CN112971847A

CN112971847A - Ultrasonic equipment

Info

Publication number: CN112971847A
Application number: CN202110178351.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄南海; 亓科; 马林斌
Original assignee: Qingdao Hisense Medical Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Hisense Medical Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-09
Filing date: 2021-02-09
Publication date: 2021-06-18
Anticipated expiration: 2041-02-09
Also published as: CN112971847B

Abstract

The invention discloses ultrasonic equipment, which is used for solving the problems that the voltage for driving an ultrasonic probe in the prior art has ripples and noise and reducing the imaging quality. According to the ultrasonic equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention, the alternating direct current conversion unit generates the positive preceding-stage voltage and the negative preceding-stage voltage alternately by the direct current voltage under the control of the control unit, namely, the generated current waveforms can be alternated mutually, and the peak value of the current is reduced, so that the ripple and the noise of the transmitted voltage can be reduced, and the quality of the generated image is improved.

Description

Ultrasonic equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of power electronics, in particular to ultrasonic equipment.

Background

In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the transmitting voltage of an ultrasonic probe (namely an array element) is an important factor related to the imaging quality, and the transmitting voltage which is low in noise and can be flexibly adjusted can effectively improve the ultrasonic imaging quality.

The transmitting voltage comprises a group of positive voltage and negative voltage, and the amplitude is generally adjustable between +/-5 to +/-75V. The common generation method of the emission voltage is that a front-stage voltage is output by a DC/DC voltage conversion circuit from a low direct voltage, the front-stage voltage is obtained by an adjustable linear adjusting circuit, and the rear-stage voltage is directly provided for a special emission chip. The transmitting chip controls the output phases of the positive post-stage voltage and the negative post-stage voltage to form an excitation signal similar to a sine wave to drive the ultrasonic array element, so that the array element generates a sound wave, the sound wave is reflected by human tissues and then received by the array element, and the received data signals are processed through a series of algorithms to finally obtain an ultrasonic image.

The ripple and noise of the voltage of the later stage may be coupled to the array element, so that the signal transmitted or received by the array element is mixed with the noise signal, and the finally generated image is distorted or has serious noise, thereby affecting the diagnosis.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides ultrasonic equipment, which is used for solving the problems that the voltage used for driving an ultrasonic probe in the prior art has ripples and noise and the imaging quality is reduced.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound apparatus, including an ultrasound interface, a control unit, an alternating direct current conversion unit, a voltage adjustment unit, and a transmitting unit:

the control unit is respectively connected with the ultrasonic interface, the alternating direct current conversion unit and the voltage adjusting unit and is used for controlling the alternating direct current conversion unit to alternately generate positive front-stage voltage and negative front-stage voltage and controlling the voltage adjusting unit to generate positive back-stage voltage and negative back-stage voltage according to attribute information and/or imaging information of an ultrasonic probe connected with the ultrasonic interface;

the alternating direct current unit is connected with the voltage adjusting unit and the direct current power supply, and is used for adjusting the input direct current voltage according to the control of the control unit, alternately generating the positive preceding-stage voltage and the negative preceding-stage voltage, and outputting the positive preceding-stage voltage and the negative preceding-stage voltage to the voltage adjusting unit;

the voltage adjusting unit is connected with the transmitting unit and used for adjusting the positive front-stage voltage to generate a positive rear-stage voltage and adjusting the negative front-stage voltage to generate a negative rear-stage voltage according to the control of the control unit and outputting the positive rear-stage voltage and the negative rear-stage voltage to the transmitting unit;

the transmitting unit is used for obtaining a driving voltage for driving the ultrasonic probe based on the positive post-stage voltage and the negative post-stage voltage and sending the driving voltage to the ultrasonic probe.

In one possible implementation manner, the alternating direct current conversion unit includes a two-way alternating flyback conversion circuit and a voltage regulation circuit;

the double-path alternating flyback conversion circuit is specifically used for alternately generating a first positive voltage and a first negative voltage under the control of a first control signal and a second control signal;

the voltage regulating circuit is specifically used for regulating the first positive voltage under the control of a regulating signal to obtain a positive preceding-stage voltage and regulating the first negative voltage to obtain a negative preceding-stage voltage;

the first control signal and the second control signal are generated by the control unit according to a trigger condition, and the adjustment signal is obtained by the control unit based on the acquired attribute information and/or imaging information of the ultrasonic probe.

In one possible implementation, the voltage adjustment unit includes a positive voltage adjustment circuit and a negative voltage adjustment circuit;

the positive voltage regulating circuit comprises a third switching tube, a first operational amplifier, a fifth resistor and a sixth resistor, wherein:

a first end of the third switching tube is connected with the alternating direct current conversion unit and used for inputting a positive front-stage voltage, a second end of the third switching tube is respectively connected with one end of the fifth resistor and the emission unit and used for outputting a positive rear-stage voltage, and a control end of the third switching tube is connected with an output end of the first operational amplifier;

the positive input end of the first operational amplifier is connected with the control unit, and the negative input end of the first operational amplifier is connected with the other end of the fifth resistor and one end of the sixth resistor;

the other end of the sixth resistor is grounded;

the positive voltage adjusting circuit is used for generating the positive back-stage voltage based on a positive reference voltage value and the positive front-stage voltage;

the negative voltage adjusting circuit comprises a fourth switching tube, a second operational amplifier, a seventh resistor, an eighth resistor and a ninth resistor, wherein:

a first end of the fourth switching tube is connected with the alternating direct current conversion unit, a second end of the fourth switching tube is respectively connected with one end of the seventh resistor and the transmitting unit, and a control end of the fourth switching tube is connected with an output end of the second operational amplifier;

a negative input end of the second operational amplifier is connected to one end of the eighth resistor, the other end of the seventh resistor and the control unit, respectively, and a positive input end of the second operational amplifier is connected to one end of the ninth resistor;

the other end of the ninth resistor is connected with the eighth resistor and is grounded;

the negative voltage adjusting circuit is used for generating the negative back-stage voltage based on a negative reference voltage value and the negative front-stage voltage;

the positive reference voltage value and the negative reference voltage value are obtained by the control unit based on the acquired attribute information and/or imaging information of the ultrasonic probe.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a voltage detection unit;

the voltage detection unit is used for collecting positive front-stage voltage, negative front-stage voltage, positive rear-stage voltage and negative rear-stage voltage and transmitting the positive front-stage voltage, the negative front-stage voltage, the positive rear-stage voltage and the negative rear-stage voltage to the control unit;

the control unit is used for determining a reference positive post-stage voltage and a reference negative post-stage voltage according to the attribute information and/or the imaging information of the ultrasonic probe;

if the reference positive post-stage voltage is greater than the acquired positive post-stage voltage, adjusting the resistance value of the potentiometer according to the adjusting signal after adjusting the positive pre-stage voltage according to the positive reference voltage value;

otherwise, adjusting the positive preceding stage voltage according to the positive reference voltage value after adjusting the resistance value of the potentiometer according to the adjusting signal;

if the reference negative back-stage voltage is larger than the obtained negative back-stage voltage, adjusting the resistance value of the potentiometer according to the adjustment signal after adjusting the negative front-stage voltage according to the negative reference voltage value;

otherwise, after the resistance value of the potentiometer is adjusted according to the adjusting signal, the negative preceding stage voltage is adjusted according to the negative reference voltage value.

In a possible implementation manner, the control unit is specifically configured to:

determining a reference positive preceding stage voltage according to the attribute information and/or imaging information of the ultrasonic probe;

determining the adjustment times n according to the reference positive preceding stage voltage, the obtained positive preceding stage voltage and a first preset voltage difference value;

and adjusting the voltage adjusting circuit for n times according to the adjusting signal, wherein n is a natural number.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a current detection unit;

the current detection unit comprises a nineteenth resistor, a twentieth resistor, a twenty-first resistor, a twenty-second resistor, a twenty-third resistor, a fifth operational amplifier and a third capacitor, wherein:

one end of the nineteenth resistor is connected with one end of the twenty-third resistor to serve as the input end of the current detection unit, and the other end of the nineteenth resistor is connected with the twentieth resistor to serve as the first output end of the current detection unit;

the other end of the twentieth resistor is connected with one end of the twenty-first resistor and the negative input end of the fifth operational amplifier respectively, and the other end of the twenty-first resistor is connected with the output end of the fifth operational amplifier and one end of the twenty-second resistor respectively;

the other end of the twenty-second resistor is connected with one end of the third capacitor and serves as a second output end of the current detection unit;

the other end of the twenty-third resistor is connected with the positive input end of the fifth operational amplifier and one end of the twenty-fourth resistor respectively;

the other end of the twenty-fourth resistor is connected with the other end of the third capacitor and is grounded;

the current detection unit is used for converting the positive post-stage voltage into a positive low voltage, converting the negative post-stage voltage into a low negative voltage, and transmitting the positive low voltage and the negative low voltage to the control unit;

the control unit is used for converting the positive low voltage and the negative low voltage into corresponding current values based on a preset algorithm; and judging whether the positive rear-stage voltage and the negative rear-stage voltage are normal or not according to the current value.

In one possible implementation manner, the two-way alternating flyback conversion circuit includes a first transformer, a second transformer, a first switch tube, a second switch tube, a first resistor, a second resistor, a first diode, a second diode, a third diode, and a fourth diode, where:

a first end of the first transformer is connected with a first end of the second transformer and the direct-current power supply respectively, a second end of the first transformer is connected with a first end of the first switching tube, a third end of the first transformer is connected with an anode of the first diode, a fourth end of the first transformer is grounded, and a fifth end of the first transformer is connected with a cathode of the second diode;

the cathode of the first diode is respectively connected with the cathode of the third diode and the voltage adjusting unit and is used for outputting the first positive voltage;

a second end of the second transformer is connected with a first end of the second switching tube, a third end of the second transformer is connected with an anode of the third diode, a fourth end of the second transformer is grounded, and a fifth end of the second transformer is connected with a cathode of the fourth diode;

the anode of the second diode is connected with the anode of the fourth diode respectively and is used for outputting a first negative voltage;

the second end of the first switch tube is connected with one end of the first resistor, and the control end of the first switch tube is connected with the control unit and used for inputting the first control signal;

the second end of the second switch tube is connected with one end of the second resistor, and the control end of the second switch tube is connected with the control unit and used for inputting the second control signal;

the other end of the first resistor and the other end of the second resistor are both grounded.

In one possible implementation manner, the two-way alternating flyback converter further includes a third resistor, a fourth resistor, a first capacitor, and a second capacitor, where:

one end of the third resistor is connected with the second end of the first switch tube and one end of the first resistor respectively, and the other end of the third resistor is connected with one end of the first capacitor and the control unit respectively;

the other end of the first capacitor is grounded;

one end of the fourth resistor is connected with the second end of the second switching tube and one end of the second resistor respectively, and the other end of the fourth resistor is connected with one end of the second capacitor and the control unit respectively;

the other end of the second capacitor is grounded;

the control unit is respectively connected with the other end of the third resistor and the other end of the fourth resistor and is used for acquiring a first current value flowing through the third resistor and a second current value flowing through the fourth resistor;

the control unit is used for adjusting the frequency information of the first control signal and/or the frequency information of the second control signal according to the first current value and the second current value.

In one possible implementation, the voltage regulating circuit includes a ninth resistor, a tenth resistor, and a potentiometer, wherein:

one end of the ninth resistor is connected with the two-way alternating flyback conversion circuit, the other end of the ninth resistor is connected with one end of the tenth resistor, and the other end of the tenth resistor is connected with one end of the potentiometer;

the other end of the potentiometer is grounded, and the control end of the potentiometer is connected with the control unit;

the control unit is connected with the other end of the ninth resistor and used for acquiring a feedback voltage value of the other end of the ninth resistor; and adjusting the frequency information of the first control signal and/or the frequency information of the second control signal according to the feedback voltage value.

In one possible implementation, the voltage detection unit includes a first positive voltage detection circuit, a second positive voltage detection circuit, a first negative voltage detection circuit, and a second negative voltage detection circuit, wherein:

the first positive voltage detection circuit comprises an eleventh resistor and a twelfth resistor;

one end of the eleventh resistor is connected with the positive output end of the alternating direct current conversion unit, and the other end of the eleventh resistor is respectively connected with one end of the twelfth resistor and the control unit;

the other end of the twelfth resistor is grounded;

the first positive voltage detection circuit is used for collecting positive preceding stage voltage and transmitting the positive preceding stage voltage to the control unit;

the first negative voltage detection circuit comprises a thirteenth resistor, a fourteenth resistor and a third operational amplifier;

one end of the thirteenth resistor is connected with the negative output end of the alternating direct current conversion unit, and the other end of the thirteenth resistor is respectively connected with the negative input end of the third operational amplifier and one end of the fourteenth resistor;

the positive input end of the third operational amplifier is grounded, and the output end of the third operational amplifier is connected with the other end of the fourteenth resistor and the control unit respectively;

the first negative voltage detection circuit is used for collecting negative preceding stage voltage and transmitting the negative preceding stage voltage to the control unit;

the second positive voltage detection circuit comprises a fifteenth resistor and a sixteenth resistor;

one end of the fifteenth resistor is connected with the output end of the positive voltage regulating circuit, and the other end of the fifteenth resistor is respectively connected with one end of the sixteenth resistor and the control unit;

the other end of the sixteenth resistor is grounded;

the second positive voltage detection circuit is used for collecting positive and negative post-stage voltage and transmitting the positive and negative post-stage voltage to the control unit;

the second negative voltage detection circuit comprises a seventeenth resistor, an eighteenth resistor and a fourth operational amplifier;

one end of the seventeenth resistor is connected with the output end of the negative voltage adjusting circuit, and the other end of the seventeenth resistor is respectively connected with the negative input end of the fourth operational amplifier and one end of the eighteenth resistor;

the positive input end of the fourth operational amplifier is grounded, and the output end of the fourth operational amplifier is respectively connected with the other end of the eighteenth resistor and the control unit;

and the second negative voltage detection circuit is used for collecting negative post-stage voltage and transmitting the negative post-stage voltage to the control unit.

The invention has the following beneficial effects:

in the embodiment of the invention, the alternating direct current conversion unit generates the positive preceding stage voltage and the negative preceding stage voltage alternately under the control of the control unit, namely, the generated current waveforms can be alternated mutually, and the current peak value is reduced, so that the ripple and the noise of the emission voltage can be reduced, and the quality of the generated image is improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive exercise.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an ultrasound apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an alternate dc conversion unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic phase diagram of a first control signal and a second control signal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a comparison graph of current peaks generated by the single-path flyback circuit and the two-path alternating flyback conversion circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a two-way alternate flyback converter circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another two-way alternate flyback converter circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another two-way alternate flyback converter circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a voltage regulating circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure for outputting a feedback voltage value according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a voltage adjustment unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a positive voltage regulator circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a negative voltage adjustment circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of another ultrasound apparatus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a voltage detection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another voltage detection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of another ultrasound apparatus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a current detection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of another alternative flyback conversion unit according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a voltage regulation method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a pre-stage voltage step-by-step adjustment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound device, such as an ultrasound interface 101, a control unit 102, an alternating dc conversion unit 103, a voltage adjustment unit 104, and a transmitting unit 105 shown in fig. 1:

the control unit 102 is respectively connected to the ultrasound interface 101, the alternating dc conversion unit 103, and the voltage adjustment unit 104, and is configured to control the alternating dc conversion unit 103 to alternately generate a positive front-stage voltage and a negative front-stage voltage and control the voltage adjustment unit 104 to generate a positive rear-stage voltage and a negative rear-stage voltage according to the acquired attribute information and/or imaging information of the ultrasound probe connected to the ultrasound interface 101;

the alternating dc conversion unit 103 is connected to the voltage adjustment unit 104 and the dc power Vin, and is configured to adjust an input dc voltage according to control of the control unit 102, alternately generate the positive preceding voltage and the negative preceding voltage, and output the positive preceding voltage and the negative preceding voltage to the voltage adjustment unit 104;

the voltage adjusting unit 104 is connected to the transmitting unit 105, and configured to adjust the positive front-stage voltage to generate a positive rear-stage voltage and adjust the negative front-stage voltage to generate a negative rear-stage voltage according to the control of the control unit 102, and output the positive rear-stage voltage and the negative rear-stage voltage to the transmitting unit 105;

the transmitting unit 105 is configured to obtain a driving voltage for driving the ultrasonic probe based on the positive post-stage voltage and the negative post-stage voltage, and send the driving voltage to the ultrasonic probe.

In the embodiment of the invention, the alternating direct current conversion unit generates the positive preceding stage voltage and the negative preceding stage voltage alternately under the control of the control unit, namely, the generated current waveforms can be alternated mutually, and the current peak value is reduced, so that the ripple wave and the noise of the emission voltage can be reduced, the quality of the generated image is improved, and the noise is reduced.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an alternate dc conversion unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The alternating dc conversion unit 103 includes a two-way alternating flyback conversion circuit 1031 and a voltage regulation circuit 1032;

the dual-path alternating flyback conversion circuit 1031 alternately generates a first positive voltage and a first negative voltage under the control of the first control signal and the second control signal;

the voltage regulating circuit 1032 regulates a first positive voltage under the control of the regulating signal to obtain a positive preceding-stage voltage, and regulates a first negative voltage to obtain a negative preceding-stage voltage;

the first control signal and the second control signal are generated by the control unit 102 according to the trigger condition, and the adjustment signal is obtained by the control unit 102 based on the acquired attribute information and/or imaging information of the ultrasound probe.

The triggering condition may be that the ultrasound device is powered on, and the control unit 102 generates a first control signal and a second control signal after detecting that the ultrasound device is powered on, where the first control signal and the second control signal may be driving voltages, and a phase difference between the two driving voltages is 180 degrees, so as to achieve a purpose of alternately generating a first positive voltage and a second negative voltage.

Specifically, the driving pins 2 of the PWM control IC output driving waveforms with phases different by 180 degrees (as shown in fig. 3), respectively, and the conduction timings of the two MOS transistors Q1 and Q2 are driven to have phase differences of 180 degrees, so that the two current waveforms transmitted to the secondary capacitor through the transformer are staggered.

Referring to fig. 4, under the same load condition, compared with a single-channel flyback circuit, the two-channel alternating flyback circuit has a lower current peak value and doubled frequency of a current waveform, so that the volume of the secondary filter circuit is smaller, the ripple and the noise are greatly reduced, and the EMC performance is improved due to the lower di/dt.

The generation of the adjustment signal may be obtained based on the acquired attribute information and/or imaging information of the ultrasonic probe, specifically, a comparison table, that is, a comparison table of the attribute information and the imaging information of the ultrasonic probe and the adjustment voltage, may be stored in the control unit, and the control unit 102 obtains the adjustment signal according to a table look-up after obtaining the attribute information and/or the imaging information of the ultrasonic probe.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 5, the two-way alternating flyback converter circuit 1031 includes a first transformer T1, a second transformer T2, a first switch tube Q1, a second switch tube Q2, a first resistor R1 and a second resistor R2, where:

a first end of a first transformer T1 is connected to a first end of a second transformer and the dc power Vin, a second end of the first transformer T1 is connected to a first end of a first switching tube Q1, a third end of the first transformer T1 is connected to a third end of a second transformer T2 and the voltage adjusting unit 104, and the first transformer T1 is used as a positive output end of the dual-path alternating flyback converting circuit 1031 and configured to output a first positive voltage, a fourth end of the first transformer T1 is grounded, and a fifth end of the first transformer T1 is connected to a fifth end of the second transformer T2 and the voltage adjusting unit 104 and configured as a negative output end of the dual-path alternating flyback converting circuit 1031 and configured to output a first negative voltage;

a second end of the second transformer T2 is connected to a first end of a second switching tube Q2, and a fourth end of the second transformer T1 is grounded;

a second end of the first switch tube Q1 is connected to one end of the first resistor R1, and a control end of the first switch tube Q2 is connected to the control unit 102, and serves as a first input end of the two-way alternate flyback converter circuit 1031, which is used for inputting a first control signal;

a second end of the second switching tube Q2 is connected to one end of the second resistor R2, and a control end of the second switching tube Q2 is connected to the control unit 102, and serves as a second input end of the two-way alternate flyback converter circuit 1031, which is used for inputting a second control signal;

the other end of the first resistor R1 and the other end of the second resistor R2 are both grounded.

In fig. 3, the switching transistor Q1 and the switching transistor Q2 may be NMOS transistors, the first terminal is a drain of the transistor, the second terminal is a source of the transistor, and the control terminal is a gate of the transistor.

In transformers T1 and T2, the black dot symbols indicate the dotted terminals of the transformers.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, the two-way alternating flyback converter circuit 1031 further includes a first diode D1, a second diode D2, a third diode D3, and a fourth diode D4, wherein:

an anode of the first diode D1 is connected to the third terminal of the first transformer T1, and a cathode of the first diode D1 is connected to a cathode of the third diode D3 and the voltage adjusting unit 104, respectively, and serves as a positive output terminal of the two-way alternating flyback conversion circuit 1031;

an anode of the second diode D2 is connected to an anode of the fourth diode D4 and the voltage adjusting unit 104, respectively, and serves as a negative output terminal of the dual-path alternating flyback converter circuit 1031, and a cathode of the second diode D2 is connected to a fifth terminal of the first transformer T1;

the anode of the third diode D3 is connected to the third terminal of the second transformer T2;

a cathode of the fourth diode D4 is connected to a fifth terminal of the second transformer T2.

The diodes D1, D2, D3 and D4 are used for preventing current from flowing backwards and protecting the transformer.

In an implementation, there may be a case where the first control signal and the second control signal are abnormal, and if it is determined that the first control signal and the second control signal are abnormal, the control unit 102 may adjust the first control signal and the second control signal so that a normal voltage is output under the control of the first control signal and the second control signal.

Specifically, whether the first control signal and the second control signal are abnormal or not can be judged by collecting the voltages at the source electrode of the switching tube Q1 and the source electrode of the switching tube Q2.

As shown in fig. 7, the two-way alternating flyback converter circuit provided in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a third resistor R3, a fourth resistor R4, a first capacitor C1, and a second capacitor C2;

one end of the third resistor R3 is connected to the second end of the first switch Q1 and one end of the first resistor R1, respectively, and the other end of the third resistor R3 is connected to one end of the first capacitor C1 and the control unit 102, respectively, and serves as a first output end of the two-way alternating flyback conversion circuit;

the other end of the first capacitor C1 is grounded;

one end of the fourth resistor R4 is connected to the second end of the second switch Q2 and one end of the second resistor R2, respectively, and the other end of the fourth resistor R4 is connected to one end of the second capacitor C2 and the control unit 102, respectively, and serves as a second output end of the two-way alternating flyback conversion circuit;

the other terminal of the second capacitor C2 is connected to ground.

The RC filter composed of R3 and C1, and R4 and C2 in the circuit respectively has the function of filtering noise on the sampling resistor (R1 and R2) so as to realize accurate current peak value limitation.

The control unit 102 is connected to the other end of the third resistor R3 and the other end of the fourth resistor R4, respectively, for obtaining a first current value flowing through the third resistor R3 and a second current value flowing through the fourth resistor R4;

and a control unit 102, configured to adjust frequency information of the first control signal and/or frequency information of the second control signal according to the first current value and the second current value.

The control unit 102 may analyze the acquired first current value and the acquired second current value, for example, if a peak occurs in the acquired first current value, the frequency information of the first control signal and/or the frequency information of the second control signal are adjusted according to a preset algorithm.

In a specific implementation, as shown in fig. 8, the voltage regulating circuit 1032 may include a ninth resistor R9, a tenth resistor R10, and a potentiometer RS, wherein:

one end of a ninth resistor R9 is connected to the two-way alternate flyback converter 1031 as the first input end of the voltage regulator circuit 1032, the other end of the ninth resistor R9 is connected to one end of a tenth resistor R10, and the other end of the tenth resistor R10 is connected to one end of a potentiometer RS;

the other end of the potentiometer RS is grounded, and the control end of the potentiometer RS is connected to the control unit 102 as the second input end of the voltage regulating circuit 1032.

Specifically, the voltage regulating circuit 1032 functions to divide the voltage output by the dual-path alternating flyback converter 1031 to obtain a positive preceding stage voltage and a negative preceding stage voltage, and adjust the resistance value of the potentiometer RS through the adjusting signal to change the voltage divided by the voltage regulating circuit 1032, for example, when the resistance value of the potentiometer RS is increased, the divided voltage is large, and when the resistance value of the potentiometer RS is decreased, the divided voltage is small.

The MCU can pass through I²The C bus sends an adjustment signal to the potentiometer.

It is possible to adjust the potentiometer RS to a few ohms.

In some embodiments, the voltage at the output end of the transformer may also be abnormal, and if the voltage at the output end of the transformer is abnormal, the control unit 102 may adjust the frequency information of the first control signal and/or the frequency information of the second control signal to make the voltage at the output end of the transformer normal.

In implementation, as shown in fig. 9, the control unit 102 may be connected to the other end of the ninth resistor R9 to obtain a feedback voltage value of the other end of the ninth resistor R9; and then adjusting the frequency information of the first control signal and/or the frequency information of the second control signal according to the feedback voltage value.

After the control unit 102 obtains the feedback voltage value, the feedback voltage value may be analyzed according to a preset algorithm, and after it is determined that the feedback voltage value is abnormal, the voltage at the output end of the transformer is adjusted to be normal by adjusting the frequency information of the first control signal and/or the frequency information of the second control signal.

As shown in fig. 10, the voltage adjustment unit 104 in the embodiment of the present invention may include a positive voltage adjustment circuit 1041 and a negative voltage adjustment circuit 1042.

A positive voltage adjustment circuit 1041 that generates a positive post-stage voltage based on a positive reference voltage value and the positive pre-stage voltage;

the negative voltage adjusting circuit 1042 generates a negative post-stage voltage based on the negative reference voltage value and the negative pre-stage voltage.

The positive reference voltage value and the negative reference voltage value are obtained by the control unit 102 based on the acquired attribute information and/or imaging information of the ultrasound probe.

Specifically, the control unit may store a corresponding relationship between the attribute information of the ultrasound probe, the imaging information, the positive reference voltage value, and the negative reference voltage value, and after the control unit acquires the attribute information and/or the imaging information of the ultrasound probe, the control unit determines the positive reference voltage value and the negative reference voltage value according to the corresponding relationship.

In the working process of the array element, due to the characteristics and the process limitation of the array element, the positive half waves and the negative half waves of the acoustic waves generated by the array element under the excitation of the symmetrical positive voltage and the symmetrical negative voltage are generally asymmetrical, and the asymmetrical ultrasonic waves reduce the harmonic performance, so that the image quality is poor in a harmonic imaging mode. According to the embodiment of the invention, the preceding-stage voltage is adjusted by using two different reference voltages, namely the positive reference voltage and the negative reference voltage, and can be independently and accurately adjusted, so that the adjusted voltage is more suitable for the ultrasonic probe, and the image quality can be improved.

When generating the positive reference voltage value and the negative reference voltage value, the DAC chip can be controlled by the MCU to generate, and the DAC and the MCU can be connected through I²The C bus communicates.

In one possible implementation, as shown in fig. 11, the positive voltage adjustment circuit 1041 may include a third switching tube Q3, a first operational amplifier a1, a fifth resistor R5 and a sixth resistor R6, wherein:

a first end of the third switching tube Q3 is connected to the alternating dc conversion unit 103, and is used as a first input end of the positive voltage adjustment circuit to input a positive front-stage voltage, a second end of the third switching tube Q3 is connected to one end of the fifth resistor R5 and the emitter unit, respectively, and is used as an output end of the positive voltage adjustment circuit 1041 to output a positive rear-stage voltage, and a control end of the third switching tube Q3 is connected to an output end of the first operational amplifier a 1;

a positive input terminal of the first operational amplifier a1 is connected to the control unit 102, and serves as a second input terminal of the positive voltage adjustment circuit 1041 for inputting a positive reference voltage value, and a negative input terminal of the first operational amplifier a1 is connected to the other terminal of the fifth resistor R5 and one terminal of the sixth resistor R6;

the other end of the sixth resistor R6 is connected to ground.

In an implementation, as shown in fig. 12, the negative voltage adjusting circuit 1042 may include a fourth switching tube Q2, a second operational amplifier a2, a seventh resistor R7, an eighth resistor R8, and a resistor R9, wherein:

a first end of the fourth switching tube Q4 is connected to the alternating-direct-current converting unit 103 as a first input end of the negative voltage adjusting circuit 1042, a second end of the fourth switching tube Q4 is connected to one end of the seventh resistor R7 and the transmitting unit 106 respectively as an output end of the negative voltage adjusting circuit 1042, and a control end of the fourth switching tube Q4 is connected to an output end of the second operational amplifier a 2;

the negative input terminal of the second operational amplifier a2 is connected to one end of the eighth resistor R8, the other end of the seventh resistor R7, and the control unit 102, respectively, and serves as the second input terminal of the negative voltage adjusting circuit 1042, the positive input terminal of the second operational amplifier a2 is connected to one end of the ninth resistor, and the other end of the ninth resistor R9 is connected to the eighth resistor R8, and is grounded.

The device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 13, may further include a voltage detection unit 1100.

The voltage detection unit 1100 collects a positive preceding voltage, a negative preceding voltage, a positive succeeding voltage, and a negative succeeding voltage, and transmits the positive preceding voltage, the negative preceding voltage, the positive succeeding voltage, and the negative succeeding voltage to the control unit 102;

the control unit 102 determines a reference positive back-stage voltage and a reference negative back-stage voltage according to the attribute information and/or the imaging information of the ultrasonic probe; then judging the reference rear-stage voltage and the acquired positive rear-stage voltage, if the reference positive rear-stage voltage is larger than the acquired positive rear-stage voltage, adjusting the resistance value of the potentiometer according to an adjusting signal after adjusting the positive front-stage voltage according to the positive reference voltage value;

otherwise, adjusting the resistance value of the potentiometer according to the adjusting signal, and then adjusting the positive preceding stage voltage according to the positive reference voltage value;

if the reference negative back-stage voltage is larger than the acquired negative back-stage voltage, adjusting the resistance value of the potentiometer according to the adjustment signal after adjusting the negative front-stage voltage according to the negative reference voltage value;

In implementation, the reference positive back-level voltage and the reference negative back-level voltage are determined according to the attribute information and/or the imaging information of the ultrasound probe, the attribute information of the ultrasound probe, the imaging information, and the corresponding relationship between the reference positive back-level voltage and the reference negative back-level voltage may be set, and the control unit 102 searches the reference positive back-level voltage and the reference negative back-level voltage according to the acquired attribute information and/or the imaging information of the ultrasound probe.

Further, the control unit 102 may determine a reference positive preceding stage voltage according to the attribute information and/or imaging information of the ultrasound probe; then, determining the adjustment times n according to the reference positive preceding stage voltage, the obtained positive preceding stage voltage and a preset voltage difference value; and finally, adjusting the voltage adjusting circuit for n times according to the adjusting signal, wherein n is a natural number.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 14, the voltage detection unit includes a first positive voltage detection circuit 11011, a second positive voltage detection circuit 11012, a first negative voltage detection circuit 11013, and a second negative voltage detection circuit 11014, in which:

the first positive voltage detection circuit 11011 is connected to the positive output terminal of the alternating dc conversion unit 103 and the control unit 102, respectively, collects positive preceding-stage voltage, and transmits the positive preceding-stage voltage to the control unit 102;

the first negative voltage detection circuit 11012 is connected to the negative output terminal of the alternating dc conversion unit 103 and the control unit 102, respectively, collects negative preceding-stage voltage, and transmits the negative preceding-stage voltage to the control unit 102;

the second positive voltage detection circuit 11013 is respectively connected to the output end of the positive voltage adjustment circuit 1041 and the control unit 102, and is configured to collect positive and negative post-stage voltages and transmit the positive and negative post-stage voltages to the control unit 102;

the second negative voltage detecting circuit 11014 is respectively connected to the output end of the negative voltage adjusting circuit 1042 and the control unit, and is configured to collect a negative post-stage voltage and transmit the negative post-stage voltage to the control unit.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 15, the first positive voltage detection circuit 11011 may include an eleventh resistor and an R11 twelfth resistor R12;

one end of an eleventh resistor R11 is connected with the positive output end of the alternating direct current conversion unit 103, and the other end of the eleventh resistor R11 is respectively connected with one end of a twelfth resistor R12 and the control unit 102;

the other end of the twelfth resistor R12 is grounded.

The first negative voltage detection circuit 11012 may include a thirteenth resistor R13, a fourteenth resistor R14, and a third operational amplifier A3;

one end of a thirteenth resistor R13 is connected to the negative output end of the alternating dc conversion unit 103, and the other end of the thirteenth resistor R13 is connected to the negative input end of the third operational amplifier a1 and one end of the fourteenth resistor R14, respectively;

the positive input terminal of the third operational amplifier A3 is grounded, and the output terminal of the third operational amplifier A3 is connected to the other terminal of the fourteenth resistor R14 and the control unit 102, respectively.

The second positive voltage detection circuit 11013 may include a fifteenth resistor R15 and a sixteenth resistor R16;

one end of the fifteenth resistor R15 is connected to the output end of the positive voltage adjustment circuit 1041, and the other end of the fifteenth resistor R15 is connected to one end of the sixteenth resistor R16 and the control unit 102, respectively;

the other end of the sixteenth resistor R16 is connected to ground.

The second negative voltage detection circuit 11014 may include a seventeenth resistor R17, an eighteenth resistor R18, and a fourth operational amplifier a 4;

one end of the seventeenth resistor R17 is connected to the output end of the negative voltage adjusting circuit 1042, and the other end of the seventeenth resistor R17 is connected to the negative input end of the fourth operational amplifier a4 and one end of the eighteenth resistor R18, respectively;

the positive input terminal of the fourth operational amplifier a4 is grounded, and the output terminal of the fourth operational amplifier a4 is connected to the other terminal of the eighteenth resistor R18 and the control unit 102, respectively.

The ultrasound apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present invention may further include a current detection unit, as shown in fig. 16, an input end of the current detection unit 1401 is connected to an output end of the voltage adjustment unit 104, a first output end of the current detection unit 1401 is connected to the control unit 102, and a second output end of the current detection unit 1401 is connected to the transmission unit 105.

A current detection unit 1401 for converting the positive post-stage voltage into a positive low voltage, converting the negative post-stage voltage into a low negative voltage, and outputting the positive low voltage and the negative low voltage to the control unit 102;

the control unit 102 is configured to convert the positive low voltage and the negative low voltage into corresponding current values based on a preset algorithm; and judging whether the positive rear-stage voltage and the negative rear-stage voltage are normal or not according to the current value.

If the positive and negative post-stage voltages are abnormal, the direct current input can be disconnected, or the positive and negative post-stage voltages can be adjusted by adjusting the frequency information of the first control signal and/or the frequency information of the second control signal.

As shown in fig. 17, the current detection unit 1401 may include a nineteenth resistor R19, a twentieth resistor R20, a twenty-first resistor R21, a twenty-second resistor R22, a twenty-third resistor R23, a fifth operational amplifier a5, and a third capacitor C3, wherein:

one end of the nineteenth resistor R19 is connected to one end of the twenty-third resistor R23 and the voltage adjusting unit 104, respectively, as an input terminal of the current detecting unit 1401, and the other end of the nineteenth resistor R19 is connected to the twentieth resistor R20 and the emitting unit 105, respectively, as a first output terminal of the current detecting unit 1401;

the other end of the twentieth resistor R20 is connected to one end of the twenty-first resistor R21 and the negative input end of the fifth operational amplifier a5, respectively, and the other end of the twenty-first resistor R21 is connected to the output end of the fifth operational amplifier a5 and one end of the twenty-second resistor R22, respectively;

the other end of the twenty-second resistor R22 is connected to one end of the third capacitor C3 and the control unit 102, respectively, and serves as a second output end of the current detection unit 1401;

the other end of the twenty-third resistor R23 is connected to the positive input terminal of the fifth operational amplifier a5 and one end of the twenty-fourth resistor R24, respectively;

the other end of the twenty-fourth resistor R24 is connected to the other end of the third capacitor C3 and to ground.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 18, for a structural schematic diagram of another alternative flyback conversion unit provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the alternative flyback conversion unit further includes a capacitor C4, a capacitor C5, and a capacitor C6, which are used for filtering.

One end of the capacitor C4 is connected with an input power supply, and the other end of the capacitor C4 is grounded. One end of the capacitor C5 is connected to the cathode of the diode D1, the other end of the capacitor CC5 is connected to one end of the capacitor C6, and the other end of the capacitor C6 is connected to the anode of the diode D4.

As shown in fig. 19, an embodiment of the present invention provides a voltage regulation method, which specifically includes the following steps:

s1901, acquiring a signal for starting the ultrasonic software;

s1902, sending a preceding stage enable shutdown command;

the purpose is to avoid that settings left over when software was last run result in unnecessary voltage output.

S1903, configuring a reference voltage value according to an actual scene;

s1904, sending a front-stage enable on command, and synchronously generating a front-stage voltage and a rear-stage voltage;

s1905, normal imaging;

s1906, judging whether to switch the ultrasonic probe and/or the imaging mode, if so, executing S1907, and if not, executing S1908;

s1907, regulating voltage in a stepping mode;

s1908, detecting a front-stage voltage, a rear-stage voltage and a rear-stage current in real time;

s1909, judging whether the front-stage voltage, the rear-stage voltage and the rear-stage current are normal, if so, executing S1910, and if not, executing S1905;

s1910, closing the previous stage enable;

s1911, judging whether a Freeze signal is sent, if so, executing S1912, otherwise, executing S1905;

s1912, the emitting chip is turned off, the emitting voltage is kept on, and the value is unchanged.

It should be noted that, in order to achieve low loss and high reliability of the linear voltage regulating circuit, a voltage difference between a front stage and a rear stage (for example, a difference between the front stage and the rear stage is 5V) is preset in software, and when the software expects to set the rear stage to a certain value, a voltage preset value corresponding to the front stage is automatically generated according to the voltage difference. The voltage difference may be fixed or may vary (by table lookup in software) for different transmit voltages.

When the ultrasonic equipment uses different probes, because the processes of processing and assembling the array elements are different, sound waves generated when the same voltage is applied to the array elements are possibly different, therefore, under different probes or different modes, in order to cancel harmonic waves in the transmitted sound waves, absolute values of positive and negative transmitting voltages on the array elements are possibly unequal, and the deviation degrees under different modes are also different.

Furthermore, the voltage stepping type adjusting method provided by the invention comprises the steps of firstly comparing a new preset emission voltage value with a current value, and if the new preset value is high, firstly adjusting the voltage of a later stage and then adjusting the voltage of a previous stage; if the new preset value is low, the voltage of the front stage is adjusted first, and then the voltage of the rear stage is adjusted.

The order of the front stage voltage and the rear stage voltage is adjusted in order to avoid the damage of the MOS transistors Q3 and Q4 caused by the high-power impact of the adjusted voltage. When adjusting the voltage, the method is carried out according to a step-by-step adjusting method.

When the preceding stage voltage is regulated, a multi-time small-amplitude stepping regulation method is adopted, and the current preceding stage voltage reaches a new preceding stage voltage value after being regulated for n times. A certain time may be left between the two adjustment signals to ensure that each adjustment output has been steadily established.

The new front stage voltage value is obtained by calculating or looking up the table through the voltage difference of the new emission voltage (namely, the rear stage voltage).

The number of times n of adjustment is calculated from the formula (n ═ (new preceding voltage value — current preceding voltage value)/. DELTA.V, the result being taken as an absolute value and an integer upward). Except for the last time, the amplification (or the reduction) of the voltage of the front stage is regulated to be fixed delta V every time.

The method for determining the amplification (or the reduction) delta V is that the parameters of a safe working area in an MOS tube specification are consulted, the maximum impact current determined by a specific transmitting circuit and the duration of the current are determined, and a certain reduction is considered for safety.

Referring to fig. 20, a schematic diagram of the step-by-step adjustment of the voltage at the front stage is shown, which is suitable for the adjustment of the front stage from low voltage to high voltage, and it can be seen from the diagram that the voltage difference V1 at the front stage and the rear stage after the step-by-step adjustment method is much lower than the voltage difference V2 without the step-by-step adjustment method, so that the instantaneous power on the MOS transistor can be effectively reduced, and the protection element can stably operate. The situation is similar for the pre-stage regulation from high to low pressure.

After the stepping voltage regulation is finished, the system enters the normal imaging state again.

Furthermore, the software detects the voltage and current of the front and rear stages in real time, if the voltage and current of the rear stage are abnormal, the front stage enable is closed and the imaging operation is stopped after multiple detections and confirmations are correct.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An ultrasound device, comprising an ultrasound interface, a control unit, an alternating direct current conversion unit, a voltage adjustment unit, and a transmission unit:

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the alternating direct current conversion unit comprises a two-way alternating flyback conversion circuit and a voltage regulation circuit;

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the voltage adjustment unit comprises a positive voltage adjustment circuit and a negative voltage adjustment circuit;

the other end of the sixth resistor is grounded;

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a voltage detection unit;

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the control unit is specifically configured to:

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a current detection unit;

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the two-way alternate flyback converter circuit comprises a first transformer, a second transformer, a first switch, a second switch, a first resistor, a second resistor, a first diode, a second diode, a third diode, and a fourth diode, wherein:

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the two-way alternating flyback converter circuit further comprises a third resistor, a fourth resistor, a first capacitor, and a second capacitor, wherein:

the other end of the first capacitor is grounded;

the other end of the second capacitor is grounded;

9. The device of claim 2, wherein the voltage regulation circuit comprises a ninth resistor, a tenth resistor, and a potentiometer, wherein:

10. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the voltage detection unit comprises a first positive voltage detection circuit, a second positive voltage detection circuit, a first negative voltage detection circuit, and a second negative voltage detection circuit, wherein:

the other end of the twelfth resistor is grounded;

the other end of the sixteenth resistor is grounded;

the second negative voltage detection circuit is respectively connected with the output end of the negative voltage adjusting circuit and the control unit and used for collecting negative back-stage voltage and transmitting the negative back-stage voltage to the control unit.