The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 17, 2026
Filed:
Oct. 10, 2023
GE Precision Healthcare Llc, Waukesha, WI (US);
Yannick Louvrier, Buc, FR;
Julien Nicolle, Buc, FR;
Antonio Caiafa, Waukesha, WI (US);
Loic Cabrol, Buc, FR;
GE PRECISION HEALTHCARE LLC, Waukesha, WI (US);
Abstract
Methods and systems are provided for controlling an electron beam generated by an x-ray tube assembly including a unipolar cathode. In one embodiment, a voltage supplied to the cathode is controlled by a multi-stage switching unit including a first control circuit and a second control circuit. A bias voltage for switching the cathode on is generated by a voltage source of the second control circuit, and a gridding voltage for switching the cathode off is generated by a plurality of voltage sources of the first control circuit. When transitioning between the bias voltage and the gridding voltage and vice-versa, a control strategy is used where the voltage sources of the first control unit are selectively engaged and/or disengaged in a non-consecutive order in accordance with an optimized protocol, to prevent a voltage imbalance between capacitors of different stages of the multi-stage switching unit.