HK1128271B - Control station for checking hand luggage and other objects carried by persons - Google Patents

Description

Inspection station for checking hand luggage and other items carried on person

The invention relates to a checking station for checking hand luggage and other portable objects, comprising: an inspection apparatus, in particular an X-ray detector; a conveyor extending through the inspection apparatus for conveying articles through the inspection apparatus; an article placement point arranged in front of the conveying device and an article pick-up point arranged behind the conveying device; and a transport tub which can be placed on the conveyor, into which the small items and the laundry are placed and transported through the inspection device for inspection.

For the security inspection of hand luggage and other items carried along, for example in airports (airports), inspection stations with X-ray detectors are used in a known manner, which allow the items carried along to be seen through by the X-ray detectors. The objects to be inspected are transported on a conveyor, usually a conveyor belt, past the inspection apparatus, which is operated by an operator. At the input end, a roller way is arranged in front of the conveying device and used for placing the object to be detected. Similarly, at the output end, a roller table is provided in connection with the conveying device, from which the detected objects can be extracted.

In order to transport small items (purses, mobile phones, laptops, backpacks, etc.) and items of clothing, transport basins are used in a known manner, into which the above-mentioned items can be placed. Such transport basins, with the items placed therein, are placed, exactly like larger items (handbags, etc.), on a conveyor device, which transports them through the inspection device. After the examination, the articles are removed from the transport tub by the passenger at the extraction point. After emptying, the transport pots must be returned to the input of the inspection station.

For this purpose, the transport pots are either transported back by the operator or lifted at the article pick-up point and transferred to a roller section without drive, and pushed back on the roller section. All known methods are ergonomically undesirable and represent a great physical and temporal burden for the operator.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve an inspection station using transport pots in such a way that the time and physical effort on the part of the operator can be reduced.

According to the invention, the above object is achieved by the following measures: a return device for the transport trays is arranged next to or below the conveyor device guided through the inspection device, said return device extending from the pick-up point behind the conveyor device at least up to the area of the product placement point in front of the conveyor device.

According to the invention, the transport pots are automatically returned from the end of the inspection section to the beginning of the inspection section. Thus, the time and physical burden on the operator is reduced. Thereby enabling the operator to be more efficiently invested.

The arrangement and structure of the return device for the transport tub are selected such that: the transport basins are delivered to the return device at the extraction point of the main conveyor with a minimum expenditure of physical effort and time. This delivery can be effected either by an attendant, for example the operator of the inspection device, by the passenger himself, or automatically. During the return transportation, the transport basin can be horizontally placed on the return device or vertically placed on the return device. For this purpose, correspondingly wide and narrow roller conveyors or belt conveyors can be used. The advantages of the return transport of the transport tub in the upright position are: very narrow conveyors can be used, which take up little space. For a flatly positioned return transport, a return device can be arranged below the conveying device and the inspection device.

The dependent claims contain advantageous embodiments of the invention which are intended for different applications under different spatial conditions.

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an inspection station with a return device for transport pots arranged below the inspection apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment in which the transport tub is transported back alongside the inspection device;

FIG. 3 is an oblique view of the embodiment of FIG. 2;

fig. 4 shows an embodiment in which the transport tub is transported back on the passenger side lying flat;

fig. 5 shows an embodiment in which the transport tub is transported back on the operator side, standing on its vertical side;

FIG. 6 is an oblique view of the embodiment of FIG. 5;

fig. 7 shows an embodiment in which the transport tub is transported back upright on the passenger side;

fig. 8 to 11 show three different possibilities for adjusting the transport tub from the flat position to the upright position for the return transport of the upright position, wherein:

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a ramp extending obliquely downward for transporting pots;

FIG. 10 is a hand-loaded vertical lane bent 90 for extension;

fig. 11 shows a table with a downwardly openable flap on which the transport pots can be slid onto the return device.

All checkpoints shown in the drawings are used to check hand luggage and other carry-on items. They are preferably used for security checks at airports, whereby the items carried by passengers are checked for weapons, explosives or other contraband. Each inspection station contains an inspection device 1, preferably an X-ray detector, with which the items carried by the passengers are transilluminated.

The articles to be inspected are conveyed through the inspection apparatus on a conveyor 2, preferably a belt conveyor. At the input of the inspection station, a placement point 3 is provided in front of the conveyor 2, on which the objects to be inspected are placed and are transported to the conveyor 2. The article placement station 3 is generally formed by a roller table section with freely rotatable rollers. At the output, connected to the conveyor 2 is an extraction point 4, from which the detected articles are removed by the passenger. The pick-up point 4, to which the inspected articles are conveyed from the inspection device 1 by the conveyor device 2, is also typically formed by a roller table section equipped with freely rotatable rollers. According to the known case, a reexamination site 5 is provided next to the extraction site 4, to which the goods are fed by a further conveyor device 6 behind the inspection device, and if the inspection by the inspection device 1 is not unambiguous, a manual reexamination with the presence of an operator is necessary.

Beside the examination apparatus 1, on the operator side O, there is an operating position for the operator, which operating position comprises a display screen on which the results of the perspective of the object are displayed. The reexamination site 5 is also on the operator side so that the operator can quickly arrive at the reexamination site for reexamination. In the conveying section 2 there is a switch 7 which can be released by the operator or can be released automatically, by means of which it can be switched over to the conveying section 6, so that the articles are not conveyed to the pick-up point 4, but to the review point 5.

The passenger travels through the checkpoint along a side P opposite the operator side O. The baggage claim point 4 is therefore located on the passenger side P.

In order to transport small items (purses, mobile phones, laptops, backpacks, etc.) and items of clothing through the inspection device 1, a transport tub 10 has to be used, into which the small items and items of clothing can be placed. The transport tub 10 is placed on the rollers of the placing point 3, where the passenger places small items and laundry into the transport tub 10. After the check in the inspection device 1, the detected items are removed again from the transport tub 10 by the passenger at the extraction point 4.

All the embodiments of the present invention have the following common points: beside or below the conveyor device 2 guided through the inspection device 1, a return device 11 for empty transport pots 10 is provided, which extends from the pick-up point 4 at least up to the area of the depositing point 3 in front of the conveyor device 2. The transport pots 10 can be automatically returned from the end of the inspection section to the beginning of the inspection section by a return device 11. There is no need for the operator to transport the transport tub 10 back or to manually push it back on the roller section. Thereby greatly reducing the time and physical burden of the operator.

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment in which the return device 11 is arranged to extend below the conveyor device 2 and the inspection device 1. The return device 11 comprises a driven belt or roller and has a transport width which corresponds at least to the width of the transport tub 10. The transport tub 10 can be transported back flat to keep the necessary height below the inspection device 1 and the transport device 2 as small as possible. At the end of the examination section is a transfer point 12, at which the emptied transport pots 10 are transferred from the conveyor device 2 onto a return device 11, which contains freely rotatable or driven rollers. In the case of freely rotatable rollers at the transfer point 12, the empty transport tub 10 is pushed onto the return conveyor 11 either by the operator or by the passenger. In the case of a driven roller for the transfer point 12, the transfer can take place automatically, for example triggered by an operator. The empty transport pots 10 are transferred from the return conveyor 11 to the placement point 3 at the beginning of the examination section, again either manually by the operator or by the passenger himself, or at this point a corresponding transport mechanism is provided which can be actuated by an operator.

Fig. 2 and 3 show another embodiment in which a return device 11 for transporting pots 10 is arranged on the operator side O running alongside the conveyor device 2. In both fig. 2 and 3, the review point 5 and the switch 7 are also shown, as well as the conveyor 6 leading to the review point 5. In this embodiment, the transport tub 10 is also transported back flat. The return device 11 starts between the pick-up point 4 and the review point 5 and extends initially in a plane below the transport devices 2 and 6. This lower plane is hatched in the figure. Between the pick-up point 4 and the review point 5, a conveying surface is provided which is directed obliquely downwards to the return device 11, on which conveying surface the transport container 10 can be slid downwards onto the return device 11. The return device 11 extends on the operator side up to the vicinity of the placement point 3. On its last conveying section, it rises to the level of the deposit point 3, so that the transport pots 10 can be pushed onto the deposit point 3 from the end of the return device 11 in a simple manner.

Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment in which the transport tub 10 is transported back on the return conveyor 11. The structure of this inspection station is comparable to that shown in figures 2 and 3, with the difference that: the return device 11 for the transport tub 10 is arranged on the passenger side P extending alongside the conveyor device 2. In this embodiment, the return device also starts between the pick-up point 4 and the review point 5 and runs below the two conveyors 2, 6 leading to the two points. The return device 11 extends at first obliquely below the conveyor device 2 and outwards to the passenger side P and then parallel to the conveyor device 2 through the screening device 1 up to the side of the placement point 3 at the input of the screening station.

Fig. 5 to 7 show embodiments in which the transport tub 10 is transported back upright on a return device 11. The advantages are that: narrow return devices 11 (belt conveyors or roller conveyors) can be used, which require only little space. The return device 11 extends alongside the conveyor device 2 guided through the inspection device 1. It is either arranged on the operator side O (fig. 5, 6); or is arranged on the passenger side P (fig. 7). The construction of the relevant inspection station is substantially comparable to the embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 4 with a flat return transport. Therefore, all parts that are consistent are also indicated by consistent reference numerals. In the embodiment with vertical return transport of the transport pots 10, means are furthermore provided at the beginning of the return conveyor section, which can erect the transport pots 10 lying on the pick-up point 4 or the review point 5 and place them in the vertical position on the return conveyor 11. The different forms of these mechanisms are shown in figures 8-11.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 8 and 9, a vertical duct 12 leads from the extraction point 4 down to a narrow return device 11. In the vertical path 12, an inclined guide surface 13 is guided downward, which is designed in such a way that the transport tub 10 sliding downward stands up on itself and thus on the return device 11. After the check, it has been ascertained that no more items are present in the transport tub 10, the transport tub 10 is pushed into the shaft 12 either by an operator or by the passenger himself at the extraction point 4. Alternatively, a motor drive can be provided, by means of which the transport tub 10 is moved into the shaft 12. A shaft of exactly the same design can also be provided at the review point 5, by means of which the empty transport basins 10 there are transferred to the return device 11.

Fig. 10 shows an embodiment which likewise has a vertical path 12 which is bent through 90 ° and whose entry is between the extraction point 4 and the review point 5 on the operator side O. The inlet 14 of the shaft 12 is laterally below the deposit surface of the pick-up point 4 or below the review point 5. The empty transport tub 10 is pulled over by an operator and inserted into the shaft 12 through the entrance 14. The transport tub 10 is erected when it is moved along the vertical path 12, and is thus erected on the return device 11.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 11, a storage surface 15 is arranged between the pick-up point 4 and the review point 5, which is at the same height as the latter, in which storage surface a flap 16 is arranged that can be pivoted downwards. The flap 16 can be tilted downward in such a way that the transport tub 10 can be slid downward on it onto the return device 11 and at the same time is self-erecting. The pivoting mechanism for the flap 16 is actuated by an operator who has determined that the transport tub 10 is completely emptied when the actuation is carried out.

Claims (9)

1. Inspection station for the inspection of hand luggage and other items carried on the person, provided with: an inspection apparatus (1); a conveyor (2) extending through the inspection apparatus (1) for conveying articles through the inspection apparatus (1); an article placement point (3) arranged in front of the transport device (2) and an article pick-up point (4) arranged behind the transport device (2); and a transport tub (10) which can be placed on the conveyor device (2), into which small items and/or items of clothing are placed and transported through the inspection device (1) for inspection, characterized in that: a return device (11) for the transport tub (10) is arranged next to or below the conveyor device (2) guided through the inspection device (1) and extends from the pick-up point (4) of the conveyor device (2) into the region of the placement point (3) in front of the conveyor device (2).

2. The inspection station of claim 1, wherein: the return device (11) is arranged to extend below the conveying device (2) and the inspection device (1).

3. The inspection station of claim 1, wherein: the return device (11) is arranged on the operator side (O) and extends alongside the conveying device (2).

4. The inspection station of claim 1, wherein: the return device (11) is arranged on the passenger side (P) and extends alongside the conveyor device (2).

5. The inspection station of claim 1, wherein: the transport tub (10) is transported back on a return device (11).

6. The inspection station of claim 1, wherein: the transport tub (10) is transported back upright on a return device (11).

7. The inspection station of claim 6, wherein: at the beginning of the return conveyor path, means are provided for placing the transport tub (10) lying flat in an upright position on the return conveyor (11).

8. An inspection station according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: a review station (5) is arranged next to the pick-up point (4) and is controlled by means of a switch (7) which can be released automatically or manually.

9. The inspection station of claim 1, wherein: the inspection apparatus is an X-ray detector.