Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Picker International, Inc.

Thomas R Miller

Cheryl L Panasik

Gerald James Carlson

Qing Kelvin Lu

Patrick P McNally

James E Burke

Anton Z Zupancic

Allan D Kautz

Salvatore G Perno

Paul Xu

Todd Russell Bittner

Jose A Buan

An x-ray tube assembly ( ) includes a housing ( ) and an insert frame ( ) supported within the housing ( ), such that the insert frame ( ) defines a substantially evacuated envelope in which a cathode assembly ( ) and a rotating anode assembly ( ) operate to produce x-rays. The rotating anode assembly ( ) includes an anode target plate ( ) coupled to a rotor ( ) and bearing shaft ( ), which is rotatably supported within a bearing housing ( ), by a plurality of ball bearings ( ). A heat barrier ( ) substantially surrounds the bearing housing ( ) and is coupled, along with the bearing housing ( ) to an anode cold plate ( ). The anode cold plate ( ) includes a grooved cover ( ), a basin ( ), and a plurality of corrugated fins ( ) disposed therein. Coupling both the bearing housing ( ) and the heat barrier ( ) to the anode cold plate ( ) provides an effective means for cooling the bearing assembly ( ).

X-ray tube anode cold plate

An x-ray tube apparatus includes a housing defining a chamber and an x-ray tube mounted therein. The x-ray tube includes an envelope defining an evacuated void in which an anode assembly is rotatably mounted to a bearing assembly. The anode assembly interacts with a cathode assembly for the production of x-rays. The bearing assembly includes a cooling channel that is defined within the bearing assembly to direct cooling fluid, such as oil, across an inner surface of the bearing housing. A flow director is located in a fluid input port in the housing and has a fluid input aperture for connecting the flow director to the heat removal system. A cavity is defined by the housing of the flow director and two fluid output apertures are in fluid communication with each other and the fluid input opening. One of the fluid output apertures supplies cooling fluid to the cooling channel in the bearing assembly and the other fluid output aperture supplies cooling fluid to the chamber in the housing. The fluid director provides a desired predetermined portion of supplied fluid flow of the cooling fluid to the cooling channel and/or chamber.

X-ray tube liquid flux director

A high energy x-ray tube includes an evacuated chamber ( ) containing a rotor ( ) which rotates an anode ( ) through a stream of electrons (A) in order to generate an x-ray beam (B). The rotor includes a bearing assembly (C) having a hollow bearing shaft ( ) centrally aligned with a longitudinal axis (Z) of the rotor. The bearing shaft includes an interior annular wall ( ) having an inner surface which defines a central bore ( ). The bearing shaft has an outer surface ( ), which with an inner surface of the bearing shaft, defines an annular chamber ( ). An opening ( ) is provided at the forward end of the annular wall to provide access from the central bore to the annular chamber. During exhaust processing, baking cycles, and normal operation of the x-ray tube, a pump ( ) forces a cooling medium through the central bore, through the opening of the annular wall, and into the annular chamber. The cooling medium exits through channels ( ). While in the annular chamber, the cooling medium cools a plurality of forward and rearward lubricated bearings ( F, R) located adjacent an outer surface of the hollow bearing shaft.

Internal bearing cooling using forced air

A CT scanner has an x-ray tube (B) which is carried by a rotating gantry portion around a patient receiving region (12). A large diameter, annular radiator (30) is connected to the rotating gantry for rotation with the x-ray tube. A cooling oil is circulated around the x-ray tube and through passages (32, 74, 100) of the rotating radiator. An annular stationary member is mounted to a stationary gantry portion (A) of the CT scanner. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, the stationary member is an annular tube (36) which substantially surrounds the rotating radiator except for an annular access aperture (38). Spray jets (40) spray the rotating radiator with water which is drained (42), circulated to a remote heat exchange or cooling apparatus (D), and recirculated to the spray nozzles. Baffles (52, 54), gutters (58), lip and baffle arrangements (54, 56), and the like, inhibit the sprayed water from escaping from the tube (36). In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the water is sprayed on a wick member (76). Water evaporates from the wick, cooling the rotating radiator with evaporative cooling. In the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, the rotating and stationary members include interleaved fins vanes (70, 82) between which heat is transferred by air flow. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a layer of water is carried by centrifugal force into the air gap between a horizontal rotating heat transfer surface (102) and a horizontal stationary heat transfer surface (108).

Heat transfer techniques for moving thermal energy from high power X-ray

Growing community of inventors

St. Charles, IL, United States of America

Thomas R Miller