JPH08166277A - Fixing method for ultrasonic transducer and jig for fixing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a method to fix an ultrasonic transducer in a wall face at a prescribed pressure and provide a fixing jig. CONSTITUTION: A jig main body 1 for fixing is stuck to an external wall face Tf of a tank through an adhesion face 10 and kept as it is and an adhesive B1 is solidified. After that, a resilient supporting part 12 of the jig main body 11 for fixing is made to support a ball plunger 3 and a ultrasonic transducer 2 is pushed to the external wall face Tf by spring force of a spring member built in the ball plunger 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to fixing an ultrasonic transducer used for a liquid level meter or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When fixing an ultrasonic transducer to the wall surface of an object to be measured, if there is a space between the vibrating surface and the wall surface, the propagation characteristics of the ultrasonic wave change significantly. Therefore, conventionally, when fixing the ultrasonic transducer, a gel-like material such as grease is interposed between the vibrating surface and the wall surface (see, for example, JP-A-2-2905). Further, when fixing the ultrasonic transducer to the bottom surface or the outer surface of the liquid tank, accurate measurement cannot be performed unless the pressure between the vibrating surface and the wall surface is set to a predetermined large force.

[0003]

However, it is not easy to press an ultrasonic transducer against a wall surface with a large constant pressure without forming a mounting hole in a liquid storage tank or the like. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and a fixing jig for fixing an ultrasonic transducer in a state of being pressed against a wall surface with a predetermined pressure.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, in the method of the present invention, a fixing jig main body having an adhesive surface is fixed to a wall surface with an adhesive to fill the space between the ultrasonic transducer and the wall surface. The state in which the vibrating surface of the ultrasonic transducer coated with the filler is pressed against the wall surface is held by the spring force of the spring member provided between the ultrasonic transducer and the reaction force supporting portion of the fixing jig body.

A fixing jig according to a fifth aspect includes a spring member for pressing the vibrating surface of the ultrasonic transducer against the wall surface and a fixing jig body, and the fixing jig body is bonded to the wall surface. And an accommodating portion for accommodating the ultrasonic transducer, and a reaction force supporting portion for receiving a reaction force of the spring member.

On the other hand, in the fixing jig of claim 7, a pair of vertically long adhesive surfaces are formed at both free ends of the fixing jig main body having a substantially concave planar cross section to form a concave shape. A spring member is provided between the ultrasonic transducer set in the jig body and the reaction force support portion on the opposite side of the bonding surface in the fixing jig body.

[0007]

According to the present invention, first, the fixing jig main body is adhered and fixed to the outer wall of the tank or the like through the adhesive surface, and then the spring force is supported by the reaction force supporting portion of the jig main body. Let me
The ultrasonic transducer can be pressed against the outer wall surface of the tank or the like with a predetermined spring force. Therefore, the ultrasonic transducer can be easily fixed while being pressed against a tank or the like with a predetermined pressure.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the fixing jig body 1 has a pair of left and right symmetrically adhering surfaces 10, 10 that are long in the up-down direction A at both free ends thereof. The adhesive surfaces 10 and 10 are, as shown in FIG.
With the adhesive B1, for example, the outer wall surface T of a cylindrical tank
glued to f.

The fixing jig body 1 is formed in a concave shape in a plane cross section, and forms a housing portion 11 for housing the ultrasonic transducer 2. The vibration surface 2f of the ultrasonic transducer 2 is pressed against the outer wall surface Tf of the tank with a predetermined spring force by the ball plunge 3 screwed into the reaction force support portion 12 of the fixing jig body 1. A female screw is formed on the reaction force support portion 12, and the reaction force support portion 12 has a spring member 30 incorporated in the ball plunge 3.
Support by receiving the reaction force of.

In the fixing jig body 1, a pair of adhesive portions 10A having an adhesive surface 10 and an external portion 15 having a concave cross section including the reaction force supporting portion 12 are detached from each other by a male screw 16. It is fastened freely.

A resin cap 4 is mounted on the back side of the ultrasonic transducer 2 so as not to rotate. The resin cap 4 has a cone-shaped depressed portion 4a formed in the center on the back side. On the other hand, at the tip of the spring member 30 housed in the ball plunge 3,
A pressing member 31 having a spherical surface that fits into the pressed recess 4a is provided. The pressing member 31 slightly protrudes from the cylinder 32 by the spring member 30 housed in the cylinder 32 of the ball plunge 3 and presses the back surface side of the ultrasonic transducer 2 via the resin cap 4.

An operation knob 5 is fixed to the rear end of the ball plunge 3. This operation knob 5
The front end surface 5a contacts the rear end surface 12a of the reaction force support portion 12 so that the screwing amount of the ball plunge 3 becomes constant, so that the pressing force of the spring member 30 of the ball plunge 3 becomes constant. To do so.

In FIG. 2B, the resin cap 4 is formed with a pair of engaged portions 4b. on the other hand,
The fixing jig body 1 is formed with a pair of detent portions 13 that engage with the engaged portions 4b of the resin cap 4. As a result, the ultrasonic transducer 2 (see FIG.
The rotation of (a) is prevented so that the characteristics of the received wave do not vary. In the present embodiment, the engaged portion 4b of the resin cap 4 is placed on the pair of rotation preventing portions 13, and the rotation preventing portion 13 also serves as a guide for the cap 4.

In the fixing jig body 1, the upper portion on which the ultrasonic transducer 2 is mounted is opened as shown in FIG. The fixing jig body 1 is provided with an insertion opening 14 for inserting the ultrasonic transducer 2 into the fixing jig body 1 from below.

Next, a method of fixing the ultrasonic transducer 2 will be described. (A) Fixing process of jig main body: As shown in FIG.
An adhesive B1 is applied to the adhesive surface 10 of the fixing jig body 1 to adhere the fixing jig body 1 to the outer wall surface Tf. After this, it is left for 1 to 2 days to wait for the adhesive B1 to solidify.

(B) Operation confirmation step: After the adhesive B1 is solidified, the ultrasonic transducer 2 shown in FIG. 3 (b) is inserted from the insertion port 14, the cap 4 is covered, and the engaged portion 4b of the cap 4 is inserted. Is placed on the rotation stopper 13. Subsequently, the operating knob 5 is rotated to move the ball plunge 3 forward to press the vibrating surface 2f of the ultrasonic transducer 2 coated with the gel filler G against the outer wall surface Tf with a predetermined spring force. . At this time, the rotation stopper 13 is attached to the cap 4
On the other hand, the filler G plays a role of filling the gap between the ultrasonic transducer 2 and the outer wall surface Tf.
Then, a drive circuit (not shown) is operated to confirm whether or not the ultrasonic transducer 2 operates normally.

(C) Transducer bonding step: After this confirmation, the ultrasonic transducer 2 is once removed, the gel filler G is removed, and then the adhesive B2 is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 2 of FIG. 3 (c). To do. After this application, the operation knob 5 is again rotated to move the ball plunge 3 forward to move the vibration surface 2 of the ultrasonic transducer 2.
The f is pressed against the outer wall surface Tf with a predetermined spring force. At this time, the adhesive B2 plays a role of filling the gap between the ultrasonic transducer 2 and the outer wall surface Tf. After that, the adhesive B2
Wait for the to cure.

(D) Enclosing step: After the adhesive B2 is hardened, the male screw 16 in FIG. 3 (c) is loosened, the external portion 15 of the fixing jig body 1 is removed, and the adhesive is attached as shown in FIG. 3 (d). Part 10A
And leave only the ultrasonic transducer 2. After this removal, the ultrasonic transducer 2 is surrounded by the curable protective agent D and hardened. In addition, the ball plunger 3 of FIG.
Even if the ultrasonic transducer 2 is removed,
Since the adhesive B2 is solidified in a state of being pressed against f with a predetermined force, the ultrasonic transducer 2 is kept pressed against the outer wall surface Tf by the stress inside the adhesive B2.

In this way, the ultrasonic transducer 2 is kept in contact with the outer wall surface Tf with a predetermined force. Therefore, the desired characteristics are obtained.

By the way, in the method of the present invention, FIG.
Since a certain pressing force can be obtained even in the state where the gel filler G is provided between the outer wall surface Tf and the vibrating surface 2f as in (b), the fixing may be completed in this state. However, in this case, it is necessary to prevent the gel filler G from flowing down.

Similarly, in the method of the present invention, FIG.
The fixing may be completed by the transducer bonding step of FIG. 3C without performing the surrounding step of FIG. Also, FIG.
It is also within the scope of the present invention to perform the transducer bonding step of FIG. 3C after the jig body fixing step of FIG. 3A without performing the operation confirmation step of FIG.

By the way, like the outer peripheral surface of the liquid tank,
When attaching the ultrasonic transducer 2 to the arcuate peripheral surface, if the traveling direction of the ultrasonic wave generated from the ultrasonic transducer 2 is not set to the normal direction of the circle, the direction of the transmitted ultrasonic wave and its The reflection direction may be shifted, and the detection sensitivity may decrease. On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), since the ultrasonic transducer 2 is pressed by the spherical surface of the pressing member 31 via the resin cap 4, the vibrating surface 2f of the ultrasonic transducer 2 has the outer wall surface T.
Since it is orthogonal to the normal line of f, the transmitted ultrasonic waves are
Toward the normal direction. Therefore, good sensitivity can be obtained.

Further, in the above embodiment, the fixing jig body 1
The ultrasonic transducer 2
It becomes easy to apply the filler G and the adhesive B2 to the.

4 to 6 show a second embodiment. In FIG. 4, the fixing jig main body 1 has a pair of left and right symmetrically adhering surfaces 10 and 10 which are long in the up-down direction A at both free ends thereof. As shown in FIG. 5A, the adhesive surfaces 10 and 10 are adhered to the outer wall surface Tf of the cylindrical tank, for example, with the adhesive B1.

The fixing jig main body 1 is formed in a concave shape in a plane cross section, and forms an accommodating portion 11 for accommodating the ultrasonic transducer 2. The vibration surface 2f of the ultrasonic transducer 2 is pressed against the outer wall surface Tf of the tank with a predetermined spring force by the ball plunge 3 screwed into the reaction force support portion 12 of the fixing jig body 1. A female screw is formed on the reaction force support portion 12, and the reaction force support portion 12 has a spring member 30 incorporated in the ball plunge 3.
Support by receiving the reaction force of.

A dish-shaped resin cap 4 is mounted on the back side of the ultrasonic transducer 2 so as not to rotate. The resin cap 4 is provided with a cone-shaped depressed portion 4a. On the other hand, at the tip of the spring member 30 housed in the ball plunge 3, a pressing member 31 having a spherical surface fitted in the pressed recess 4a is provided. The pressing member 31 slightly protrudes from the cylinder 32 by the spring member 30 housed in the cylinder 32 of the ball plunge 3 and presses the back surface side of the ultrasonic transducer 2 via the resin cap 4.

An operation knob 5 is screwed to the rear end of the ball plunge 3. The front end surface 5a of the operating knob 5 abuts on the rear end surface 12a of the reaction force supporting portion 12 so that the screwed amount of the ball plunge 3 becomes constant, so that the spring member 30 of the ball plunge 3 is fixed. This is for making the pressing force by the pressure constant.

In FIG. 5 (c), the fixing jig main body 1 is formed with a pair of anti-rotation portions 13 which are close to and face opposite sides (engaged portions) 4b of the resin cap 4. .
This prevents the ultrasonic transducer 2 from rotating and prevents the characteristics of the received wave from varying.

The upper part of the fixing jig body 1 on which the ultrasonic transducer 2 is mounted is opened as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5B, the fixing jig body 1 is provided with an insertion opening 14 for inserting the ultrasonic transducer 2 into the fixing jig body 1 from below.

Next, a method of fixing the ultrasonic transducer 2 will be described. (A) Fixing process of jig main body: As shown in FIG.
An adhesive B1 is applied to the adhesive surface 10 of the fixing jig body 1 to adhere the fixing jig body 1 to the outer wall surface Tf. After this, it is left for 1 to 2 days to wait for the adhesive B1 to solidify.

(B) Operation confirmation step: After the adhesive B1 is solidified, the ultrasonic transducer 2 coated with the gel filler G shown in FIG. 6 (b) is brought into contact with the outer wall surface Tf,
The operation knob 5 is rotated to move the ball plunge 3 forward to press the vibrating surface 2f of the ultrasonic transducer 2 against the outer wall surface Tf with a predetermined spring force. At this time, the filler G
Serves to fill the gap between the ultrasonic transducer 2 and the outer wall surface Tf. Then, a drive circuit (not shown) is operated to confirm whether or not the ultrasonic transducer 2 operates normally.

(C) Transducer bonding step: After this confirmation, the ultrasonic transducer 2 is once removed, the gel filler G is removed, and then the adhesive B2 is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 2 of FIG. 6 (c). To do. After this application, while the ultrasonic transducer 2 is again in contact with the outer wall surface Tf, the operating knob 5 is rotated to move the ball plunge 3 forward so that the vibrating surface 2f of the ultrasonic transducer 2 is moved to the outer wall surface Tf. It is pressed with a predetermined spring force. At this time, the adhesive B2 plays a role of filling the gap between the ultrasonic transducer 2 and the outer wall surface Tf.

(D) Surrounding step: After that, as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the fixing jig body 1, the ultrasonic transducer 2,
The ball plunge 3 and the like are surrounded by a curable protective agent D and hardened.

In this way, the ultrasonic transducer 2 is kept in contact with the outer wall surface Tf with a predetermined force. Therefore, the desired characteristics are obtained.

By the way, the adhesive B1 for adhering the outer wall surface Tf of FIG. 6 (a) and the fixing jig body 1 to each other is an adhesive having a rubber property (an adhesive having a rubber property after curing).
After the adhesive B2 in the transducer bonding step of FIG. 6C is solidified, the adhesive B1 may be cut with a cutter to remove the fixing jig body 1 and the like from the outer wall surface Tf.
It is preferable that the ultrasonic transducer 2 be surrounded by the protective agent D after the fixing jig body 1 is removed from the outer wall surface Tf.

Further, although the cap 4 is attached to the ultrasonic transducer 2 in each of the above embodiments, the cap 4 is not necessarily provided in the present invention. Further, the engaged portion 4b formed on the cap 4 and the cone-shaped pressed concave portion 4 are formed.
The a may be formed on the ultrasonic transducer 2 itself.

By the way, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the ball plunge 3 is screwed into the reaction force supporting portion 12, but this is not always necessary in the present invention, and the third embodiment of FIGS.
As in the embodiment, a bottomed cylindrical storage container 3A for storing the spring member 30 is provided, and this storage container 3A is used as the reaction force support portion 1.
You may make it contact | abut to 2.

In the first and second embodiments, the fixing jig body 1 has a concave cross section in plan view, but this is not always necessary in the present invention. b)
As in the fourth embodiment, the fixing jig body 1 may be formed of a tubular member. In FIG. 8B, 7 is a bearing, and 8 is a cap having an internal thread 8a.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the ultrasonic transducer 2 is a level meter of the liquid level has been described, but the present invention is also applied to other detecting devices, ultrasonic wave transmitters or wave receivers. It goes without saying that you can do it.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention,
After the fixing jig main body is bonded and fixed to the outer wall of the tank or the like through the adhesive surface, the spring force is supported by the reaction force supporting portion of the jig main body to attach the ultrasonic transducer to the outside of the tank or the like. It can be pressed against the wall surface with a predetermined spring force.
Therefore, the ultrasonic transducer can be easily fixed in a state of being pressed against a tank or the like with a predetermined pressure, so that the operating characteristics of the ultrasonic transducer are stabilized.

Further, with respect to the bonded portion having the bonded surface,
If the external part including the reaction force supporting part can be removed freely, only a part of the jig remains on the outer wall of the tank, etc., and the appearance is improved.

Further, if a rotation stopping portion is provided to prevent the ultrasonic transducer from rotating, more stable operation characteristics can be obtained.

If the jig main body is opened above the portion where the ultrasonic transducer is mounted, the work of applying the filler or the adhesive becomes easy.

Further, if a pressing member is provided at the tip of the spring member and a spherical surface is formed at the tip of the pressing member, the ultrasonic transducer can be pressed in the normal direction to the circumferential surface of the tank. More stable operation characteristics can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a fixing jig body and the like according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view and a sectional view taken along line bb of the fixing structure.

FIG. 3 is a process drawing showing a fixing method.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a fixing jig main body according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan sectional view, a vertical sectional view, and c showing a fixing structure.
It is a c-line sectional view.

FIG. 6 is a process drawing showing a fixing method.

7A is a plan sectional view of a jig body showing a third embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a vertical sectional view of a fixing structure according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view and a vertical sectional view showing a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Fixing jig body 10: Adhesive surface 10A: Adhesive part 11: Storage part 12: Reaction force support part 15: External 16: Screw 2: Ultrasonic transducer 2f: Vibrating surface 30: Spring member 31: Pressing member B1 : Adhesive G: Filler B2: Adhesive (filler) Tf: Wall surface

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G01S 7/521 H04R 1/00 332

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A method for fixing an ultrasonic transducer, wherein the vibration surface of an ultrasonic transducer is pressed against a wall surface and fixed, wherein a fixing jig body having an adhesive surface is fixed to the wall surface with an adhesive, A state in which the vibrating surface of the ultrasonic transducer coated with a filler filling the space between the ultrasonic transducer and the wall surface is pressed against the wall surface is provided between the ultrasonic transducer and the reaction force support portion of the fixing jig body. A method of fixing an ultrasonic transducer, characterized by holding the spring member by a spring force of the provided spring member. 2. The method for fixing an ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1, wherein the filler is an adhesive. 3. The method for fixing an ultrasonic transducer according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of the fixing jig main body and the spring member are removed after the filler made of the adhesive is hardened. 4. The method of fixing an ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the ultrasonic transducer is surrounded and protected by a protective agent. 5. A fixing jig including a spring member for pressing a vibration surface of an ultrasonic transducer against a wall surface and a fixing jig body, wherein the fixing jig body is an adhesive surface adhered to the wall surface. A jig for fixing an ultrasonic transducer, comprising: a housing portion that houses the ultrasonic transducer; and a reaction force support portion that receives the reaction force of the spring member. 6. The jig for fixing an ultrasonic transducer according to claim 5, wherein the adhesive surface comprises a pair of laterally symmetrical adhesive surfaces. 7. A pair of adhesive surfaces, which are long in the vertical direction, are formed on both free ends of a fixing jig body having a substantially concave planar cross section,
Fixing of the ultrasonic transducer in which a spring member is provided between the ultrasonic transducer set in the concave fixing jig main body and the reaction force support portion on the opposite side of the bonding surface in the fixing jig main body Jig. 8. The superstructure according to claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein the fixing jig main body is configured such that an external portion including the reaction force supporting portion can be detachably attached to the adhesive portion on which the adhesive surface is formed. A jig for fixing a sound wave transducer. 9. The method according to claim 5, 6, 7 or 8.
A cap having a pair of engaged parts is attached to the ultrasonic transducer, while the fixing jig main body is engaged with the pair of engaged parts to rotate the ultrasonic transducer. A jig for fixing an ultrasonic transducer, which has a pair of anti-rotation parts that prevent 10. The jig for fixing an ultrasonic transducer according to claim 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9, wherein the fixing jig main body has an opening above a portion where the ultrasonic transducer is mounted. 11. A method according to claim 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 1.
0, a jig for fixing an ultrasonic transducer, wherein a pressing member having a spherical surface for pressing the back surface side of the ultrasonic transducer is provided at the tip of the spring member.