JPH04178557A - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize probes by providing a common signal cable and a transceiver for each pair of vibrating elements in the common transmission relation to a pair of ultrasonic vibrating element blocks. CONSTITUTION:The first ultrasonic vibrating element 12 on the I side constitutes a closed circuit together with a transmission/reception section 16a via a signal line 22, a signal cable 14a, an earth line 18a and an earth cable 20a, the second element 12 on the I side constitutes a closed circuit together with a transmission/ reception section 16b, and the third element 12 on the I side constitutes a closed circuit together with a transmission/reception section 16c. If the delay time of the elements 12 is selected to a proper value, convergence beams A-C are obtained. Terminals (a) and (d) of switches 24, 28, 31 are connected, and both ends of the fifth through seventh elements 12 on the II side are short-circuited. A convergence beam D is obtained by the selection of the delay time of the second through fourth elements 12 on the I side. Convergence beams E-H are likewise obtained on the II side. Images on both ends are generated by the beams A-H.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe that is equipped with a plurality of ultrasonic vibrating elements arranged in an array and performs linear scanning by electronically switching the ultrasonic vibrating elements. Concerning tentacles.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, an ultrasonic probe is known that includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements arranged in an array and performs linear scanning by electronically switching the ultrasonic transducer elements.

As shown in FIG. 4, this ultrasonic probe 10 has a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements 12 arranged in an array, and each ultrasonic transducer element 12 is connected to a signal cable 14. Transmitter/receivers 16 for transmitting and receiving signals are connected respectively.

Each ultrasonic vibration element 12 is connected to a ground line 18, and the ground line 18 is connected to a ground cable 20.
It is connected to each transceiver 16 via.

Next, the operation will be explained.

When transmitting an ultrasonic beam, the ultrasonic beam is deflected and focused by giving different delay times to each ultrasonic vibrating element 12. Furthermore, when receiving ultrasonic waves reflected by the subject (hereinafter referred to as echoes), a tomographic image can be obtained by processing the echo signals received by each ultrasonic transducer element 12.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] According to the conventional ultrasonic probe described above, each time the number of ultrasonic transducer elements increases, the number of signal cables and transceivers increases. There is a limit to the miniaturization of the ultrasonic probe, and the increase in the number of transmitters and receivers increases the size of the device and increases costs, which is an obstacle to miniaturization, especially when this ultrasonic probe is used for family celebrations. There was an issue.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems,
The purpose is to provide an ultrasonic probe that reduces the size and cost of the ultrasonic probe by reducing the number of signal cables and transmitters/receivers while maintaining the number of ultrasonic vibrating elements.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to achieve the above object, a plurality of ultrasonic vibration elements arranged in an array, a plurality of signal cables each having one end connected to each of the ultrasonic vibration elements, An ultrasonic probe including a plurality of transceivers provided at the other ends of each of the signal cables, and a ground cable connected in parallel to each of the ultrasonic vibration elements and each of the transducers. , the plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements are composed of at least one ultrasonic transducer block pair, and a pair of ultrasonic transducers having a common transmission relationship with each other in a pair of ultrasonic transducer blocks constituting the ultrasonic transducer block pair A common signal cable and a transmitter/receiver are provided for each vibration element, and an independent ground cable is provided for each ultrasonic vibration element block. It is characterized by sequential switching operation of the element processors.

[Function] According to the above configuration, since a common signal cable and transmitter/receiver are provided for each pair of ultrasonic vibrator elements having a common transmission relationship in each ultrasonic transducer device processor, the signal cable and transmitter/receiver are It is possible to reduce the number of containers by half.

Here, each ultrasonic vibration element block is sequentially operated by switching the changeover switch.

[Example] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the invention.

The ultrasonic probe 10 has a plurality of (for example, eight) ultrasonic vibration elements 12 arranged in an array, and the plurality of ultrasonic vibration elements 12 are composed of one or more block pairs 11. In this embodiment, each block pair 11 is divided into two, an I side and a side.

The No. 1 ultrasonic vibrating element 12 on the I side and the No. 5 ultrasonic vibrating element 12 on the It is connected to the.

Further, the signal cable 14a is connected to the C terminal of the switch 24, and the transceiver 16a is connected to the B terminal of the switch 24.

Further, a first grounding cable 20a is connected to the C terminal of the switch 24, and a second grounding cable 20b is connected to the d terminal of the switch 24.

Similarly, the No. 2 ultrasonic vibration element 12 on the ■ side and the No. 6 ultrasonic vibration element 12 on the ■ side are connected in parallel by a signal line 26, and the signal line 26 is connected to the transmitter/receiver via the signal cable 14b. 16b.

Further, the signal cable 14b is connected to the C terminal of the switch 28, and the transceiver 16b is connected to the B terminal of the switch 28.

Further, a first grounding cable 2Oa is connected to the C terminal of the switch 28, and a second grounding cable 20b is connected to the d terminal of the switch 28.

Below, the No. 3 ultrasonic vibrating element 12 on the ■ side, the No. 7 ultrasonic vibrating element 12 on the ■ side, and the No. 4 ultrasonic vibrating element 12 on the I side.
The ultrasonic vibration elements 12 No. 8 on the and ■ sides are also connected in the same way.

The first ground cable 20a is the ground line 1.
The second ground cable 20b is connected to each ultrasonic vibration element 12 on the I side via the ground line 18a.
It is connected to each ultrasonic vibration element 12 on the ■ side via b.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

I side 1. 2. When generating an ultrasonic beam using the third ultrasonic vibrating element 12, switch 24.28°32 is set to the third
Connect as shown in figure (a).

Then, the first ultrasonic vibration element 12 on the I side connects the signal line 22, the signal cable 14a, and the ground line 18a.
and the transmitting/receiving section 16a via the first ground cable 20a.
It forms a closed circuit and is driven by a signal from the transmitting/receiving section 16a.

Similarly, the second ultrasonic vibration element 12 on the I side is the transmitter/receiver 1
6b and is driven by a signal from the transmitting/receiving section 16b, and the third ultrasonic transducer element 12 on the first side also constitutes a closed circuit with the transmitting/receiving section 16c and is driven by a signal from the transmitting/receiving section 16c.

And I side 1. 2. No. 3 each ultrasonic vibration element 12
If the delay time of is selected to an appropriate value, a focused beam such as A or B can be obtained.

At this time, by connecting the C terminal and the d terminal of the switches 24, 28, and 32, the ultrasonic transducer elements 12 on the side 5, 6, and 7 are not driven because both ends thereof are short-circuited.

In addition, when the scan moves from the I side to the ■ side, the ultrasonic vibrating element 12 No. 4 on the ■ side and the ultrasonic vibrating element 12 No. 5 on the ■ side are the ultrasonic vibrating element No. 1 on the I side on the non-drive side. 12 and ■ side 8
Since the ultrasonic transducer 12 on the I side is driven, they cannot be driven at the same time. 3. Select the delay time of each ultrasonic transducer 12 No. 4 to an appropriate value to obtain a focused beam like D.゛Similarly, side 5. 6. Each ultrasonic vibration element No. 7 12
A focused beam such as E is obtained by selecting an appropriate delay time of E.

At this time, by connecting the switches 24, 28, and 32 as shown in FIG. 3(b), each ultrasonic transducer element 12 at No. 7 at 5 and 6 degrees on the ■ side is driven, and the ultrasonic transducer elements 12 at No. 7 on the I side are driven at 1 degree and 2.3 degrees on the I side. Since both ends of each ultrasonic vibration element 12 are short-circuited, they are not driven.

Thereafter, similar operations are performed to obtain focused beams such as F, G, and H, and images at both ends can be generated using the focused beams A and H, thereby improving image quality.

When receiving ultrasonic waves reflected by the subject (hereinafter referred to as echoes), a tomographic image can be obtained by processing the echo signals received by each ultrasonic transducer element 12.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the explanation was given using an example in which the number of ultrasonic vibrating elements is eight, but the present invention is not limited to the number of ultrasonic vibrating elements, and the more the number of ultrasonic vibrating elements increases, the more Effective.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiments, an example in which the plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements is composed of one ultrasonic transducer block pair has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be composed of two or more block pairs.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention, a common signal cable is provided for each pair of ultrasonic transducer elements in a pair of ultrasonic transducer blocks that have a common transmission relationship with each other. and a transceiver, the number of signal cables and transceivers can be halved, making it possible to downsize the ultrasonic probe and reduce costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of a conventional ultrasonic probe.゛12... Ultrasonic probe

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements arranged in an array, a plurality of signal cables each having one end connected to each of the ultrasonic transducer elements, and a plurality of signal cables provided at each other end of each of the signal cables. a plurality of transceivers connected to each other; a ground cable connected in parallel to each of the ultrasonic transducers and the transducers; the signal cable and the A transmitter/receiver is provided, and the ground cable is provided independently for each ultrasonic transducer block, and the ground cable is switched by a changeover switch to sequentially switch the ultrasonic transducer blocks. Ultrasonic probe.