JP2512209B2 - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electronic scanning type ultrasonic probe used in, for example, a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 7 to 9 show the configuration of an ultrasonic probe of this type. In FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, 1 is an ultrasonic transducer for converting an electric signal into mechanical vibration, and 2 is provided so as to cover the front surface, one end face and a part of the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 1. Negative electrode 3 is a positive electrode provided so as to cover the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 1, 4 is a conductor for supplying an electric signal to the negative electrode 2, and 5 is a conductor for supplying an electric signal to the positive electrode 3. is there.

As the conductors 4 and 5, a metal thin plate subjected to etching processing or a patterned flexible printed wiring board or the like is used, and the negative electrode 2 and the positive electrode 3 are electrically connected by soldering or a conductive adhesive. It is connected. In particular, as shown in FIG. 10, the conductor 4 has a shape in which a linear portion 4c is formed in the center of a projecting piece 4b formed at one side edge of the metal thin plate 4a at equal intervals.
Bend from 4d at a substantially right angle, and attach the bent base 4e to the negative electrode 2 with a conductive adhesive 8 as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 and then to the back load material 6 with a thermosetting resin or the like. ing.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the ultrasonic transducer 1, the negative electrode 2, and the positive electrode 3 are completely cut by the slit 7a by a cutting grindstone (not shown) that rotates at high speed by a slicing machine or the like. The back load member 6 and the conductors 4 and 5 are partially cut at the same time, and the conductor 4 is completely cut at the same pitch as the linear portions 4c by the slits 7a having the same depth as the slits 7a, thereby achieving one electrical connection. An ultrasonic transducer array having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers is formed in the target group.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-described conventional ultrasonic probe, when the ultrasonic transducer 1 is cut and divided, it is necessary to cut a part of the conductors 4 and 5 at the same time. It is very difficult to cut with a cutting wheel for a machine.
In addition, clogging of the grindstone occurs, and when the ultrasonic oscillator 1 is cut, its machinability is significantly reduced.

As a result, the ultrasonic transducer 1 is cracked, chipped, and the electrodes 2, 3 are broken.
If the cutting pitch becomes finer, it becomes more difficult to form an ultrasonic transducer array having a uniform pitch, because peeling between the conductors 4 and 5 and the like occur. Therefore, there has been a problem that it is very difficult to form an ultrasonic transducer array with a high-definition pitch due to the high resolution of the ultrasonic transducer 1.

Further, in the case of the conductor shape as shown in the drawing, highly accurate alignment is required in the alignment with the cutting position of the conductor 4, which requires man-hours for production and also requires high pitch precision of the conductor 4. There was a problem of being done.

The present invention is to solve such conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a high-resolution ultrasonic probe having an ultrasonic transducer array of high definition pitch, which is easy to manufacture. is there.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention forms a pair of conductor connecting portions, the thickness of which is thicker than the thickness of other portions, on the same surface, and the conductor connecting portions are formed on both surfaces. Each of the rod-shaped conductors includes an ultrasonic transducer provided with an electrode reaching one side, and a plurality of rod-shaped conductors connected to the electrode reaching the conductor connection portion at regular intervals and supplying an electric signal to the electrodes. In the middle of the space, the ultrasonic transducer is electrically and mechanically completely cut together with the conductor connecting portion, and the cut ultrasonic transducer is mechanically cut halfway to the conductor connecting portion. , So as to form an ultrasonic transducer array.

Effect Therefore, according to the present invention, the ultrasonic transducer is cut along with the conductor connecting portion between the rod-shaped conductors of the rod-shaped conductors connected at regular intervals, and also the step-like cutting for cutting the conductor connecting portion halfway By performing the above, it is possible to easily form an ultrasonic transducer array with a high-definition pitch, and it is possible to obtain an ultrasonic probe with high resolution.

Embodiment FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show the construction of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 1 to 3, 11 is an ultrasonic transducer in which a pair of conductor connecting portions 11a and 11b are formed on the same surface so as to be thicker than other portions, and 12 is an ultrasonic transducer.
The negative electrode is provided so as to cover the front surface and one end surface of 11 and reach the conductor connecting portion 11a on the back surface.

13 is a positive electrode that covers the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11 and reaches the conductor connecting portion 11b, and 14 is a negative electrode 12
Is a conductor for supplying an electric signal to the positive electrode terminal 13, and 15 is a conductor for supplying an electric signal to the positive electrode sandwiching member 13. In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the conductor 14 has a shape that is electrically separated up to the electrode connection end, that is, They are rod-shaped conductors and are connected at intervals of pitch 18.

The conductors 14 and 15 are connected to the negative electrode 12 and the positive electrode 13 so as to obtain electrical conduction such as soldering or adhesion with a conductive adhesive 23.

Reference numeral 16 is a back load material formed by bonding a back surface of the ultrasonic vibrator 11 and a part of the conductors 14 and 15 with a thermosetting resin or the like, and a step 19 is formed between the ultrasonic vibrator 11 and the conductors 14 and 15. Occurs.

The ultrasonic vibrator 11 is cut and processed by a slicing machine or the like, like the conventional ultrasonic vibrator in the previous term, but in this case, electrically and mechanically along with the conductor connecting portion at the center between the rod-shaped conductors. The ultrasonic transducer array is formed by completely cutting the ultrasonic transducer with the slit 17a, and mechanically cutting the ultrasonic transducer with the slit 17b only halfway to the conductor connecting portion.

The material that should be cut and divided by the slicing machine due to the stepwise disconnection is the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the back load material 16
The ultrasonic transducers in the same electric group remain in a state where they are partially connected by the conductor connecting portion 11a.

In this way, by cutting only a part of the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the backside load material 16, it is difficult to cut the conductor 14 such as a copper foil.
It is possible to obtain a high-definition ultrasonic transducer array without cracking, chipping, peeling between the negative electrode 12, the positive electrode 13 and the conductors 14 and 15, etc.

In addition, since the ultrasonic transducers 11 are kept connected to each other at the conductor connecting portions 11a and 11b, there is an advantage that the array can be formed without tilting or tilting.

FIG. 2 is a main part configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the negative electrode 12 is provided so as to cover the front surface and one side end surface of the plate-shaped ultrasonic transducer 11 and reach the side edge portion of the back surface. After the positive electrode 13 is provided so as to cover the back surface of the ultrasonic vibrator 11, the ultrasonic wave vibrator is formed by soldering or sticking the bar material 20 on the peripheral surface of which conductivity treatment 24 has been performed. The conductor connecting portions 11a and 11b are fixed to the both side edges of the back surface 11 and are thicker than the other portions.

In this case, the material of the rod 20 is an ultrasonic transducer.
It is desirable that the ultrasonic transducer 11 has the same cutting property as that of the ultrasonic transducer 11, and the same material or different material as the ultrasonic transducer 11 may be used.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a bar material 21 is fixed in advance to both side edges of the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11 before the negative electrode 12 and the positive electrode 13 are formed. After that, the front surface and one end surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the bar 21
The negative electrode 12 is provided so as to cover the back surface of the ultrasonic vibrator 11
The positive electrode 13 is provided so as to cover the back surface of the rod and the back surface of the bar member 21,
Both side edges of the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11 are formed thicker than others to form conductor connecting portions 11a and 11b. In this case, the fixing material 22 used for fixing the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the rod 21 does not need to have electrical conductivity.

Even in the case where the rod-shaped conductors are connected to the ultrasonic transducer 11 formed as in each of the above-described embodiments at regular intervals in the same manner as in the first embodiment and cutting and division are performed, the first embodiment Have the same effect.

Further, in the second embodiment, the bar member 20 has been described on the assumption that it is an insulator, but it may be a conductor. In the case of a conductor, no conductive treatment is required for the bar.

In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the linear array type ultrasonic probe has been described, but a curved array, for example, a convex type ultrasonic probe or the like can also obtain the same effect with the same configuration. it can.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As is apparent from the above embodiment, the present invention forms a pair of conductor connecting portions whose thickness is thicker than the thickness of other portions on the same surface, and reaches one of the conductor connecting portions on both surfaces. An ultrasonic transducer provided with electrodes, and a plurality of rod-shaped conductors connected to the electrodes reaching the conductor connection portion at regular intervals and supplying electric signals to the electrodes are provided, and the center between the rod-shaped conductors is provided. In the above, the ultrasonic transducer is electrically and mechanically completely cut together with the conductor connecting portion, and the cut ultrasonic transducer is mechanically cut to the middle of the conductor connecting portion only, Since the transducer array is formed, the ultrasonic transducers are cut together with the conductor connecting portions between the rod-shaped conductors of the rod-shaped conductors that are connected at regular intervals, and the conductor connecting portion is also cut halfway. Out of order By cutting off, an ultrasonic transducer array with a high-definition pitch can be easily formed, and an ultrasonic probe with high resolution can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of the ultrasonic probe in this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view of the ultrasonic probe in the process of being manufactured, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of a conductor which is a constituent element of the ultrasonic probe, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are transverse sectional views of ultrasonic transducers which are a constituent element of the ultrasonic probe of the present invention. , FIG. 7 is a side view of a conventional ultrasonic probe, FIG. 8 is a side view of a conventional ultrasonic probe in the process of being manufactured, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. FIG. 10 is a front view of a conductor which is a component of a conventional ultrasonic probe. 11 ... Ultrasonic transducer, 11a, 11b ... Conductor connection part, 12 ...
… Negative electrode, 13 …… Positive electrode, 14, 15 …… Conductor, 17a, 17
b …… slits, 20, 21 …… bars.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-60-160300 (JP, A) JP-A-58-118739 (JP, A) JP-A-3-254737 (JP, A) JP-B-58- 27459 (JP, B2)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic transducer comprising a pair of conductor connecting portions, each of which has a thickness thicker than the thickness of another portion on the same surface, and electrodes provided on both sides to reach one of the conductor connecting portions, respectively. A plurality of rod-shaped conductors connected to the electrodes reaching the conductor connection portion at regular intervals and supplying electric signals to the electrodes, and the ultrasonic transducer is provided with the ultrasonic transducer at the center between the rod-shaped conductors. An ultrasonic probe in which an ultrasonic transducer array is formed by electrically and mechanically completely cutting the connecting portion and cutting the cut ultrasonic transducer only mechanically to the middle of the conductor connecting portion. Child.