X-ray apparatus including counterbalancing mechanism for spot filmer or the like

Claim 2

An X-ray apparatus, comprising: a. a table having a tiltable body; b. a tower movably carried on said body; c. a mast forming part of said tower and supporting a mechanism for contributing to the production of an X-ray image for movement along a mechanism path toward and away from said body between mechanism extended and mechanism storage positions, said mechanism extended position being nearer said table body than said mechanism storage position; d. counterweight structure forming part of said tower and being movable along a structure path which is substantially parallel to said imaging path between structure extended and structure storage positions; e. coupling means coupling said mechanism and said structure for moving said structure along said structure path a certain distance in response to movement of said mechanism along said mechanism path a lesser distance, said coupling means being operable to position said structure in said structure extended position when said mechanism is in said mechanism extended position, and being operative to position said structure in said structure storage position when said mechanism is in said mechanism storage position; f. said mechanism being movable, when in said mechanism storage position, along a parking path which intersects said structure path to position said mechanism in a parked position; g. said coupling means being operative to move said structure across said parking path when said mechanism moves from said mechanism storage position to said mechanism extended position; and, h. said coupling means being operative to prevent collision between said mechanism and said structure when said mechanism is moved along said parking path.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 additionally including means prohibiting the movement of said mechanism in directions toward and away from said structure path except when said mechanism is in said mechanism storage position.

Claim 4

An X-ray apparatus comprising: a. an X-ray table having a top tiltable from the horizontal position to another position and return; b. a column mounted in the table for movement relative to the table top; c. said column including a vertical mast; d. an imaging carriage device mounted on the mast for reciprocation toward and away from the table top; e. an imaging device mounted on the carriage device and reciprocal relative to the carriage device from an operating position forward of the mast to a park position above the mast; f. an intermediate carriage journaled within the mast for vertical movement relative thereto; g. a counterweight assembly journaled on the intermediate carriage and movable relative thereto; h. a pulley and cable system interconnecting the devices and the intermediate carriage and the intermediate carriage and the counterweight assembly respectively; i. said counterweight assembly having a top position projecting above said mast and a lower park position within the mast; and, j. said devices being coupled to a latching means maintaining said image device in its forward operating position at all times other than when the carriage device is raised to a height where the imaging device can pass over the mast assembly when shifted rearwardly and said latch means is released.

Claim 5

An X-ray apparatus comprising: a. an X-ray table having a top tiltable from the horizontal position to another position and return; b. a column mounted in the table for movement relative to the table top; c. said column including a vertical mast; d. an imaging carriage device mounted on the mast for reciprocation toward and away from the table top; e. an imaging device mounted on the carriage device and reciprocal relative to the carriage device from an operating position forward of the mast to a park position above the mast; f. an intermediate carriage journaled within the mast for vertical movement relative thereto; g. a counterweight assembly journaled on the intermediate carriage and movable relative thereto; h. a pulley and cable system interconnecting the devices and the intermediate carriage and the intermediate carriage and the counterweight assembly respectively; i. said counterweight assembly having a top position projecting above said mast and a lower park position within the mast; and, j. said devices being coupled to a latching means maintaining said image device in its forward operating position at all times other than when the carriage device is raised to a height where the imaging device can pass over the mast assembly when shifted rearwardly and said latch means is released.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said latch means comprises: a. a track on one of the devices and journaled for reciprocal movement on the other of the devices; b. a latching mechanism carried by the other of the devices and including a latch pivotally mounted thereon; c. said truck including park and operating position notches; d. said latch being selectively engageable with the notChes one at a time; e. latch release means connected to the latch and actuatable to pivot the latch out of engagement with a selected one of said notches; and, f. vertical position maintenance means carried by a selected one of the mast and the devices, said maintenance means being selectively positionable between a first of said devices and said mast to maintain said devices in an elevated position when the imaging device is in its park position and to prevent movement of the imaging device from its operating position to its park position until the imaging carriage is adequately elevated for parking movement.

Claim 7

In an X-ray apparatus having a table having a pedestal, a body tiltably mounted on the pedestal for tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position, and a tower assembly movably carried by the body and including a mast supporting said imaging device for movement toward and away from the table body, the improvement comprising: a. an intermediate carriage movably carried by the mast; b. a counterweight assembly movably carried by the mast; and, c. counterweight coupling means coupling the imaging device, the counterweight assembly and the intermeidate carriage together such that on movement of the imaging device a given distance the intermediate carriage will move a certain distance in a direction opposite the imaging device and the counterweight assembly will move a greater distance than the imaging device thereby providing a mechanical advantage to the counterweight.

Claim 8

In an X-ray apparatus having a table having a pedestal, a body tiltably mounted on the pedestal for tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position, and a tower assembly movably carried by the body and including a mast supporting said imaging device for movement toward and away from the table body, the improvement comprising: a. an intermediate carriage movably carried by the mast; b. a counterweight assembly movably carried by the mast; and, c. counterweight coupling means coupling the imaging device, the counterweight assembly and the intermeidate carriage together such that on movement of the imaging device a given distance the intermediate carriage will move a certain distance in a direction opposite the imaging device and the counterweight assembly will move a greater distance than the imaging device thereby providing a mechanical advantage to the counterweight.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the counterweight assembly comprises a counterweight carriage journaled on the intermediate carriage for vertical reciprocal movement relative thereto and counterweights mounted on said counterweight carriage.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the counterweight coupling means comprises pulley and cable systems respectively connecting the intermediate carriage to the imaging device and the counterweight assembly to the intermediate carriage and arranged such that the counterweight assembly moves substantially twice said given distance on movement of the imaging device.

Claim 11

The device of claim 5 wherein the intermediate carriage and the counterweight assembly have extended positions wherein both extend above the top of the mast and wherein said intermediate carriage and counterweight assembly are maintained in said extended position by the coupling means when said imaging device is in its lowermost position.

Claim 12

In an X-ray apparatus including an imaging device carriage mounted on a mast and movable reciprocally on mast tracks and an imaging device having tracks mounted on the carriage for reciprocal movement therealong in a path generally normal to the path of carriage movement on said mast, an improved latching mechanism comprising: a. one of said image device tracks including spaced park and operating position notches; b. a latch pivotally mounted on said carriage and selectively engageable with said notches one at a time; c. manually actuatable linkage connected to said latch for selectively pivoting said latch out of engagement with each of said notches; d. resilient means biasing said latch into said notches selectively and one at a time whenever said linkage is released and the latch is aligned with one of the notches; e. a vertical position maintenance link pivotally mounted on said carriage; f. a lost motion connection between said vertical link and said latch; and, g. said vertical link being positioned such that when the carriage is substantially in its uppermost position actuation of the manually actuatable linkage will pivot the vertical link over the top of one of said mast tracks and the latch will come out of the operating position notch but when the imaging device is in an operating position and the carriage is not sufficiently elevated, the link will strike the mast track and prevent disengagement of the latch with the operating position notch.

Claim 13

In an X-ray apparatus including an imaging device carriage mounted on a mast and movable reciprocally on mast tracks and an imaging device having tracks mounted on the carriage for reciprocal movement therealong in a path generally normal to the path of carriage movement on said mast, an improved latching mechanism comprising: a. one of said image device tracks including spaced park and operating position notches; b. a latch pivotally mounted on said carriage and selectively engageable with said notches one at a time; c. manually actuatable linkage connected to said latch for selectively pivoting said latch out of engagement with each of said notches; d. resilient means biasing said latch into said notches selectively and one at a time whenever said linkage is released and the latch is aligned with one of the notches; e. a vertical position maintenance link pivotally mounted on said carriage; f. a lost motion connection between said vertical link and said latch; and, g. said vertical link being positioned such that when the carriage is substantially in its uppermost position actuation of the manually actuatable linkage will pivot the vertical link over the top of one of said mast tracks and the latch will come out of the operating position notch but when the imaging device is in an operating position and the carriage is not sufficiently elevated, the link will strike the mast track and prevent disengagement of the latch with the operating position notch.

Claim 14

THe apparatus of claim 9 wherein a second resilient means biases said vertical link from its park position over said one mast track.

Claim 15

In an X-ray apparatus including a table having a pedestal, a body tiltably mounted on the pedestal for tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position, and a tower assembly movably carried by the body, the tower assembly including a mast supporting an imaging device for movement toward and away from the table body, the improvement comprising: a. a counterweight assembly forming part of the tower assembly, the counterweight assembly being mounted on the mast and movable relative thereto; b. counterweight coupling means coupling the imaging device to the counterweight assembly such that on movement of the imaging device a given distance the counterweight assembly will move a greater distance than the imaging device thereby providing a mechanical advantage; c. parking means coupling the imaging device to the remainder of the tower assembly and permitting selective rectilinear movement of the imaging device rearwardly from an operating position forward of the mast to a park position over the top of said counterweight assembly; d. said tower assembly including an imaging device carriage reciprocally mounted on the mast and carrying said image device; e. latch means to lock the imaging device selectively in the operating position or in the park position; and, f. the latch means including a means to maintain the carriage in its fully-elevated position and preventing the movement of the imaging device from the operating position to the park position whenever the imaging device carriage is below its park position.

Claim 16

In an X-ray apparatus including a table having a pedestal, a body tiltably mounted on the pedestal for tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position, and a tower assembly movably carried by the body, the tower assembly including a mast supporting an imaging device for movement toward and away from the table body, the improvement comprising: a. a counterweight assembly forming part of the tower assembly, the counterweight assembly being mounted on the mast and movable relative thereto; b. counterweight coupling means coupling the imaging device to the counterweight assembly such that on movement of the imaging device a given distance the counterweight assembly will move a greater distance than the imaging device thereby providing a mechanical advantage; c. parking means coupling the imaging device to the remainder of the tower assembly and permitting selective rectilinear movement of the imaging device rearwardly from an operating position forward of the mast to a park position over the top of said counterweight assembly; d. said tower assembly including an imaging device carriage reciprocally mounted on the mast and carrying said image device; e. latch means to lock the imaging device selectively in the operating position or in the park position; and, f. the latch means including a means to maintain the carriage in its fully-elevated position and preventing the movement of the imaging device from the operating position to the park position whenever the imaging device carriage is below its park position.

Claim 17

In an X-ray apparatus including a carriage device reciprocally mounted on a mast for movement toward and away from an X-ray table, and an imaging device reciprocally mounted on the carriage device for movement along a rectilinear path paralleling the table top from an operating position to a park position, a latching structure comprising: a. a track on one of the devices and journaled for reciprocal movement on the other of the devices; b. a latching mechanism carried by the other of the devices and including a latch pivotally mounted thereon; c. said track including park and operating position notches; d. said latch being selectively engageable with said notches one at a time; e. latch release means connected to the latch and actuatable to pivot the latch out of engagement with a selected one of said notches; and, f. vertical position maintenance means carried by a selected one of the mast and the devices, said maintenance means being selectively positionable between a first of said devices and said mast to maintain said devices in an elevated position when the imaging device is in its park position and to prevent movement of the imaging device from its operating position to its park position until the imaging carriage is adequately elevated for parking movement.

Claim 18

In an X-ray apparatus including a carriage device reciprocally mounted on a mast for movement toward and away from an X-ray table, and an imaging device reciprocally mounted on the carriage device for movement along a rectilinear path paralleling the table top from an operating position to a park position, a latching structure comprising: a. a track on one of the devices and journaled for reciprocal movement on the other of the devices; b. a latching mechanism carried by the other of the devices and including a latch pivotally mounted thereon; c. said track including park and operating position notches; d. said latch being selectively engageable with said notches one at a time; e. latch release means connected to the latch and actuatable to pivot the latch out of engagement with a selected one of said notches; and, f. vertical position maintenance means carried by a selected one of the mast and the devices, said maintenance means being selectively positionable between a first of said devices and said mast to maintain said devices in an elevated position when the imaging device is in its park position and to prevent movement of the imaging device from its operating position to its park position until the imaging carriage is adequately elevated for parking movement.

Claim 19

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the position maintenance means is carried by one of the devices and engageable with a track on the mast.

Claim 20

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein there is a lost motion connection between the latch and the position maintenance means.

Claim 21

In an X-ray apparatus including a table having a pedestal, a body tiltably mounted on the pedestal for tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position, and a tower assembly movably carried by the body, the improvement comprising: a. said tower assembly including a mast subassembly supporting an imaging device for movement longitudinal of the tower assembly toward and away from the table body; b. a counterweight subassembly forming part of the tower assembly, the counterweight subassembly being carried by the mast subassembly and movable relative thereto; c. counterweight coupling means coupling the imaging device to the counterweight subassembly such that on movement of the imaging device a given Distance the counterweight subassembly will move a certain distance; d. said subassemblies having a storage position and an extended position, the combined dimension of the subassemblies longitudinally of the tower being greater when in the extended position than when in the storage position; and, e. parking means coupling the imaging device to the remainder of the tower assembly and permitting selective rectilinear movement of the imaging device rearwardly from an operating position forward of the mast subassembly to a park position over the subassemblies when they are in the storage position.

Claim 22

In an X-ray apparatus including a table having a pedestal, a body tiltably mounted on the pedestal for tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position, and a tower assembly movably carried by the body, the improvement comprising: a. said tower assembly including a mast subassembly supporting an imaging device for movement longitudinal of the tower assembly toward and away from the table body; b. a counterweight subassembly forming part of the tower assembly, the counterweight subassembly being carried by the mast subassembly and movable relative thereto; c. counterweight coupling means coupling the imaging device to the counterweight subassembly such that on movement of the imaging device a given Distance the counterweight subassembly will move a certain distance; d. said subassemblies having a storage position and an extended position, the combined dimension of the subassemblies longitudinally of the tower being greater when in the extended position than when in the storage position; and, e. parking means coupling the imaging device to the remainder of the tower assembly and permitting selective rectilinear movement of the imaging device rearwardly from an operating position forward of the mast subassembly to a park position over the subassemblies when they are in the storage position.

Claim 23

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the counterweight subassembly is telescopically carried by the mast subassembly.

Claim 24

The apparatus of claim 16 wherein a counterweight subassembly is fully within the mast subassembly within said storage position and projects outwardly of the mast subassembly when in said extended position.

Claim 25

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said certain distance is greater than said given distance thereby providing a mechanical advantage.

Claim 26

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the image device is movable to its park position only when it is substantially at its maximum distance from the table body.

Claim 27

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein a latch means is interposed between the imaging device and the remainder of the tower assembly to prevent such movement to the park position until the image device is at such maximum position.

Claim 28

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein a means prevents movement of the imaging device toward the table body when the imaging device is in its park position.

Claim 29

The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the counterweight subassembly includes a counterweight carriage and an intermediate carriage.

Claim 30

The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the counterweight carriage and the intermediate carriage are movable relative to one another and relative to the mast subassembly.

Claim 31

The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the counterweight carriage projects from the intermediate carriage and both carriages project from the mast subassembly when in said extended position.

Claim 32

In an X-ray apparatus including a table having a pedestal, a body tiltably mounted on the pedestal for tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position, and a tower assembly movably carried by the body, the tower assembly including a mast supporting an imaging device for movement toward and away from the table body, the improvement comprising: a. a counterweight assembly forming part of the tower assembly, the counterweight assembly being mounted on the mast and movable relative thereto; b. counterweight coupling means coupling the imaging device to the counterweight assembly such that on movement of the imaging device a given distance the counterweight assembly will move a greater distance than the imaging device thereby providing a mechanical advantage; c. parking means coupling the imaging device to the remainder of the tower assembly and permitting selective rectilinear movement of the imaging device rearwardly from an operating position forward of the mast to a park position over the top of said counterweight assembly; d. the counterweight assembly being movable to an extended position projecting above the top of the mast; and, e. the imaging device being in its lowermost position when the coupling means maintains the counterweight assembly in its extended position.

Claim 33

In an X-ray apparatus including a table having a pedestal, a body tiltably mounted on the pedestal for tilting from a horizontal to a vertical position, and a tower assembly movably carried by the body, the tower assembly including a mast supporting an imaging device for movement toward and away from the table body, the improvement comprising: a. a counterweight assembly forming part of the tower assembly, the counterweight assembly being mounted on the mast and movable relative thereto; b. counterweight coupling means coupling the imaging device to the counterweight assembly such that on movement of the imaging device a given distance the counterweight assembly will move a greater distance than the imaging device thereby providing a mechanical advantage; c. parking means coupling the imaging device to the remainder of the tower assembly and permitting selective rectilinear movement of the imaging device rearwardly from an operating position forward of the mast to a park position over the top of said counterweight assembly; d. the counterweight assembly being movable to an extended position projecting above the top of the mast; and, e. the imaging device being in its lowermost position when the coupling means maintains the counterweight assembly in its extended position.

Claim 34

An X-ray apparatus, comprising: a. a table having a body tiltable between horizontal and vertical positions; b. a tower movably carried on said body; c. a counterweight subassembly forming part of said tower and being movable longitudinally of said tower along a first path between counterweight extended and counterweight storage positions; d. a mast subassembly forming a part of said tower and supporting an imaging device for movement longitudinally of said tower along a second path substantially parallel to said first path between device extended and device storage positions, said device extended position being nearer said table body than said device storage position; e. coupling means coupling said imaging device and said counterweight subassembly for moving said counterweight assembly along said first path a certain distance in response to movement of said imaging device along said second path a lesser distance, said coupling means being operable to position said counterweight subassembly in said counterweight extended position when said imaging device is in said device extended position, and being operative to position said counterweight subassembly in said counterweight storage position when said imaging device is in said device storage position; f. said imaging device being movable, when in said device storage position, along a parking path which intersects said first path to position said imaging device in a parked position along said first path; g. said counterweight storage position being sufficiently removed from said parked position to prevent collision between said imaging device and said counterweight subassembly when said imaging device is moved along said parking path; and, h. said coupling means being operative to move said counterweight subassembly across said parking path when said imaging device moves from said device storage position to said device extended position.

Claim 35

An X-ray apparatus, comprising: a. a table having a body tiltable between horizontal and vertical positions; b. a tower movably carried on said body; c. a counterweight subassembly forming part of said tower and being movable longitudinally of said tower along a first path between counterweight extended and counterweight storage positions; d. a mast subassembly forming a part of said tower and supporting an imaging device for movement longitudinally of said tower along a second path substantially parallel to said first path between device extended and device storage positions, said device extended position being nearer said table body than said device storage position; e. coupling means coupling said imaging device and said counterweight subassembly for moving said counterweight assembly along said first path a certain distance in response to movement of said imaging device along said second path a lesser distance, said coupling means being operable to position said counterweight subassembly in said counterweight extended position when said imaging device is in said device extended position, and being operative to position said counterweight subassembly in said counterweight storage position when said imaging device is in said device storage position; f. said imaging device being movable, when in said device storage position, along a parking path which intersects said first path to position said imaging device in a parked position along said first path; g. said counterweight storage position being sufficiently removed from said parked position to prevent collision between said imaging device and said counterweight subassembly when said imaging device is moved along said parking path; and, h. said coupling means being operative to move said counterweight subassembly across said parking path when said imaging device moves from said device storage position to said device extended position.

Claim 36

The apparatus of claim 26 additionally including parking means prohibiting the movement of said imaging device along said parking path except when said imaging device is in said device storage position.

Claim 37

The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said parking means includes an acutator button which is operable when said imaging device is in said device storage position to permit the movement of said imaging device along said parking path, and control means for preventing the operation of said actuator button when said imaging device is removed from said device storage position.

Claim 38

The apparatus of claim 26 wherein said counterweight subassembly is positioned across said parking path when said imaging device is in said device extended position.

Claim 39

The apparatus of claim 29 wherein said coupling means includes cable means interconnecting said counterweight subassembly and said imaging device for moving said counterweight subassembly along said first path in a direction opposite to the movement of said imaging device along said second path in response to movement of said imaging device along said second path, whereby said counterweight subassembly moves toward said table body from said counterweight extended position when said imaging device moves away from said table body from said device extended position.

Claim 40

The apparatus of claim 30 wherein said coupling means is operable to move said counterweight subassembly along said first path through approximately twice a given distance in response to movement of said imaging device along said second path through said given distance.