Patent US6330303B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6330303B1
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US
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X-ray imaging apparatus
Assignee: Sharp Corp
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Filing: 1999-10-28
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Granted: 2001-12-11
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Expires: 2019-10-28
Abstract
Abstract A scanning line drive circuit performs not only a sequential scanning function of scanning lines, but also an interlaced scanning function. For instance, in a fluoroscopy mode in which high-speed imaging and real-time imaging are required, the scanning line drive circuit performs interlaced scanning to scan, for example, every other scanning line. With the interlaced scanning, since the scanning lines are scanned one line at a time like the sequential scanning, a variation of charge on a signal line side does not increase during a transition of a scanning line voltage like conventional scanning in which a plurality of scanning lines are scanned simultaneously. It is therefor possible to obtain a good signal-to-noise ratio without an increase in noise due to fluctuations in the scanning line voltage. Moreover, since an increase in the variation of charge in the fluoroscopy mode can be limited by changing a scanning method of the scanning line drive circuit according to an imaging mode, a signal readout circuit does not need to have a complicated structure to limit the increase in the variation of charge.
Inventors
- 👤 Yasukuni Yamane
- 👤 Shiro Oikawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 23:17
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B6/00; A61B6/02; A61B6/03; A61B6/032; H; H04; H04N; H04N25/00; H04N25/70; H04N25/76; H04N25/78
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
98 words
An X-ray imaging apparatus comprising: X-ray irradiating means for irradiating X-rays on a specimen; X-ray detecting elements, arranged two-dimensionally, for converting X-rays obtained through the specimen into charge and storing the charge; switching elements provided in association with said X-ray detecting elements, respectively; and a scanning line drive circuit for driving said switching elements row by row through scanning lines, wherein said scanning line drive circuit drives said switching elements by selectively performing sequential scanning of the scanning lines or interlaced scanning which scans at least every other scanning line, according to an imaging mode of the specimen.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
98 words
An X-ray imaging apparatus comprising: X-ray irradiating means for irradiating X-rays on a specimen; X-ray detecting elements, arranged two-dimensionally, for converting X-rays obtained through the specimen into charge and storing the charge; switching elements provided in association with said X-ray detecting elements, respectively; and a scanning line drive circuit for driving said switching elements row by row through scanning lines, wherein said scanning line drive circuit drives said switching elements by selectively performing sequential scanning of the scanning lines or interlaced scanning which scans at least every other scanning line, according to an imaging mode of the specimen.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said scanning line drive circuit performs sequential scanning of the scanning lines in a first imaging mode for imaging a static specimen, while performs interlaced scanning of the scanning lines in a second imaging mode for imaging a dynamic specimen.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
95 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein, when performing interlaced scanning of scanning every (p+ 1) th scanning lines, p being an integer of not less than 1, said scanning line drive circuit performs the interlaced scanning according to a timing given by a clock signal which is a pulse signal produced at unequal intervals for generating a scanning timing of the scanning line and a signal which is generated at intervals of (p+1) pulses of the clock signal for making an output from said scanning line drive circuit effective.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
37 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein, when performing interlaced scanning of the scanning lines, said scanning line drive circuit scans the scanning lines at intervals of a plurality of scanning lines.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein, when performing interlaced scanning of the scanning lines, said X-ray irradiating means irradiates X-rays continuously on the specimen.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
46 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein, when performing interlaced scanning of the scanning lines, said X-ray irradiating means performs pulse irradiation of X-rays on the specimen at a timing that does not overlap a scanning timing of each scanning line.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
66 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a signal readout circuit for reading out, column by column, charge signals output from said X-ray detecting elements to signal lines through said switching elements and outputting the charge signals as image signals, said signal readout circuit including an integrating circuit for storing and converting charge of input charge signals into a voltage.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 7 , wherein said signal readout circuit further includes an amplification factor switching circuit for switching an amplification factor of an input signal from said integrating circuit, according to the imaging mode.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
65 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a signal readout circuit for reading out, column by column, charge signals output from said X-ray detecting elements to signal lines through said switching elements, and outputting the charge signals as image signals, said signal readout circuit including an adder circuit for adding the input signals through a plurality of signal lines.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
44 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said scanning line drive circuit is composed of a first scanning line drive circuit and a second scanning line drive circuit which are provided on both ends of the scanning lines, respectively.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
78 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a signal readout circuit for reading out, column by column, charge signals output from said X-ray detecting elements to signal lines through said switching elements, and outputting the charge signals as image signals, wherein each of the signal lines is divided, and said signal readout circuit is composed of a plurality of sub signal readout circuits provided in association with the divided signal lines, respectively.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
38 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 11 , wherein said scanning line drive circuit is composed of a plurality of sub scanning line drive circuits provided in association with said sub signal readout circuits, respectively.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 11 , wherein each signal line is divided into two parts at a substantially center thereof.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
33 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising an image processing device for performing movement adaptable scanning interpolation with respect to signals read out by the interlaced scanning.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
46 words
The X-ray imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising an image processing device for updating a frame image by performing a weighted addition of a current frame image and a previous image obtained based on signals read out by the interlaced scanning.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
104 words
An X-ray imaging apparatus comprising: X-ray irradiating means for irradiating X-rays on a specimen; X-ray detecting elements, arranged two-dimensionally, for converting X-rays obtained through the specimen into charge and storing the charge; switching elements provided in association with said X-ray detecting elements, respectively; and a scanning line drive circuit for driving said switching elements row by row through scanning lines, wherein said scanning line drive circuit performs scanning of the scanning lines according to individual imaging modes so that a variation of charge of signal lines during a transition of a scanning line voltage does not differ between different imaging modes of the specimen.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
104 words
An X-ray imaging apparatus comprising: X-ray irradiating means for irradiating X-rays on a specimen; X-ray detecting elements, arranged two-dimensionally, for converting X-rays obtained through the specimen into charge and storing the charge; switching elements provided in association with said X-ray detecting elements, respectively; and a scanning line drive circuit for driving said switching elements row by row through scanning lines, wherein said scanning line drive circuit performs scanning of the scanning lines according to individual imaging modes so that a variation of charge of signal lines during a transition of a scanning line voltage does not differ between different imaging modes of the specimen.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
96 words
An X-ray detecting device for detecting X-rays irradiated on a specimen, comprising: X-ray detecting elements, arranged two-dimensionally, for converting X-rays obtained through the specimen into charge and storing the charge; switching elements provided in association with said X-ray detecting elements, respectively; and a scanning line drive circuit for driving said switching elements row by row through scanning lines, wherein said scanning line drive circuit drives said switching elements by selectively performing sequential scanning of the scanning lines or interlaced scanning which scans at least every other scanning line, according to an imaging mode of the specimen.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
96 words
An X-ray detecting device for detecting X-rays irradiated on a specimen, comprising: X-ray detecting elements, arranged two-dimensionally, for converting X-rays obtained through the specimen into charge and storing the charge; switching elements provided in association with said X-ray detecting elements, respectively; and a scanning line drive circuit for driving said switching elements row by row through scanning lines, wherein said scanning line drive circuit drives said switching elements by selectively performing sequential scanning of the scanning lines or interlaced scanning which scans at least every other scanning line, according to an imaging mode of the specimen.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
JPS622933A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-12-10 | 2005-06-11 | 2005-12-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-12-10 | 2009-06-11 | 2009-12-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-12-10 | 2013-06-11 | 2013-12-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |