JPH0446500A - Ultrasonic wave probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily form the ultrasonic vibrator transducer array with a high definition pitch by mechanically cutting a completely cut ultrasonic vibrator transducer up to halfway of a conductor connection part and forming the ultrasonic vibrator transducer array. CONSTITUTION:An ultrasonic vibrator transducer 11 forms a pair of conductor connection parts 11a and 11b on the identical surface to be thicker than that of the other part. A negative electrode 12 is provided to cover the front and the one side end surfaces of the transducer 11 and to reach the conductor connection part 11a of back. A positive electrode 13 is provided to cover the back of the transducer 11 to reach the connection part 11b. Conductors 14 and 15 are connected to the electrodes 12 and 13. The back of the transducer 11 and one part of the conductors 14 and 15 are formed by adhered with a back load member 16. This transducer 11 is completely cut along with the conductor connection part electronically and mechanically by a slit 17a at the center between respective bar conductors, and this cut transducer is mechanically cut halfway of the conductor connection part by a slit 17b to unevenly cut and to form the ultrasonic vibrator transducer array.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic scanning type ultrasound probe used, for example, in a medical ultrasound diagnostic device.

BACKGROUND ART FIGS. 7 to 9 show the configuration of this type of ultrasonic probe. In FIGS. 7 to 9, 1 is an ultrasonic transducer that converts electrical signals into mechanical vibrations, and 2 is provided so as to cover the front surface, one end surface, and a part of the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 1. 3 is a positive electrode provided to cover the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 1; 4 is a conductor that supplies an electric signal to the negative electrode 2; and 5 is a conductor that supplies an electric signal to the positive electrode 3. It is a conductor.

These conductors 4.5 are made of etched thin metal plates or patterned flexible printed wiring boards, and are electrically connected to the negative electrode 2 and positive electrode 3 by soldering or conductive adhesive. It is connected.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 10, the conductor 4 has a linear portion 4c at the center of protrusions 4b formed at equal intervals on one side edge of the thin metal plate 4a.
It has a shape in which it is bent at right angles from the two-dot chain line 1t4cl, and the bent base 4e is the 71st! l
As shown in FIGS. 9 to 9, it is bonded to the negative electrode 2 with a conductive adhesive 8, and then bonded to the back load material 6 with a thermosetting resin or the like.

After that, as shown in FIG.
While completely cutting at point a, the back load material 6 and conductor 4.
5 is also cut at the same time, and the conductor 4 is cut into slits 7b having the same depth as the slits 7a at the same pitch as the linear portion 4C.
By completely cutting at , an ultrasonic transducer array having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers in the l=air group is formed.

Problems that the invention aims to solve However, in the conventional ultrasonic probe described above.

When cutting and dividing the ultrasonic transducer 1, it is necessary to also cut a part of the conductor 4.5 at the same time, and this cutting is extremely difficult with a cutting wheel for a commonly used slicing machine. Furthermore, clogging of the grindstone occurs, and the cutting performance of the ultrasonic vibrator 1 is significantly reduced.

As a result, cracks and chips in the ultrasonic transducer 1, peeling between the electrode 2.3 and the conductor 4.5, etc. occur, and as the cutting pitch becomes finer, it becomes difficult to form an ultrasonic transducer array with a uniform pitch. , becomes more difficult. For this reason, the ultrasonic transducer 1
There has been a problem in that it is extremely difficult to form an ultrasonic transducer array with a high-definition pitch as the resolution becomes higher.

In addition, in the case of a conductor shape like the illustrated example, highly accurate alignment is required in aligning the cut position of the conductor 4, which requires a lot of man-hours to manufacture, and also requires a high pitch accuracy of the conductor 4. There was a problem with being exposed.

The present invention solves these conventional problems, and aims to provide a high-resolution ultrasonic probe that is easy to manufacture and has a high-definition pitch ultrasonic transducer array. be.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention forms a pair of conductor connection parts on the same surface, the thickness of which is thicker than the thickness of the other parts, and also forms a pair of conductor connection parts on both sides. The ultrasonic transducer includes an ultrasonic transducer provided with an electrode reaching one side, and a large number of rod-shaped conductors that are connected at regular intervals to the electrodes that reach the conductor connection part and supply electrical signals to the electrodes, and each of the rod-shaped conductors The ultrasonic vibrator is electrically and mechanically completely cut off along with the conductor connection portion at the center between the two, and the cut ultrasonic vibrator is mechanically cut only halfway to the conductor connection portion. , to form an ultrasonic transducer array.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the ultrasonic transducer is cut together with the conductor connection portion between each of the rod-like conductors connected at regular intervals, and the step cutting is performed in which the conductor connection portion is cut approximately halfway. By cutting, an ultrasonic transducer array with a high-definition pitch can be easily formed, and a high-resolution ultrasonic probe can be obtained.

Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 3 show the structure of an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 1 to 31! 1, 11 is an ultrasonic transducer in which a pair of conductor connection parts 112.11b are formed on the same surface to be thicker than the other parts; 12 is an ultrasonic transducer having a front surface and one end surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11; This is a negative electrode provided so as to reach the conductor connection portion 11a on the back surface of the cover.

13 is a conductor connecting portion 11 that covers the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11;
14 is a conductor that supplies an electric signal to the negative electrode 12, and 15 is a positive electrode bridge 1 that is provided to reach b.
In particular, the conductor 14 is a rod-shaped conductor that is electrically separated up to the electrode connection end, as shown in FIG. 4, and is connected at a pitch of 18. There is.

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

16 is the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the conductor 14.1
5 is a backside load material that is adhesively formed with a thermosetting resin or the like on a part of the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the conductor 14.

The ultrasonic transducer 11 is cut using a slicing machine or the like in the same manner as the earlier conventional ultrasonic transducer. The ultrasonic transducers are completely cut with the slits 17a, and the cut ultrasonic transducers are mechanically cut with the slits 17b only up to the middle of the conductor connection portion to perform uneven cutting, thereby forming an ultrasonic transducer array.

Through this stepwise cutting, the materials to be cut and divided by the slicing machine are the ultrasonic vibrator 11 and the back load material 1.
6, and some of the ultrasonic transducers in the same electrical group remain connected by the conductor connection portion 11a.

In this way, by cutting only part of the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the back load material 16, there is no need to cut the conductor 14, such as copper wire, which is difficult to cut, and a high-definition ultrasonic transducer array can be broken. Chips, negative electrode 12, positive electrode 13 and conductor 1
4.15 can be obtained without causing any peeling or the like.

In addition, the ultrasonic transducer 1 is connected to the conductor connection portions 11a and llb.
1 remain connected, so the array has the advantage that it can be formed without collapsing or tilting.

FIG. 2 is a main part configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a negative electrode 12 is arranged so as to cover the front surface and one end surface of a flat ultrasonic transducer 11 and reach the side edge of the back surface. After providing the positive electrode 13 so as to cover the back surface of the ultrasonic vibrator 11, the bar 20 whose peripheral surface has been subjected to conductive treatment 24 is attached to the ultrasonic vibrator by soldering or using a conductive adhesive. The conductor connection portions 11a and llb are fixed to both side edges of the back surface of the conductor connection portion 11, and the line portions on both sides of the back surface are formed thicker than other portions.

In this case, the material of the bar 20 is desirably one that has the same degree of cuttability as the ultrasonic transducer 11, and may be the same material as the ultrasonic transducer 11 or a different material.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the main parts of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which bars 21 are fixed in advance to both sides of the back side of the ultrasonic transducer 11 before forming the negative electrode type [112 and the positive electrode 13]. After that, a negative electrode 12 is provided so as to cover the front surface and one end surface of the ultrasonic vibrator 11 and the back surface of the bar 21,
A positive electrode 13 is provided so as to cover the back surface of the ultrasonic vibrator 11 and the back surface of the bar 21, and both side edges of the back surface of the ultrasonic vibrator 11 are formed thicker than the other edges to form conductor m-connected portions 11a and llb. In this case, the fixing material 22 used to fix the ultrasonic transducer ll and the bar 21 does not need to have electrical conductivity.

Even in the case where the ultrasonic transducer 11 formed as in each of the above embodiments is connected to rod-shaped conductors at regular intervals in the same way as in the first embodiment and is cut and divided, the first embodiment has a similar effect.

Furthermore, although the second embodiment has been described on the assumption that the bar 2o is an insulator, it may be a conductor. In the case of a conductor, conductivity treatment for the bar is not necessary.

In each of the above embodiments, a linear array type ultrasonic probe was described, but the same effect can be obtained with a similar configuration for a curved array, such as a convex type ultrasonic probe. can.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above embodiments, the present invention forms a pair of conductor connection portions on the same surface, each of which is thicker than the other portions, and each reaches one of the conductor connection portions on both surfaces. An ultrasonic transducer provided with an electrode, and a large number of rod-shaped conductors that are connected at regular intervals to the electrodes that reach the conductor connection portion and supply electrical signals to the electrodes, and a center between each of the rod-shaped conductors. In this step, the ultrasonic vibrator is completely electrically and mechanically cut off along with the conductor connection part, and the cut ultrasonic vibrator is mechanically cut only halfway to the conductor connection part, and the ultrasonic transducer is Since a transducer array is formed, the ultrasonic transducers are cut together with the conductor connection portions between the rod-shaped conductors connected at regular intervals, and the conductor connection portions are also cut approximately halfway. By performing uneven cutting, an array of ultrasonic transducers with a high-definition pitch can be easily formed, and a high-resolution ultrasonic probe can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

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 side view of the ultrasonic probe in this embodiment.
1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 21!1m-III, FIG. 4 is a front view of the conductor that is a component of the ultrasonic probe, and FIG.
6 is a cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic transducer which is a component of the ultrasonic probe of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a side view of a conventional ultrasonic probe, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ultrasonic probe. Figure 9 is a side view of the sonic probe in the process of being manufactured;
Figure 0 is a front view of a conductor that is a component of a conventional ultrasound probe. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Ultrasonic vibrator, lla, llb... Conductor connection part, 12... Negative electrode, 13... Positive electrode, 1
4, 15 = Conductor, 17a,
17b-slit, 20.21-...
Bar material. Figure Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] An ultrasonic transducer has a pair of conductor connection parts that are thicker than the other parts on the same surface, and has electrodes on both sides that reach one of the conductor connection parts. A large number of rod-shaped conductors are connected to the electrodes at regular intervals and supply electrical signals to the electrodes,
The ultrasonic vibrator is electrically and mechanically completely cut off along with the conductor connecting portion at the center between each of the rod-shaped conductors, and the cut ultrasonic vibrator is mechanically cut halfway to the conductor connecting portion. An ultrasonic probe that is cut to form an ultrasonic transducer array.