X-ray detector over a series of circumferential intervals of the can seam,
- wherein, for each of the radiation intensity readings, the computing device is configured to control the measurement platform such that an angle of between 20 and 70 degrees is made between a central axis line connecting the X-ray source and the X-ray detector and a tangent to a point where the central axis line crosses an outer circumference of the can seam,
- whereby a beam from the X-ray source passes through one region of the can seam.
6 more elements
A computer program product, comprising:
- a nontransient computer readable medium having thereon computer program code, when said program is loaded onto a computer, to make the computer execute a method comprising:
- activating an X-ray source to expose an overlap region of a can seam, disposed between the X-ray source and an X-ray detector, to radiation from the source;
- measuring a variation in radiation intensity readings taken by the X-ray detector over a series of circumferential intervals of the can seam;
- determining an indication of integrity of the overlap region from the measure of variation in radiation intensity readings;
- and
- control, for each of the radiation intensity readings, a measurement platform such that an angle of between 20 and 70 degrees is made between a central axis line connecting the X-ray source and the X-ray detector and a tangent to a point where the central axis line crosses an outer circumference of the can seam,
- whereby a beam from the X-ray source passes through one region of the can seam.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.