General Electric Company

Thomas Saint-Martin

Frédéric Dahan

Jean-Marie Penato

Harith Vadari

Jean-Luc Josse

Thierry Godart

Jean-Christophe Claisse

Gwénaël Lemarchand

An X-ray tube equipped with a rotating anode cartridge comprising a reinforced sealing system. This sealing system is achieved in three complementary manners. Firstly, when the anode rotates, in order to confine the liquid alloy within the cartridge, the invention provides to equip the two surfaces of a leak-tight joint with grooves thereby obtaining a double sided joint with an improved efficiency. Secondly, the double sided joint makes it possible to obtain, for the vacuum tightness, when the anode shaft is not rotating, two spaces limited by the surface tension of the alloy of liquid metal. The more symmetrical these two spaces, the more the sealing is reinforced. Thirdly, the invention provides to separate the ring from the axis of rotation. This enables a joint centering the two spaces in an automatic and natural manner to be obtained.

X-ray tube

A valve is provided to fill a chamber for holding a rotation shaft of a rotating anode in an X-ray tube. The valve has a needle supported on a seat. The needle maintains the vacuum in the tube. A sleeve can engage in the valve. The sleeve is hollow and has a cavity. This cavity can be connected to the vacuum or to a bottle under vacuum filled with a lubricant liquid. The sleeve is used to handle the needle. The sleeve furthermore bears on a rim of the valve by an O-ring joint. This joint maintains the vacuum when the needle is raised and when the tube under vacuum is connected to the cavity of the sleeve.

Radiation emission device having a bearing and method of manufacture

A cooled radiation emission device has an enclosure in which X-rays are produced. In the enclosure, there is a cathode, an anode situated facing the cathode and rotating on a shaft, and a fixed anode shaft support. The support includes a holding chamber, the shaft of the anode being held in the chamber. The cooling of the tube uses a gallium-indium-tin liquid alloy flow through the anode shaft. This alloy is a conductor of heat and electricity. At the same time as the lubrication of the bearings and the electrical powering of the anode, it provides for cooling of the anode.

Cooled radiation emission device

Growing community of inventors

Limours, France

Thomas Saint-Martin