JP4131592B2 - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe that mediates between a subject and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 5 (a) shows the external shape of a conventional sector-type ultrasonic probe, and FIG. 5 (b) shows the internal structure of the tip portion, which can be called the heart of the probe, with the housing removed. FIG. 5 (c) shows a developed view of the internal structure of the tip as viewed from above. In FIG. 5C, a broken line portion represents an effective range in which ultrasound transmission / reception is appropriately performed. The main component of the ultrasonic probe is a transducer arrangement structure provided at the tip thereof, which is centered on a plurality of transducers 1 formed in a strip shape, that is, ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received. An acoustic matching layer (not shown) and the acoustic lens 13 are sequentially stacked on the surface side. In addition to the role of physically supporting the arrangement structure of the vibrators 1 on the back side of the vibrator 1, as an important thing, the role of sufficiently attenuating the ultrasonic waves radiated from the back face of the vibrator 1 A backing material 4 is provided.
[0003]
The vibrator 1 has a piezoelectric body represented by piezoelectric ceramics as a heart, a ground electrode formed on the surface thereof, and a signal electrode formed on the back surface of the piezoelectric body. The signal electrodes are individually drawn out backward through the side surface of the backing material 4 by the wiring 11 of a flexible wiring board (flexible printed wiring board; FPC) 2. The ground electrode is commonly connected to a conductive ground plate 3 such as a copper foil on the same side as the wiring board 2, and is pulled out rearward from the ground plate 3 through a part of the wiring on the wiring board 2. ing.
[0004]
Such a vibrator structure is manufactured by the following process. First, the ground plate 3 is attached to the surface of the piezoelectric plate, and the wiring board 2 is attached to the back surface. A backing material 4 is mounted on the back side of the piezoelectric plate with the wiring board 2 interposed therebetween. Thus, after attaching the backing material 4 and having a certain structural strength, an operation of cutting the piezoelectric plate in parallel and dividing it into a plurality of vibrators 1 is performed. The cutting depth is such that a blade is inserted from above the ground electrode, penetrates the piezoelectric plate including the ground plate 3, and the surface of the wiring board 2 and the backing material 2 is slightly cut to reliably separate the vibrator. Has been adjusted.
[0005]
In addition, the cutting position is accurately adjusted to the gap with reference to the wiring 11 that is formed on the wiring board 2 in a uniform manner with a constant thickness and a constant interval with very high accuracy. Here, the ground plate 3 is adjusted to have a width that is the same as or slightly narrower than the width of the transducer array, that is, the width of the piezoelectric plate, but slightly wider than the effective range, because of the necessity to commonly connect the ground electrodes. Since this ground plate 3 is above the wiring board 2, most of the wiring board 2 is concealed and the wiring 11 necessary for the alignment of cutting cannot be visually recognized. The both sides of 2 are further expanded by about 1.5 mm than the ground plate 3 and the piezoelectric plate and the backing material 2 so that the wiring 11 of the dummy pattern portion 12 can be seen from above.
[0006]
However, such a performance does not contribute at all, and because of the dummy pattern portion 12 that can be said to be an extra that is only required in the manufacturing process, the storage property in the housing is deteriorated, As a result, the probe is increased in size, and the operability such as rotation and tilting of the probe is deteriorated for the operator of the ultrasonic probe.
[0007]
For this reason, in order to make the probe as small as possible, when the housing 20 is made in accordance with the shape of the vibrator structure, the housing 20 inevitably has an angular shape as shown in FIG. This creates another problem that is painful and uncomfortable for patients who can push it. Furthermore, such a square and square shape of the casing 20 is structurally susceptible to cracks and is also vulnerable to external impacts.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As an object of the present invention, the housing at the tip of the ultrasonic probe is reduced in size to the width of a backing material, but it is not a square and square shape, but is rounded or linearly chamfered into a gentle shape. Therefore, the operability is improved, the patient's discomfort is relieved, and the impact from the outside is further enhanced.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of vibrators configured by a strip-shaped piezoelectric body, a ground electrode on the surface thereof, and a signal electrode on the back surface of the piezoelectric body, A backing material provided on the back side, a signal electrode lead-out wiring board connected to the signal electrode and provided along a side surface of the backing material, and a ground plate overlaid on the signal electrode lead-out wiring board; In the ultrasonic probe, the backing material is rounded or linearly chamfered, and the signal electrode lead-out wiring board and the ground plate have a width in the long side direction of the inner chamfer of the backing material. not narrower than.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of vibrators configured by a strip-shaped piezoelectric body, a ground electrode on the surface thereof, and a signal electrode on the back surface of the piezoelectric body, and arranged in parallel, Backing material provided on the back side, connected to the signal electrode, a signal electrode lead-out wiring board provided along a side surface of the backing material, connected to the ground electrode, and the signal electrode lead-out wiring board In the ultrasonic probe comprising a ground plate overlaid, the backing material is rounded or linearly chamfered, and the width of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board is in the long side direction of the inner chamfer of the backing material . The width of the ground plate is narrower than the width of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board, and the ground electrodes of the plurality of vibrators are led on the opposite side of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board and the ground plate. Connected to a common plate, the backing material is characterized in that the corners are rounded or linearly chamfered.
[0010]
However, since the ground plate is narrow, it cannot be connected to the ground electrode of some transducers arranged at the end, that is, there is a problem that some transducers arranged at the end cannot be grounded. This deals with the common connection of the ground electrode with the conductive plate on the opposite side of the ground plate and the wiring board.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an ultrasonic probe of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings according to a preferred embodiment.
FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an ultrasonic probe according to this embodiment. This ultrasonic probe is a sector scanning type, and has tip housings 114 and 115 that house a transducer array structure inside the tip and perform various functions such as waterproof, moistureproof, and impact resistance. . The shapes of the casings 114 and 115 are characteristic and are not angular as in the prior art, and the corners are linearly chamfered as shown in FIG. 1A, or as shown in FIG. The corners are rounded and chamfered. In addition, downsizing to a minimum size that is slightly larger than the backing material is realized. As described above, the casings 114 and 115 at the probe tip are not angular and are small in size, so that operability is improved, patient discomfort is reduced, and resistance to external impact is improved. Will be able to.
[0012]
Thus, in order to make the casings 114 and 115 small and not angular, it is indispensable to improve the internal vibrator arrangement structure housed in the casings 114 and 115 at the tip of the probe. Hereinafter, the vibrator arrangement structure will be described in detail.
[0013]
FIG. 2A shows an appearance of the vibrator arrangement structure housed in the tip housings 114 and 115 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B shows a side view of the vibrator arrangement structure viewed from the direction X. FIG. 2C is a development view of the vibrator arrangement structure as viewed from above with the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102, the ground plate 103, and the common electrode plate 104 spread on both sides.
[0014]
The vibrator 101 includes a strip-shaped piezoelectric body 108 typified by piezoelectric ceramics, a ground electrode 107 formed on the surface of the piezoelectric body 108, and a signal electrode 106 formed on the back surface of the piezoelectric body 108. Has been. A plurality of transducers 101 having such a structure are arranged in parallel.
[0015]
In addition to the role of physically supporting the array structure of the transducers 1 on the back side of the plurality of transducers 101 arranged, the ultrasonic wave emitted from the back surface of the transducers 1 is sufficiently attenuated. A backing material 105 is provided.
[0016]
The signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 sandwiched between the backing material 105 and the vibrator 1 is a flexible printed wiring board (FPC), and a plurality of wirings 111 are formed on the surface thereof. The plurality of wirings 111 are electrically individually connected to the plurality of signal electrodes 106 at one end thereof. The signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 is folded along the side surface of the backing material 105 and stored in the casings 114 and 115. In this way, the signal electrode 106 is drawn behind the backing material 105 by the signal electrode drawing wiring board 102.
[0017]
On this signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102, an earth plate 103 such as a copper foil having electrical conductivity in an insulated state is overlaid. The ground plate 103 is electrically connected to a plurality of ground electrodes 107 at one end thereof.
[0018]
Incidentally, as is well known, transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves is performed through mechanical vibration of the vibrator 101 in the thickness direction. The vibration frequency in the thickness direction of the vibrator 101, that is, the resonance frequency is mainly determined by the thickness of the piezoelectric body. However, the actual movement is determined not only by this vibration in the thickness direction, but also by various parameters such as the vibration in the width direction and the braking condition determined by the relationship with the surrounding structure of each vibrator, and is simply determined only by the resonance frequency. It is not a thing. Therefore, the vibration frequency of each vibrator 101 is measured, and the vibration frequency falls within the resonance frequency uniquely determined from the thickness or a frequency in the vicinity thereof as shown by the broken line in FIG. The range is limited to a range (effective range) that is slightly smaller than the entire transducer arrangement. Therefore, the actual transmission / reception is generally performed using only the center-side vibrator 101 within the effective range, excluding some vibrators 101 placed at both ends outside the effective range. is there.
[0019]
In consideration of such an effective range, the vibrator arrangement structure will be described in more detail. First, the width W (103) of the ground plate 103 superimposed on the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 is set to be narrower than the width W (102) of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102. As a result, both ends of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 are not covered with the ground plate 103 and the surfaces thereof are exposed.
[0020]
As described above, since both end portions of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 are exposed without being covered with the ground plate 103, the wiring on the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 is visually recognized in this exposed portion, and this wiring The cutting position can be adjusted with reference to. Accordingly, the conventional dummy pattern portion provided only for cutting alignment is not required.
[0021]
The width W (102) of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 is narrower than the width W (105) of the backing material 105, and in order to ensure transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves in the effective range, the width W of the effective range. It is provided approximately the same as (effect).
[0022]
Since the width W (102) of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 can be made narrower than the width W (105) of the backing material 105 in this way, the corner portions of the four corners of the backing material 105 are arranged at the signal electrode lead-out wiring board. Since it is exposed without being covered with 102 and the ground plate 103, the corners of the four corners of the transducer array and the backing material 105 can be rounded or linearly chamfered.
[0023]
In accordance with the shape of the backing material 105, the casings 104 and 105 are not made small and square and square, but they are rounded or gently chamfered with straight corners to improve operability and improve patient operability. It is possible to relieve discomfort and to withstand external impacts.
[0024]
However, as described above, since the width W (103) of the ground plate 103 is narrower than the width W (102) of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102, the ground electrode 107 of the vibrator 101 at both ends within the effective range. Cannot be directly grounded from the earth plate 103 connected to the earth plate 103. For this purpose, on the opposite side of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 and the ground plate 103, the ground electrodes 107 of the plurality of vibrators 101 within the effective range are commonly connected by a conductive plate 104 such as copper foil, and this common electrode plate The ground is taken through 104. Therefore, the width W (104) of the common electrode plate 104 is set so that the width W (105) of the backing material 105 and the transducer array width are not covered with the corners of the backing material 105, like the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102. In order to ensure transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves in the effective range, the width W (effect) of the effective range is provided substantially the same.
[0025]
Next, a method for manufacturing such an ultrasonic probe will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a plate-like piezoelectric plate 201 before cutting is prepared. On the surface (ultrasonic radiation surface) of the piezoelectric plate 201, an electrode 202 that becomes the ground electrode 107 in a later process is formed on one surface. In addition, on the back surface of the piezoelectric plate 201, an electrode 203 to be a signal electrode 106 in a later process is formed over the entire surface. The ground plate 103 and the common electrode plate 104 are electrically or physically joined to the surface of the piezoelectric plate 201 by soldering or a conductive adhesive.
[0026]
Next, an acoustic matching layer (not shown) having a desired thickness is attached to the surface of the piezoelectric plate 201 with the ground plate 103 and the common electrode plate 104 sandwiched therebetween. This may be performed by bonding a film-like member that has been processed to a desired thickness in advance, or by applying an epoxy adhesive or the like thicker than the desired thickness, and drying and polishing to a desired thickness. . Further, it can be a single matching layer, or two or more matching layers can be formed depending on the desired ultrasonic waveform.
[0027]
Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 is electrically and physically joined to the back surface of the piezoelectric plate 201 by a method such as soldering or conductive bonding.
[0028]
Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the backing material 4 with the four corners chamfered is bonded to the back surface of the piezoelectric plate 201 with the wiring board 102 for extracting the signal electrode interposed therebetween.
Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 is bent along the side surface of the backing material 105 with the ground plate 103 overlapped. At this time, the ground plate 103 is electrically joined to a ground lead wire on the signal electrode lead-out wiring board 102 by a method such as soldering.
[0029]
Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the cutting position is adjusted based on the wirings 210 at both ends of the exposed signal electrode wiring board 102 without being covered by the ground plate 103, that is, The piezoelectric plate 201 is cut in parallel while the blade is shifted from the position by the wiring pitch from the middle point of the adjacent wirings 210, and is divided into a plurality of strip-shaped vibrators 1. The cutting depth is determined by inserting a blade from above the piezoelectric plate 201, penetrating the piezoelectric plate 201 including the ground plate 103 and the common electrode plate 104, and the wiring board 102 and the backing in order to securely separate the vibrator 101. Fine adjustment is made so that the surface of the material 105 is slightly cut.
[0030]
Then, the ineffective portion protruding from the backing material 105 of the piezoelectric plate 201 is cut off according to the shape of the backing material 105. Finally, an acoustic lens is bonded onto the acoustic matching layer to complete the transducer array structure. The completed vibrator arrangement structure is inserted into the casings 114 and 115 and fixed.
[0031]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the wiring board 102 has been described as having no dummy pattern part. However, the piezoelectric board 201 is cut and divided into a plurality of vibrators 101 using a wiring board having the same dummy pattern part as the conventional one. After that, unnecessary portions may be cut off according to the shape of the backing material 105. In this case, the common electrode plate 103 superimposed on the wiring board 102 may have the same width as the common electrode plate 104 on the reverse side, or the common electrode plate 104 on the reverse side may not be provided.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the following effects can be achieved.
In the invention of (1), the width of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board and the width of the ground plate are narrower than the width of the backing material. As a result, the corner portion of the backing material is exposed without being covered with the signal electrode lead-out wiring board and the ground plate, so that a backing material with rounded or straight chamfered corners can be employed. Therefore, in accordance with the shape of this backing material, the casing is not a small and square shape, but a round or straight chamfered gentle shape, improving operability and reducing patient discomfort. Furthermore, it becomes possible to be strong against the impact from the outside.
In the invention of (2), since the width of the ground plate is narrower than the width of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board, the surface of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board is not covered with the ground plate on both sides of the ground plate. Exposed. For this reason, the wiring of this exposed part is visible from above. Therefore, since it is possible to perform cutting alignment with reference to the wiring at the end of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board that can be visually recognized, the dummy pattern portion that is provided only for cutting alignment as in the prior art Is no longer needed. Thus, since the dummy pattern portion is unnecessary, the width of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board can be made smaller than the width of the backing material. As a result, the corner portion of the backing material is exposed without being covered with the signal electrode lead-out wiring board and the ground plate, so that a backing material with rounded or straight chamfered corners can be employed. Therefore, in accordance with the shape of this backing material, the casing is not a small and square shape, but a round or straight chamfered gentle shape, improving operability and reducing patient discomfort. Furthermore, it becomes possible to be strong against the impact from the outside.
[0033]
However, since the ground plate is narrow, it cannot be connected to the ground electrode of some transducers arranged at the end, that is, there is a problem that some transducers arranged at the end cannot be grounded. This deals with the common connection of the ground electrode with the conductive plate on the opposite side of the ground plate and the wiring board.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an outer shape of an ultrasonic probe according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing another outer shape.
2A is a perspective view of the transducer arrangement structure housed in the housing at the tip of FIG. 1, FIG. 2B is a side view of the transducer arrangement structure of FIG. FIG. 4C is a development view of the vibrator arrangement structure of FIG.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a first process for manufacturing a transducer array structure of an ultrasonic probe according to the present embodiment, FIG. 3B is a second process, and FIG. 3C is a diagram showing a third process.
4A is a view showing a fourth step of manufacturing the transducer array structure of the ultrasonic probe according to the embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a view showing the fifth.
5A is a view showing the outer shape of a conventional ultrasonic probe, FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a transducer array structure housed in a housing at the tip of FIG. 5A, and FIG. ) Is a developed view of the vibrator arrangement structure of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 ... vibrator,
102: Flexible wiring board (FPC) for leading out signal electrodes,
103 ... Earth plate,
104 ... Common electrode plate,
105 ... backing material,
106: Signal electrode,
107: Earth electrode,
108: Piezoelectric material,
111 ... wiring,
113 ... acoustic lens,
114 ... tip housing,
115... Tip housing.

Claims (4)

A plurality of vibrators composed of a strip-shaped piezoelectric body, a ground electrode on the surface thereof, and a signal electrode on the back surface of the piezoelectric body, and arranged in parallel,
A backing material provided on the back side of the plurality of vibrators;
A signal electrode lead-out wiring board connected to the signal electrode and provided along a side surface of the backing material;
In the ultrasonic probe comprising a ground plate overlaid on the signal electrode lead-out wiring board,
The backing material is rounded or straight chamfered ,
The signal electrode and the and the ground plate and the lead-out wiring board, an ultrasonic probe, wherein the go narrower than the long side length of the chamfer in the glue width the backing material.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the signal electrode lead-out wiring board and the grounding board are provided in substantially the same width as an effective range in which ultrasonic transmission / reception is effectively performed. A plurality of vibrators composed of a strip-shaped piezoelectric body, a ground electrode on the surface thereof, and a signal electrode on the back surface of the piezoelectric body, and arranged in parallel,
A backing material provided on the back side of the plurality of vibrators;
A signal electrode lead-out wiring board connected to the signal electrode and provided along a side surface of the backing material;
In the ultrasonic probe comprising the ground plate connected to the ground electrode and superimposed on the signal electrode lead-out wiring board,
The backing material is rounded or straight chamfered ,
The width of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board is narrower than the width of the chamfered inner side of the backing material, and the width of the ground plate is narrower than the width of the signal electrode lead-out wiring board. An ultrasonic probe, wherein ground electrodes of the plurality of vibrators are commonly connected by a conductive plate on a side opposite to the wiring board and the ground plate, and the backing material is rounded or linearly chamfered.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 3, wherein the signal electrode lead-out wiring board and the ground plate are provided in substantially the same width as an effective range in which ultrasonic transmission / reception is effectively performed.

Images