JP6896548B2 - Mobile X-ray device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mobile X-ray apparatus.

Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose a mobile X-ray apparatus having a means for calculating the remaining amount of a battery. Further, in Patent Document 3, as the usage history of the mobile radiographic apparatus, the number of exposures, the moving distance, and the number of times the battery is charged are counted, and a plurality of mobile radiographic apparatus are used on average based on the usage history. It discloses that it chooses to be.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses that the operator is notified of excess or deficiency of the charge amount by estimating the required battery capacity from the shooting order and comparing it with the current battery capacity.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-304696 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-16388 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-6433

When calculating the remaining battery level of a lead-acid battery used in a mobile X-ray device, the actual output power of a battery that has deteriorated and the internal resistance value has increased is apparently measured under no load. It is significantly less than the outputable power calculated based on the voltage. Since this battery deterioration is affected not only by the number of times of charging but also by the amount of discharge during charging, it is not possible to accurately predict the deterioration of the lead-acid battery only by monitoring the number of times of charging.

Even if it is judged from the apparent battery voltage that the remaining amount is sufficient, if sufficient current cannot be output due to battery deterioration, shooting will be stopped due to insufficient current during X-ray shooting, which may result in invalid exposure. ..

A first object of the present invention is to realize a mobile X-ray apparatus capable of more accurately calculating the battery dischargeable amount of a lead storage battery and notifying the user. A second object of the present invention is to realize a mobile X-ray device capable of suppressing battery deterioration of a lead storage battery.

In the mobile X-ray device, in the charger, the number of times the battery is charged and the reference voltage value based on the full charge voltage at the time of the first charge and the voltage value after the charge is completed are counted by weighting according to the discharge amount at the time of charging. The deterioration of the internal resistance value of the battery is predicted based on the difference between the above, and the control unit calculates the dischargeable amount of the battery based on the deterioration of the internal resistance value predicted by the charger.

Further, in the mobile X-ray device having the power saving mode, the level for prompting the battery to be charged is set in the power saving mode, and the control unit sets the level at which the remaining amount of the battery prompts the battery to be charged in the power saving mode. When it reaches, it prompts the battery to be charged.

Other issues and new features will be clarified by the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

In the mobile X-ray apparatus, the occurrence of ineffective exposure due to battery deterioration is suppressed.

It is a functional block diagram of the mobile X-ray apparatus. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the battery deterioration and the number of times of charging. It is a figure which shows the internal resistance increase rate according to the number of charge cycles and the difference from a reference voltage. This is the battery charge control flow. This is a control flow for X-ray photography. This is an example of an operation panel. This is an example of eco mode. This is a control flow of a mobile X-ray device having an eco-mode. It is a figure for demonstrating the setting of an eco-mode by an operation panel.

FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of the mobile X-ray apparatus. The mobile X-ray device is operated by electric power from the battery 102. A lead storage battery is used as the battery 102. Further, a control unit 101 is provided in the housing portion of the mobile X-ray device, and the control unit 101 controls each functional unit of the mobile X-ray device.

The X-ray generator 104 includes an X-ray tube, which comprises a metal target (anode) and a filament (cathode) for emitting electrons in close proximity to the metal target (anode). Since X-rays are generated by the X-ray tube, a high voltage applied between the anode and the cathode is supplied from the booster circuit 103, and electric power for emitting electrons from the filament is supplied from the heating circuit 106. The electric power of the booster circuit 103 and the heating circuit 106 is supplied from the battery 102. The X-ray generation in the X-ray generation unit 104 is executed by the X-ray control calculation unit 108 of the control unit 101. The X-ray control calculation unit 108 holds a setting 120 for generating X-rays. The setting 120 includes a kV setting indicating the voltage applied to the X-ray tube, a mA setting indicating the applied current to the X-ray tube, and a mA setting indicating the applied current × X-ray irradiation time. The X-ray control calculation unit 108 monitors the state of the X-ray generation unit 104, performs voltage (kV) feedback control 121, current (mA) feedback control 122, and heating control 123 according to the setting 120, and performs booster circuit 103, The output of the heating circuit 106 is adjusted.

In addition to this, the display contents of the display unit 113 (operation panel and the like described later) of the mobile X-ray device are controlled by the display control calculation unit 110. Further, the content input by the operator to the display unit 113 is transmitted to the control unit by the display control calculation unit 110. Various operation switches 114 such as arms and lamps of the mobile X-ray apparatus are controlled by each switch control calculation unit 111. Further, the operation performed by the operator on the various operation switches 114 is transmitted to the control unit by each switch control calculation unit 111, and the control according to the operation is executed. Further, the traveling motor 115 for traveling the mobile X-ray device is calculated by the traveling control calculation unit 112.

The battery 102 is charged by the charger 105. When a charging voltage is applied to the charger 105, the mobile X-ray apparatus shifts to the charging mode. The charger 105 measures the remaining amount of the battery 102, the charging voltage, and the charging current, and performs charging control.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the relationship between the deterioration of the battery and the number of times of charging. Even if the apparent voltage 201 measured with no load on the battery does not change significantly, the internal resistance value 202 increases as the number of times the battery is charged increases. Along with this, the electric power 203 that can be actually taken out from the battery is significantly reduced. Therefore, when the electric power 203 that can be actually taken out by the battery becomes low to some extent (region 204), it becomes impossible to take a picture due to insufficient current regardless of the size of the apparent voltage 201.

The internal resistance of this battery cannot be measured by simple measurement. Therefore, the table 250 shown in FIG. 3 is prepared. From the table 250, the internal resistance increase rate can be obtained based on the number of charge cycles of the battery 102 and the difference between the voltage at the completion of charging and the reference voltage. The actual battery power is predicted by predicting the internal resistance value of the battery 102 from the table 250.

FIG. 4 shows a charge control flow of the battery 102 carried out by the mobile X-ray apparatus. The charger 105 registers the internal resistance value actually measured before the start of use of the battery 102 in the memory of the charger 105. Further, in this control flow, the “number of charging cycles” is used to estimate the internal resistance value of the battery 102. The number of charge cycles is different from the number of times the battery is charged, and is the number of times of charge counted by weighting according to the amount of discharge during charging. At the time of initial charging (Yes in step 302), the apparent voltage of the battery 102 when fully charged (the charging voltage measured in the no-load state) is registered in the memory of the charger 105 as a "reference voltage value". (Step 303). In the first charge, the number of charges = the number of charge cycles = 1 (step 304).

Except for the initial charge (No in step 302), the weighting of the number of charge cycles is changed according to the discharge level at the start of charging. In the example of the control flow of FIG. 4, when the discharge amount of the battery 102 is less than 15%, it is 1 times (step 306), and when the discharge amount of the battery 102 is 15% or more and less than 50%, it is 5 times (step 307). ), When the discharge amount of the battery 102 is 50% or more, the weighting is performed 10 times (step 308). This weighting is an example, and the weighting according to the discharge level and the table 250 shown in FIG. 3 may be determined according to the characteristics of the battery 102.

When the charging of the battery 102 is completed, the voltage value of the fully charged battery is compared with the reference voltage value, and the difference is obtained (step 309). With reference to Table 250, the internal resistance increase rate is obtained based on the difference between the voltage value of the battery at the time of full charge and the reference voltage value and the number of charging cycles, and the internal resistance value is updated (step 310). The updated internal resistance value is transmitted from the charger 105 to the battery remaining amount calculation unit 107 of the control unit 101.

FIG. 5 shows a control flow of X-ray photography by a mobile X-ray apparatus. The operator operates a mobile X-ray device and moves to the bedside where the subject is present by motor drive or manually. After positioning, set the X-ray imaging conditions. The X-ray imaging conditions are set from the operation panel of the mobile X-ray apparatus. An example of the operation panel is shown in FIG. The operation panel 600 includes various display panels and various control switches. For example, the tube voltage set by the operator is displayed on the kV display 603, the tube current is displayed on the mAs display 604, and the operator can change the value by operating the switches 605 and 606. .. The operator sets the value of the display to a desired value and presses the memory light switch 602 to determine the X-ray imaging condition. That is, the X-ray control calculation unit 108 of the control unit 101 reads the value when the memory write switch 602 is pressed as the setting 120 (step 401).

On the other hand, the battery remaining amount calculation unit 107 of the control unit 101 calculates the amount of current that can be discharged by the battery 102 based on the apparent voltage of the battery 102 and the latest internal resistance value transmitted from the charger 105 (step). 402). The X-ray control calculation unit 108 determines whether or not it is possible to shoot with the calculated amount of dischargeable current when irradiating X-rays under the set shooting conditions, and if possible (Yes in step 403), it is set. X-ray imaging is performed according to the imaging conditions (step 404). On the other hand, if there is a possibility that the shooting current is insufficient (No in step 403), the operator is notified by an alarm of the possibility of the shooting current being insufficient (step 405). The alarm is given by the sound from the operation panel or the display on the display panel. If the operator selects the end of radiography (Yes in step 406), the X-ray radiography is finished (step 407). If the operator selects to continue imaging (No in step 406), the output current is suppressed to match the set mAs value (step 408), and X-ray imaging is performed by extending the irradiation time (step 409). .. If it is determined that the X-ray imaging cannot be completed even if the current is suppressed in this way, the operator is notified again with an alarm and the X-ray imaging is terminated.

As the second embodiment, a mobile X-ray apparatus having a power saving mode (referred to as “eco mode” here) that prolongs the life of the battery will be described. The parts common to the first embodiment will be described mainly in the eco mode, avoiding duplicate explanations. FIG. 7 shows an example of an eco-mode in which a mobile X-ray device can be set. In the example of FIG. 7, three eco levels 1 to 3 are provided in the eco mode, and the power saving level is set to be higher in order. As for the eco-level, parameters are appropriately set for the items of "level for promoting battery charging", "X-ray current control amount", and "presence / absence of each operating current control". Each operating current includes a current for a traveling motor and the like. For example, when each operating current control is turned on, traveling by driving a motor is considered to be low-speed traveling.

FIG. 8 shows a control flow of the mobile X-ray apparatus when the eco mode is provided. First, the operation mode of the mobile X-ray device is switched and set from the normal mode to the eco mode (step 501). The switching setting is performed using the operation panel 600. The operation of the operation panel 600 for this purpose will be described with reference to FIG. First, the operator presses the menu switch 601 of the operation panel 600 (see FIG. 6) (step 901) to switch to the user maintenance mode (step 902). When the operator operates the switch 605, "C.EC" is displayed on the kV display 603 (step 903). This is the display indicating the eco mode. In this state, when the operator further operates the switch 606, "ON" is displayed on the mAs display 604 (step 904). In this state, by pressing the memory light switch 602 (step 905), the operation mode of the mobile X-ray apparatus is set to the eco mode (step 906). Subsequently, a number is displayed on the mAs display 604 (step 907). In the example of FIG. 7, since eco-levels 1 to 3 are provided, for example, "1" is displayed on the mAs display 604 as a default value. The operator operates the switch 606 to display the desired eco-level in order to set the desired eco-level (step 908). In this state, by pressing the memory light switch 602 (step 909), the operation mode of the mobile X-ray apparatus is set to a desired eco-level (step 910).

The operator starts the rounds, operates the mobile X-ray device, and moves to the bedside where the subject is present by motor drive or manually. Since it is set to the eco mode, if it is driven by a motor, the output will be suppressed and the start will be slow. After arriving in the hospital room, position the patient and set the X-ray imaging conditions. Further, the battery remaining amount calculation unit 107 of the control unit 101 calculates the amount of current that can be discharged by the battery 102. These steps are the same as steps 401 and 402 of the control flow of FIG.

Since the mobile X-ray device is set in the eco mode, when executing X-ray irradiation, the X-ray current value is suppressed according to the set eco level and the irradiation is performed so as to match the set mAs value. Shooting is performed by adjusting the time (steps 502 and 503).

When the remaining battery level is reduced to the state set at the eco level (Yes in step 504), for example, by blinking the remaining battery level indicator light 607 regardless of the state of the remaining battery level indicator light 607 of the operation panel 600, Prompt the operator to charge (step 505). The example of FIG. 8 is an example set to eco-level 3. When starting charging (Yes in step 506), the operator charges the battery according to the flow of FIG.

101: Control unit, 102: Battery, 103: Booster circuit, 104: X-ray generator, 105: Charger, 106: Heating circuit, 107: Battery level calculation unit, 108: X-ray control calculation unit, 110: Display Control calculation unit, 111: Each switch control calculation unit, 112: Travel control calculation unit, 113: Display unit, 114: Various operation switches, 115: Travel motor.

Claims (8)

With the battery
An X-ray generator that receives power from the battery to generate X-rays,
A charger to charge the battery and
Has a control unit
When charging the battery, the charger weights and counts according to the amount of discharge during charging, and the reference voltage value based on the number of times the battery is charged and the full charge voltage at the time of initial charging and the voltage value after charging is completed. Referring to table storing internal resistance increase rate rather based on a difference between, by updating the internal resistance actually measured before the start of use of the battery using the internal resistance increase rate applicable, the interior of the battery Predict the resistance value and
The control unit is a mobile X-ray device that calculates the dischargeable amount of the battery based on the internal resistance value predicted by the charger. In claim 1,
The control unit is a mobile X-ray apparatus that issues an alarm when the imaging current under the set X-ray imaging conditions may be insufficient for the dischargeable amount of the battery. In claim 1,
When the imaging current under the set X-ray imaging conditions may be insufficient for the dischargeable amount of the battery, the control unit suppresses the output current and extends the X-ray irradiation time to perform X-ray imaging. Mobile X-ray equipment to perform. In claim 1,
In the power saving mode, a level that encourages charging of the battery is set.
The control unit is a mobile X-ray device that promotes charging of the battery when the remaining amount of the battery reaches a level that promotes charging of the battery in the power saving mode. In claim 4 ,
Has a traveling motor for traveling,
In the power saving mode, the operating current control is set.
The control unit is a mobile X-ray device in which the traveling motor travels at a low speed in the power saving mode. In claim 4 ,
In the power saving mode, the X-ray current control amount of the X-ray generating unit is set.
The control unit is a mobile X-ray apparatus that performs X-ray photography by suppressing an output current to the X-ray current control amount and adjusting the X-ray irradiation time in the power saving mode. In any one of claims 4 to 6,
The power saving mode is a mobile X-ray apparatus having a plurality of levels having different power saving levels. In any one of claims 1 to 7,
The battery is a mobile X-ray device that is a lead storage battery.

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