Counterweight for Mobile X-Ray Device Boom
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile radiography units face challenges in ease of movement and visibility due to fixed vertical columns, which obstruct the technician's view and require significant effort to manipulate the x-ray source boom, especially during transport and positioning.
Innovation Solution
A mobile radiography apparatus with a sectioned vertical column and a counterweight system that allows the boom to be adjusted to various heights and positions, enabling easier movement and improved visibility by using a telescoping design and counterweight mechanism to balance the weight of the x-ray source, allowing for vertical and horizontal adjustments without excessive effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a fixed vertical column is used to support the x-ray source, then the structure is simple and stable, but the technician's visibility is obstructed and the boom is difficult to manipulate
Solution Approach 1:
The vertical column is divided into multiple telescoping sections that can extend and retract independently. This segmentation allows the column to achieve greater height and provide better visibility while maintaining a compact form when retracted, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
A counterweight mechanism is introduced to balance the weight of the extended boom and x-ray source. This counterweight system reduces the effort required to manipulate the boom across its full range of motion, directly improving ease of operation without requiring a complete redesign of the support structure.
2Illumination intensity
If the column is extended to improve visibility, then the technician can see better, but the structure becomes more complex and less stable
Solution Approach 1:
The column transitions from a static fixed structure to a dynamic telescoping structure that can adjust its height. When extended, it provides improved visibility; when retracted, it maintains a compact stable form. The dynamic adjustment mechanism allows the structure to adapt to different operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The traditional fixed mechanical support is replaced with a telescoping mechanical system incorporating counterweights and friction control. This substitution maintains structural stability through controlled friction and mechanical locking while enabling the column to extend for improved visibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the boom is made extendible to reach various positions, then the imaging capability is improved, but the weight and difficulty of positioning increase
Solution Approach 1:
A counterweight system is implemented to offset the weight of the extendible boom and x-ray source. This allows the boom to be made long and adaptable for various imaging positions while the counterweight mechanism balances the weight, making positioning easy and reducing the effective weight the technician must control.
4Ease of operation
If a telescoping column is used to improve visibility and ease of movement, then the operational flexibility is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The telescoping column is divided into multiple sections that slide within each other, allowing compact retraction and extended deployment. This segmentation provides operational flexibility for movement and visibility while keeping each individual section relatively simple in design.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functions are combined into the telescoping column structure: support for the boom, adjustment of height for visibility, and compact storage capability. By merging these functions into a single mechanism, the overall device complexity is reduced compared to having separate systems for each function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances the ease of movement and positioning of the x-ray source, reducing the risk of accidents and improving productivity by providing a balanced and adjustable system that minimizes physical strain on operators, while maintaining a wide range of vertical and horizontal motion for imaging.
Implementation Method 1
a counterweight that is operatively coupled to the boom apparatus to support displacement of the boom apparatus to any of a plurality of vertical positions along the movable section
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A mobile radiography apparatus has a portable transport frame. A sectioned vertical column mounted on the frame defines a vertical axis and has a base section having a fixed vertical position relative to the vertical axis and at least one movable section that is translatable to a variable vertical position. A boom apparatus supports an x-ray source and extends outward from the movable section and has an adjustable height relative to the vertical axis. A counterweight is operatively coupled to the boom apparatus to support displacement of the boom apparatus to any of a plurality of vertical positions along the movable section, wherein the counterweight, in cooperation with boom apparatus movement, travels along a shaft that extends within the movable section, wherein, at one or more of the height positions of the boom apparatus, a portion of the counterweight extends upward above the shaft of the sectioned vertical column.