Liquid metal bearing visual vacuum filling device and method for x-ray tube core

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of liquid metal bearing visualization vacuum liquid filling tool for X-ray tube core.The present application is used to be filled liquid metal bearing, the liquid metal bearing to be filled includes mandrel and sleeve and pressure ring that are sequentially set in mandrel from bottom to top, filling groove is formed between mandrel and sleeve and pressure ring, the connecting port that is communicated with the filling groove is arranged at the bottom end of sleeve, the ring groove that is communicated with the filling groove is arranged on the upper end surface of pressure ring, the tool includes liquid filling seat, for being connected to connecting port, the liquid filling seat is provided with liquid filling port and the liquid filling channel that is respectively communicated with the liquid filling port and the filling groove;Transparent vacuum seat is used to be connected to the upper end surface of the pressure ring, and transparent vacuum seat is formed between the vacuum cavity with pressure ring, and the annular lower end surface of vacuum cavity is located in the peripheral of ring groove;Liquid filling device is used to input liquid metal from the liquid filling port into the filling groove.The present application can prevent liquid metal oxidation, and reduce unnecessary loss of liquid metal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of medical devices, in particular to a liquid metal bearing visual vacuum liquid filling tool and method for X-ray tube core. BACKGROUND

[0002] Currently, rolling bearing rotors are commonly used in X-ray tubes, which have simple structure, simple driving control, high reliability and low cost. However, the rotation of the ball bearing will inevitably produce a relatively significant noise, and with the gradual wear of the bearing, the noise will gradually increase. The maximum continuous anode input power of the ball bearing tube is also limited by the bearing itself. The advantages of the ball bearing are becoming less and less obvious in meeting the needs of higher-end systems.

[0003] The application of liquid fluid dynamic pressure sliding bearing well solves these problems. The wear of the liquid fluid dynamic pressure sliding bearing during operation can be almost ignored, and after stable operation, the holding torque for maintaining the stable operation of the rotor will be much smaller than the starting torque due to the extremely small internal friction coefficient of the liquid. The liquid metal is filled between the fixed shaft and the shaft sleeve, which can buffer and weaken the vibration and greatly suppress the generation of noise. With the increase of the use frequency of the tube, the noise will not increase significantly. Due to the excellent thermal conductivity of the liquid metal, and compared with the ball, the contact area between the fixed shaft and the shaft sleeve is greatly improved, which greatly improves the conduction efficiency of the anode target heat to the bearing, assists the heat dissipation of the anode target, hollows the rear end of the fixed shaft and directly introduces the cooling medium, and further improves the heat dissipation efficiency of the anode. Compared with the ball bearing, the liquid fluid dynamic pressure sliding bearing can improve the heat capacity and heat dissipation efficiency of the anode assembly with the same anode target, and the service life is also improved.

[0004] However, since the liquid metal bearing works in a high vacuum environment, the retention of gas in the bearing will cause oxidation of the liquid metal, poor flowability, and changes from normal pressure to high vacuum will also cause negative pressure in the bearing, causing bearing friction and even jamming. SUMMARY

[0005] Therefore, the present application provides a liquid metal bearing visual vacuum liquid filling tool and method for X-ray tube core, which can prevent oxidation of the liquid metal and reduce unnecessary loss of the liquid metal, and the tool can be reused under the protection of inert gas in the glove box.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the application provides a liquid metal bearing visual vacuum liquid filling tool for an X-ray tube core, which is used for a liquid metal bearing to be filled, the liquid metal bearing to be filled comprising a core shaft, a shaft sleeve and a pressure ring which are sequentially sleeved on the core shaft from bottom to top, a filling groove being formed between the core shaft and the shaft sleeve and the pressure ring, a connecting port being arranged at a bottom end of the shaft sleeve and being in communication with the filling groove, and an annular groove being arranged on an upper end surface of the pressure ring and being in communication with the filling groove, the tool comprising:

[0007] a liquid filling seat which is connected to the connecting port and is provided with a liquid filling port and a liquid filling channel which is in communication with the liquid filling port and the filling groove respectively;

[0008] a transparent vacuum seat which is connected to the upper end surface of the pressure ring and forms a vacuum cavity between the transparent vacuum seat and the pressure ring, and an annular lower end surface of the vacuum cavity is located at the periphery of the annular groove;

[0009] a liquid filling device which is used for inputting liquid metal from the liquid filling port into the filling groove.

[0010] In an embodiment of the application, the liquid filling device comprises an electric push rod, a needle cylinder seat and a needle cylinder pressing plate, a needle cylinder being arranged between the needle cylinder seat and the needle cylinder pressing plate, a needle cylinder head of the needle cylinder being matched with the liquid filling port, and a driving end of the needle cylinder being connected with a driving end of the electric push rod.

[0011] In an embodiment of the application, the transparent vacuum seat is provided with a vacuumizing connector which is connected to a vacuum pump.

[0012] In an embodiment of the application, the liquid filling seat is provided with a connecting head which is threadedly matched with the connecting port.

[0013] In an embodiment of the application, the lower end surface of the transparent vacuum seat and the upper end surface of the pressure ring are connected through a screw.

[0014] In an embodiment of the application, a sealing ring is arranged between the contact surface of the liquid filling seat and the shaft sleeve and between the contact surface of the transparent vacuum seat and the pressure ring.

[0015] In an embodiment of the application, an annular baffle is extended on the outer surface of the core shaft, and a groove is arranged on the outer surface of the shaft sleeve and / or the inner circular surface of the shaft sleeve and / or the inner circular surface of the pressure ring.

[0016] The application further provides a liquid metal bearing visual vacuum liquid filling method for an X-ray tube core, which utilizes the tool and comprises the following steps:

[0017] Step S1: assembling the liquid metal bearing to be filled and forming a filling groove;

[0018] Step S2: threadedly connect the liquid filling seat to the connecting port of the shaft sleeve, and seal the contact surface between the liquid filling seat and the shaft sleeve with a sealing ring;

[0019] Step S3: connect the transparent vacuum seat to the upper end surface of the compression ring, connect the lower end surface of the transparent vacuum seat to the upper end surface of the compression ring with a screw, seal the contact surface between the transparent vacuum seat and the compression ring with a sealing ring, and form a vacuum cavity in the transparent vacuum seat for observation;

[0020] Step S4: seal the liquid filling port of the liquid filling seat with a sealing plug, and prepare for subsequent liquid filling operation.

[0021] Step S5: connect the vacuum extraction connector to the helium mass spectrometer leak detector, and use helium to detect whether there is leakage in the mating surface of the liquid metal bearing to be filled, and the mating surface between the liquid metal bearing to be filled and the liquid filling seat and the transparent vacuum seat.

[0022] Step S6: after confirming that there is no leakage, place the liquid metal bearing to be filled and the liquid filling device in the glove box, fill the glove box with argon atmosphere and ensure that the oxygen content in the box is less than 1 PPM.

[0023] Step S7: confirm whether the liquid metal has oxidation.

[0024] Step S8: after confirming that the liquid metal has no oxidation change, insert the needle cylinder head containing the liquid metal into the liquid filling port, place the needle cylinder on the needle cylinder seat, and fix the needle cylinder pressing plate with a screw.

[0025] Step S9: connect the vacuum extraction connector to the vacuum pump pipeline, start the vacuum dry pump to extract the air in the transparent vacuum seat, and create a vacuum environment in the transparent vacuum seat.

[0026] Step S10: start the electric push rod, fill the liquid metal through the needle cylinder, and during the liquid metal filling process, the liquid level slowly and uniformly fills from the bottom of the filling groove, the filling process is observed through the transparent vacuum seat, and after the liquid metal overflows through the ring groove and forms a complete circle, the vacuum dry pump is turned off, and the electric push rod is stopped after 30 seconds.

[0027] Step S11: remove the transparent vacuum seat and the liquid filling seat, and seal the connecting port of the filled liquid metal bearing with a plug.

[0028] In one embodiment of the present application, in step S7, the method for confirming whether the liquid metal has oxidation includes: using the needle cylinder to extract 2 mL of liquid metal from the storage container, and extruding a drop onto the detection plate, and observing whether the liquid metal has oxidation within 5 minutes.

[0029] In one embodiment of the present application, in step S10, the feeding speed of the electric push rod is 1 mm / min.

[0030] The above technical solution of the present application has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0031] The liquid metal bearing for X-ray tube core visual vacuum liquid filling tool and method can fill liquid metal in a high vacuum environment, and the internal environment of the container is vacuumized through the vacuumizing joint, thereby effectively preventing oxidation of the liquid metal and reducing performance degradation caused by poor metal fluidity and oxidation.

[0032] The present application can reduce metal material loss caused by inaccurate operation during the filling process by precisely controlling the liquid filling process (for example, the feeding speed control of the electric push rod in step S10) and the sealing design of the transparent vacuum seat and the liquid filling seat. Under the protection of inert gas in the glove box, the tool can be reused, the cost of single use can be reduced, and the overall economic benefit can be improved.

[0033] Through the transparent vacuum seat design, the operator can directly observe the filling status of the liquid metal, effectively avoiding the failure caused by insufficient or excessive filling.

[0034] The present application detects leakage by a helium mass spectrometer before filling (step S5), ensures the sealing performance of the bearing and the tool, avoids potential problems in the future, and guarantees product quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0035] In order to make the content of the present application more easily understood, the present application will be further described in detail below according to specific embodiments of the present application and in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[0036] Figure 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of the vacuum liquid filling tool of the present application.

[0037] Figure 2 is a schematic view of the overall structure of the vacuum liquid filling tool of the present application.

[0038] Figure 3 is a schematic view of the installation of the liquid metal bearing to be filled of the present application.

[0039] Figure 4 is a schematic view of the liquid metal bearing filling of the present application.

[0040] Figure 5 is a schematic view of the liquid metal bearing filling observation of the present application.

[0041] DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] 100, bottom plate; 200, electric push rod; 300, needle cylinder; 400, needle cylinder seat; 500, needle cylinder pressing plate; 600, liquid filling seat; 610, liquid filling port; 620, liquid filling channel; 630, connecting head; 700, liquid metal bearing to be filled; 710, mandrel; 711, annular baffle; 720, shaft sleeve; 721, connecting port; 730, pressing ring; 731, ring groove; 740, filling groove; 800, transparent vacuum seat; 810, vacuumizing joint; 820, vacuum cavity. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The present application will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can better understand the present application and implement it. The embodiments are not intended to limit the present application.

[0044] In the present application, if the directions (up, down, left, right, front and back) are described, it is only for the convenience of describing the technical solutions of the present application, and is not intended to indicate or imply that the indicated technical features must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0045] In the present application, the meaning of "several" is one or more, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more, and "greater than", "less than", "more than" and the like are understood as not including the number; "above", "below", "within" and the like are understood as including the number. In the description of the present application, if "first" and "second" are described, they are only used for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the sequence of indicated technical features.

[0046] In the present application, unless otherwise explicitly limited, the words "set", "install", "connect" and the like should be broadly understood, for example, they can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; can be fixedly connected, or can be detachably connected, or can be integrally formed; can be mechanically connected, or can be electrically connected or capable of communicating with each other; can be the communication or interaction relationship between two elements. Those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above words in the present application in combination with the specific content of the technical solutions.

[0047] REFERENCE Figures 1 to 5As shown, a liquid metal bearing visual vacuum liquid filling tool for an X-ray tube core, for a liquid metal bearing 700 to be filled, the liquid metal bearing 700 comprising a core shaft 710, a shaft sleeve 720 and a compression ring 730 sequentially sleeved on the core shaft 710 from bottom to top, a filling groove 740 being formed between the core shaft 710 and the shaft sleeve 720 and the compression ring 730, the shaft sleeve 720 being provided at a bottom end with a connecting port 721 in communication with the filling groove 740, the compression ring 730 being provided at an upper end face with a ring groove 731 in communication with the filling groove 740, the tool comprising, arranged on a bottom plate 100:

[0048] a liquid filling seat 600 for being connected to the connecting port 721, the liquid filling seat 600 being provided with a liquid filling port 610 and a liquid filling channel 620 in communication with the liquid filling port 610 and the filling groove 740 respectively;

[0049] a transparent vacuum seat 800 for being connected to the upper end face of the compression ring 730, a vacuum cavity 820 being formed between the transparent vacuum seat 800 and the compression ring 730, an annular lower end face of the vacuum cavity 820 being located at a periphery of the ring groove 731;

[0050] a liquid filling device for inputting liquid metal from the liquid filling port 610 into the filling groove 740.

[0051] Specifically, the liquid filling device comprises an electric push rod 200, a needle cylinder seat 400 and a needle cylinder pressing plate 500, the needle cylinder seat 400 and the needle cylinder pressing plate 500 being provided with a needle cylinder 300 therebetween, a needle cylinder head of the needle cylinder 300 being matched with the liquid filling port 610, a driving end of the needle cylinder 300 being connected with a driving end of the electric push rod 200.

[0052] Specifically, the transparent vacuum seat 800 is provided with a vacuum extraction connector 810, the vacuum extraction connector 810 being connected to a vacuum pump.

[0053] Specifically, the liquid filling seat 600 is provided with a connecting head 630, the connecting head 630 being threadedly matched with the connecting port 721.

[0054] Specifically, the lower end face of the transparent vacuum seat 800 and the upper end face of the compression ring 730 are connected by a screw.

[0055] Specifically, a sealing ring is arranged between a contact surface of the liquid filling seat 600 and the shaft sleeve 720 and between a contact surface of the transparent vacuum seat 800 and the compression ring 730.

[0056] Specifically, the outer surface of the mandrel 710 extends with an annular baffle 711, the outer surface of the sleeve 720 and / or the inner circular surface of the sleeve 720 and / or the inner circular surface of the compression ring 730 are provided with grooves, and corresponding grooves can be arranged according to the specific structure to form the filling groove 740 (see the prior art CN219774597U).

[0057] The embodiment also provides an X-ray tube core liquid metal bearing visual vacuum liquid filling method using the above tool, comprising:

[0058] Step S1: Assemble the liquid metal bearing 700 to be filled, and form the filling groove 740;

[0059] Step S2: Threadedly connect the liquid filling seat 600 and the connecting port 721 of the sleeve 720, and seal the contact surface between the liquid filling seat 600 and the sleeve 720 by a sealing ring;

[0060] Step S3: Connect the transparent vacuum seat 800 to the upper end surface of the compression ring 730, connect the lower end surface of the transparent vacuum seat 800 to the upper end surface of the compression ring 730 by a screw, seal the contact surface between the transparent vacuum seat 800 and the compression ring 730 by a sealing ring, and form a visible vacuum cavity 820 in the transparent vacuum seat 800;

[0061] Step S4: Seal the liquid filling port 610 of the liquid filling seat 600 by a sealing plug, and prepare for subsequent liquid filling operation;

[0062] Step S5: Connect the vacuum extraction connector 810 to the helium mass spectrometer leak detector, and use helium to detect whether there is leakage in the matching surface of the liquid metal bearing 700 to be filled, and the matching surface between the liquid metal bearing 700 to be filled and the liquid filling seat 600 and the transparent vacuum seat 800 respectively;

[0063] Step S6: After confirming that there is no leakage, place the liquid metal bearing 700 to be filled and the liquid filling device in the glove box, fill the glove box with argon atmosphere and ensure that the oxygen content in the box is less than 1PPM;

[0064] Step S7: Confirm whether the liquid metal has oxidation; specifically: use the syringe 300 to extract 2mL of liquid metal from the storage container, and squeeze a drop onto the detection plate, and observe whether the liquid metal has oxidation within 5 minutes;

[0065] Step S8: After confirming that the liquid metal has no oxidation change, insert the syringe head containing the liquid metal into the liquid filling port 610, and place the syringe 300 on the syringe seat 400, and fix the syringe pressing plate 500 by a screw;

[0066] Step S9: Connect the vacuum joint 810 to the vacuum pump pipeline, start the vacuum pump to extract the air inside the transparent vacuum seat 800, and create a vacuum environment inside the transparent vacuum seat 800;

[0067] Step S10: Start the electric push rod 200, the feeding speed of the electric push rod 200 is 1mm / min, fill the liquid metal through the needle cylinder 300, during the liquid metal filling process, the liquid level slowly and uniformly fills from the bottom of the filling groove 740 upwards, during the filling process, the filling of the liquid metal is observed through the transparent vacuum seat 800, until the liquid metal overflows through the ring groove 731 and forms a complete circle, then the vacuum pump is closed, and after waiting for 30 seconds, the electric push rod 200 is stopped.

[0068] Step S11: Remove the transparent vacuum seat 800 and the liquid filling seat 600, and use the plug to seal the connecting port 721 of the liquid metal bearing that has been filled with liquid.

[0069] During the liquid metal filling process, the liquid level slowly and uniformly fills from the bottom upwards, since the upper part is a vacuum environment and the bottom is continuous liquid metal, the filling process is not affected by air, improving the filling quality; in addition, since the liquid filling seat 600 is made of transparent material, the final state can be observed during the filling process, and after filling, there is no waste of liquid metal due to the inability to see the internal situation, the filling state can be monitored in real time through the observation window of the transparent vacuum seat 800, preventing waste and ensuring a high-quality filling process, the above method has the characteristics of convenience, speed, saving of liquid metal, good consistency of filling amount, simple structure, etc.

[0070] Finally, it should be noted that the above specific embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application and are not limiting, although the present application has been described in detail with reference to examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present application can be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present application, which should be covered in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A visualization vacuum filling fixture for liquid metal bearings used in X-ray tubes, characterized in that, It is used for a liquid metal bearing (700) to be filled with liquid, the liquid metal bearing (700) to be filled with liquid includes a mandrel (710) and a bushing (720) and a pressure ring (730) sequentially sleeved on the mandrel (710) from bottom to top. A filling groove (740) is formed between the mandrel (710), the bushing (720) and the pressure ring (730). The bottom end of the bushing (720) is provided with a connection port (721) communicating with the filling groove (740). The upper end face of the pressure ring (730) is provided with an annular groove (731) communicating with the filling groove (740). The tooling includes: A filling base (600) is used to connect to the connection port (721). The filling base (600) is provided with a filling port (610) and a filling channel (620) that communicates with the filling port (610) and the filling groove (740) respectively. A transparent vacuum seat (800) is used to connect to the upper end face of the pressure ring (730). A vacuum cavity (820) is formed between the transparent vacuum seat (800) and the pressure ring (730). The lower annular end face of the vacuum cavity (820) is located around the annular groove (731). A liquid filling device for introducing liquid metal from the filling port (610) into the filling tank (740).

2. The visualization vacuum filling fixture for liquid metal bearings used in X-ray tubes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The infusion device includes an electric push rod (200), a syringe holder (400), and a syringe pressure plate (500). A syringe (300) is disposed between the syringe holder (400) and the syringe pressure plate (500). The syringe head of the syringe (300) is engaged with the infusion port (610). The driving end of the syringe (300) is connected to the driving end of the electric push rod (200).

3. The visualization vacuum filling fixture for liquid metal bearings used in X-ray tubes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transparent vacuum seat (800) is provided with a vacuum connector (810), which is connected to a vacuum pump.

4. The visualization vacuum filling fixture for liquid metal bearings used in X-ray tubes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The filling base (600) is provided with a connector (630), which is threadedly engaged with the connection port (721).

5. The visualization vacuum filling fixture for liquid metal bearings used in X-ray tubes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower end face of the transparent vacuum seat (800) is connected to the upper end face of the pressure ring (730) by screws.

6. The visualization vacuum filling fixture for liquid metal bearings used in X-ray tubes according to claim 1, characterized in that, A sealing ring is provided between the contact surface of the filling seat (600) and the bushing (720), and between the contact surface of the transparent vacuum seat (800) and the pressure ring (730).

7. The visualization vacuum filling fixture for liquid metal bearings used in X-ray tubes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer surface of the mandrel (710) extends an annular baffle (711), and the outer surface of the bushing (720) and / or the inner circular surface of the bushing (720) and / or the inner circular surface of the pressure ring (730) are provided with grooves.

8. A method for visualizing vacuum filling of a liquid metal bearing for X-ray tube cores, characterized in that, The tooling according to any one of claims 1-7 comprises: Step S1: Assemble the liquid metal bearing (700) to be filled with liquid and form the filling groove (740). Step S2: Connect the filling base (600) and the bushing (720) through the threaded connection (721), and seal the contact surfaces between the filling base (600) and the bushing (720) with a sealing ring; Step S3: Connect the transparent vacuum seat (800) to the upper end face of the pressure ring (730). The lower end face of the transparent vacuum seat (800) and the upper end face of the pressure ring (730) are connected by screws. The contact surfaces of the transparent vacuum seat (800) and the pressure ring (730) are sealed by a sealing ring, forming a vacuum cavity (820) that can be observed inside the transparent vacuum seat (800). Step S4: Seal the filling port (610) of the filling seat (600) with a sealing plug to prepare for subsequent filling operations; Step S5: Connect the vacuum connector (810) to the helium mass spectrometer leak detector and use helium to detect whether there is leakage on the mating surface of the liquid metal bearing (700) to be filled, and the mating surface between the liquid metal bearing (700) to be filled and the filling seat (600) and the transparent vacuum seat (800). Step S6: After confirming that there is no leakage, place the liquid metal bearing (700) to be filled and the filling device in the glove box, fill the glove box with argon atmosphere and ensure that the oxygen content in the box is less than 1PPM; Step S7: Confirm whether the liquid metal has undergone oxidation; Step S8: After confirming that the liquid metal has no oxidation change, insert the syringe tip containing the liquid metal into the filling port (610), place the syringe (300) on the syringe holder (400), and fix the syringe pressure plate (500) with screws. Step S9: Connect the vacuum connector (810) to the vacuum pump line, start the vacuum dry pump to extract the air inside the transparent vacuum seat (800), and create a vacuum environment inside the transparent vacuum seat (800); Step S10: Start the electric push rod (200) and inject liquid metal through the syringe (300). During the liquid metal injection process, the liquid level slowly and evenly fills from the bottom of the filling tank (740) upwards. During the injection process, observe the filling status of the liquid metal through the transparent vacuum seat (800). After the liquid metal overflows through the ring groove (731) and forms a complete circle, turn off the vacuum dry pump and wait 30 seconds before stopping the electric push rod (200). Step S11: Remove the transparent vacuum seat (800) and the liquid filling seat (600), and seal the connection port (721) of the liquid-filled metal bearing with a plug.

9. A method for visualizing vacuum filling of a liquid metal bearing for an X-ray tube core according to claim 8, characterized in that, In step S7, the method for confirming whether the liquid metal has been oxidized includes: using a syringe (300) to extract 2 mL of liquid metal from the storage container and squeezing a drop onto the detection plate, and observing whether the liquid metal has been oxidized within 5 minutes.

10. A method for visualizing vacuum filling of a liquid metal bearing for an X-ray tube core according to claim 8, characterized in that, In step S10, the feed speed of the electric push rod (200) is 1 mm / min.

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