Control means for heat load in X-ray scanning apparatus
US7564939B2 · kind B2 · utility
52Cited by
45References
16Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 23, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jul 21, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 23, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2223/419
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An X-ray scanning apparatus comprises a number of multi-focus X-ray tubes (25) spaced around an axis X and arranged to emit X-rays through an object on the axis which are detected by sensors (52). Each tube (25) can emit X-rays from a plurality of source positions. In each scanning cycle, in which each of the source positions in each of the tubes is used once, the ordering of the positions used is arranged so as to minimize the thermal load on the tubes (25). This is achieved by ensuring that each source position is non-adjacent to the previously active one and the next active one.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.