JP2000333958A - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high-accuracy ultrasonic probe having a simpler arrangement and being cheaper than the prior art probes. SOLUTION: This ultrasonic probe has a pipe 102 formed with an external thread 102A. A motor chassis 1051 is formed with an internal thread 1051C. Rotation of the pipe 102 enables the meshing of bevel gears 117, 114A to be adjusted easily. Since the pipe 102 is formed with the groove 102A, it can be disassembled easily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to observe and diagnose the state of internal organs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an apparatus of this type, an ultrasonic probe using a bevel gear for changing the direction of a rotating shaft has been known as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-258055. ing.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, the meshing of the bevel gear cannot be adjusted, and a plurality of gears in which the meshing distance of the bevel gear is changed in several steps are prepared. While measuring the meshing of the gear pairs, the bevel gear must be selected, or the gap between the shafts of the bevel gear must be wider than the theoretical distance to increase the so-called backlash. In the selection of such bevel gears, the number of working steps increases, and when the backlash is increased, the error between the rotation angle of the swing motor and the swing angle of the ultrasonic scanning surface increases, There was a problem that diagnostic accuracy was reduced.

When a screw is used to fix the pipe to the motor chassis, the number of assembling steps is increased, and the screw abutment portion of the pipe is plastically deformed and becomes a convex protrusion, so that the pipe is separated from the motor chassis, or However, there is a problem that becomes an obstacle when assembling the pipe to the motor chassis again.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and has as its object to provide an inexpensive and highly accurate ultrasonic probe.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a female screw is formed at a part of a pipe fitting hole of a motor chassis, and a male screw is formed at a distal end of a portion of the pipe fitted into the motor chassis. And adjusting the meshing of the bevel gear pair by rotating the pipe. Thereby, the meshing adjustment of the bevel gear can be easily performed, and a more inexpensive and highly accurate ultrasonic probe can be obtained.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A transducer capable of mutually converting ultrasonic waves and electric signals, a rotor motor that holds the transducer and performs rotational scanning, a motor chassis that holds the rotor motor in a swingable manner, and a swing motor that swings and drives the rotor motor. An encoder for detecting the rotation angle of the oscillating motor, a bevel gear pair for converting the rotational motion of the oscillating motor to the oscillating motion of the rotor motor, a pipe for supporting and fixing the motor chassis, and supporting the pipe. A frame to be fixed, a drive rod for transmitting the rotational force of the oscillating motor to the bevel gear pair, and a bearing substantially press-fitted and held on the motor chassis side of the pipe and rotatably holding the drive rod, A bevel gear directly connected to the drive rod of the bevel gear pair is fixed in contact with the inner ring of the bearing, A hole for fitting the pipe in the motor chassis, and in the ultrasonic probe in which the pipe is fitted and fixed in the motor chassis, a female screw is formed in a part of a pipe fitting hole of the motor chassis; An ultrasonic probe, wherein a male screw is formed at a distal end of a portion of the pipe to be fitted into the motor chassis, and the meshing adjustment of the bevel gear pair is performed by rotating the pipe. The meshing adjustment can be easily performed, and has an effect that an inexpensive and highly accurate ultrasonic probe can be realized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ultrasonic probe according to the first aspect, wherein the pipe and the motor chassis are fixed by an adhesive. Thereafter, by rotating and fixing the pipe and the motor chassis with an adhesive, there is an effect that the pipe can be fixed in a short time and at low cost.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a screw hole for fixing the pipe is provided in the motor chassis, the pipe is fixed to the motor chassis by a screw, and a groove is formed in a screw contact portion of the pipe. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein a screw is used to fix the pipe and the motor chassis, and the pipe and the motor chassis are rotated and fixed by using a screw. Even when plastic deformation occurs in the contact portion, the plastic deformation portion does not protrude from the outer shape of the pipe, and has an effect that disassembly and assembly can be performed without any trouble.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. (Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present ultrasonic probe, the outside of the ultrasonic probe is usually covered with a resin housing, but the drawing does not show the resin housing for ease of explanation. The ultrasonic probe 100 is a mechanical scanning ultrasonic probe in which a transducer 101 is rotated by a rotor motor 104 and a rotation angle of the motor 104 is detected by an encoder (not shown).

The transducer 101 is constituted by a piezoelectric element, generates an ultrasonic wave when an electric signal is input, and outputs an electric signal when the reflected ultrasonic wave is received. By performing the above operation while rotating the rotor motor 104 in the 1040 direction, an electric signal for one tomographic image is obtained. The electrical signal is subjected to image conversion by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, whereby an ultrasonic tomographic image can be obtained.

The rotor motor 104 is a motor chassis 1
05 so as to be swingably rotatable.
Is fixed to the pipe 102. The pipe 102
The frame 103 is fixed to the frame 103. The frame 103 includes a swing angle detecting encoder 106 (hereinafter, swing encoder),
A swing motor mounting plate 109 is installed, and a swing motor 108 is installed on the swing motor mounting plate 109. The output shaft of the oscillating motor 108 is the flexible coupling 1
07, and the flexible coupling 107 is
It is connected to a drive rod 115 (described in FIG. 3). still,
The swing encoder 106 is a penetration type encoder,
The rotation angle of the drive rod 115 can be detected.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a fixed relationship between the rotor motor 104 and the motor chassis 105. The motor chassis 105 includes a motor chassis 1051 and a motor chassis 1052. Motor chassis 1
052 is fixed to the motor chassis 1051 by screws 110 and 111. The rotor motor 104 has rail-shaped projections 104A and 104 having an arc shape and a rectangular cross section.
C is formed. The motor chassis 1051 is formed with an arc-shaped groove 1051A having a rectangular cross section.
The motor chassis 1052 is formed with an arc-shaped groove 1052A having a rectangular cross section. Groove 1051A and protrusion 1
04C, the groove 1052A and the protrusion 104A are fitted so as to be rotatable, respectively. The intermediate gear 114 is formed with a bevel gear 114A and a spur gear 114B. The end 114C of the intermediate gear 114 is substantially press-fitted into the bearing 113, and is substantially press-fitted into the hole 1051B of the motor chassis 1051. Further, the end portion 114D of the intermediate gear is substantially press-fitted into the bearing 112, and is substantially press-fitted into the hole portion 1052B of the motor chassis 1052. The spur gear 114B is
And the intermediate gear 1
14 are rotated to form grooves 1051A, 1051A.
It swings and rotates around the center of the 2A arc.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the pipe 102 and the drive rod 115. At one end of the pipe 102, a male screw 102A and a groove 102B are formed. Pipe 10
The bearing 116 is substantially press-fitted into the inner diameter of the bearing 2.
A drive rod 115 is rotatably substantially press-fitted into the inner diameter portion of No. 6. A bevel gear 117 is fixed to one end of the drive rod 115, and a flexible coupling 107 (not shown) is connected to the other end.

FIG. 4 shows the pipe 102 and the motor chassis 10.
5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing fastening of No. 5; FIG. Drive rod 1
15 (not shown), the bevel gear 117 is rotated.
Rotates and the bevel gear 114 meshing with the bevel gear 117
A rotates. By rotating the bevel gear 114A,
The rotation of the spur gear 114B and the rotation of the spur gear 114B causes the rotor motor 104 to rotate the groove portions 1051A,
52A (both not shown) rotates about the center of the circular arc. At this time, a female screw 10 is inserted into a part of the hole 1051B for inserting the pipe 102 of the motor chassis 1051.
51C is formed and meshes with a male screw 102B formed on the pipe 102. Therefore, by rotating the pipe 102, the insertion depth of the pipe 102 into the motor chassis 1051 can be changed. 117
The engagement with the bevel gear portion 114A of the intermediate gear 114 can be adjusted. At this time, since the amount of change in the rotation angle and the insertion depth of the pipe 102 is uniquely determined, the bevel gear 114
It is also possible to adjust the amount of backlash between A and 117.

After adjusting the meshing of the bevel gears, the pipe 102 is fixed to the motor chassis 1051 by screws 118. A groove 10 is provided in the portion of the pipe 102 where the screw 118 contacts.
2A is formed. This groove depth can be adjusted by screw tightening.
The pipe is deeper than the plastic deformation. Therefore, when the pipe 102 is fastened with the screw 118, the height of the plastic deformation portion generated in the pipe 102 does not exceed the outer shape of the pipe 102. Therefore, the hole 1051
Even when the diameter difference between B and the pipe 102 is reduced, it is possible to easily disassemble the pipe.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A female screw is formed in a part of the pipe fitting hole of the motor chassis, and a male screw is formed at a tip of a portion of the pipe fitted into the motor chassis, and the meshing adjustment of the bevel gear pair is performed by rotating the pipe. As a result, an inexpensive and highly accurate ultrasonic probe can be obtained with a simple configuration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a rotor motor unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a pipe section according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 ultrasonic probe 101 transducer 102 pipe 103 frame 104 rotor motor 105 motor chassis 1051 one motor chassis 1052 the other motor chassis 106 swing angle detection encoder 107 flexible coupling 108 swing motor 109 swing motor mounting bracket 110 screw 111 screw 112 bearing 113 bearing 114 intermediate gear 115 drive rod 116 bearing 117 bevel gear 118 screw

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transducer capable of mutually converting ultrasonic waves and electric signals, a rotor motor holding the transducer and performing rotational scanning, a motor chassis holding the rotor motor in a swingable manner, and driving the rotor motor in a swingable manner. A swing motor, an encoder that detects a rotation angle of the swing motor, a bevel gear pair that converts the rotation of the swing motor into a swing motion of the rotor motor, and a pipe that supports and fixes the motor chassis. A frame for supporting and fixing the pipe, a drive rod for transmitting the rotational force of the oscillating motor to the bevel gear pair, substantially press-fitted and held on the motor chassis side of the pipe, and rotatably holding the drive rod. And a bevel gear directly connected to the drive rod of the bevel gear pair. A hole for fitting the pipe into the motor chassis is provided, and in the ultrasonic probe in which the pipe is fitted and fixed to the motor chassis, a female screw is formed in a part of the pipe fitting hole of the motor chassis. An ultrasonic probe, wherein a male screw is formed at a tip of a portion of the pipe to be fitted into the motor chassis, and the meshing of the bevel gear pair is adjusted by rotating the pipe. 2. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the pipe and the motor chassis are fixed with an adhesive. 3. The motor chassis is provided with a screw hole for fixing the pipe, the pipe and the motor chassis are fixed by a screw, and a groove is provided in a screw contact portion of the pipe, and the pipe and the motor chassis are provided. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein a screw is used to fix the ultrasonic probe.