Patent US4677651A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
← Back to Patent Explorer
US4677651A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Rotary anode X-ray tube having a sliding bearing

Assignee: US Philips Corp
•
Filing: 1984-12-05
•
Granted: 1987-06-30
•
Expires: 2004-12-05
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract The invention relates to a rotary anode X-ray tube having a sliding bearing and a further bearing system. The further bearing system, preferably a magnetic bearing, is constructed so that it can absorb substantially entirely the axial and radial bearing forces, while the sliding bearing, which is preferably constructed as a spiral groove bearing with liquid metal lubrication, is shaped so that it absorbs the bearing forces only for a small fraction. It therefore has only a low friction, but it permits the supply of the anode current and especially an effective cooling of the anode disk.

Inventors

  • 👤 Walter A. M. Hartl
  • 👤 Diethard A. Peter
  • 👤 Klaus H. Reiber

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-30 22:33
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16C; F16C32/00; F16C32/04; F16C32/0406; F16C32/044; F16C32/0402; F16C33/00; F16C33/02; F16C33/04; F16C33/06; F16C33/10; F16C33/1025; F16C33/106; F16C33/107; H; H01; H01J; H01J35/00; H01J35/02; H01J35/04; H01J35/08; H01J35/10; H01J35/101; H01J35/1017; H01J35/1024; H01J35/103; H01J35/104; F16C37/00; H01J2235/00; H01J2235/10; H01J2235/1046; H01J2235/106; H01J2235/12; H01J2235/1225; H01J2235/1262; H01J2235/1266

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim 125 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube comprising: a stationary part; a rotary anode part rotatably arranged about the stationary part; a sliding bearing means located between the stationary part and the rotary anode part, having a layer of liquid metal or liquid metal alloy; a further bearing means axially and radially supporting and aligning the rotary anode part in a predetermined manner relative to the stationary part; the further bearing means substantially absorbing any axial and radial bearing forces produced by the rotary anode part, the sliding bearing means comparatively absorbing a small fraction of the axial and radial bearing forces, the sliding bearing means principally dissipating the heat produced by the rotary anode part and electrically contacting the rotary anode part to a high-voltage potential.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 125 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube comprising: a stationary part; a rotary anode part rotatably arranged about the stationary part; a sliding bearing means located between the stationary part and the rotary anode part, having a layer of liquid metal or liquid metal alloy; a further bearing means axially and radially supporting and aligning the rotary anode part in a predetermined manner relative to the stationary part; the further bearing means substantially absorbing any axial and radial bearing forces produced by the rotary anode part, the sliding bearing means comparatively absorbing a small fraction of the axial and radial bearing forces, the sliding bearing means principally dissipating the heat produced by the rotary anode part and electrically contacting the rotary anode part to a high-voltage potential.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 23 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the further bearing means comprises one or more ball bearings.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 33 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the sliding bearing has a surface (12, 13') traversed perpendicularly by the axis of rotation of the rotary anode part.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 32 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a cooling agent circulates within the sliding bearing means to dissipate the heat produced by the rotary anode part.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 39 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said stationary part includes a high-voltage insulator and a tube (15) situated in said high-voltage insulator (14) transfers the cooling agent to the sliding bearing means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 25 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the tube (15) conduct electrical current to the rotary anode disk (4).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 43 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in any one of claims 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6, characterized in that a resilient means couples the sliding bearing means to the stationary part, the resilient means being preferably a set of metal bellows.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 22 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the further bearing means comprises a magnetic bearing system.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 23 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in claim 1 10 and 7, characterized in that the sliding comprises a spiral groove bearing.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 38 words
A rotary anode X-ray tube as claimed in claim 9 characterized in that a rotor (8) of the rotary anode X-ray tube is connected through an insulator (7) to an anode disk (4) of the rotary anode part.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3878395A Cited
US3942059A Cited
US4081707A Cited
US4413356A Cited
JPS5738547A Cited
US4393511A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1990-06-29 1990-12-29 1991-06-30 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1994-06-29 1994-12-29 1995-06-30 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1998-06-29 1998-12-29 1999-06-30 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag