JPH02264642A - Ultrasonic wave probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To vibrate a transducer in a form without a dislocation for the definite direction rotation of a motor output shaft by a spherical surface movement mechanism composed of the motor output shaft, a crank and a guide rail integrated with the transducer. CONSTITUTION:At the edge of a motor output shaft 1, a crank 2 is fixed at a prescribed angle with the axis. A transducer 7 is made turnable around a prescribed axis 8 orthogonal to the axis of the shaft 1. Further, a guide rail 5 made into a pair with the free edge of the crank 2 is formed turnably around the prescribed axis 8 along with the transducer 7 and in a circular arc shape in making the prescribed segment of the prescribed axis 8 into a diameter in making the crossing point of the shaft 1 and the axis into a center. By the rotation of the shaft 1, the transducer 7 is vibrated. As a result, the transducer is vibrated in the form without the dislocation.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates primarily to a medical mechanical scanning probe, and more particularly to an ultrasound probe that uses a spherical motion mechanism for swinging a transducer.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. 2, which is a side sectional view of the main part thereof. In FIG. 2, a transducer 21 is housed in a housing 22;
2 is fixed to the upper side of the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 23. Rotation axis 23
is supported by bearings 33 and 34 at each end on both sides.
．． The bearings 33, 34 are mounted on the support 32. A reel 25 for a signal cable is fixed to the rotation shaft 23 on the left side of the housing 22, and a bevel gear 27 is fixed on the right side. This bevel gear 27 meshes with a bevel gear 28 fixed to an output shaft 29 of a motor (not shown). In addition, 30 is a seal, which is attached to the outer periphery of the output shaft 29.
The liquid filled in the space containing the transducer 21, which is used to improve the quality of emitted ultrasonic waves and increase the efficiency of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, is sealed to prevent it from penetrating into the motor side. Reference numeral 31 denotes a probe case, to which the aforementioned support 32 is fixedly fixed. When the output shaft 29 of the motor rotates through a range of 90 degrees, this rotation is transmitted via the bevel gear 28, 27 to the rotation shaft 23, and at the same time moves the transducer 21 together with the housing 22 about the axis of the rotation shaft 23. Rotate back and forth. As a result, the ultrasound beam from the transducer 21 is swung around the axis of the rotation shaft 23 in a fan-shaped range with a central angle of 90 degrees. 36 is called an acoustic window and is a thin plate member formed into a dome shape. This fills the space containing the transducer 21 with the filling liquid and seals it. The acoustic window 36 is
A flange frame 37 fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the opening is screwed to the cylindrical body 35 on the main body side via the support body 32 on the main body side. Moreover, an O-ring 38 is inserted into a U-shaped groove on the outer circumferential surface of the support body 32 that is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the flange frame 37, and this O-ring 3B connects the inner circumferential surface of the opening of the acoustic window 36 and the outer circumference of the support body 32. The point of contact with the surface is sealed.

[Question H that the invention attempts to solve]

As explained above, in the conventional technology, a circumferential play cannot be avoided between a pair of power transmission bevel gears interposed between a rotation motor and a transducer. This is because a suitable amount of play is required for smooth meshing, since minute deformations and machining errors exist when the teeth mesh. However, this play causes the following problems. The problem is that when an image is displayed on a CRT device connected to the probe, the image shakes. Depending on its degree, this image shaking may impede accurate examination or diagnosis. The reason why the play between the south faces causes image shaking is that when the motor rotates, the driven bevel gear stops instantaneously relative to the driving bevel gear every time the rotation direction is reversed, and this subsequently causes positional deviation. It is from. Incidentally, the number of rotations of the motor per unit time is, in one example, a maximum of 15 hertz. In addition, in the conventional example, the bevel gear for transmission is used only for 1/4 rotation, which shortens the life of the gear due to wear.In addition, the encoder for detecting the rotational position of the motor output shaft Since the standard type cannot be used, a special 1
There are problems such as the need for one for /4 rotation. The object of this invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe that swings a transducer by rotation of a motor output shaft in a fixed direction and without positional deviation, in order to solve the problems of the conventional technology. It is about providing.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve this problem, the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention includes: a crank fixed to an end of a motor output shaft at a predetermined angle with the axis thereof; and a crank fixed at a predetermined angle with the axis of the motor output shaft; a transducer that is rotatable around an axis; rotatable around the predetermined axis together with the transducer; the transducer has an arc shape centered on the intersection with the axis of the motor output shaft and with a predetermined line segment of the predetermined axis as a diameter; a guide rail formed and mating with a free end of the crank; rotation of the motor output shaft causes the transducer to swing;

[Effect]

A spherical motion mechanism consisting of a motor output shaft, a crank, and a guide rail integrated with the transducer allows
Directional rotation of the motor output shaft is converted into oscillation of the I transducer about a predetermined axis.

【Example】

An embodiment of the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1, which is a perspective view of the main parts thereof. In the figure, 1 is a motor output shaft, and 2 is a crank, which is fixed to the end of the motor output shaft 1 at a predetermined angle with the axis thereof. A pin 3 is attached to the free end of the crank 2, and a roller 3a is fitted around the outer periphery of the pin 3 so that it can rotate and move in a straight line. Reference numeral 4 denotes a U-shaped support frame, which is fixed to the probe body (not shown). Reference numeral 5 denotes a semicircular guide rail 6, which is rotatably supported by the upper and lower frame portions of the support frame 4 via a rotation shaft 8. Reference numeral 6 denotes a frame on which the transducer 7 is mounted, and is integrated with the guide rail 5. The axis of the motor output shaft 1 and the axis of the rotating shaft 8 are perpendicular to each other, and the point of intersection is located at the center of the semicircular guide rail 5 and also at the axis of the pin 3. Further, the pin 3a is removably engaged with a band-shaped hollow portion formed along the guide rail 5. Motor output shaft 1, crank 2, bin 3, roller 3
a and the guide rail 5 constitute a so-called spherical motion mechanism, and the guide rail 5 as a driven node swings around the rotation axis 8 by rotation of the motor output shaft l as a driving node in a fixed direction. Therefore, the transducer 7 integrated with the guide rail 5 also swings around the rotation axis 8. The angle of this swing is twice the angle θ between the axis of the motor output shaft 1 and the axis of the bottle 3. Therefore, when the transducer 7 is to be swung within a range of 90 degrees, it is sufficient to set the angle θ to 45 degrees.

【Effect of the invention】

As explained above, in this invention, the rotation of the motor output shaft in a fixed direction is converted into the swinging motion of the transducer by the spherical motion mechanism consisting of the motor output shaft, the crank, and the guide rail integrated with the transducer. Ru. Therefore, the present invention has the following superior effects compared to the conventional technology. (1) Since no gear transmission is used, there is no image shaking caused by gear play accompanying the transducer rocking, and highly reliable diagnosis is possible. (2) Unlike the case where the transmission bevel gear is used only in 1/4 rotation, the degree of wear on the rotating part and the paired part is significantly reduced, and a long life is guaranteed. (3) Since the motor output shaft rotates in a fixed direction, a standard encoder can be used to detect the rotational position.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of an embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part of a conventional example. Code explanation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) a crank fixed to the end of the motor output shaft at a predetermined angle with the axis; a transducer rotatable around a predetermined axis perpendicular to the axis of the motor output shaft; a guide rail that is rotatable about the motor output shaft, is formed in an arc shape with a diameter equal to a predetermined line segment of the predetermined axis, and is paired with the free end of the crank; An ultrasonic probe comprising: an ultrasonic probe configured to swing the transducer by rotation of the motor output shaft.