JP2006162414A - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic probe constituted so as not only to easily perform work for housing the electrical parts, such as piezoelectric elements or the like connected to a lead wire group in a housing, even if the probe is miniaturized but also to prevent disconnection in the connection parts with lead wires. <P>SOLUTION: The ultrasonic probe 1 is equipped with a part set (formation part) 12, which has a piezoelectric vibrator 7, an acoustically matching layer (acoustically matching part) 8; a back-load material (back-load part) 10 and the flexible substrate (substrate part) 11 mounted on the back load part 10; a housing part which has a housing body 13 and the back plate (separation part) 15 and the lid 16 separated from the housing body 13 to house the part set 12; a cable (signal wire) 18 for transmitting and receiving a signal from the flexible substrate 11, with respect to an inspection machine body; a first positioning part 20 for positioning the back plate 15 and the part set 12; and a second positioning part 21 for positioning the back plate 15, which is positioned in the part set 12, to the housing body 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe for performing ultrasonic flaw detection.

  The ultrasonic probe oscillates an ultrasonic wave by applying an electric signal to electrodes provided on both surfaces of the piezoelectric vibrator, and radiates the ultrasonic wave into a test medium as a subject and reflects it from the test medium. An ultrasonic wave is received by a piezoelectric vibrator, converted into an electric signal, taken out by an electrode, and a structure in a test medium is searched from the electric signal.

  Such an ultrasonic probe is normally manufactured by assembling an electrical component including a piezoelectric vibrator and a lead wire group into a housing after assembling. At this time, in order to easily store the electrical parts in the housing, the housing is divided into two parts, and two housing parts are bonded and assembled so as to sandwich the electrical parts from both sides (for example, patents). Reference 1). In addition, in order to reduce the load on the lead wire with respect to the piezoelectric vibrator after being housed in the housing, the housing surrounding the piezoelectric vibrator is enlarged with respect to the size of the piezoelectric vibrator so that there is sufficient space for the lead wire. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

However, since the lead wire group in the housing is not shown in the technique described in Patent Document 1, even if an attempt is made to reduce the size of the probe in order to detect flaws in a narrow space, the lead in the housing at that time. The handling of the line group is unknown. In the case of the technique described in Patent Document 2, when the housing is made small in accordance with the piezoelectric vibrator, the lead wire group may interfere with the housing. In this case, stress is applied to the lead wire inside the housing, and there is a risk of peeling or disconnection at the connection portion with the piezoelectric vibrator.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-5227 JP-A-5-340932

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even if it is reduced in size, it is possible to easily store an electrical component such as a piezoelectric element connected to a group of lead wires in a housing. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe that can prevent disconnection at the connecting portion.

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
An ultrasonic probe according to the present invention includes a piezoelectric vibrator that transmits and receives a sound wave, a planar acoustic matching portion disposed between the piezoelectric vibrator and a subject, and the acoustic matching portion of the piezoelectric vibrator. The formation includes a rear load portion disposed on the opposite side, a forming portion having a substrate portion attached to the rear load portion, and a housing main body and at least one separation portion separated from the housing main body. A housing part that houses the part, a signal line that transmits and receives signals from the substrate part to the inspection machine body, a first positioning part that positions the separating part and the forming part, and a positioning part that is positioned on the forming part And a second positioning portion for positioning the separating portion on the housing body.

  This ultrasonic probe can be positioned on the housing body with the second positioning portion in a state where the separating portion and the forming portion are positioned with the first positioning portion, and the displacement of the piezoelectric vibrator with respect to the housing portion is accurate. It can be easily stored in the housing part while being well regulated.

Moreover, the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention is the ultrasonic probe, wherein a through-hole through which the signal line can be inserted is arranged in the separation part.
In this ultrasonic probe, the signal line is inserted into the through hole of the separation part before the piezoelectric vibrator is housed in the housing part, and the signal line is connected to the substrate part in a state where the separation part and the rear load part are positioned. Can do. Further, in this state, the forming portion can be easily accommodated in the housing portion by positioning the separating portion on the housing body. At this time, it is possible to reduce the stress applied to the fixing portion between the signal line and the substrate portion and suppress disconnection.

The ultrasonic probe according to the present invention is the ultrasonic probe, wherein the second positioning portion includes a convex portion arranged on one side and a concave portion arranged on the other side. .
When assembling the housing part, this ultrasonic probe can easily position both of them by connecting the convex part and the concave part to each other.

  Further, the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention is the ultrasonic probe, wherein a direction in which the signal line extends and a normal direction of the acoustic matching unit are arranged to be orthogonal to each other, and the back load part is the signal An inclined surface that is inclined on the same plane with respect to both the line extending direction and the normal direction of the acoustic matching portion, and at least a part of the substrate portion is disposed on the inclined surface. To do.

  In this ultrasonic probe, when connecting the signal line to the substrate part, the signal line can be drawn out in the direction between the normal direction of the inclined surface and the direction in which the signal line extends. It is possible to reduce the stress applied to the fixing portion between the signal line and the substrate portion by bending the wire without bending, and the disconnection during use can be suppressed.

  Further, the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention is the ultrasonic probe, wherein a direction in which the signal line extends and a normal direction of the acoustic matching unit are arranged to be orthogonal to each other, and the back load part is the signal A side surface orthogonal to both the axial direction of the line and the normal line direction of the acoustic matching unit, the substrate unit is disposed on the side surface, and the direction in which the signal line is drawn from the substrate unit is The signal line extends in the same plane with respect to both the direction in which the signal line extends and the normal direction of the acoustic matching unit.

  This ultrasonic probe can be pulled out without bending the signal line from the board part even when sufficient space for the signal line from the board part cannot be secured, and stress applied to the connection part between the signal line and the board part Can be reduced, and disconnection during use can be suppressed.

  According to the present invention, assembly work can be easily performed while maintaining the positioning accuracy of the piezoelectric vibrator.

A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
An ultrasonic probe 1 according to this embodiment is arranged in an ultrasonic flaw detector 2 shown in FIG.
The ultrasonic flaw detector 2 includes an inspection machine main body 5 including a power supply circuit and a control unit (not shown) and various operation switches 3 for controlling the apparatus such as setting conditions of the flaw detector, and setting conditions, flaw detection results, and the like. And a liquid crystal monitor 6 for display.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the ultrasonic probe 1 includes a piezoelectric vibrator 7 that transmits and receives sound waves, and a planar acoustic matching layer (acoustic layer) disposed between the piezoelectric vibrator 7 and a subject (not shown). A matching portion) 8, a back load material (back load portion) 10 disposed on the opposite side of the acoustic matching layer 8 of the piezoelectric vibrator 7, and a flexible substrate (substrate portion) 11 attached to the back load material 10. A housing part 17 having a part (formation part) 12, a housing body 13, a back plate (separation part) 15 separated from the housing body 13, and a lid 16, and housing the part 12 therein; A cable (signal line) 18 for transmitting and receiving signals from the substrate 11 to the inspection machine main body 5, a first positioning portion 20 for positioning the back plate 15 and the set 12, and the back plate 15 positioned on the set 12 are housed. Positioning the body 13 And a positioning portion 21.

  The piezoelectric vibrator 7 has a rectangular shape, and is arranged on the XY plane when the direction in which the cable 18 extends is the Y direction and the normal direction of the acoustic matching layer 8 is the Z direction. An electrode surface 7A is disposed on the surface of the piezoelectric vibrator 7 in the Z direction, and a signal electrode and a ground electrode (not shown) are separately disposed in the odd-numbered channel and the even-numbered channel on the electrode surface 7A. In accordance with each electrode, nine leads 22 are fixed to the X-direction side surface 7B by solder or conductive adhesive. An acoustic matching layer 8 is disposed on the subject side of the piezoelectric vibrator 7.

The back load material 10 has a hexahedron shape having side surfaces extending in the normal direction in the XY axes, and the electrode surface 7A of the piezoelectric vibrator 7 is bonded to the bonding surface 10A having the lower side in the Z direction as the normal direction. Glued with an agent.
The upper side in the Z direction is an inclined surface 10B in which the normal C is inclined at a predetermined angle on the same plane with respect to both the Y direction and the Z direction so that the cable 18 side is directed downward in the Z direction. The flexible substrate 11 is attached to each of the inclined surface 10B and the X-direction side surface 10C.

On the cable 18 side of the Y-direction side surface 10D, a protrusion 23 is provided on the lower side from the ridge line 10a with the inclined surface 10B so as to protrude toward the cable 18 side.
The protrusion 23 is provided with an XY plane 23A on which the back plate 15 can be placed from the upper side in the Z direction.

The leads 22 are respectively fixed to 18 lands (not shown) provided on the flexible substrate 11 with solder or a conductive adhesive.
A pattern (not shown) is formed on the flexible substrate 11, and 16 of 18 lands contact signal electrode lands (not shown) provided on the inclined surface 10 </ b> B of the back load material 10. The remaining two are connected to a ground contact portion 26 that contacts a ground land (not shown) that is similarly provided.

  The housing body 13 has a rectangular tube shape penetrating in the Z direction, and an opening 27 to which the back plate 15 is fixed is part of the Y direction side surface 13 </ b> A facing the Y direction side surface 10 </ b> D of the back load material 10. Is arranged. The opening 27 is also formed so as to open on the upper end 13B side of the housing body.

The back plate 15 is formed in a flat plate shape and includes a bottom surface 15A that comes into contact with the XY plane 23A of the projection 23, and a through hole 15B through which the cable 18 can be inserted is arranged.
A pair of projecting portions 28A, 28B projecting inward in the Y direction on the X direction both ends 15D, 15E side of the inner surface 15C of the back plate 15 are spaced from each other at a distance that allows the back load material 10 to be inserted therebetween. They are spaced apart.

  That is, the first positioning portion 20 includes a bottom surface 15A, an inner surface 15C and a pair of protrusions 28A, 28B of the back plate 15, an XY plane 23A, a Y-direction side surface 10D, and an X-direction side surface 10C of the protrusion 23 of the back surface load member 10. Consists of. The back plate 15 is positioned in the Z direction by applying the bottom surface 15A to the XY plane 23A of the projection 23, and the inner surface of the back plate 15 is applied while the X side surface 10C of the back load member 10 and the pair of protrusions 28A, 28B are applied. Positioning in the X and Y directions is achieved by fitting up to the position where 15C and the Y direction side surface 10D of the back surface load member 10 come into contact with each other.

  Grooves (concave portions) 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B extending downward from the upper side in the Z direction are formed on the inner portion of the X direction side surface 13 </ b> C near the opening 27 in the housing body 13. In addition, a regulation surface 13 </ b> D that contacts the bottom surface 15 </ b> A of the back plate 15 is formed at the end portion of the opening 27.

  The widths of the grooves 30A and 30B are substantially the same as the thickness of the back plate 15. That is, both ends 15D and 15E in the X direction of the back plate 15 become convex portions, and can be connected to the grooves 30A and 30B of the housing body 13 in a concave-convex manner. And the 2nd positioning part 21 is comprised from the groove | channels 30A and 30B and the regulation surface 13D of the housing main body 13, and X direction both ends 15D and 15E of the backplate 15, and the bottom face 15A.

That is, the back plate 15 and the assembly 12 are positioned in the Z direction by applying the bottom surface 15A of the back plate 15 to the regulating surface 13D of the housing body 13, and the grooves 30A and 30B of the housing body and the X of the back plate 15 are aligned. Positioning in the XY directions is performed by engaging the direction ends 15D and 15E.
The regulating surface 13D of the housing body 13 and the XY plane 23A of the back surface load member 10 are arranged on the same plane after assembly.

The cable 18 includes a plurality of coaxial signal lines 31 inside, and is fixed to the through hole 15 </ b> B of the back plate 15 via a cable clamp 32.
The coaxial signal line 31 includes a core wire 33, a ground wire 35, and a coating 36 that covers them. The core wire 33 is connected to the signal electrode contact portion 25, and the ground wire 35 is gathered together in the ground contact portion 26. Connected.

Next, a method for assembling the ultrasonic probe according to the present embodiment, and an operation / effect will be described.
First, the acoustic matching layer 8 is bonded to the object side (not shown) of the piezoelectric vibrator 7 to which the lead 22 is connected, and the electrode surface 7A of the piezoelectric vibrator 7 and the bonding surface 10A of the back load material 10 are bonded with an adhesive. Glue.
Subsequently, the flexible substrate 11 is bonded to the inclined surface 10 </ b> B and the X-direction side surface 10 </ b> C of the back surface load material 10. Then, the lead 22 is connected to each land (not shown) of the flexible substrate 11 to form the set 12.

On the other hand, the cable 18 is inserted into the cable clamp 32 with a predetermined length and fixed to the back plate 15, the coating 36 is peeled off, and the coaxial signal line 31 is taken out.
In this state, the core wire 33 is connected to the signal electrode contact portion 25 of the flexible substrate 11 by soldering, and the ground wire 35 is collectively connected to the ground contact portion 26 of the flexible substrate 11 by soldering.

  Then, the back plate 15 and the back load material 10 are positioned and bonded and fixed by the first positioning unit 20.

The obtained assembly 12 is stored in the housing body 13.
At this time, the X direction ends 15D and 15E of the back plate 15 are engaged with the grooves 30A and 30B of the housing main body 13, respectively, and then along the grooves 30A and 30B until the bottom surface 15A comes into contact with the regulating surface 13D of the housing main body 13. Then, the back plate 15 is slid to move until the bottom surface 15A of the back plate 15 and the regulating surface 13D of the housing body 13 come into contact with each other, and are fixed at that position.

In this way, the position of the rotation direction about the X, Y direction, and Z axis with respect to the housing portion 17 of the subassembly 12 is determined, and positioning in the Z direction is also performed.
After being accommodated in the housing part 17, an internal space portion is filled with an adhesive and the lid 16 is adhered to obtain the ultrasonic probe 1.

According to this ultrasonic probe 1, the back plate 15 and the assembly 12 can be positioned on the housing main body 13 by the second positioning portion 21 while being positioned by the first positioning portion 20. The child 7 can be easily accommodated in the housing portion 17 while accurately regulating the displacement of the child 7 with respect to the housing portion 17.
Therefore, the assembly work can be easily performed while maintaining the positioning accuracy of the piezoelectric vibrator 7.

  Further, when the coaxial signal lines 31 of the cable 18 are connected to the flexible substrate 11, the drawing direction of each coaxial signal line 31 is a direction between the normal C direction of the inclined surface 10 </ b> B and the direction in which the coaxial signal line 31 extends. The coaxial signal line 31 can be pulled out from the flexible substrate 11 without being bent halfway, and stress applied to the fixing portion between the coaxial signal line 31 and the flexible substrate 11 can be reduced, and disconnection during use can be suppressed. Can do.

Further, before the piezoelectric vibrator 7 is housed in the housing portion 17, the coaxial signal line 31 is inserted into the through hole 15 </ b> B of the back plate 15, and the coaxial signal line 31 is connected to the flexible substrate 11 to connect the back plate 15 and the back load material. 10 can be positioned and workability can be improved.
Further, in this state, when the back plate 15 is positioned on the housing body 13 and the assembly 12 is easily accommodated in the housing portion 17, the stress applied to the fixing portion between the coaxial signal line 31 and the flexible substrate 11 is reduced and the wire breaks. Can be suppressed.

  Further, when the housing portion 17 is assembled, both the X-direction ends 15D and 15E of the back plate 15 are slid and moved while being concavo-convexly connected to the grooves 30A and 30B, respectively, so that both can be easily positioned.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component similar to 1st Embodiment mentioned above, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the back load material 41 of the ultrasonic probe 40 according to the present embodiment is provided with the protrusion 23 of the back load material 10 according to the first embodiment. However, the back plate 42 is the entire side surface in the Y direction on the cable 18 side with respect to the housing body 43.

That is, in this embodiment, the back load material 41 has the same shape as the back load material 10 according to the first embodiment except that the protrusions 23 are not provided.
The housing portion 44 includes the lid 16, the housing main body 43, and the back plate 42. The first positioning portion 45 includes the inner surface 42 </ b> C and the pair of projecting portions 28 </ b> A and 28 </ b> B of the back plate 42, and the back load material 41. It consists of a Y-direction side surface 41D and an X-direction side surface 41C. Then, the back plate 42 is fitted to a position where the inner surface 42C and the Y direction side surface 41D of the back load material 41 contact each other while abutting the X direction side surface 41C of the back load material 41 and the pair of projecting portions 28A, 28B. Thus, positioning in the XY directions is performed.

On the other hand, the grooves 30A and 30B of the housing main body 43 extend from the upper end 43B to the lower end 43E of the housing main body 43, and the second positioning portion 46 is formed between the grooves 30A and 30B of the housing main body 43 and the back plate 42. It is comprised from X direction both ends 42D and 42E.
That is, the back plate 42 and the assembly 12 are positioned in the X and Y directions by engaging the grooves 30A and 30B of the housing body with the X direction ends 42D and 42E of the back plate 42.

  The positioning of the back plate 42 and the back load material 41 in the Z direction and the positioning of the back plate 42 and the housing body 43 in the Z direction are the same as the lower end 43E of the housing body 43 and the acoustic matching layer 8 in any case. This is done by pressing the bottom surface 42A of the back plate 42 against a reference surface (not shown) that forms the flat surface.

According to the ultrasonic probe 40, the same actions and effects as in the first embodiment can be achieved.
In particular, in the case of the present embodiment, since the back surface load material 41 is configured not to have a protrusion as described above, the shape of the back surface load material 41 can be simplified, and more accurate parts can be provided. . Moreover, assembly workability can be further improved.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component similar to other embodiment mentioned above, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
The difference between the third embodiment and the first embodiment is that the flexible substrate 51 of the ultrasonic probe 50 according to the present embodiment is only the X-direction side surface 52C of the back load member 52 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. It is the point which is divided | segmented into two (only one side is shown in figure) so that arrangement | positioning is possible.

An upper side in the Z direction of the back load member 52 is a flat surface 52B substantially parallel to the bonding surface 52A.
In the signal electrode connection portion 25 and the ground connection portion 26, any one of the Y direction in which the cable 18 extends and the Z direction that is the normal direction of the acoustic matching layer 8 can be drawn out of the coaxial signal line 31 from the flexible substrate 51. It is arranged toward the back plate 15 side so as to be inclined on the same plane with respect to the direction.

The ultrasonic probe 50 according to the present embodiment can also be assembled by the same method as in the first embodiment, and the same actions and effects can be achieved.
In particular, even if the space for drawing the coaxial signal line 31 from the flexible board 51 in the Z direction in the housing portion cannot be sufficiently secured due to downsizing, the coaxial signal line 31 is not bent from the flexible board 51, and It can be pulled out without interfering with the inner wall of the housing body 13 and the like, the stress applied to the connecting portion between the coaxial signal line 31 and the flexible substrate 51 can be reduced, and disconnection during use can be suppressed.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the housing part is configured by three parts, that is, a housing main body, a back plate, and a lid. However, the number of parts is not limited to three parts, and may be two parts or four or more parts.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall outline of an ultrasonic flaw detector provided with an ultrasonic probe according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an ultrasonic probe according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the decomposition | disassembly structure of the ultrasonic probe which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the ultrasonic probe which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the decomposition | disassembly structure of the ultrasonic probe which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a partial side cross-sectional view illustrating an ultrasonic probe according to a third embodiment of the present invention and showing a portion corresponding to a cross section taken along line BB in FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols

1, 40, 50 Ultrasonic probe 7 Piezoelectric vibrator 8 Acoustic matching layer (acoustic matching part)
10, 41, 52 Back load material (back load section)
10B Inclined surface 11, 51 Flexible substrate (substrate part)
12 parts (formation part)
13, 43 Housing body 15, 42 Back plate (separation part)
15B Through-holes 15D, 15E, 42D, 42E Both ends in X direction (convex part)
17, 44 Housing part 18 Cable (signal line)
20, 45 First positioning part 21, 46 Second positioning part 30A, 30B Groove (concave part)
52C X direction side surface (side surface)

Claims (5)

Piezoelectric vibrator for transmitting and receiving sound waves, a planar acoustic matching section disposed between the piezoelectric vibrator and the subject, and a back load section disposed on the opposite side of the piezoelectric vibrator from the acoustic matching section And a forming part having a substrate part attached to the back load part,
A housing part having a housing main body and at least one separation part separated from the housing main body, and housing the forming part therein;
A signal line for transmitting and receiving a signal from the board portion to the inspection machine body;
A first positioning part for positioning the separating part and the forming part;
An ultrasonic probe, comprising: a second positioning portion that positions the separation portion positioned by the forming portion on the housing body.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein a through-hole through which the signal line can be inserted is arranged in the separation part.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the second positioning portion includes a convex portion arranged on one side and a concave portion arranged on the other side. The direction in which the signal line extends and the normal direction of the acoustic matching unit are arranged orthogonally,
The back load portion includes an inclined surface that is inclined on the same plane with respect to both the extending direction of the signal line and the normal direction of the acoustic matching portion,
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of the substrate portion is disposed on the inclined surface. The direction in which the signal line extends and the normal direction of the acoustic matching unit are arranged orthogonally,
The back load portion includes a side surface that is orthogonal to both the axial direction of the signal line and the normal direction of the acoustic matching portion,
The substrate portion is disposed on the side surface;
The drawing direction of the signal line from the substrate part is a direction inclined on the same plane with respect to both the direction in which the signal line extends and the normal line direction of the acoustic matching part. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 2.

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