Picker Corporation

Robert J Steffek

William H Amor, Jr

Robert P Hunt

An X-ray apparatus including a telescopic column support comprising concentrically positioned tubular sections nested one within another. Each of the sections except the innermost section has three guide bars triangularly spaced on the inner surface. Each section except the outermost section has rollers on the outer surface cooperating with the adjacent guide bars of the surrounding section. The guide bars cooperate with the rollers in a generally circumferential direction rather than radially of the tubular members. Mounting plugs held in apertures of the telescopic sections by an interference fit locate the guide bars and rollers and provide mounting surfaces therefor. The plugs are initially insertable into the apertures with a clearance fit, when an appropriate temperature differential is established between the plugs and sections. A pulley wheel outside a fixed column section and carried by the first movable section supports a loop of control and power cables to take up and release the cables relative to a fixed location on a subsequent section, and at a rate equal to the change in length of the column, thereby avoiding slack in the cable during extension and retraction of the column.

Telescopic column for X-ray apparatus

An X-ray apparatus includes a telescopic column support with concentrically positioned tubular sections nested one within another. Each of the sections except the innermost section has three guide bars triangularly spaced on the inner surface. Each section except the outermost section has rollers on its outer surface cooperating with the adjacent guide bars of the surrounding section. The guide bars cooperate with the rollers in a generally circumferential direction rather than radially of the tubular members. Mounting plugs held in apertures of the telescopic sections by an interference fit mount the guide bars and rollers. The plugs are initially insertable into the apertures with a clearance fit, when an appropriate temperature differential is established between the plugs and sections. A pulley wheel outside a fixed column section and carried by the first movable section supports a loop of control and power cables to take up and release the cables relative to a fixed location on a subsequent section, and at a rate equal to the change in length of the column, thereby avoiding slack in the cable during extension and retraction of the column.

An X-ray apparatus includes a spot filmer for feeding sheets of unexposed film one at a time into a vacuum evacuable assembly for exposure, and for returning exposed film sheets to an exposed film magazine. The spot filmer has a housing defining a light tight enclosure. The film magazines are insertable through a door into the housing and into a film feed mechanism. The film feed mechanism unlatches, opens and positions the magazines; feeds a sheet of unexposed film into the vacuum evacuable assembly; releases the film sheet so the assembly can position the film sheet for exposure; and closes the film magazines. An orthogonal drive system positions the vacuum evacuable assembly to expose selected film sheet portions, and returns the assembly to a retracted position. The film feed mechanism opens the magazines; feeds the exposed film sheet into the exposed film magazine; and closes the magazines. The structures of these several mechanisms are described.

X-ray soft filmer

An X-ray apparatus includes a telescopic column support with concentrically positioned tubular sections nested one within another. Each of the sections except its innermost section has three guide bars triangularly spaced on the inner surface. Each section except the outermost section has rollers on its outer surface cooperating with the adjacent guide bars of the surrounding section. The guide bars cooperate with the rollers in a generally circumferential direction rather than radially of the tubular members. Mounting plugs held in apertures of the telescopic sections by an interference fit mount the guide bars and rollers. The plugs are initially insertable into the apertures with a clearance fit, when an appropriate temperature differential is established between the plugs and sections. A pulley wheel outside a fixed column section and carried by the first movable section supports a loop of control and power cables to take up and release the cables relative to a fixed location on a subsequent section, and at a rate equal to the change in length of the column, thereby avoiding slack in the cable during extension and retraction of the column.

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Wickliffe, OH, United States of America

Robert J Steffek