Radiation collimator

Claim 2

A radiation collimator comprising, in combination; a. an X-ray source for directing a beam of X-radiation along a beam path; b. on-focus diaphragm means for rectangularly delineating the beam; c. off-focus collimation mean interposed between said source and said on-focus diaphragm means for blocking off-focus radiation, and including: i. two pairs of opposed diaphragm structures interconnected with said on-focus diaphragm means for concurrent movement therewith to rectangularly delineate the X-ray beam; ii. each of said diaphragm structures including a plurality of vanes supported at locations spaced longitudinally along the beam path and being movable as a unit toward and away from the beam path; iii. the vanes of one pair of diaphragm structures being interleaved with the vanes of the other pair of diaphragm structures and being movable inwardly and outwardly thereof independently of the position of said other pair of diaphragm structures.

Claim 3

The radiation collimator of claim 1 wherein: a. each of said diaphragm structures further includes a supporting stem extending generally axially along the beam path and mounting said vanes; b. said stem being movable mounted for moving said vanes transversely of the beam path.

Claim 4

The radiation collimator of claim 2 wherein: a. said stems are pivotally mounted about axes spaced from said X-ray source; and, b. said vanes are mounted on said stems at locations intermediate said axes and said source.

Claim 5

The radiation collimator of claim 3 wherein such ones of said vanes as are positioned nearest to the radiation source are configured such that their inner beam delineating edges remain at a substantially constant distance from the X-ray source as said nearest vanes are pivoted inwardly and outwardly toward and away from the beam path.

Claim 6

The radiation collimator of claim 3 wherein all of said vanes have inner beam delineating edges defined by the inner sides of the vanes and the upper surfaces of the vanes, and the inner sides are inclined away from the beam path to prevent their being struck by radiation.

Claim 7

A radiation collimator for collimating a radiation beam emanating from the focal point of a radiation source and traversing a beam path, comprising: a. diaphragm means movably positioned along the beam path for delineating the perimeter of the beam to a first cross-sectional size and configuration; b. off-focus radiation collimation means positioned between said diaphragm means and the radiation source at a location near the radiation source and including movable means for blocking off-focus radiation emanating from points within said source other than said focal point, said movable means serving to delineate the beam perimeter to a second cross-sectional size and configuration which proportionally corresponds to said first cross-sectional size and configuration; c. said movable means including a plurality of movably mounted stems each rigidly supporting a plurality of vanes for movement as a unit toward and away from the beam path with the vanes supported by adjacent stems being interleaved; and, d. connection means operably interconnecting said diaphragm means and said movable means for concurrently moving said diaphragm means and said movable means toward and away from said beam axis whereby the beam perimeter delineated by said diaphragm means and said movable means proportionally decreases or increases in size, and the first and second cross-sectional configurations continue to proportionally correspond.

Claim 8

A radiation collimator for collimating a radiation beam emanating from the focal point of a radiation source and traversing a beam path, comprising: a. diaphragm means movably positioned along the beam path for delineating the perimeter of the beam to a first cross-sectional size and configuration; b. off-focus radiation collimation means positioned between said diaphragm means and the radiation source at a location near the radiation source and including movable means for blocking off-focus radiation emanating from points within said source other than said focal point, said movable means serving to delineate the beam perimeter to a second cross-sectional size and configuration which proportionally corresponds to said first cross-sectional size and configuration; c. said movable means including a plurality of movably mounted stems each rigidly supporting a plurality of vanes for movement as a unit toward and away from the beam path with the vanes supported by adjacent stems being interleaved; and, d. connection means operably interconnecting said diaphragm means and said movable means for concurrently moving said diaphragm means and said movable means toward and away from said beam axis whereby the beam perimeter delineated by said diaphragm means and said movable means proportionally decreases or increases in size, and the first and second cross-sectional configurations continue to proportionally correspond.

Claim 9

The radiation collimator of claim 6 wherein said vanes are supported centrally on their respective stems and said stems extend generally axially along the beam bath and are movable to position saId vanes transversely of the beam path.

Claim 10

The radiation collimator of claim 7 wherein the outer sides of said vanes are curved to give the assembled vane array a generally circular cross section.

Claim 11

The radiation collimator of claim 7 wherein said stems are pivotally mounted for pivoting said vanes through an arc to effect positioning of said vanes transversely of the beam path.

Claim 12

The radiation collimator of claim 9 wherein said stems are mounted for pivotal movement about axes extending generally parallel to the longitudinal dimension of said vanes, said axes being spaced from such ones of said vanes as are adapted to extend in closest proximity to the radiation source.

Claim 13

The radiation collimator of claim 10 wherein said ones of said vanes are smaller in cross-sectional area than others of said vanes.

Claim 14

The radiation collimator of claim 7 wherein such ones of said vanes as are adapted to be positioned nearest to the radiation source are configured such that the inner beam delineating edges remain at a substantially constant distance from the X-ray source as said nearest vanes are pivoted inwardly and outwardly toward and away from the beam path.

Claim 15

A radiation collimator a radiation beam emanating from a radiation source and along a beam path comprising: a. diaphragm means positioned along the beam path for delineating the perimeter of the beam; b. off-focus radiation collimation means positioned between said diaphragm means and the radiation source at a location near the radiation source comprising: i. opposed pairs of diaphragm structures, the diaphragm structures of each pair being interconnected for concurrent movement toward and away from the beam path; ii. each of said diaphragm structures including an array of vanes movable together as a unit toward and away from the beam path; iii. the vanes of one pair of diaphragm structures being interleaved with the vanes of adjacent diaphragm structures; and, d. connection means interconnecting said diaphragm means and said opposed pairs of diaphragm structures for concurrent movement toward and away from the beam axis.

Claim 16

A radiation collimator a radiation beam emanating from a radiation source and along a beam path comprising: a. diaphragm means positioned along the beam path for delineating the perimeter of the beam; b. off-focus radiation collimation means positioned between said diaphragm means and the radiation source at a location near the radiation source comprising: i. opposed pairs of diaphragm structures, the diaphragm structures of each pair being interconnected for concurrent movement toward and away from the beam path; ii. each of said diaphragm structures including an array of vanes movable together as a unit toward and away from the beam path; iii. the vanes of one pair of diaphragm structures being interleaved with the vanes of adjacent diaphragm structures; and, d. connection means interconnecting said diaphragm means and said opposed pairs of diaphragm structures for concurrent movement toward and away from the beam axis.

Claim 17

The radiation collimator of claim 13 comprising two pairs of opposed diaphragm structures, the vanes of one of said pairs of diaphragm structures being interleaved with the vanes of the other of said pairs of diaphragm structures.

Claim 18

The radiation collimator of claim 14 wherein the outer sides of said vanes are curved to give the assembled array of said diaphragm structures a generally circular cross section.

Claim 19

The radiation collimator of claim 13 wherein each diaphragm structure further includes a stem which supports each vane of said array of vanes at a location centrally of said vanes.

Claim 20

The radiation collimator of claim 16 wherein said stems are pivotally mounted.

Claim 21

The radiation collimator of claim 16 wherein the vanes supported on each stem are of increasing length and cross-sectional area the farther removed they are from the X-ray source.

Claim 22

The radiation collimator of claim 18 wherein the vanes nearest the X-ray source are configured such that their inner beam delineating edges remain at a substantially constant distance from the X-ray source as said nearest vanes are pivoted inwardly and outwardly toward and away from the beam path.

Claim 23

The radiation collimator of claim 19 wherein all of said vanes have inner beam delineating edges defined by the inner sides of the vanes and the upper surfaces of the vanes, and the inner sides are inclined away from the beam path to prevent their being struck by radiation.

Claim 24

In an X-ray apparatus having a source of X-radiation positioned to direct a beam of X-rays emanating from a focal point along a path toward a subject, the improvement of a collimator disposed along the beam path for collimating the beam comprising: a. a housing structure; b. on-focus collimation means movable positioned within said housing structure at a positioN spaced from the source of X-radiation for adjustably delineating the perimeter of the X-ray beam at spaced locations along the beam path; c. off-focus collimation means movably carried by said housing structure at a position between said on-focus collimation means and the source of X-radiation and operably coupled to said on-focus collimation means for movement therewith; d. said off-focus collimation means comprising: i. two pairs of opposed diaphragm structures; ii. connection means interconnecting the diaphragm structures of each pair for concurrent movement toward and away from the beam path; iii. each of said diaphragm structures carrying a plurality of diaphragm plate means movable together as a unit toward and away from the beam path; iv. the plate means of one pair of diaphragm structures being interleaved with the plate means of the other pair of diaphragm structures at axially spaced positions along the beam path whereby either pair of diaphragm structures can be moved toward or away from the beam path independently of and without interfering with the operation of the other pair of diaphragm structures.

Claim 25

In an X-ray apparatus having a source of X-radiation positioned to direct a beam of X-rays emanating from a focal point along a path toward a subject, the improvement of a collimator disposed along the beam path for collimating the beam comprising: a. a housing structure; b. on-focus collimation means movable positioned within said housing structure at a positioN spaced from the source of X-radiation for adjustably delineating the perimeter of the X-ray beam at spaced locations along the beam path; c. off-focus collimation means movably carried by said housing structure at a position between said on-focus collimation means and the source of X-radiation and operably coupled to said on-focus collimation means for movement therewith; d. said off-focus collimation means comprising: i. two pairs of opposed diaphragm structures; ii. connection means interconnecting the diaphragm structures of each pair for concurrent movement toward and away from the beam path; iii. each of said diaphragm structures carrying a plurality of diaphragm plate means movable together as a unit toward and away from the beam path; iv. the plate means of one pair of diaphragm structures being interleaved with the plate means of the other pair of diaphragm structures at axially spaced positions along the beam path whereby either pair of diaphragm structures can be moved toward or away from the beam path independently of and without interfering with the operation of the other pair of diaphragm structures.

Claim 26

The X-ray apparatus of claim 21 wherein the diaphragm structures of at least one of said pairs each includes a supporting stem which extends transversely of the associated plate means, and said plate means comprise an array of plates supported on said stem.

Claim 27

The X-ray apparatus of claim 22 wherein said array of plates includes plates centrally mounted on said stem.

Claim 28

The X-ray apparatus of claim 21 wherein all of said diaphragm structures include a supporting stem extending transversely of said plate means, and said plate means comprises an array of plates supported on said stems.

Claim 29

The X-ray apparatus of claim 24 wherein said plates of one of said pairs of diaphragm structures is interleaved with the plates of said other pair of diaphragm structures on a one-to-one basis.