X-ray examination apparatus

An x-ray examination apparatus comprising an examination table (1), a patient support platform (2) resting on the examination table, an x-ray source with a remote-controllable collimator restricting the radiation beam, a longitudinal transport carriage (3) transportable along the length of and supported by the patient support platform, and a cassette support (4) capable of insertion into an operating position on the longitudinal transport carriage and having clamping means (24, 25) mounted thereon for positioning an insertable x-ray film cassette in fixed relation to said cassette support, said cassette support having means comprising said clamping means for providing cassette receiving regions of continuously varying size within a predetermined range, two sensor means (28, 29) being mounted on the transport carriage (3) and being operable in a sensing condition for sensing the length and width of the x-ray film cassette (23) clamped in the inserted cassette support (4), mechanical-electrical transducers (37, 38) mounted by the longitudinal transport carriage and each coupled with a respective one of said sensor means and continuously operated as a function of the mechanical position of the associated sensor means while the sensor means is in said sensing condition, and means comprising said sensor means and the mechanical-electrical transducers both mounted in the longitudinal transport carriage for enabling the complete removal of the cassette support from the longitudinal transport carriage without removing the sensor means and without removing the mechanical-electrical transducers from their mounted relationship to said longitudinal transport carriage, said sensor means having sensor positioning means (31-34) for automatically moving said sensor means to respective rest positions during removal of the cassette support from the longitudinal transport carriage, one of said sensor means (28) being positioned by said sensor positioning means so as to be displaced from its rest position in accordance with the dimension of a cassette parallel to the cassette support insert direction when the cassette support (4) with the cassette secured in said cassette receiving region is inserted into said operating position on the longitudinal transport carriage, and the other of said sensor means (29) being actuated from its rest position for sensing the transverse dimension of a cassette occupying said cassette receiving region with the displacement of the one sensor means (28) from its rest position, such cassette transverse dimension being transverse to the cassette support insertion direction in which the cassette support is inserted into said operating position on the longitudinal transport carriage.