Pulse detection system for X-ray tubes
US6341155B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 8, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jan 22, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 8, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J35/26
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A rotation monitoring system (70) detects the rotational speed of an anode (10) of an x-ray tube during use. The system (70) includes a detector (72), which detects a pulse of secondary x-rays generated by the interaction of a stream (C) of electrons with a known defect (83) on a surface (84) of the anode. The detector may be position inside or outside a vacuum envelope (14) of the x-ray tube. The stream of electrons is supplied by a secondary source (80), separate from a main source (18) of electrons used to generate the primary or working x-ray beam (B) of the x-ray tube. A single pulse is detected with each rotation of the anode, providing a simple method of calculation of the anode rotation speed. Preferably, a feed back loop is used to correct the rotational speed of the anode so that overheating of the anode is avoided and the useful life of the x-ray tube is extended.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.