JPS6127279Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to the structure of a lead wire from an electrode of a vibrator in an array type ultrasonic probe for an electronic scanner.

An array-type ultrasonic probe for an electronic scanner will be explained based on FIG. The electrodes 2 are arranged and fixed at equal intervals so as to be in contact with each other, and an ultrasonic propagation material and an acoustic lens (not shown) are attached to the negative electrode 3 on the opposite side of the sound absorbing material 5. The positive electrode 2 and negative electrode 3 of the vibrator 4 are individually connected to conductive wires 6a, . . . , 6b, .
The transducer 4 is connected to a drive circuit that transmits an ultrasound beam and a reception circuit (not shown) that receives reflected waves of this ultrasound beam, and by operating the transducers 4 separately, ultrasound tomographic images, etc. is obtained.

The conductive wires 6a, . . . , 6b, . . . are attached to a flexible printed circuit board 7 connected to the vibrators 4, .
A and 7b are connected to a coaxial cable 8 which is connected to a drive circuit and a wave receiving circuit. A vibrator 4 is provided at the tip of this printed circuit board 7a.
In order to connect to the positive electrode 2 of the printed circuit board 7a, a positive electrode connection part 9 is provided in which copper foil lines with soldered tips are arranged in the same number and pitch as the vibrator. Connector 10 that engages with connector 10a attached to cable 8
A cable connection part 11 is provided for attaching the cable. A vibrator 4 is provided at the tip of the printed circuit board 7b.
In order to connect to the negative electrode 3 of the oscillator, a negative electrode connection part 12 is provided in which copper foil lines with solder-plated tips are arranged in the same number and pitch as the vibrator. All are electrically connected to each other. The positive electrode connection part 9 and the negative electrode connection part 12 are pressed and heated to the positive electrode 2 and the negative electrode 3, respectively, and joined, and the connector pin 13 of the connector 10b is inserted into the hole of the cable connection part 11 and soldered. Fixed. Further, the copper foil line of the printed circuit board 7b is connected to one of the connector pins of the connector 10b via the printed circuit board 7a.

When using a flexible printed circuit board and connector as described above, after connecting the flexible printed circuit board to the transducer, when inserted into the box-shaped probe case 14 as shown in FIG. When the board bends, the copper foil lines installed on the flexible printed circuit board may break or come into contact, and since connectors are used,
The drawback is that the probe case becomes larger.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention aims to improve the flexible printed circuit board connected to the electrodes of the transducer and provide an array-type ultrasonic probe with a smaller probe case. .

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, at the tip of the flexible printed circuit board 15a, in order to connect to the positive electrode 2 of the vibrator 4, copper foil lines 16 with the tip soldered are placed in the same number and pitch as the vibrator. Positive electrode connecting portions 17 arranged in a row are provided, and a cable connecting portion 18 to directly connect the coaxial cable 8 is provided on the opposite end side. The positive electrode is bent at a substantially right angle at a point approximately twice the width of the positive electrode 2 of the vibrator 4 from the tip of the positive electrode, and a hard resin plate 19 is attached to the cable connection portion 18, and the hard resin plate 19 and A hole 20 is provided at the end of the copper foil line 16 for inserting and soldering each line of the coaxial cable 8.

By permanently deforming the flexible printed circuit board, which has a certain degree of flexibility and elasticity, at almost right angles in advance as described above, the wobble of the printed circuit board is greatly reduced and the position is fixed. This makes it easier to insert the board, which can cause the board to bend inadvertently or unexpectedly, causing the copper foil lines to break or come into contact with each other, or even putting excessive force on the copper foil lines and the soldered electrodes. can be prevented from joining.

Further, at the tip of the flexible printed circuit board 15b, in order to connect to the minus electrode 3 of the vibrator 4, there is a minus electrode connection part 21 in which copper foil lines with solder-plated tips are arranged in the same number and at the same pitch as the vibrators.
This negative electrode connection part 21 connects the vibrator 4 from the tip like the positive electrode connection part 17.
The flexible printed circuit board 15a is bent at a substantially right angle at a point approximately twice the width of the negative electrode 3, and the other end side of the negative electrode connection portion 21 is
is connected to one copper foil line of the cable connection section 18 of.

The flexible printed circuit boards 15a and 1
The electrode connecting parts 17 and 21 of 5b are soldered only on the lower surface in a certain range from the tip of each copper foil line to the bent parts 22a and 22b, and the electrodes 2 are soldered during and after soldering.
In addition, the solder should not be hardened to weak parts such as the corners of the electrodes 22a and 3, and these parts of the electrode should not be corroded by solder corrosion.
It is desirable to provide a means for limiting the solder to the above-mentioned certain range, such as by appropriately overlaying a resin film in the vicinity of b.

The present invention has the above configuration, and the flexible printed circuit boards 15a and 15b are connected and fixed to the vibrator 4 by pressing and heating the solder surfaces on the positive electrode 2 and the negative electrode 3, respectively, and the coaxial cable 8 is It is soldered connected to the flexible printed circuit board 15a.

When the flexible printed circuit board is connected to the vibrator and the coaxial cable as described above, it is housed in a box-shaped probe case or the like.

As described above, in this device, the tip of the flexible printed circuit board is bent at a substantially right angle, and the connection with the electrode is made only at the tip, and no soldering is performed on the weak corners of the electrodes 2 and 3 of the piezoelectric element 1, thereby preventing the electrodes from peeling off due to solder corrosion. Also, a hard resin plate is fixed to the cable connection part of the flexible printed circuit board, making it possible to connect the coaxial cable directly to the flexible printed circuit board, eliminating the need for pins, connectors, etc. as in the past, and allowing the probe case to be made smaller.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the probe, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a conventional example, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a case, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an example of the present invention, and FIG. The figure is an explanatory diagram of the flexible printed circuit board shown in FIG. 4. 1... Piezoelectric element, 2... Positive electrode, 3... Negative electrode, 4... Vibrator, 5... Sound absorbing material, 6
a, 6b... conductor, 7a, 7b, 15a, 15b
...Flexible printed circuit board, 8...Coaxial cable, 9, 17...Positive electrode connection part, 10a,
10b... Connector, 11, 18... Cable connection part, 12, 21... Negative electrode connection part, 13
... Connector pin, 14 ... Probe case, 16
...Copper foil line, 19...Hard resin plate, 20...
Holes, 22a, 22b...bent parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In an array type ultrasonic probe that uses a flexible printed circuit board and a coaxial cable as an electrical connection means between the electrodes of the ultrasonic transducer and the driving circuit and the wave receiving circuit, each copper foil line of the flexible printed circuit board is Bend the part approximately twice the electrode width of the vibrator from the tip at a nearly right angle, and solder only the bottom surface of each copper foil line in a certain range that does not reach the bent part from the tip of each copper foil line. an electrode connection portion that has been applied to the electrode, a means for limiting the solder to the above-mentioned certain range during soldering, and a hard resin plate fixed to the end opposite to the above-mentioned tip of the flexible printed circuit board. and holes penetrating from each copper foil line of the flexible printed circuit board to the hard resin plate, and by passing each lead wire of the coaxial cable through each hole, the coaxial cable can be connected to the flexible printed circuit board. An array type ultrasonic probe characterized by being connected.