X-ray examination apparatus comprising a counter-weight for the image section

Claim 1

X-ray examination apparatus comprising: a frame having a longitudinal direction, a transverse direction and a compression direction, all mutually perpendicular to each other; a principal carriage mounted on said frame for movement in the longitudinal direction; a transverse carriage mounted on said principal carriage for movement in the transverse direction; an image section mounted on said transverse carriage for movement in the compression direction; a first shaft rotatively mounted along the transverse direction on said transverse carriage; a second shaft rotatively mounted in the transverse direction on said principal carriage; means for mechanically coupling rectilinear movement of said image section in the compression direction to rotary movement of said first shaft; means for mechanically coupling rotary movement of said first shaft to rotary movement of said second shaft while permitting relative rectilinear movement thereof in the transverse direction; a belt drum coaxially mounted on said second shaft for common rotation therewith; a counterweight mounted on said frame for movement in the compression direction; a belt having two ends, both of which are attached to said drum, so that rotation of said drum simultaneously winds both ends of said belt onto or off of said drum thereby increasing or decreasing the remaining length of said belt, the ends of said belt extending away from each other in the longitudinal direction; a reversing guide roller mounted on said counterweight for reversing the direction of said belt; and guide rollers mounted on said frame for directing said belt toward and away from said reversing guide roller, whereby movement of said image section in the compression direction causes opposite movement of said counterweight in the compression direction, said counterweight counterbalancing the weight of said image section.