JPH09230100A - Supporting device for x-ray tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a supporting device for a X-ray tube in which the installed position of the X-ray tube can be adjusted sufficiently accurately in practical use, the construction is simple, and the parts cost and manufacturing cost are low. SOLUTION: A X-ray tube 2 is fixed to the extreme end of a flexible plate- like supporting member 9 by a screw 13, and the member is supported with a base 1. An adjusting screw 16 is supported with a bracket 14 so as to be rotatable but unmovable in the axial direction, and further it is fitted with the screw hole provided on the X-ray tube 2. A setscrew 17 is threadedly fitted with the bracket, and the extreme end is pressure-contacted with the X-ray tube 2. By adjusting the adjusting screw 16, the position of the X-ray tube 2 can be adjusted in the range in the bending direction A of the supporting member 9, and by tightening the setscrew 17, the position can be fixed on the position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an X-ray tube supporting device for supporting an X-ray tube on a base.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An X-ray apparatus for analyzing a crystal structure of a sample using X-ray is widely known. In this X-ray device, X
The X-rays generated from the X-ray focal point in the X-ray tube are guided to the sample, the sample is irradiated, and the X-rays diffracted and reflected by the sample are detected by the X-ray detector. In this X-ray device, an X-ray optical element such as a slit or an X-ray optical element from an X-ray focus to an X-ray detector is connected.
It must be placed exactly on the line optical axis. Therefore,
When performing X-ray measurement using an X-ray apparatus, it is general to first perform optical axis adjustment for accurately positioning each X-ray optical element on the X-ray optical axis.

In this optical axis adjustment, the position of the X-ray focal point may be adjusted by moving the X-ray tube on the base. Conventionally, in order to move the X-ray tube in such a manner, a guide rail is arranged on the base, a traveling body is fitted to the guide rail without rattling, and the X-ray tube is fixed on the traveling body. The structure of doing was adopted. However, in this structure, in order to precisely move the X-ray tube without rattling, the guide rail and the groove of the traveling body fitted to the guide rail must be processed with high precision using a material having high rigidity. There was a problem that the production cost would be very high.

In addition, in order to ensure smooth movement of the X-ray tube, a structure is known in which a traveling body is moved by using a slide mechanism using a large number of rollers. However, this structure has a problem that the cost of parts is further increased.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the installation position of the X-ray tube can be adjusted with sufficient accuracy for practical use, and the structure is simple. An object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray tube supporting device having low parts cost and manufacturing cost.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an X-ray tube supporting apparatus according to claim 1 is a support member fixed to a base and an X-ray tube and having flexibility, and an X-ray. X-ray tube reciprocating means for reciprocating the tube in the bending direction of the support member.

The term "flexibility" as used herein refers to the property that the support member can be flexibly deformed. It is considered that a general material having "flexibility" necessarily has the property of returning to its original position when deformed, that is, "elasticity" regardless of the size. The term "flexibility" as used in claim 1 is a concept that includes such a state where the elasticity is large or a state where the elasticity is so small that it can be ignored. The X-ray tube reciprocating means can be constituted by, for example, a screw supported by the base and screw-fitted into the X-ray tube.

According to this X-ray tube supporting device, the X-ray tube is moved by the X-ray tube reciprocating means, whereby X
The position of the wire tube can be freely adjusted within the bending range of the support member. When actually adjusting the X-ray optical axis, position the X-ray tube ± 1
It can be adjusted freely within the range of about mm. Further, according to this X-ray tube supporting device, a guide rail and a traveling body which are precisely machined with high precision are not required, and the structure is very simple, so that the parts cost and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
And yet, despite the simple support structure
The position accuracy of the X-ray tube that is practically sufficient can be obtained.

In addition to the above-mentioned structure relating to the X-ray tube supporting device, it is possible to provide an X-ray tube pressing member for pressing the X-ray tube in one direction with respect to the bending direction of the supporting member. This X-ray tube pressing member can be constituted by, for example, a screw or a spring. By pressing the X-ray tube moved by the X-ray tube reciprocating means by this X-ray tube pressing member, the X-ray tube can be fixedly held without rattling, that is, can be clamped.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support device for an X-ray tube, wherein the support member is fixed to the base and the X-ray tube and has a flexible and recoverable elasticity, and the X-ray tube is elastically restored by the support member. X-ray tube one side moving means for moving in the opposite direction.

In the X-ray tube supporting apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the "elasticity" is not particularly limited because the supporting member is simply made of a material having "flexibility".
That is, it includes the case where the elasticity is large or the case where the elasticity is small. On the other hand, in the X-ray tube supporting apparatus according to claim 6, the supporting member is "flexible and recoverable elastic".
Is composed of a material having The term "restorable elasticity" as used herein means that when a force is applied to a support member that supports the X-ray tube and the support member is deformed, the support member remains in a state of supporting the X-ray tube when the force is released. It is elastic enough to return to the original position.

According to the X-ray tube supporting apparatus of the present invention, the X-ray tube is pressed in a predetermined direction in advance by the elastic restoring force of the supporting member, and the X-ray tube one side moving means resists the X-ray tube against the elastic restoring force. Then, the position of the X-ray tube is finely adjusted by pressing and moving it to the side opposite to the restoring direction. Since the X-ray tube is stably held by the elastic restoring force of the support member, that is, is stably clamped, it is not necessary to provide any other clamping means.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an X-ray diffractometer using an embodiment of the X-ray tube supporting device according to claim 1. This X-ray diffractometer is configured as a concentrated X-ray diffractometer that measures a powder sample S, and includes an X-ray tube 2 arranged on a base 1 and a X-ray tube 2 arranged on the base 1 as well. And a goniometer 3 which is operated. A divergence regulation slit 4 is arranged between the goniometer 3 and the X-ray tube 2. Also,
A light-receiving slit 6 and an X-ray counter 7 are arranged on a detector arm 5 extending from the main body of the goniometer 3.

The goniometer 3 rotates the sample S continuously or intermittently at a predetermined angular velocity around the sample axis ω. This rotation is generally called θ rotation. In addition, the goniometer 3 rotates the detector arm 5 continuously or intermittently in the same direction about the sample axis ω at an angular velocity that is twice the θ rotation in synchronization with the θ rotation of the sample S. This rotation is generally called 2θ rotation.

The X-ray tube 2 itself has a well-known structure, for example, a filament and a target are contained in an internal space which is closed in a vacuum state. When the filament is energized, thermoelectrons are emitted from the filament. Then, by applying a high voltage between the filament and the target, the emitted thermoelectrons collide with the target at a high speed, thereby emitting X-rays from the target. The area on the target where X-rays are generated is generally called an X-ray focus, and in this embodiment, the X-ray focus is indicated by a symbol F.

As shown in FIG. 2, the X-ray tube 2 is supported by a pair of support members 9 extending forward of the base 1 (rightward in the figure). These supporting members 9 are formed by bending a rectangular metal plate material having a uniform thickness and flexibility, and the base plate portion 11 of the bending member is attached to the side surface of the base 1 by screws 8. It is fixed to the side surface of the base 1 by being fixed to. Note that these support members 9 are located parallel to each other. X-ray tube 2
Are fixed to the tips of these support members 9 by screws 13, and are supported by the side surfaces of the base 1 in this state.

In FIG. 1, a bracket 14 is provided on the side surface of the base 1 and above the support member 9, and an adjusting screw 16 as an X-ray tube reciprocating means is provided through the bracket 14. Further, two pressing screws 17 as X-ray tube pressing members are provided on both sides of the adjusting screw 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the adjusting screw 16 is rotatably supported by the bracket 14 so as not to move in the axial direction. Further, after penetrating the supporting member 9, the adjusting screw 16 is screwed into the screw hole 18 formed in the X-ray tube 2. It is fitted. On the other hand, the pressing screws 17 and 17 are screw-fitted to the bracket 14, and the tips thereof are in contact with the X-ray tube 2 via the support member 9 under pressure.

In FIG. 2, since the supporting members 9 are made of a flexible material, the supporting members 9 are bent downward in the natural state by the weight of the X-ray tube 2 as shown by an arrow A. Tend to However, since the adjusting screw 16 is fitted in the X-ray tube 2, the X-ray tube 2 is held at a predetermined position determined by the screwing depth of the screw 16. Then, by tightening the pressing screws 17, 17 at this position and pressing their tips against the X-ray tube 2, the position of the X-ray tube 2 can be stably held, that is, clamped.

In FIG. 1, a pair of guide plates 19 and 19 are provided at a lateral position of the lower portion of the X-ray tube 2, and as shown in FIG. 2, they contact or come close to the side surface of the X-ray tube 2. .
These guide plates 19 prevent the X-ray tube 2 from swinging laterally.

The operation of the X-ray diffractometer and the X-ray tube supporting device having the above-mentioned construction will be described below. In FIG. 1, an X-ray is emitted from an X-ray source F, and the sample S is rotated by θ by the goniometer 3, and at the same time, the X-ray counter 7 and the light receiving slit 6 are rotated by 2θ. The X-ray emitted from the X-ray source F is applied to the sample S with its divergence angle limited by the divergence regulation slit 4. When the Bragg diffraction condition is satisfied between the X-ray incident on the sample S and the crystal lattice plane of the sample S rotating by θ, the X-ray is diffracted by the sample S, and the diffracted X-ray is incident on the light receiving slit 6. It focuses and passes through the slit and is detected by the X-ray counter 7. As described above, the diffraction angle and the X-ray intensity of the diffracted X-ray diffracted by the sample S are measured, and the sample S is analyzed based on the measurement result.

In performing the above X-ray measurement, each X-ray optical element of the X-ray source F, the divergence regulation slit 4, the sample axis ω, the light receiving slit 6 and the X-ray counter 7 is accurately placed on the X-ray optical axis. Must be located. In order to meet this requirement, in the present embodiment, the amount of screwing of the adjusting screw 16 into the X-ray tube 2 is adjusted in order to adjust the position of the X-ray source F. That is, in FIG. 3, if the adjusting screw 16 is screwed into the inside of the X-ray tube 2 under a state where the pressing screw 17 is loosened, that is, the state where the adjusting screw 16 is largely separated from the X-ray tube 2, the supporting member is indicated by an arrow B. The X-ray tube 2 can be lifted and moved upward within the range of the bending direction of 9 (vertical direction in the drawing). On the other hand, if the adjustment screw 16 is loosened, the X-ray tube 2 can be moved downward as indicated by arrow C. Then, by moving the X-ray tube 2 in the desired direction up and down and adjusting the position, the pressing screw 17 is tightened,
The X-ray tube 2 can be fixedly held at that position.

FIG. 4 shows a main part of another embodiment of the X-ray tube supporting apparatus according to the first aspect. The difference of this embodiment from the previous embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is that a compression spring 23 is provided as the X-ray pressing member instead of the pressing screw 17. According to this embodiment, when adjusting the position of the X-ray tube 2, it is not necessary to loosen or tighten the pressing screw 17 each time, so that workability is improved.

FIG. 5 shows a modified embodiment of the support member 9. In this embodiment, the support member 9 is not formed by bending one flexible plate material, but both ends of the substrate 21 fixed to the side surface of the base 1 by an adhesive agent, screwing or the like. By fixing one plate member to each of the support members 9 with screws 24,
Is arranged. These support members 9 are made of a flexible material and are arranged parallel to each other. The operation of these support members 9 is the same as that of the support member 9 in the previous embodiment shown in FIG.

6 and 7 show an embodiment of an X-ray tube supporting device according to claim 6. This supporting device can also be applied to the X-ray diffractometer shown in FIG. X listed here
The support device for the wire tube is different from the previous embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, (1) a material having flexibility and recoverable elasticity is selected as the material of the support member 29, and (2) That is, as shown in FIG. 7, only the pressing screw 26 is provided on the bracket 14.

When the support member 29 is flexible,
It may inevitably be said to be elastic, however, that elasticity may be greater than the X-ray tube 2 can be lifted upwards in FIG. In some cases, it is so small that it is naturally lowered by its own weight. In the case of this embodiment, the recoverable elasticity referred to in this embodiment is
The elasticity is large enough to lift the X-ray tube 2 upward.

The X-ray tube 2 may be installed not only vertically as in this embodiment but also horizontally. In such a case, the recoverable elasticity means elasticity that moves the X-ray tube 2 in one of the left and right directions, rather than lifting the X-ray tube 2 upward.

In FIG. 7, the pressing screw 26 is the X-ray tube 2.
Is pressed against the elastic restoring force of the support member 9 in the downward direction in the figure, so that the X-ray tube 2 is moved in the direction opposite to the elastic restoring direction of the support member 9 (ie, the upward direction in the figure) (that is, the downward direction in the figure). ) To move. Therefore, when adjusting the optical axis of the X-ray diffractometer, if the pressing screw 26 is pushed in, the X-ray tube 2
The inner X-ray focal point F can be adjusted downward, and on the other hand, if the pressing screw 26 is loosened, the elastic restoring force of the support member 9 can adjust the X-ray focal point F upward. Further, the X-ray tube 2 can be stably held at a fixed position by the elastic restoring force of the support member 9 without using a special clamp device.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims. . For example, in the above description, the case where the X-ray tube supporting device of the present invention is applied to the X-ray diffractometer is illustrated, but the X-ray tube supporting device of the present invention is not limited to the one using an X-ray tube. If so, it can be applied to any X-ray device other than the X-ray diffraction device. Further, in the above description, the present invention is applied to the X-ray diffraction device of the type in which the X-ray tube 2 is installed in the vertical direction, but the present invention is applied to the X-ray diffraction device of the type in which the X-ray tube 2 is installed in the horizontal direction. Of course, it is applicable.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the X-ray tube 2 is used as an X-ray tube reciprocating means for reciprocating the X-ray tube 2 in the bending direction of the support member 9 (that is, in the vertical direction).
Although the adjusting screw 16 that is screw-fitted to the X-ray tube is used, the X-ray tube reciprocating means can be configured by any other structure as long as the X-ray tube 2 can be moved in the vertical direction.

[0030]

According to the X-ray tube supporting apparatus of the first aspect, the X-ray tube is simply supported by the supporting member having flexibility, so that the guide rail and the traveling machine are precisely machined with high precision. Since the body etc. are not needed, the structure is simple,
The parts cost and manufacturing cost can be reduced. Moreover, the arrangement position of the X-ray tube can be adjusted with a practically sufficient position accuracy.

According to the X-ray tube supporting device of the second aspect, the moving direction and the moving amount of the X-ray tube can be freely adjusted only by adjusting the turning direction and the turning amount of the screw. Workability is improved.

According to the X-ray tube supporting device of the third to fifth aspects, by pressing the X-ray tube pressing member against the X-ray tube, the X-ray tube can be fixedly held in a stable state, so-called clamped.

According to the X-ray tube supporting apparatus of the sixth aspect, since the supporting member is made of the material having the recoverable elasticity, it is not necessary to move the X-ray tube in both directions for position adjustment, and the X-ray tube is not required. The position of the X-ray tube can be adjusted by only moving means for moving the X-ray tube in only one direction.

According to the X-ray tube supporting apparatus of the eighth aspect, since the X-ray tube is supported by the pair of plate-shaped members which are parallel to each other, the X-ray tube can be adjusted in position in a stable state without wobbling. You can move to.

According to the X-ray tube supporting apparatus of the ninth aspect, when the X-ray tube is moved for position adjustment, the X-ray tube is moved.
It is possible to prevent lateral runout of the wire tube. Further, in the case of the X-ray optical system arrangement in which the X-ray tube is installed in a state where it is deviated from the vertical vertical direction by a predetermined angle, the X-ray tube can be stably held.

[0036]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of an X-ray diffraction device using an X-ray tube supporting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line ZZ in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a main part of another embodiment of the X-ray tube supporting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a main part of still another embodiment of an X-ray tube supporting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a main part of still another embodiment of an X-ray tube supporting device according to the present invention.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 base 2 X-ray tube 3 goniometer 6 light-receiving slit 7 X-ray counter 9 support member 16 adjusting screw (X-ray tube reciprocating means) 17 pressing screw (X-ray tube pressing member) 19 guide plate 23 compression spring (X-ray tube) Pressing member) 26 Pressing screw (X-ray tube one side moving means) 29 Supporting member F X-ray focus S Sample

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An X-ray tube supporting device for supporting an X-ray tube on a base, comprising: a flexible support member fixed to the base and the X-ray tube; and a bending direction of the support member for the X-ray tube. X-ray tube reciprocating means for reciprocating the X-ray tube. 2. The X-ray tube supporting device according to claim 1, wherein the X-ray tube reciprocating means is a screw supported by the base and screw-fitted into the X-ray tube. Supporting device for wire tubes. 3. The X-ray tube supporting device according to claim 1, further comprising an X-ray tube pressing member that presses the X-ray tube in one direction with respect to the bending direction of the supporting member. Supporting device for wire tubes. 4. The X-ray tube supporting device according to claim 3, wherein the X-ray tube pressing member is a screw.
Supporting device for wire tubes. 5. The X-ray tube supporting device according to claim 3, wherein the X-ray tube pressing member is a spring.
Supporting device for wire tubes. 6. An X-ray tube supporting device for supporting an X-ray tube on a base, comprising: a support member fixed to the base and the X-ray tube and having flexibility and recoverable elasticity; and supporting the X-ray tube. An X-ray tube supporting device, comprising: an X-ray tube single side moving means for moving the member in a direction opposite to the elastic restoring direction. 7. The X-ray tube supporting device according to claim 6, wherein the X-ray tube one-side moving means has a screw that moves forward and backward in the bending direction of the supporting member while being supported by the base. X-ray tube support device. 8. The X-ray tube support device according to claim 1, wherein the support member is a pair of plate-like members that protrude from the base and face each other in parallel. An X-ray tube supporting device, characterized in that the X-ray tube is fixed to these supporting members. 9. The X-ray tube supporting device according to claim 1, wherein both side surfaces of the X-ray tube when the moving direction of the X-ray tube is the front-back direction. An X-ray tube supporting device, comprising a guide member that is in contact with or close to at least one of them.