Patent Number: 048662844
Section: summary

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an irradiation device having a base which is pivotably connected by means of an arm to a housing in which radiation sources are accommodated and in which a radiation exit side is present, the housing, the arm and the base being collapsible to a compact unit. An irradiation device of this type is known from European Patent Application No. 0,106,395 laid open to public inspection. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The known irradiation device for irradiating the human body with ultraviolet radiation has a housing accommodating radiation sources such as high-pressure lamps with reflectors arranged behind them. The radiation leaves the housing via the radiation exit side (which is possibly provided with a transparent plate). The housing is pivotably connected to the wheeled base via a telescopic arm. When using the device the base is placed, for example alongside a bed on which a person to be irradiated is lying. The housing is preferably placed above the body approximately halfway its feet and head. The longitudinal direction of the housing is then generally positioned in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the body. For a satisfactory irradiation of the entire body it is necessary that the said reflectors have a special shape. However, it has been found that the differences in the radiation intensity to which the different parts of the body are exposed are relatively large. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention has for its object to provide a compact irradiation device with which a homogeneous irradiation of the entire human body is obtained. According to the invention an irradiation device of the type described in the opening paragraph is therefore characterized in that the housing has two juxtaposed elongated parts accommodating radiation sources, which parts are pivotable with respect to each other about an axis at right angles to the plane through the radiation exit side. In the operating condition of the device the two parts of the housing can easily be folded out by a user. Then a homogeneous irradiation throughout the length of the body is possible. The advantage of the device according to the invention is that the dimensions of each of the parts of the housing are relatively small as compared with the housing of the known device. The number of radiation sources is the same. The two parts of the housing are preferably pivotable (for example with respect to a coupling member located between the two parts) by means of pivots about axes which are at right angles to the radiation exit side of the housing. Right angles is herein understood to mean perpendicular with a deviation of up to approximately 30.degree. in specific embodiments. In these embodiments the construction of arm and base has been chosen to be such that the device is collapsible in a simple manner. Each of the two parts of the housing accommodates a plurality of radiation sources behind which reflectors are arranged. The parts of the housing have such a shape that, in the folded state, they are accommodated in recesses in the base together with the arm which is pivotably connected to the base. A preferred embodiment of the irradiation device according to the invention is characterized in that the said parts are pivotable up to a position in which their longitudinal axes are in alignment. The advantage of such an embodiment is that if the base of the irradiation device is placed alongside a bed, the housing above this bed assumes such a position that an optimum homogeneous irradiation of a person lying on the bed is obtained throughout the length of his body. The two parts are actually each pivotable through 90.degree. with respect to their initial position. The device then has a stable position. The pivotal points are preferably in the form of pivots with known arresting means being provided. In a further embodiment of the device the two parts of the housing are pivotably secured to one end of an intermediate arm whose other end is connected to the arm secured to the base. The latter arm is preferably in the form of a telescopic arm. The said intermediate arm is in turn also pivotably secured to the telescopic arm. The housing can then easily be placed over a person to be irradiated. The intermediate arm is preferably provided with a coupling member to which the two parts of the housing are pivotably secured. The device is then more easily collapsible. This is notably the case if the intermediate arm (which connects the two parts of the housing to the said telescopic arm) is in the form of a combination of two elongated parallel bars whose ends remote front housing are pivotably connected to a short pivotal bar which is pivotably secured to the top of the arm connected to the base. In a special embodiment this bar is bridged by a gas spring whose ends are pivotably secured to the arm and one of the parallel bars, respectively. The forces on the arm, the pivotal bar and the elongated bars are absorbed by means of the gas spring.