JPH02231561A - Ultrasonic inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the inspection time and to improve the accuracy by adding scanning data to data in the same location of an image memory and storing the obtained value in the same storage address every time the scanning data is obtained. CONSTITUTION:An operator inputs respective measurement conditions to a CPU 25 by using a keyboard 16. The CPU 25 sends a start position command to an X, Y, Z motor controller 22 and a contactor 10 makes an X-axial scan N times, then moves by one pitch in a Y-axial direction, and repeats the X-axial scanning operation. The 1st scan is made in the X-axial direction to sample data, which is stored in a corresponding address of the image memory. Data of the 2nd scan is transferred to an addition processor 19 in order. The CPU 25, on the other hand, reads the 1st scan data corresponding to the transferred data out of the memory 20 and the processor 19 adds the transferred data to the read data and stores the sum data in the memory 20 as new data. Above operation is repeated to display an ultrasonic image on a monitor TV 21 according to those data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic inspection apparatus for inspecting a material to be inspected using ultrasonic waves.

[Conventional technology]

Ultrasonic inspection devices are capable of detecting defects inside a material to be inspected without destroying it, and are used in many fields. The presence or absence of defects inside the material to be inspected is often checked for a predetermined range of the material to be inspected, and in that case, the inspection is performed by scanning the above range on the surface of the material to be inspected with a probe. be done. This type of ultrasonic testing device will be explained below. Figure 3 is a system diagram of a conventional ultrasonic inspection device. In the figure, 1 is a water tank for testing, 2 is water placed in the water tank 1, and 3 is a material to be tested placed on the bottom of the water tank 1.
4 indicates the scanner, which consists of the following parts. That is, 5 is a scanner stand on which the aquarium 1 is placed, 6 is a frame fixed to the scanner stand 5, 7 is an arm mounted on the frame 6,
8 is a holder mounted on the arm 7, 9 is a pole mounted on the holder 8, and 10 is a probe. The frame 6 can drive an arm 7 in the Y-axis direction by a mechanism not shown, and the arm 7 can be driven by a mechanism not shown.
Further, the holder 8 can drive the probe 10 in the Z-axis direction (direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis) in cooperation with the pole 9 by a mechanism not shown. 11 is a balsa receiver, which applies a pulse signal to the probe 10 to cause the sample material 3 to emit ultrasonic waves, and also receives the reflected waves and receives an ultrasonic signal from the probe 10. (
electrical signals). 12 is an oscilloscope that displays an ultrasonic waveform based on the output signal of the pulser receiver 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a peak detector, which extracts only the signal at a given time of the ultrasonic signal amplified by the pulser/receiver 11 using a gate, and holds and outputs the peak value of the extracted signal. 14 is an A/D converter that converts the peak value into a digital value.

15 is a microcomputer that performs predetermined processing on the value converted by the A/D converter 14; 16 is a keyboard that inputs setting conditions related to the processing to the microcomputer 15; and 17 is a keyboard that inputs setting conditions and ultrasonic inspection equipment. A CRT displays the overall control status, 18 is an external storage device that stores the results of processing by the microcomputer 15, and 19 is an addition processor that performs addition, which will be described later. 20 stores the data to be displayed processed by the microcomputer 15 and displays it on a monitor television (monitor T).
V) It is an image memory to be displayed on 21. 22 is an X. Y. It is a Z motor controller.

Next, the operation of this ultrasonic inspection apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the specimen 3. In the figure,
The multiple black dots shown on the test material 3 are some of the sampling points for collecting ultrasonic data, and the coordinates of only the sampling points at the ends are shown in parentheses. or,
X* and Y* are the measurement ranges in the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction, respectively, and p is the measurement pitch (sampling pitch). Note that in the figure, the measurement pitch p is the same for both the X and Y axes, but the X axis. It goes without saying that any pitch can be selected for each Y-axis. The microcomputer 15 gives a command to the X, Y, Z motor controller 22 to position the probe 10 on the sampling point (Xo1Yo), which is the measurement start position,
Output pulses from the pulser receiver 11. As a result, the probe 10 emits an ultrasonic wave to the specimen 3, and converts the reflected wave into a corresponding electric signal (ultrasonic signal) and outputs it. The balsa receiver 11 amplifies this ultrasonic signal and outputs it to the peak detector 13. Peak detector 1
3 is provided with a temporal gate, and only a signal within a certain time period (this signal is a signal from an inspection site located at a predetermined depth from the surface of the specimen 3) out of the ultrasonic signals is detected. The peak detector 13 outputs the signal with the maximum value. This maximum value signal is converted into a corresponding digital value by the A/D converter 14 and input to the microcomputer 15. The microcomputer 15 is
The converted signal (sampling data) is stored at a predetermined address in the image memory 20 according to a predetermined procedure. When this storage process is completed, the microcomputer 15 outputs a command to the x, y, z motor controller 22 to move the probe 10 by the measurement pitch p in the X-axis direction and select the new sampling point (X+, Y
o), sampling data is again acquired in the same manner as above and stored in the image memory 20. In this way, when the data of the sampling point (X{ ,Yo) is stored and the first scan in the X-axis direction by the probe 10 is completed, the probe 10 moves to the measurement pitch in the Y-axis direction. The sampling point (Xi
, Y+). The probe 10 is scanned from this sampling point on the X axis in the opposite direction to the above, and reaches the sampling point (xo, Yl), where the
The second scan in the axial direction is completed. The probe 10 is thus scanned in a meandering manner, and the first scan of the specimen 3 is completed. Note that during this time, scanning in the X-axis direction is performed (j+1) times. The data sampled in the first scan is temporarily stored in the image memory 20, and
After the first scan, all data are stored in the external storage device 18. The scanning for data collection of the test material 3 by the probe 10 is executed not only once but a predetermined number of times (n times),
All data collected through these n scans are stored in the external storage device 218. Then, when the predetermined number of scans is completed, the microcomputer 15 extracts n pieces of data for each sampling point from the n times of scan data from the external storage device 18, and adds these pieces of data by the addition processor l9. ．． The added value is input to the image memory 20, and after undergoing predetermined processing, is displayed on the monitor TV 21. In this way, data is collected n times from the same sampling point and the sum of these data is displayed.
If a defect exists in the material 3 to be inspected, the defect is highlighted and displayed on the monitor TV 21, allowing for easy inspection. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in the inspection using the above-mentioned ultrasonic inspection device, defects in the material to be inspected 3 can be highlighted and displayed by repeating scanning n times. There was a problem in that it took a considerable amount of time to display the ultrasound image of No. 3. In addition, if you want to display defects with greater emphasis, you can increase the number of scans, but this number of scans is limited by the storage capacity of the external storage device 18 that stores data, so you can increase the number of scans arbitrarily. There was also the problem that the desired display could not be obtained.

Furthermore, the probe 10 moves from the scan end point (X;, Yj) to the scan start point (Xo, Yo) every time one scan is completed.
Therefore, during a plurality of scans, there is a possibility that each sampling point in each scan will be slightly shifted in position, making it impossible to obtain an accurate ultrasound image.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems in the above-mentioned prior art,
An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic inspection apparatus that can shorten inspection time, perform an arbitrary number of scans, and obtain highly accurate ultrasonic images.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention scans a specimen by ultrasonic waves a predetermined number of times in a plane defined by a first direction and a second direction, and each scan obtained by each of these scans. In an ultrasonic inspection apparatus that adds data for each position and displays the total added value for each position on a display unit via an image memory, each time each scan data is acquired, the scan data is immediately added to the image memory. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with an adding means for adding data at the same position stored in the memory, and a means for storing the value obtained by the adding means at a storage address at the same position. Furthermore, a second invention, in addition to the first invention, is characterized in that the scanning data is collected by continuously scanning the predetermined number of times in the first direction.

[For production]

The data obtained by the first scan is immediately stored in the image memory without being temporarily stored in the external storage device. Next, the data obtained by the second scan is input to the addition processor without being stored in the external storage device. Then, the data is sequentially added to the corresponding data of the first data stored in the image memory, and the added value is stored in the image memory instead of the first data. Similar processing is performed in each subsequent scan. When a predetermined number of scans are completed, the added value of each scan is stored in the image memory. Further, in the second invention, in the above process, scanning in the first direction is continuously performed a predetermined number of times, then moving by one pitch in the second direction, and scanning in the first direction is continuously performed a predetermined number of times again. Go,
Such scanning is performed up to the final pitch in the second direction.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an ultrasonic inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, parts that are the same as those shown in Figure 3 are given the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted. 24 is an external storage device, 25
is a microcomputer. While the external storage device 18 in the conventional device is used to store all the data obtained from each scan, the external storage device 24 in this embodiment adds the data and stores the data on the monitor T.
It is not used at all for the process of displaying it on V, and is therefore unnecessary if it is not used for other purposes. Further, the microcomputer 25 has different processing contents from the microcomputer 15 of the conventional device. The other configuration of this embodiment is the same as the configuration of the conventional device shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 2(a). This will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in (b). First, the operator inputs each measurement condition into the microcomputer 25 using the keyboard 16 (step S. shown in FIG. 2(a)). That is, the coordinates Xo of the measurement start position shown in FIG.
+ Yo, measurement range X, YIl, measurement pitch p, and predetermined number of additions n are input. Next, the number of pixels used in the monitor TV 21 is calculated based on the input value, and the data area of the image memory 20 is set and data cleared (step S). Calculating the number of pixels is
The number of pixels in the X-axis direction is X. ．． If the number of pixels in the Y-axis direction is Y1, it can be calculated using the following formula. pp Then, the data area of the image memory 20 is set based on the number of pixels. Furthermore, as image data, Pa
Set (x. y) = O and clear the data. However, the above X is 1≦X≦X, and the above y is 1≦y≦Y.
, and both X+3' are positive integers starting from 1. Furthermore, the number of scans in the X-axis direction is denoted by the symbol I, and the number of each pitch in the Y-axis direction is denoted by yA, and in the above step S2, the symbol ■ is made 1, and the number yA is made 1.

The microcomputer 25 sets the X, Y, Z motor controller 22 to the measurement start position (Xo
, Yo), and the probe 10 is moved to the corresponding position. After that, ultrasonic scanning is started, but as mentioned above, this scanning is performed n times in succession in the X-axis direction, then moved by 1 pitch p in the Y-axis direction, and at this position, the X-axis is scanned again. There is no need to repeat the method of continuously scanning the direction n times. First, at the first position in the Y-axis direction, a first scan in the X-axis direction is performed to collect data (step S3). The data p + (x) of each sampling point obtained by this scanning is immediately stored in the corresponding address of the image memory 20 without being input to the external storage 24 (procedure S#). When the first scan in the X-axis direction is completed, the numerical value 1 is added to the code I (step S), and the second (1=2) scan in the X-axis direction is performed and the data pz Collect (x) (hand) saliva S
．． ). Note that this second scan may be performed in the opposite direction from the final position of the first scan, or may be performed in the same direction after returning from the final position to the initial position.

Each data Pz(x) of the second scan acquired in the process of step S is sequentially transferred to the addition processor 19 this time. On the other hand, the microcomputer 25 stores the first data (at the same sampling point) corresponding to the transferred data p, (X).
The data PI(X) obtained by scanning twice is retrieved from the image memory. This extracted data P+ (x) is data Pa (X,)'A stored at a predetermined address in the image memory.
). In the addition processor 19, the transferred data pt
(x) and the extracted data P. (x, ya) are added, and this added value is stored as new data at the above-mentioned predetermined address in the image memory 20 (step S7). That is, if we look at a certain sampling point on the scanning line,
The data at the sampling point in the first scan is stored at a predetermined address in the image memory 20, and the data at the sampling point in the second scan is stored in the addition processor l9.
The data is transferred to the image memory 20 and added to the first scan data extracted from the predetermined address in the image memory 20, and the added value is stored in the predetermined address in the image memory 20 as a new value. The processing in step S7 above is executed while the probe 10 moves from one sampling point to the next sampling point. When the process of step S for the final sampling point in the second scan is completed, the microcomputer 25 determines whether the current code I is equal to the set number of additions n (see FIG. 2(b)). In step S8), if they are not equal, the process returns to step S5 again. In this way, the processes of steps S to S8 are repeated, and when it is determined that T=n in step S8, the first
A predetermined number of scans in the X-axis direction at the digit Fil O'A = 1) are completed, and the integrated value of n data for each sampling point on the scanning line is stored in the image memory corresponding to each sampling point. The information is stored at each of 20 predetermined addresses.

In step S, if ■t=n is determined, then yA-
y. (Whether the position in the Y-axis direction is m-th or not) is determined (step S,), and yA is y. If not, the microcomputer 25 outputs a command to the XIY, Z motor controller 22 to move the probe 10 by 1 bit p in the Y-axis direction and add 1 to yA (step S1). ), the process returns to step S, and scanning in the X-axis direction is started at a new position in the Y-axis direction. The above operations are repeated, and in step S, y^=Y. When it is determined, the operation is completed. At this time, the image memory 20 contains the material 3 to be inspected.
The integrated value of ultrasound data for each sampling point is stored. Based on these data, the image memory 20 displays an ultrasonic image of the specimen 3 on the monitor TV 21.

In this way, in this embodiment, the data obtained by scanning is not stored in the external storage device 24, but is immediately added to the integrated value of the data of the previous scanning, and the added value is stored in the image memory. Therefore, the inspection time can be shortened compared to the conventional apparatus in which all data is temporarily stored in the external storage device 18. Furthermore, since the external storage device 24 is not used, the number of additions is not limited by its capacity, and the number of additions can be freely selected. Furthermore, since there is no movement from the final sampling point to the first sampling point, the accuracy of the image can be improved compared to conventional devices that perform the movement for each scan. [Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the present invention, the sampled scan data is not stored in an external storage device, but is immediately added to the integrated value of the scan data at the same position in the image memory. Inspection time can be shortened compared to other devices, and the number of additions can be freely selected. Furthermore, since the scanning is performed in the first direction a predetermined number of times, the accuracy of the ultrasound image can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a system diagram of an ultrasonic inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2(a) and <b) are flowcharts explaining the operation of the apparatus shown in Fig. The system diagram of the sonic testing device, Fig. 4 is a plan view of the material to be tested.
Probe, 1l... Pulsar receiver, 14
・・・・・・・・・A/D conversion! , 19...
... Addition processor, 20 ... Image memory, 21 ... Monitor TV, 25 ...
・・・・・・Microcomputer. Figure 2(a)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Scan the specimen with ultrasonic waves a predetermined number of times on a plane defined by the first direction and the second direction, add each scan data obtained from each scan for each position, and In an ultrasonic inspection apparatus that displays the total sum value for each position on a display unit via an image memory, each time each scan data is acquired, the scan data is immediately added to the data at the same position stored in the image memory. 1. An ultrasonic inspection apparatus comprising: an adding means for adding a value, and a means for storing a value obtained by the adding means at a storage address at the same location. (2) The ultrasonic inspection apparatus according to claim (1), wherein the acquisition of the scanning data is performed by continuously scanning the predetermined number of times in the first direction.