X-ray tube metal frame gettering device
US6570959B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 18, 2001 |
| Grant date | May 27, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 2, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2235/205
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A metal frame x-ray tube (1), includes a gettering system (90) which, when activated, provides a layer (147) of gettering material (98) on a grounded conductive portion (72, 74) of a metal frame or envelope (14). The envelope defines an evacuated chamber (12), which houses an anode (10) and a cathode (18). Moving the gettering material to larger diameter portions of the frame enables substantially larger amounts of gettering material to be provided than in a conventional gettering system, which is typically housed in the cathode assembly (26). Moreover, multiple independently controllable gettering wires (92, 94) facilitate reactivating the gettering material plural times both during the manufacturing process and in the field. This ability to rejuvenate vacuum pumping capability in an x-ray tube that is starting to arc in the field allows for extended x-ray tube life.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.