(19)
(11) EP 0 182 637 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
03.06.1987 Bulletin 1987/23

(43) Date of publication A2:
28.05.1986 Bulletin 1986/22

(21) Application number: 85308364

(22) Date of filing: 18.11.1985
(84) Designated Contracting States:
DE FR GB NL

(30) Priority: 21.11.1984 US 673657

(71) Applicant: PICKER INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 ()

(72) Inventors:
  • Furbee, Avery D.
     ()
  • Pleil, Viktor W.
     ()

   


(54) X-ray tubes


(57) An x-ray tube wherein two or more cathode filaments (30, 32) respectively provide the electrons for respective contiguous portions (40a, 40b) of a single unitary anode spot region (40). An elongated spot region may thus be provided by multiple short filaments which are more robust than a single filament required to produce such a spot. Where the anode (12) is a rotating anode, the filements 130, 32) may be differently energised to take account of the different speeds of anode rotation with distance from the axis (22) of anode rotation.






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