Handbrake of a medical imaging apparatus

Abstract

A handbrake of a medical imaging apparatus that has a movable patient table with a top face on which a patient lies, fastens and releases the patient table when actuated. The handbrake with a mounting face and a first face has a main body and has a brake actuation button, operable in an actuation direction. The mounting face is attachable to the patient table. The front face is directly opposite to at least some parts of the mounting face in the actuation direction. The brake actuation button is disposed on the front face of the main body, and is actuated by pushing the brake actuation button in the actuation direction, in order to fasten or to release the brake of the patient table. The actuation direction is essentially perpendicular to the top face of the patient table.

Claims

1. Handbrake for a medical imaging apparatus having a moveable patient table, the movable patient table having a top face for a patient to lie on, the handbrake comprising: a main body and a brake actuation button, the handbrake being configured to fasten and/or release the patient table when actuated; and an actuating element that is configured to selectively engage a patient table base to fasten the movable patient table to the patient table base, the patient table being immovably fixed relative to the table base during engagement, wherein: the main body has a mounting face and a front face, the mounting face is configured to be attached to the patient table of the medical imaging apparatus, the front face is located directly opposite to at least some parts of the mounting face in a direction of an actuation direction, the brake actuation button is disposed on the front face of the main body, the brake actuation button is actuatable by pushing the brake actuation button in the actuation direction, in order to fasten and/or to release the brake of the patient table, the brake actuation button engaging the actuating element when pushed in the actuation direction to cause the actuating element to selectively engage the patient table base, and the actuation direction is at least essentially perpendicular to the top face of the patient table.

2. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein the mounting face has a fixing assembly for immovably fixing the handbrake to the patient table of the medical imaging apparatus.

3. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein the main body has a cover section, which overlaps a side of the patient table.

4. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein the average direction of the normal of the front face is substantially parallel to the actuation direction.

5. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the front face and the actuation button is convex shaped.

6. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the front face and the actuation button has edges that are rounded.

7. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein a projection of the front face onto a projection plane completely or at least almost completely encloses a projection of the brake actuation button onto the projection plane, wherein the actuation direction is parallel to a normal of the projection plane.

8. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein: the brake actuation button has a front side, the front side has a normal parallel or essentially parallel to the average direction of the normal of the front face, and at least one of the edges of the front side is rounded.

9. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein the brake actuation button is only linerally displaceable.

10. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein the brake actuation button, the mounting face, and/or the front face are made of plastic.

11. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein: the front face has a recess, and the actuation button is at least partly inserted into the recess, when the actuation button is being pushed in the actuation direction.

12. Handbrake for a medical imaging apparatus, the handbrake comprising: a main body, a brake actuation button, and an actuating element, wherein: the medical imaging apparatus has a moveable patient table, the movable patient table having a top face for a patient to lie on, the handbrake fastens and/or releases the patient table when actuated, the actuating element is configured to selectively engage a patient table base to fasten the movable patient table to the patient table base, the patient table being immovably fixed relative to the table base during engagement, the main body has a mounting face and a front face, the mounting face is designed to be attached to the patient table of the medical imaging apparatus, the brake actuation button is disposed on the front face of the main body, the brake actuation button is actuatable by pushing the brake actuation button in an actuation direction, in order to fasten and/or to release the brake of the patient table, the brake actuation button engaging the actuating element when pushed in the actuation direction to cause the actuating element to selectively engage the patient table base, a ratio of the maximum distance of the actuation button to the mounting face in the actuation direction to the minimal lateral extension of the main body in a direction perpendicular to the actuation direction is within a range of 0.3 to 0.75.

13. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of a maximum distance of the actuation button to the mounting face in the actuation direction to a minimal lateral extension of the main body in a direction perpendicular to the actuation direction is within a range of 0.3 to 0.75.

14. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein the main body is L-shaped and the front face of the main body is convex shaped.

15. Handbrake according to claim 1, wherein the medical imaging apparatus is an open magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device.

16. Handbrake according to claim 12, wherein the medical imaging apparatus is an open magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a handbrake according to the invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of a medical imaging apparatus according to the invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a top view of a handbrake according to the invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is another schematic sectional view of a handbrake according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(5) In FIG. 1, a sectional view a handbrake 1 is shown, wherein the handbrake 1 has a main body 9, having a mounting face 10, a front face 20, and a cover section 12. The main body 9 is made out of one piece and is L-shaped, wherein one branch of the L contains the front face 20 and the mounting face 10, and wherein the other branch of the L forms the cover section 12. The cover section 12 has an outward-pointing normal N12, and the cover section 12 covers the side of the patient table 50. The patient table 50 is fastened to the patient table base 51 by the transition element 40, serving as the brake or brake pad or brake actuator element. In the situation shown in FIG. 1, the handbrake 1 is fastened and thus, the patient table 50 is fixed. In order to release the handbrake 1, the brake actuation button 30, that is disposed on the front face 10 of the main body 9, needs to be pushed in the actuation direction A. This can for instance be done by applying a force to the front side 32 of the actuation button 30. In the situation shown in FIG. 1 the actuation direction A is parallel to the vertical direction. In order to prevent injuries the front face 32 has round edges. The outward-pointing normal N32 of the front side 32 is essentially parallel to the actuation direction A and to the average normal N20 of the front face 20. The front face 20 has a convex shape in order to ease the usability of the handbrake 1. Furthermore, the front face 20 has rounded edges on both edges delimiting the front face 20 in positive and negative direction of the normal N12 of the cover section 12. Directly opposite to the front face 20 in the actuation direction A, the main body 9 has a mounting face 10 that is directly contacting the patient table 50. The mounting face 10 has a planar shape that is parallel to some parts of the patent table 50, additionally, the mounting face has a fixing assembly (not shown) to immovably fix the handbrake 1 to the patient table 50.

(6) FIG. 2, a medical imaging apparatus 55 is illustrated, having an imaging region 57, a handbrake 1 and a patient table 50. The imaging region 57 of the medical imaging apparatus 55 can for instance have a magnet such as a permanent magnet or an electromagnet, if the medical imaging apparatus 55 is an MRI device. The patient table 50 has a top face 52 for a patient to lie on, wherein the patient is supposed to lie parallel to the length direction L50 of the patient table 50. The top face 52 of the patient table 50 lies within a plane that is being spanned by the length direction L50 of the patient table 50, and the width direction W50 of the patient table 50. The patient table 50 can for instance be moved in at least one of the length direction L50 and the width direction W50 of the patient table 50 respectively. The handbrake 1 is immovably fixed to the patient table 50 of the medical imaging apparatus 55 by a fixing assembly (not shown). The front face 20 of the main body 9 is facing in the actuation direction A. The actuation direction A is directed perpendicular to the length direction L50 of the patient table 50 and perpendicular to the width direction W50 of the patient table 50, and, additionally, perpendicular the normal N12 of the cover section 12. In order to release the handbrake 1, the actuation button 30 needs to be pushed in the actuation direction A. This can be done by applying a force to the front side 32 of the brake actuation button 30. In order to prevent injuries of the handbrake operator the front side 32 of the brake actuation button 30 has rounded corners and edges.

(7) FIG. 3, another example of a handbrake 1 is illustrated. The handbrake 1 is having a front face 20, and a brake actuation button 30, wherein a projection of the front face 20 onto a projection plane, completely encloses a projection of the brake actuation button 30 on that projection plane, wherein the actuation direction A is parallel to a normal of the projection plane. The front face 20 is having sharp corners. On the other hand the front side 32 of the brake actuation button 30 is having rounded corners.

(8) FIG. 4 illustrates another sectional schematic view of a handbrake 1. The handbrake 1 is having an actuation button 30 that has a top face 32. The normal N32 of the top face 32 is parallel to the actuation direction A. The front face 20 of the main body 9 of the handbrake 1 has a recess 22, in which the actuation button 30 is at least partly contained. The mounting face 10 of the main body 9 of the handbrake 1 is directly contacting the top face 52 of the patient table 50. The ratio of the maximum distance A10 of the actuation button 30 to the mounting face 10 in the actuation direction A to the minimal lateral extension W9 of the main body 9 in a direction perpendicular to the actuation direction A, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, is approximately 0.4.

(9) Although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art, it is the intention of the Applicant to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of the Applicant's contribution to the art.