Liquid metal bearing and X-ray tube

Abstract

The utility model relates to a liquid metal bearing which comprises a shaft and a rotating component, a gap is formed between the shaft and the rotating assembly; the shaft comprises a shaft body and a shaft bulge annularly arranged on the shaft body, and the rotating assembly can rotate around the shaft body; in the axial direction of the shaft body, the gap comprises a bearing carrying area, a thrust sealing area and a leakage restraining area which are sequentially communicated. The bearing carrying area and the thrust sealing area are both filled with liquid metal. A herringbone groove is formed in the surface, close to the bearing carrying area, of the shaft body. A plurality of spiral grooves are formed in the shaft end face, close to one end of the herringbone groove, of the shaft body or the inner end face, close to the shaft end face, of the rotating assembly. The utility model also relates to an X-ray tube. According to the structure, the gap of the thrust sealing area can be reduced, liquid metal is prevented from leaking through the gap, the reliability of the X-ray tube is effectively improved, and the X-ray tube can be produced and used as a universal product.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of X-ray tubes, in particular to a liquid metal bearing and an X-ray tube. Background Art

[0002] The rotating anode X-ray tube is one of the core components of a CT imaging diagnosis system, and its performance parameters directly affect the accuracy and imaging rate of CT images. The X-ray tube mainly consists of an electron gun assembly, an anode target disk assembly, a tube shell assembly, etc. Among them, the bearing in the anode target disk assembly is a key component, which has a direct impact on the performance parameters, reliability, and service life of the X-ray tube.

[0003] At present, high-performance X-ray tubes usually use a liquid metal sliding bearing structure. The liquid metal sliding bearing mainly includes a rotating component and a fixed shaft component, and liquid metal is filled as a lubricating medium in the gap between the rotating component and the fixed shaft component. Liquid metal is generally composed of gallium, indium, tin, or an alloy of these metals. It is usually in a liquid state at room temperature and has a relatively low saturated vapor pressure at the working temperature, which is suitable for use in X-ray tubes that require a high-vacuum environment. Since the liquid metal is connected to the vacuum space inside the X-ray tube, during the transportation and start-stop operation of the bearing, the liquid metal may migrate along the gap of the bearing components, thus leaking into the vacuum space inside the X-ray tube, which may lead to the problem of the X-ray tube failing due to arcing under high voltage. At the same time, after the liquid metal leaks, the components inside the bearing may also come into contact or wear due to insufficient lubrication. Summary of the Utility Model

[0004] Based on this, the utility model provides a liquid metal bearing and an X-ray tube, aiming to solve the problems of defects such as the liquid metal leaking into the vacuum space inside the X-ray tube during the operation of the existing liquid metal bearing, resulting in the X-ray tube failing due to arcing under high voltage, and the components inside the bearing coming into contact or even wearing.

[0005] To achieve the above object, on the one hand, an embodiment of the utility model provides a liquid metal bearing, including a shaft and a rotating component; a gap is provided between the shaft and the rotating component;

[0006] The shaft includes a shaft body and shaft protrusions provided around the shaft body, and the rotating component can rotate around the shaft body; along the axial direction of the shaft body, the gap includes a bearing load zone, a thrust seal zone, and a leakage suppression zone that are sequentially connected; liquid metal is filled in both the bearing load zone and the thrust seal zone;

[0007] A herringbone groove is provided on the surface of the shaft body close to the bearing load area; several spiral grooves are provided on the shaft end face of the shaft body close to one end of the herringbone groove or on the inner end face of the rotating assembly close to the shaft end face.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment, each of the spiral grooves extends radially; several of the spiral grooves are evenly distributed.

[0009] As a preferred embodiment, when the spiral groove is provided on the shaft end face, extending outward from the shaft center of the shaft body, the degree of the spiral angle formed by the spiral direction of the spiral groove and the rotational linear velocity of the rotating assembly is 100° to 170°.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment, when the spiral groove is provided on the inner end face, extending outward from the shaft center of the shaft body, the degree of the spiral angle formed by the spiral direction of the spiral groove and the rotational linear velocity of the rotating assembly is 10° to 80°.

[0011] As a preferred embodiment, the rotating assembly includes a shaft sleeve sleeved on one end of the shaft body, a sealing partition provided at one end of the shaft sleeve, and a sealing flange provided on one side of the sealing partition; the shaft sleeve and the sealing flange respectively abut against the shaft protrusion, and the sealing partition is sleeved on the outside of the shaft protrusion; a liquid storage groove communicating with the leakage suppression area is provided on the inner surface of the sealing flange.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment, the inner end face is the bottom surface of the shaft sleeve close to the shaft end face.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment, the bearing load area is provided between the shaft sleeve and the shaft body; the thrust sealing area is provided between the shaft protrusion and the shaft sleeve, between the shaft protrusion and the sealing partition, and between the shaft protrusion and the sealing flange; the leakage suppression area is provided between the sealing flange and the shaft body.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment, the shaft sleeve and the sealing partition, and the sealing partition and the sealing flange are both fixedly connected by screws.

[0015] As a preferred embodiment, the liquid metal bearing further includes a motor rotor, the motor rotor is sleeved on the outside of the rotating assembly close to one end of the shaft protrusion, and one end of the motor rotor is fixed to the shaft sleeve.

[0016] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application further provides an X-ray tube, and the X-ray tube includes the liquid metal bearing.

[0017] Advantages achieved by the present utility model: In this application, herringbone grooves are provided on the surface of the shaft body near the bearing load-bearing area, and spiral grooves are provided on the shaft end face or inner end face. When the rotating assembly moves, high pressure is generated in the spiral grooves to push the rotating assembly towards the anode target disc side, thereby reducing the gap in the thrust seal area and preventing liquid metal from leaking through the gap, effectively improving the reliability of the X-ray tube. The structure of this application has high practicality and economy and can be produced and used as a general product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present utility model or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following described drawings are only some embodiments of the present utility model. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the overall structure of a liquid metal bearing according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0020] Figure 2 For Figure 1 exploded structure diagram of the liquid metal bearing;

[0021] Figure 3 For Figure 1 sectional structure diagram of the liquid metal bearing (connected to the anode target disc);

[0022] Figure 4 For Figure 2 structure diagram of the spiral groove (provided on the shaft end face);

[0023] Figure 5 For the flow path of liquid metal in Figure 4 schematic diagram;

[0024] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the spiral groove (provided on the inner end face) according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0025] The realization, functional features, and advantages of the object of the present utility model will be further described with reference to the embodiments and the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present utility model, rather than all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present utility model without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present utility model.

[0027] It should be noted that if there are directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, top, bottom...) involved in the embodiments of the present utility model, the directional indications are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement conditions between components in a specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0028] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, terms such as "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components or the interaction relationship between two components, unless otherwise clearly limited. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0029] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or there may also be an intermediate element. When an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element at the same time.

[0030] In addition, if there are descriptions such as "first", "second", etc. involved in the embodiments of the present utility model, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, the technical solutions between various embodiments can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the ability of those of ordinary skill in the art to implement. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present utility model.

[0031] Specifically, on the one hand, as Figures 1 to 5 shown, the embodiments of the present utility model provide a liquid metal bearing, including a shaft 10 and a rotating assembly 20; a gap 30 is provided between the shaft 10 and the rotating assembly 20;

[0032] The shaft 10 includes a shaft body 11 and shaft projections 12 provided around the shaft body 11, and the rotating assembly 20 can rotate around the shaft body 11; along the axial direction of the shaft body 11, the gap 30 includes a bearing load area 31, a thrust seal area 32, and a leakage suppression area 33 that are sequentially communicated; liquid metal 40 is filled in both the bearing load area 31 and the thrust seal area 32;

[0033] A chevron groove 111 is provided on the surface of the shaft body 11 close to the bearing load area 31; several spiral grooves 50 are provided on the shaft end face 112 of the shaft body 11 near one end of the chevron groove 111 or on the inner end face of the rotating assembly 20 close to the shaft end face 112.

[0034] The number of chevron grooves 111 (which can be set to one, or two, or more), the shape of the chevron grooves 111, and the depth of the chevron grooves 111 can be set according to actual needs. By providing the chevron grooves 111 here, radial bearing capacity is provided during rotation to ensure the stability of rotation.

[0035] By providing spiral grooves, when the rotating assembly moves, the liquid metal will move inward along the spiral grooves, so that the liquid metal between the bottom surface of the rotating assembly (the bottom surface of the shaft sleeve) and the shaft end face 112 forms a hydrodynamic pressure with a higher pressure. The hydrodynamic pressure pushes the rotating assembly to move toward the anode target disc side, thereby reducing the gap in the thrust seal area and preventing the liquid metal from leaking through the gap, effectively improving the reliability of the X-ray tube. The number, shape, depth, and length of the spiral grooves 50 can be set according to actual needs. In the embodiment of the present application, generally at least three spiral grooves 50 are provided, or more are provided.

[0036] As a preferred embodiment, each of the spiral grooves 50 extends along the radial direction; several of the spiral grooves 50 are evenly distributed.

[0037] As a preferred embodiment, in this embodiment, as Figures 4 to 5 shown, when the spiral grooves 50 are provided on the shaft end face 112, extending outward from the shaft center of the shaft body 11, the degree of the spiral angle θ formed by the spiral direction of the spiral grooves 50 and the rotational linear velocity of the rotating assembly 20 is 100° to 170°. The degree of the spiral angle can be set to 100°, or 135°, or 170°, etc. according to actual needs. Controlling the degree of the spiral angle within 100° to 170° can cause sufficient high pressure to be generated in the spiral grooves when the rotating assembly moves to push the rotating assembly toward the anode target disc side, thereby reducing the gap in the thrust seal area and ensuring the safety of operation at the same time.

[0038] As a preferred embodiment, in another embodiment, as Figure 6 shown, when the spiral groove 50 is provided on the inner end face and extends outward from the axis center of the shaft body 11, the degree of the spiral angle θ formed by the spiral direction of the spiral groove 50 and the rotational linear velocity of the rotating assembly 20 is 10° to 80°. According to actual needs, the degree of the spiral angle can be set to 10°, or set to 45°, or set to 80°, etc. Controlling the degree of the spiral angle within 10° to 80° can enable the rotating assembly to generate sufficient high pressure in the spiral groove during movement to push the rotating assembly to move toward the anode target disc side, thereby reducing the gap in the thrust seal area and ensuring the safety of operation at the same time.

[0039] As a preferred embodiment, the rotating assembly 20 includes a shaft sleeve 21 sleeved on one end of the shaft body 11, a sealing partition 22 provided at one end of the shaft sleeve 21, and a sealing flange 23 provided on one side of the sealing partition 22; the shaft sleeve 21 and the sealing flange 23 are respectively in contact with the shaft protrusion 12, and the sealing partition 22 is sleeved outside the shaft protrusion 12; a liquid storage tank 231 communicating with the leakage suppression area 33 is provided on the inner surface of the sealing flange 23.

[0040] The number of the liquid storage tanks 231 (which can be set to one, or two, or more), the shape of the liquid storage tanks 231, and the depth of the liquid storage tanks 231 can be set according to actual needs to facilitate the storage of liquid metal. Through the liquid storage tank, it is convenient to store the liquid metal flowing from the thrust seal area into the leakage suppression area and prevent the liquid metal from leaking into the vacuum environment outside the bearing.

[0041] As a preferred embodiment, the inner end face is the bottom surface 211 of the shaft sleeve 21 close to the shaft end face 112.

[0042] As a preferred embodiment, the bearing load area 31 is provided between the shaft sleeve 21 and the shaft body 11; the thrust seal area 32 is provided between the shaft protrusion 12 and the shaft sleeve 21, between the shaft protrusion 12 and the sealing partition 22, and between the shaft protrusion 12 and the sealing flange 23; the leakage suppression area 33 is provided between the sealing flange 23 and the shaft body 11.

[0043] When the shaft sleeve 21 rotates relative to the shaft body 11, a relatively high hydrodynamic pressure is generated in the middle area (i.e., the geometric center) of each chevron groove. The pressures in several areas of the thrust seal area 32 are approximately equal, so the force on the entire rotating assembly 20 in the axial direction is basically balanced.

[0044] As a preferred embodiment, the fixing connection between the bushing 21 and the sealing partition 22 and between the sealing partition 22 and the sealing flange 23 is realized by screws 60. The sealing partition is arranged between the bushing and the sealing flange, and the sealing partition is respectively abutted against the bushing and the sealing flange to form a rotating assembly.

[0045] As a preferred embodiment, the liquid metal bearing further includes a motor rotor 70. The motor rotor 70 is sleeved on the outer side of the rotating assembly 20 near one end of the shaft projection 12, and one end of the motor rotor 70 is fixed on the bushing 21.

[0046] In the embodiment of the present application, the shaft body 11 and the shaft projection 12 are integrally formed. The bushing 21, the sealing partition 22 and the sealing flange 23 are all sleeved on the shaft body, that is, the rotating assembly 20 is sleeved on the shaft body. During use, the anode target disc 80 can be sleeved and fixed on one end of the bushing 21 away from the shaft projection 12.

[0047] On the other hand, the embodiment of the present application further provides an X-ray tube, and the X-ray tube includes the liquid metal bearing.

[0048] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to terms such as "one embodiment", "example", etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.

[0049] In addition, it should be understood that although this specification is described according to embodiments, not every embodiment only contains an independent technical solution. The narrative manner of this specification is only for clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard this specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0050] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention accordingly. Any equivalent structural transformation made under the inventive concept of the present invention by using the content of the specification and drawings of the present invention, or directly / indirectly applied in other related technical fields, is included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A liquid metal bearing, characterized in that, It includes a shaft and a rotating assembly; there is a gap between the shaft and the rotating assembly; The shaft includes a shaft body and shaft protrusions annularly arranged on the shaft body, and the rotating assembly can rotate around the shaft body; along the axial direction of the shaft body, the gap includes a bearing load zone, a thrust seal zone and a leakage suppression zone that are sequentially connected; liquid metal is filled in both the bearing load zone and the thrust seal zone; Herringbone grooves are arranged on the surface of the shaft body near the bearing load zone; several spiral grooves are arranged on the axial end face of the shaft body near one end of the herringbone grooves or on the inner end face of the rotating assembly near the axial end face.

2. The liquid metal bearing according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the spiral grooves extends radially; several of the spiral grooves are evenly distributed.

3. The liquid metal bearing according to claim 1, wherein When the spiral groove is arranged on the axial end face, extending outward from the axis center of the shaft body, the degree of the spiral angle formed by the spiral direction of the spiral groove and the rotational linear velocity of the rotating assembly is 100° to 170°.

4. The liquid metal bearing according to claim 1, characterized in that When the spiral groove is arranged on the inner end face, extending outward from the axis center of the shaft body, the degree of the spiral angle formed by the spiral direction of the spiral groove and the rotational linear velocity of the rotating assembly is 10° to 80°.

5. The liquid metal bearing according to claim 1, wherein The rotating assembly includes a shaft sleeve sleeved on one end of the shaft body, a sealing partition arranged at one end of the shaft sleeve, and a sealing flange arranged on one side of the sealing partition; the shaft sleeve and the sealing flange are respectively abutted against the shaft protrusions, and the sealing partition is sleeved on the outside of the shaft protrusions; a liquid storage tank communicating with the leakage suppression zone is arranged on the inner surface of the sealing flange.

6. The liquid metal bearing according to claim 5, wherein The inner end face is the bottom surface of the shaft sleeve near the axial end face.

7. The liquid metal bearing according to claim 5, characterized in that, The bearing load zone is arranged between the shaft sleeve and the shaft body; the thrust seal zone is arranged between the shaft protrusions and the shaft sleeve, between the shaft protrusions and the sealing partition, and between the shaft protrusions and the sealing flange; the leakage suppression zone is arranged between the sealing flange and the shaft body.

8. The liquid metal bearing according to claim 5, wherein The shaft sleeve and the sealing partition, and the sealing partition and the sealing flange are both fixedly connected by screws.

9. The liquid metal bearing according to claim 5, wherein The liquid metal bearing further includes a motor rotor, the motor rotor is sleeved on the outside of the rotating assembly near one end of the shaft protrusions, and one end of the motor rotor is fixed on the shaft sleeve.

10. An X-ray tube, characterized in that, The X-ray tube includes the liquid metal bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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