JPH0292342A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce noise or cross talk by providing a compact and simple ultrasonic probe change-over mechanism by selecting an ultrasonic probe having desired characteristics from a plurality of the ultrasonic probes connected to an apparatus main body by a multipolar connector to connect the same to the apparatus main body and performing the reception of an ultrasonic wave. CONSTITUTION:A female connector 31 is connected to a male connector 30 by a clamp 34 and an ultrasonic probe 4A is connected to an apparatus main body 10. Other ultrasonic probes 4B, 4C, 4D are connected to the apparatus main body 10 in the same way. A control part 5 energizes a solenoid 20 according to the signal from an input part 6 and the solenoid 20 allows a follower part 35 to slide toward a female contact part 33. A male contact part 32 approaches the female contact part 33 to be brought into contact therewith (to perform insert operation) to perform ON-operation all at once. The member 39 prevents contact inferiority by its elasticity. When the selection of an ultrasonic probe A is released by an input part 5, the solenoid 20 is deenergized according to the signal of the control part 6 and the follower part 35 is reversely pushed back to the original position by a return spring 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can connect a plurality of ultrasonic gloves at the same time and is equipped with a switch for switching between them.

(Prior Art) Diagnosis using ultrasonic diagnostic equipment has diversified in recent years, and as a result, it has become necessary to use different ultrasonic probes with different shapes and characteristics. Therefore, since it would be difficult to operate if the ultrasound glove attached to the device was replaced every time the ultrasound probe used was changed, multiple 10
- Attach the probes to the device and use a switching means such as a contact relay to switch the electrical connection of these ultrasonic probes to the device main circuit, so that one of the ultrasonic probes can be used for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. The device already exists.

An example of such a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is shown in FIG.

In the figure, 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D are each 25
This is an ultrasonic probe that consists of six transducers and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, and conductive wires with a number of channels corresponding to the number of transducers are connected to drive and receive each transducer. 3
1A, 31B, 31C and 31D are multi-pole connectors for connecting these conductive wires to the main body of the device. Reference numeral 11 denotes a switching unit that selects a specific one from among the plurality of ultrasonic probes 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D and electrically connects it to the main body circuit of the apparatus. It is composed of a large number of switching points 51, 52 and 53.

The switching points 51, 52 and 53 are equipped with 256 or more contact relays each having a pair of a contact and a b contact, and the switching is performed by the control unit 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes an input unit for specifying a desired one from among a plurality of connectors to which the ultrasonic probes 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are connected by operating a button.

These operations will be explained. In advance, the ultrasonic probes 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D are connected to the respective multi-pole connectors 31A and 3.
It is connected to the main body of the device through 1B, 3IC and 31D.

Now, the operation when a command to select the ultrasonic wave 10-b 4A is given to the input section 6 will be described. The control unit 5 energizes the contact relays at the switching points 51 and 52 in accordance with the signal from the input g6, and turns on the a contacts, respectively. As a result, each channel of the ultrasonic probe 4A connected to the multipolar connector 31A is electrically connected to the main body circuit through the contact relays at the switching points 51 and 52. Further, when a command to select the ultrasonic probe 4B is given to the input section 6, the contact relay at the switching point 51 is energized, and the contact relay at the switching point 52 is deenergized. As a result, the a contact at the switching point 51 and the b contact at the switching point 52 are turned on, and the ultrasonic probe 4B is connected. As described above, a desired ultrasonic probe can be connected to the main body circuit according to the selection command from the input section 6.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, conventional ultrasonic diagnostic equipment is equipped with a switching section consisting of a contact relay between the multi-pole connector and the main body circuit, and the switching section is used to connect the switching points, i.e. Switching point 51
and 52 and between the switching points 53 and 51, the wiring is long and noise is likely to be carried.

In general, contact relays have a problem in that the distance between the contacts is short and crosstalk is large for high-frequency electrical signals. Furthermore, there is a problem in that the structure of these contact relays and wiring is complicated, resulting in high cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that is inexpensive, tends to be compact, has a simple ultrasonic probe switching tI]1w1, and has less noise and crosstalk. There is a particular thing.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object selects an ultrasonic probe with desired characteristics from among a plurality of ultrasonic probes connected to the main body of the apparatus by a multipolar connector. The device is connected to the circuit of the device body to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, and the contact part installed on the device body side is attached to the movable driven part.
The structure is such that the driven part is operated based on a signal from the control part of the main body of the device to give insertion/removal operations to the contact part.

(Operation) The driven part of the desired multi-pole connector moves in response to a signal from the control part, and the contact parts perform insertion/removal operations according to the movement of the driven part, turning on and off simultaneously.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The same reference numerals in FIG. 1 as in FIG. 3 have the same meanings, and the explanation here will be omitted. Reference numeral 1 denotes a switching unit that switches electrical connection from among the ultrasonic probes connected to the apparatus main body 10 to the main circuit of the apparatus. 3A
, 3B, 3C and 3D are ultrasound probes 4A, 4B, 4
A multi-pole connector (
For details, only the multi-pole connector 3A is shown). Multi-pole connectors 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are a male connector 30 on the device main body ffFJ and a female connector 31 on the ultrasound probe side.
The female connector 31 is coupled to the male connector 30, and each channel of the female connector 31 is electrically connected to an ultrasonic probe. The male connector 30 is fixed to the main body 1° of the apparatus, and each channel is already electrically connected to each channel of the main body circuit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

The detailed configuration of the multipolar connector 3A will be described below. Female contact portions 33 corresponding to each channel are arranged and fixed to the female connector 31.

Each of the female contact portions 33 is connected to a conductive wire, and is connected to the ultrasonic probe 4A via a cable. on the other hand,
A driven portion 35 is attached to the male connector 30 so as to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement of the female contact portions 33 of the female connector 31. A male contact portion 32 is attached to the driven portion 35 so as to face the female contact portion 33 . Reference numeral 39 denotes a conductive and elastic member interposed between the male contact portion 32 and the driven portion 35. The male contact portion 32 is connected to a pin 38 fixed to the male connector 30 via the three members and the flexible member 1137, and is further connected from the pin 38 to the main circuit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. 20 is a female contact part 33
This is a solenoid that slides the driven part 35 so as to approximate the arrangement of the solenoid, and is activated by energization according to a control signal from the control part 5.

21 is a return spring that pushes back the driven portion 35 away from the arrangement of the female contact portions 33. Further, the female connector 31 is coupled to the male connector 30 by a stopper 34.

Multipolar connectors 3B, 3C, and 3D each have a similar configuration.

The operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus configured as described above will be explained. The female connector 31 is coupled to the male connector 30 by a stopper 34, and the ultrasonic probe 4A is connected to the apparatus main body 10. The other ultrasonic probes 4B, 4C, and 4D are similarly connected to the apparatus main body 10. At this stage, the contact portions of these multipolar connectors 3A, 3B, 3G, and 3D are separated (off).

The operation when a command to select the ultrasonic probe 4A is given to the input section 6 will now be described. The control section 5 energizes the solenoid 20 according to the signal from the input section 6. solenoid 2
0 slides the driven part 35 toward the female contact part 33. As the driven part 35 slides, the male contact part 3
2 approaches the female contact portion 33 and makes contact (insertion operation), and simultaneously turns on (electrical connection). Here, the member 3 interposed between the male contact portion 32 and the driven portion 35 First, its elasticity prevents poor contact between the male contact portion 32 and the female contact portion 33. Input section 5
If the selection of ultrasound probe A is canceled by
The solenoid 20 is deenergized according to the signal from the control unit 6,
As a result, the driven portion 35 is pushed back to its original position by the return spring 21, and the male contact portion 32 is separated from the female contact portion 33 (insertion/extraction operation) and is turned off.

Even when the number of channels of the multi-pole connector 3A is large, the sliding distance of the driven part 35 is increased and the male contact part 32
By increasing the insertion/removal operation distance, the distance between the contact portions in the off state can be increased. Also, the driven part 3
5 is attached to the male connector 30 on the main unit side, there is no need to transmit the power of the drive unit to the female connector 31 on the ultrasonic glove side when turning on and off, simplifying the configuration.

Similarly, when a predetermined selection command is given to the input section of the other ultrasonic probes 4B, 4C, and 4D, the respective driven sections 35 move to perform the same operation as described above.

Therefore, a desired ultrasonic probe can be connected to or disconnected from the main circuit of the apparatus.

An embodiment of the pond of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 have the same meanings. The driven portion 36 of the embodiment shown here moves toward the arrangement of the female contact portions 33 by rotating about 3a.

The solenoid 20 rotates the driven part 36 in a direction toward the female contact part 33 when biased, and the return spring 21 pushes back the driven part 36 in a direction away from the female contact part 33. The rest of the structure is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG.

In this embodiment as well, the driven portion 36 is rotated by the solenoid 20 and the return spring 21 by the same operation as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Then, the male contact part 3
2 approaches and comes into contact with the female contact portion 33 (insertion operation) and moves away (insertion/extraction operation). In this way, by turning on and off the contact portions of the multipolar connector all at once, a desired ultrasonic probe can be connected to or disconnected from the main circuit of the apparatus. Also in this case, by increasing the rotation angle of the driven portion 36, the insertion/removal operation distance of the male contact portion 32 is increased, and the distance between the contact portions in the off state can be increased.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and a female contact portion may be provided on the main body of the device and inserted/removed. Also, the shape of the contact point of the contact part is not limited, and the female contact part and the male contact part may simply come into contact with each other, or they may fit together by the insertion operation. ,
The male contact part may literally be inserted into the hole of the female contact part.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the ultrasonic diagnostic device of the present invention, the contact portion installed on the device main body side is attached to the movable driven portion, and the driven portion is activated based on a signal from the control portion of the device main body. The structure is such that the contact section can be operated to perform insertion/extraction operations. Therefore, the distance between the contact portions can be increased when the device is off.

Therefore, there is less cross and talk, and since the driven part is attached to the main body of the device, the structure is simple. or,
The contact part on the device main body side of the multi-pole connector can be directly connected to the main body circuit, and there is no need to configure complicated relay circuits or wiring to switch the ultrasound probe.Therefore, there is less noise on the wiring. Even when the number of connected ultrasound probes and the number of transducers thereof are large, it is possible to realize an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus equipped with a switching mechanism that is low cost, compact, and has a simple configuration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional example. 1...Switching unit, 10...Device main body, 3A to 3D...
・Multi-pole connector, 32...male contact part, 33
...Female contact part, 35.36...Following part,
4A to 4D... Ultrasonic probe, 5... Control unit, 6
...Input section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Connect multiple ultrasonic probes to the device at the same time via a multi-pole connector consisting of a female contact part and a male contact part, select one with desired characteristics from among them, and connect it to the circuit of the device body. In ultrasonic diagnostic equipment that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, the contact section installed on the device body side is attached to a movable driven section, and the driven section is operated based on a signal from the control section of the device body and inserted into the contact section. - An ultrasonic diagnostic device characterized by having a configuration that provides insertion/extraction operations.