Overhead tube crane guide
AssigneeCarestream Health, Inc.
InventorAnthony J. Blasio
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An x-ray system mounted on a surface includes a movable x-ray source and a mechanism for moving the x-ray source in at least two transverse directions. The two transverse directions are marked by visually distinguishable indicators. A control panel controls movement of the x-ray source along the transverse directions and includes corresponding markings on control buttons matching the visually distinguishable indicators.
Claims18
An x-ray system mounted on a surface and having a movable x-ray source, the system comprising:
- a first rail assembly attached to the surface;
- a second rail assembly attached to the surface, the first and second rail assemblies each extending along one of two linear transverse directions;
- a carriage attached to the rail assemblies and to the x-ray source for moving the x-ray source along the two linear transverse directions;
- a first elongated colored region disposed proximate to the first rail assembly;
- a second elongated colored region disposed proximate to the second rail assembly and having a different color than the first elongated colored region;
- and
- a control panel configured to control movement of the carriage along the two linear transverse directions, the control panel comprising:
- a first manually controllable switch having a same color as the first elongated colored region, the first manually controllable switch configured to move the carriage in a direction parallel to the first rail assembly;
- and
- a second manually controllable switch having a same color as the second elongated colored region, the second manually controllable switch configured to move the carriage in a direction parallel to the second rail assembly.
A method of controlling movement of an x-ray source in an x-ray system mounted on a surface, the method comprising:
- demarcating each of a plurality of movement directions including applying an elongated colored strip on the surface for each of the plurality of movement directions, each of the colored strips having a different visually distinguishable color, and each of the colored strips disposed parallel to a corresponding movement direction;
- coloring each of a plurality of control buttons on a controller a same color as one of the elongated color strips;
- activating a selected one of the control buttons on the controller;
- and
- in response to the step of activating, moving the x-ray source in a direction parallel to an elongated strip having a same color as the selected one of the control buttons.
An x-ray system mounted on a surface and having a movable x-ray source, the system comprising:
- a mechanism for moving the x-ray source in at least two transverse directions, wherein the at least two transverse directions each include two end points;
- a plurality of indicators each having a different visually distinguishable color and each positioned proximate to one of the end points;
- and
- a controller configured to control the mechanism for moving movement of the x-ray source, the controller comprising a plurality of manually controlled switches for causing the mechanism to move the x-ray source, the plurality of manually controlled switches each having a same color as one of the plurality of indicators, wherein each of the plurality of manually controlled switches is configured to be activated to cause the mechanism to move the x-ray source toward an indicator having the same color as the activated switch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.