JP2504084Y2 - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Overview] Regarding an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of electroacoustic transducers are arranged, a plurality of ultrasonic probes having a uniform acoustic characteristic are provided. Electroacoustic transducers arranged in parallel, a sound wave absorber provided in contact with the rear surface of the arranged electroacoustic transducers, and made of the same material as the sound wave absorber, the sound wave absorber is accommodated and the edge surface A housing case adhered to the rear edge of the arranged electroacoustic conversion elements, and a plurality of signals which are connected to the end portions of the rear surface of the arranged electroacoustic conversion elements and are independently conducted to each of the electroacoustic conversion elements. It consists of a signal line extraction plate having a wire and a ground plate that is common to the electroacoustic conversion element. From the front surface of the electroacoustic conversion element, the electroacoustic conversion element is vibrated by energization from each signal line of the signal line extraction plate. Ultrasound that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves In the wave probe, the housing case is made of the same material as the sound wave absorber.

[Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of electroacoustic conversion elements are arranged.

Among ultrasonic transducers used in ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, for example, ultrasonic transducers, particularly array-type transducers in which a large number of fine electroacoustic transducers are arranged,
A sound wave absorber is provided on the back surface of the electroacoustic conversion element to prevent ringing. However, since the acoustic characteristics differ depending on the position of the arranged electroacoustic conversion element, a method of making this uniform is desired.

[Conventional technology]

3 and 4 show conventional examples (1) and (2) of the array type transducer. A known acoustic lens is not shown.

In FIG. 3 (a) of the conventional example (1), a plurality of electroacoustic transducers (hereinafter referred to as transducers) 1a, 1b, ... It is arranged at a small interval (for example, 50 μm).

The conversion elements 1a, 1b, ... Are joined by soldering or the like on the flexible printed board 5a on which conductive patterns 4 are formed so as to conduct from the lower end portions thereof. Further, a common ground plate 6a is similarly joined to the opposite ends of the conversion elements 1a, 1b, ....

As shown in FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (c), the conversion elements 1a, 1
A case 8a made of epoxy resin or ceramic is adhered to the lower surface of b ... with an adhesive, and the bottom of the case 8a is opened.

In the case 8a, a sound wave absorber 7a made of an epoxy resin material mixed with a metal powder (for example, iron oxide powder) is injected from the bottom of the case 8a so as to come into full contact with the lower surfaces of the conversion elements 1a, 1b, .... It is housed.

The sound wave absorber 7a has a function of absorbing downward ultrasonic waves in the drawings of the conversion elements 1a, 1b, ....

With such a configuration, the ultrasonic waves emitted from the conversion elements 1a, 1b, ... In a scanning manner in the upward direction in the drawing are reflected by the internal conditions of the human body and received.

In FIG. 4 (a) of the conventional example (2), the materials of the sound wave absorber 7b and the case 8b are the same as those of the sound wave absorber 7a and the case 8a of the conventional example (1), respectively. The longitudinal direction of the conversion elements 1a, 1b, ... Is in contact with the sound wave absorber 7b over the entire length, and as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the conversion elements at both ends are wider by the thickness of the case 8b. Has been formed.

A conventional example (3) is shown in FIG. 5. For example, iron oxide powder is mixed without forming the case 8a and the acoustic wave absorber 7a separately as in the conventional examples (1) and (2). Converting element 1 as a sound wave absorbing part 7c molded integrally with epoxy resin material
This is a method of adhering to the back surface of a, 1b, ....

[Problems to be solved by the device]

According to the above conventional method, in the case of the conventional example (1), since the outer surface of the case matches the outer peripheral surface of the conversion element, the case is in contact with the lower surface of the conversion element by the thickness, and Since the materials of the case and the case are different, the acoustic impedance of the part where the transducer is in contact with the case is different from the part where it is in contact with the sound wave absorber, which adversely affects the sound field and the uniformity of characteristics cannot be obtained. Is reduced.

In order to avoid this, the method of the conventional example (2) is taken, but the transducer element becomes large by the thickness of the case, the ultrasonic probe becomes large, and the portion showing thin hatching is wasted. .

Therefore, when the case and the sound wave absorber are integrally molded as in the method of the conventional example (3), an adhesive is applied to the entire contact surface of the sound wave absorber to adhere to the back surface of the conversion element. If it is applied, the adhesive reduces the sound wave absorbing performance, so that it is unavoidable to apply the adhesive to the peripheral portion for adhesion. However, if it is applied to the peripheral portion, the contact between the sound wave absorbing portion and the conversion element becomes incomplete due to the thickness of the adhesive, and again the sound wave absorbing performance cannot be secured. For this reason, it is possible to form a step in the peripheral portion of the sound wave contact surface in consideration of the thickness of the adhesive, but it is still difficult to obtain perfect contact.

There is a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe having a small size and uniform acoustic characteristics.

[Means for solving the problem]

 FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a conversion element, 5 is a signal line extraction plate, 6 is a ground plate, 7 is a sound wave absorber formed of a material that absorbs sound waves and provided in contact with the rear surface of the arranged conversion elements 1, 8 Is formed of the same material as the sound wave absorber 7, and is housed in the sound wave absorber 7 and bonded to the edge of the rear surface of the electroacoustic transducer 1 in which the edge surfaces are arranged. The transducer element 1 is vibrated by energization from the signal line to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves from the front surface of the transducer element 1, and the sound wave absorber 7 and the housing case 8 absorb ultrasonic waves in the rear direction. There is.

[Action]

When the ultrasonic wave is transmitted and received from the front surface of the conversion element 1, the housing case 8 is made of the same material as the sound wave absorber 7, so that the ultrasonic wave in the back direction of the conversion element 1 is stored in the sound wave absorber 7 and the housing case. 8 is absorbed, the acoustic characteristics of the arranged conversion elements 1 are made uniform, and the resolution can be improved.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The same reference numerals denote the same objects throughout the drawings. In FIG. 2, the components corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are shown surrounded by a one-dot chain line.

As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and (b), the same material as the acoustic wave absorber 7a, that is, metal powder, for example, iron oxide powder, is provided on the lower surface of the plurality of conversion elements 1a, 1b, ... Of the array type transducer. The case 8c made of the mixed epoxy resin material is adhered with an adhesive. This bonding has a minimum bonding area so as to obtain a desired bonding force so as not to impair the sound wave absorbing performance.

Further, the sound wave absorber 7a is accommodated in the case 8c until it is injected from the opening bottom of the case 8c and comes into contact with the lower surfaces of the conversion elements 1a, 1b ,.

With such a configuration, the sound wave absorber 7a is injected from the opening bottom of the case 8c, so that the sound wave absorber 7a is completely in contact with the rear surface of the arranged conversion elements 1a, 1b, ...
When the ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received from the upper surfaces of 1a, 1b, ..., The ultrasonic waves from the lower surfaces of the conversion elements 1a, 1b, ... Are absorbed by the entire contact surface between the sound wave absorber 7a and the case 8c. As a result of an experimental investigation, it was found that the adhesive on the contact surface of the case 8c had little influence on the sound absorbing performance at this time.

Therefore, since the ultrasonic waves are uniformly absorbed, the acoustic characteristics can be made uniform, and an ultrasonic probe having an excellent sound field and good resolution can be obtained without increasing the size.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the acoustic characteristics of the back surface of the conversion element can be made uniform by using the same material for the sound wave absorber and the case, the size is small and the resolution of the sound field is excellent. There is an effect that a good ultrasonic probe can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are block diagrams showing conventional examples (1) to (3). In the figure, 1,1a and 1b are conversion elements, 7,7a are sound wave absorbers, 8 is a housing case, and 8a to 8c are cases.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-60-58550 (JP, A) Actually opened 58-34048 (JP, U) Actually opened 61-40658 (JP, U) US Patent 3821834 (US) , A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A plurality of electroacoustic transducers (1) arranged in parallel, and a plurality of electroacoustic transducers (1) formed of a material that absorbs sound waves and provided in contact with the back surface of the arranged electroacoustic transducers (1). The acoustic wave absorber (7) is formed of the same material as the acoustic wave absorber (7), and the acoustic wave absorber (7) is housed and the edge surface of the electroacoustic conversion element (1) is arranged on the back surface of the array. Storage case glued to the rim (8)
And a signal line extraction plate having a plurality of signal lines connected to the rear end portion of the arranged electroacoustic conversion elements (1) and independently conducting to each of the arranged electroacoustic conversion elements (1). (5) and a ground plate (6) common to the arranged electroacoustic transducers (1), and the electroacoustic transducers (5) are energized from the respective signal lines of the signal line extraction plate (5). An ultrasonic probe that vibrates 1) to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves from the front surface of the electroacoustic transducer (1), wherein the housing case (8) is the same as the sound absorber (7). An ultrasonic probe characterized by being formed of a material.