US20210088481A1 - Portable phased array test instrument - Google Patents
Portable phased array test instrument Download PDFInfo
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- US20210088481A1 US20210088481A1 US17/113,517 US202017113517A US2021088481A1 US 20210088481 A1 US20210088481 A1 US 20210088481A1 US 202017113517 A US202017113517 A US 202017113517A US 2021088481 A1 US2021088481 A1 US 2021088481A1
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Images
Classifications
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- G01N29/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object
- G01N29/22—Details, e.g. general constructional or apparatus details
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N29/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object
- G01N29/22—Details, e.g. general constructional or apparatus details
- G01N29/26—Arrangements for orientation or scanning by relative movement of the head and the sensor
- G01N29/262—Arrangements for orientation or scanning by relative movement of the head and the sensor by electronic orientation or focusing, e.g. with phased arrays
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- G01N27/72—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating magnetic variables
- G01N27/82—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating magnetic variables for investigating the presence of flaws
- G01N27/90—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating magnetic variables for investigating the presence of flaws using eddy currents
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Definitions
- the invention relates to ultrasonic non-destructive testing and inspection (NDT/NDI), and in particular to a portable phased array test instrument for controlling operation of one or more ultrasonic phased array probes.
- NDT/NDI ultrasonic non-destructive testing and inspection
- Phased array test instruments generally contain electronic components which may require re-programming to update the firmware or may require testing in order to isolate faults or error conditions during instrument maintenance.
- it is often necessary to either connect to the relevant components at the printed circuit board level, or to connect to components by means of an external connector, which is unsightly and may lead to inadvertent user errors.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable phased array instrument according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a handle assembly according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a battery rack according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a front view of a battery door according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 3C is a perspective view showing a back view of a battery door according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a USB dongle mourning assembly according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a screen support assembly according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 6 is a perspective view of electronic components according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a board stack and heatsink assembly according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 8A is a first perspective view showing insertion of an exchangeable re-programming module into a battery rack according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 8B is a second perspective view showing insertion of the exchangeable re-programming module into the battery rack according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 8C is a perspective view showing insertion of a battery into the battery rack.
- FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a portable phased array instrument 1 according to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 shows the construction of a handle assembly 20 for instrument 1 .
- handles may be constructed of plastic and nylon cloth sewed together with an elastic thread. This solution is functional, but expensive and aesthetically displeasing.
- handle assembly 20 is constructed of custom molded parts, has lower cost, and is well integrated into the overall design of instrument 1 .
- Handle assembly 20 comprises two rigid molded plastic parts 22 a and 22 b, which have good rigidity for grasping with the user's hand. Parts 22 a and 22 b are attached by means of screws 24 a, 24 b and 24 c.
- Flexible polyurethane arms 26 a and 26 b are locked between parts 22 a and 22 b, thereby spring loading handle assembly 20 with respect to the casing of instrument 1 .
- flexible arms 26 a and 26 b replace the function of the elastic thread used in existing practice.
- FIG. 3A shows the construction of a battery rack 30 for instrument 1 .
- the function of battery rack 30 is to enclose at least one battery (see FIG. 8C ) and to constrain battery movement when instrument 1 is dropped or roughly handled.
- batteries are locked by quarter turn screws when a battery door is closed, which is inconvenient for the user. During a drop test, it has been observed that, the batteries may push hard against the door and may break it. If the door is open, the batteries are not well constrained.
- the batteries are constrained between two plastic parts 34 a and 34 b of a battery case, and part 34 a has two metal springs 32 a and 32 b inserted from the outside of the case.
- Springs 32 a and 32 b are configured to reinforce plastic springs 33 a and 33 b (shown in FIG. 3A and in FIG. 4 ) that are directly molded into the plastic of part 34 a. Springs 33 a and 33 b push on the batteries and constrain them.
- the batteries are further constrained by a battery door 36 shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C .
- Door 36 has two V-shaped protrusions 36 a and 36 b which lock the batteries in place when the door is closed.
- the batteries are pushed against plastic part 34 b by the action of springs 33 a and 33 b, and constrained by a lip 35 in part 34 b. Therefore, the batteries are automatically locked and stay in position even if the user leaves the door open.
- battery door 36 is secured by an upper latch 38 a ( FIG. 3C ) and a lower latch 38 b (not shown) which are activated by springs 37 a and 37 b respectively.
- Latches 38 a and 38 b are a more convenient replacement for quarter turn screws used in existing practice.
- the design ensures that when instrument 1 is dropped or roughly handled, the batteries are fully constrained by battery rack 30 and battery door 36 , door 36 being secured by latches 38 a and 38 b.
- FIG. 4 shows the construction of a dongle mounting assembly 40 for instrument 1 .
- Instrument 1 uses standard communication technologies, such as both Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® technologies.
- Instrument 1 uses an integration method alternative to existing well-known practices by means of a connecting technology dongle 49 .
- Examples of the standard connecting technology are USB, WiFi® Bluetooth®, etc.
- USB dongle 49 should be removable without using any tool.
- USB dongle 49 is mountable on a printed circuit board (PCB) 48 , which includes a USB port 41 for insertion of USB dongle 49 .
- PCB printed circuit board
- PCB 48 is attached to a plastic sliding support 42 allowing it to slide between parts 34 a and 34 b of battery rack 30 .
- Sliding support 42 includes a post 43 which is captured in a slot 45 in part 34 a.
- Slot 45 includes an inner position hole 45 a and an outer position hole 45 b.
- post 43 is in inner position hole 45 a, sliding support 42 is in the inner position, and dongle 49 is concealed within battery rack 30 .
- Sliding support 42 may be moved back and forth between the inner and outer positions by a user pressing on an edge 42 a of sliding support 42 . Motion of sliding support 42 between inner and outer position, and retention of sliding support 42 in either position, is facilitated by the action of a spring 46 .
- dongle mounting assembly 40 by configuring dongle mounting assembly 40 to be contained within battery rack 30 , sealing for water tightness is provided by battery door 36 , and there is no need to provide any additional sealing, such as would be the case if connection to USB port 41 were provided on the outer case of instrument 1 .
- FIG. 5 shows the construction of a screen support assembly 50 for instrument 1 .
- the function of screen support assembly 50 is to provide adequate support for a screen 54 which has only four small tapped holes 56 a, 56 b, 56 c and 56 d (holes 56 b, 56 c and 56 d are not shown) provided for attachment.
- a one-piece support for screen 54 is inadequate because of the manufacturing tolerances of screen 54 , particularly in the horizontal direction. As a result of the tolerances, a single support plate would have to be made oversize. However, four small screws matched to the tapped holes cannot exert enough force to compress an oversize single support plate.
- screen support assembly 50 provides support for screen 54 using two parts 52 a and 52 b, whose relative horizontal positions may be varied to account for manufacturing tolerances of screen 54 .
- Parts 52 a and 52 b are both first fixed to screen 54 .
- Part 52 a is fixed with two flat head screws through holes 57 a and 57 b into tapped holes 56 a and 56 b in screen 54 .
- Part 52 b is fixed with two flat head screws through holes 57 c and 57 d (not shown) into tapped holes 56 c and 56 d in screen 54 .
- Part 52 b is then located on the plastic enclosure of instrument 1 with location pins.
- Parts 52 a and 52 b are then screwed to the plastic enclosure with horizontal tolerance being taken up by slotted holes 58 a, 58 b, 58 c and 58 d in part 52 a and slotted holes 59 a, 59 b, 59 c and 59 d in part 52 b.
- the slotted holes ensure that wide manufacturing tolerances of screen 54 will not prevent parts 52 a and 52 b from being fixed to the plastic enclosure.
- the horizontal dimensions of parts 52 a and 52 b allow for a gap between the parts when they are fixed to screen 54 , the gap being large enough to account for the tolerance in the horizontal dimension of screen 54 .
- FIG. 6 shows electronic components 60 for instrument 1 , comprising a representative first circuit board 64 a and a representative second circuit board 64 b, and featuring board clips 62 a, 62 b, 62 c and 62 d.
- Boards 64 a and 64 b are electrically connected by connectors, and normally reside within the enclosure of instrument 1 . However, it is a requirement that electronic components 60 should be electrically tested outside the enclosure, and that, after testing, boards 64 a and 64 b should remain securely in position and electrically connected while being re-inserted into the enclosure of instrument 1 .
- electronic components 60 is secured to the enclosure by screws inserted through holes (not shown) in the undersides of board clips 62 a, 62 b, 62 c and 62 d, and through matching holes in both boards 64 a and 64 b.
- Board clips 62 a, 62 b, 62 c and 62 d are captured by the screws, and remain securely in place, securing the location of boards 64 a and 64 b even in the event of impact to instrument 1 .
- FIG. 7 shows a hoard stack and heatsink assembly 70 for instrument 1 , assembly 70 comprising a heatsink 72 , representative boards 64 a and 64 b, and an intermediate circuit board 76 stacked on board 64 b. If heatsink 72 were only mounted on board 64 a then there would be no mechanism for dissipation of heat generated by electronic components on board 76 . This is representative of a general problem that some boards of any board stack are not directly in contact with the heat sink for heat dissipation.
- the problem is mitigated in board stack and heatsink assembly 70 by creating an aperture 74 on board 64 a, and configuring heatsink 72 with a protrusion 78 which protrudes through aperture 74 , thereby allowing direct thermal contact between board 76 and heat sink 72 . With this arrangement, heat can be efficiently extracted from all hoards in the hoard stack.
- FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a method of making connection to the boards of instrument 1 for the purpose of testing or re-programming electronic components.
- the necessary connections to the boards are made by means of a JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) connector 80 .
- Instrument 1 incorporates multiple boards with electronic components 60 (see FIG. 6 ), some or all of which may require testing or re-programming. It is desirable to provide electrical connectivity to testable or re-programmable components without needing to open the enclosure of instrument 1 , and without the need for an unsightly external connector which is visible to the user.
- JTAG connector 80 preferably comprised of a printed circuit board with flat conductive contact traces, is configured to be inserted into a connector cavity in an interior surface of battery rack 30 for the purpose of providing connections to test or re-program components.
- JTAG connector 80 When JTAG connector 80 is inserted inside battery rack 30 , the contact traces are flush with the base of part 34 a of battery rack 30 . JTAG connector 80 then remains permanently in position in the connector cavity.
- the casing of instrument 1 incorporates a battery cavity into which a battery 92 is inserted during normal operation of instrument 1 (see FIG. 8C ).
- battery 92 is replaced with an exchangeable re-programming module 82 which has substantially the same shape as battery 92 and can be inserted inside the battery cavity of battery rack 30 in place of battery 92 .
- a spring pin connector 83 on the underside of re-programming module 82 makes electrical contact with the flat traces on JTAG connector 80 , and the connections are transferred to an external cable connector 84 .
- Cable connector 84 has cable contacts for a flat ribbon computer cable (not shown), each of the cable contacts being electrically connected to a corresponding one of the contacts of spring pin connector 83 .
- the flat ribbon cable is connected to a computer (not shown) configured to perform the testing or re-programming.
- the computer cable is connected to cable connector 84 at a first computer cable end and to a computer at a second computer cable end.
- the electronic components comprise re-programmable and/or testable electronic components and the computer is configured to re-program and/or test the electronic components.
- the electronic components are configured to control the emission of non-destructive testing energy and to receive and process response signals of the energy emission.
- the electronic components may be configured to have at least one ultrasonic acquisition unit.
- the electronic components may comprise at least one eddy current controller unit.
- the electronic components may be configured to comprise an X-ray detector pulse acquisition unit and a signal processor for processing X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectra.
- XRF X-ray fluorescence
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Abstract
Description
- This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/523,339 filed Jun. 22, 2017 entitled AN IMPROVED PORTABLE PHASED ARRAY TEST INSTRUMENT, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
- The invention relates to ultrasonic non-destructive testing and inspection (NDT/NDI), and in particular to a portable phased array test instrument for controlling operation of one or more ultrasonic phased array probes.
- Phased array test instruments generally contain electronic components which may require re-programming to update the firmware or may require testing in order to isolate faults or error conditions during instrument maintenance. In existing practice, it is often necessary to either connect to the relevant components at the printed circuit board level, or to connect to components by means of an external connector, which is unsightly and may lead to inadvertent user errors. There therefore exists a need for a method of connecting to testable or re-programmable components without removing any circuit boards from the instrument, and without need for an external connector.
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable phased array instrument according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a handle assembly according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a battery rack according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a front view of a battery door according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 3C is a perspective view showing a back view of a battery door according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a USB dongle mourning assembly according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a screen support assembly according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of electronic components according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a board stack and heatsink assembly according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 8A is a first perspective view showing insertion of an exchangeable re-programming module into a battery rack according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 8B is a second perspective view showing insertion of the exchangeable re-programming module into the battery rack according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 8C is a perspective view showing insertion of a battery into the battery rack. -
FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a portable phased array instrument 1 according to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2 shows the construction of ahandle assembly 20 for instrument 1. In existing practice, handles may be constructed of plastic and nylon cloth sewed together with an elastic thread. This solution is functional, but expensive and aesthetically displeasing. In contrast,handle assembly 20 is constructed of custom molded parts, has lower cost, and is well integrated into the overall design of instrument 1.Handle assembly 20 comprises two rigid moldedplastic parts Parts screws Flexible polyurethane arms parts loading handle assembly 20 with respect to the casing of instrument 1. Thusflexible arms -
FIG. 3A shows the construction of abattery rack 30 for instrument 1. The function ofbattery rack 30 is to enclose at least one battery (seeFIG. 8C ) and to constrain battery movement when instrument 1 is dropped or roughly handled. In existing practice, batteries are locked by quarter turn screws when a battery door is closed, which is inconvenient for the user. During a drop test, it has been observed that, the batteries may push hard against the door and may break it. If the door is open, the batteries are not well constrained. In contrast, inbattery rack 30 the batteries are constrained between twoplastic parts part 34 a has twometal springs Springs plastic springs FIG. 3A and inFIG. 4 ) that are directly molded into the plastic ofpart 34 a. Springs 33 a and 33 b push on the batteries and constrain them. - The batteries are further constrained by a
battery door 36 shown inFIGS. 3B and 3C .Door 36 has two V-shaped protrusions plastic part 34 b by the action ofsprings lip 35 inpart 34 b. Therefore, the batteries are automatically locked and stay in position even if the user leaves the door open. When in the closed position,battery door 36 is secured by anupper latch 38 a (FIG. 3C ) and a lower latch 38 b (not shown) which are activated bysprings Latches 38 a and 38 b are a more convenient replacement for quarter turn screws used in existing practice. The design ensures that when instrument 1 is dropped or roughly handled, the batteries are fully constrained bybattery rack 30 andbattery door 36,door 36 being secured bylatches 38 a and 38 b. -
FIG. 4 shows the construction of a dongle mounting assembly 40 for instrument 1. Instrument 1 uses standard communication technologies, such as both Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® technologies. Instrument 1 uses an integration method alternative to existing well-known practices by means of a connecting technology dongle 49. Examples of the standard connecting technology are USB, WiFi® Bluetooth®, etc. However, an industry standard requires that USB dongle 49 should be removable without using any tool. In addition, it is preferable that dongle 49 should be hidden from the user. As shown inFIG. 4 , USB dongle 49 is mountable on a printed circuit board (PCB) 48, which includes a USB port 41 for insertion of USB dongle 49.PCB 48 is attached to aplastic sliding support 42 allowing it to slide betweenparts battery rack 30. Slidingsupport 42 includes a post 43 which is captured in a slot 45 inpart 34 a. Slot 45 includes aninner position hole 45 a and anouter position hole 45 b. When post 43 is inouter position hole 45 b, slidingsupport 42 is in the outer position, permitting easy insertion or removal of dongle 49 frombattery rack 30. When post 43 is ininner position hole 45 a, slidingsupport 42 is in the inner position, and dongle 49 is concealed withinbattery rack 30. Slidingsupport 42 may be moved back and forth between the inner and outer positions by a user pressing on an edge 42 a of slidingsupport 42. Motion of slidingsupport 42 between inner and outer position, and retention of slidingsupport 42 in either position, is facilitated by the action of a spring 46. - Note that, by configuring dongle mounting assembly 40 to be contained within
battery rack 30, sealing for water tightness is provided bybattery door 36, and there is no need to provide any additional sealing, such as would be the case if connection to USB port 41 were provided on the outer case of instrument 1. -
FIG. 5 shows the construction of ascreen support assembly 50 for instrument 1. The function ofscreen support assembly 50 is to provide adequate support for ascreen 54 which has only four small tapped holes 56 a, 56 b, 56 c and 56 d (holes 56 b, 56 c and 56 d are not shown) provided for attachment. A one-piece support forscreen 54 is inadequate because of the manufacturing tolerances ofscreen 54, particularly in the horizontal direction. As a result of the tolerances, a single support plate would have to be made oversize. However, four small screws matched to the tapped holes cannot exert enough force to compress an oversize single support plate. - As shown in
FIG. 5 ,screen support assembly 50 provides support forscreen 54 using twoparts screen 54.Parts Part 52 a is fixed with two flat head screws throughholes 57 a and 57 b into tapped holes 56 a and 56 b inscreen 54.Part 52 b is fixed with two flat head screws through holes 57 c and 57 d (not shown) into tapped holes 56 c and 56 d inscreen 54.Part 52 b is then located on the plastic enclosure of instrument 1 with location pins.Parts holes part 52 a and slottedholes part 52 b. The slotted holes ensure that wide manufacturing tolerances ofscreen 54 will not preventparts parts screen 54. -
FIG. 6 shows electronic components 60 for instrument 1, comprising a representativefirst circuit board 64 a and a representativesecond circuit board 64 b, and featuring board clips 62 a, 62 b, 62 c and 62 d.Boards boards boards plastic clips boards boards boards -
FIG. 7 shows a hoard stack andheatsink assembly 70 for instrument 1,assembly 70 comprising aheatsink 72,representative boards intermediate circuit board 76 stacked onboard 64 b. Ifheatsink 72 were only mounted onboard 64 a then there would be no mechanism for dissipation of heat generated by electronic components onboard 76. This is representative of a general problem that some boards of any board stack are not directly in contact with the heat sink for heat dissipation. The problem is mitigated in board stack andheatsink assembly 70 by creating anaperture 74 onboard 64 a, and configuringheatsink 72 with aprotrusion 78 which protrudes throughaperture 74, thereby allowing direct thermal contact betweenboard 76 andheat sink 72. With this arrangement, heat can be efficiently extracted from all hoards in the hoard stack. -
FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a method of making connection to the boards of instrument 1 for the purpose of testing or re-programming electronic components. The necessary connections to the boards are made by means of a JTAG (Joint Test Action Group)connector 80. Instrument 1 incorporates multiple boards with electronic components 60 (seeFIG. 6 ), some or all of which may require testing or re-programming. It is desirable to provide electrical connectivity to testable or re-programmable components without needing to open the enclosure of instrument 1, and without the need for an unsightly external connector which is visible to the user.JTAG connector 80, preferably comprised of a printed circuit board with flat conductive contact traces, is configured to be inserted into a connector cavity in an interior surface ofbattery rack 30 for the purpose of providing connections to test or re-program components. WhenJTAG connector 80 is inserted insidebattery rack 30, the contact traces are flush with the base ofpart 34 a ofbattery rack 30.JTAG connector 80 then remains permanently in position in the connector cavity. - The casing of instrument 1 incorporates a battery cavity into which a
battery 92 is inserted during normal operation of instrument 1 (seeFIG. 8C ). When re-programming or testing is required,battery 92 is replaced with anexchangeable re-programming module 82 which has substantially the same shape asbattery 92 and can be inserted inside the battery cavity ofbattery rack 30 in place ofbattery 92. Oncere-programming module 82 is inserted intobattery rack 30, aspring pin connector 83 on the underside ofre-programming module 82 makes electrical contact with the flat traces onJTAG connector 80, and the connections are transferred to anexternal cable connector 84.Cable connector 84 has cable contacts for a flat ribbon computer cable (not shown), each of the cable contacts being electrically connected to a corresponding one of the contacts ofspring pin connector 83. The flat ribbon cable is connected to a computer (not shown) configured to perform the testing or re-programming. - Thus, when re-programming
module 82 is inserted into the connector assembly, the computer cable is connected tocable connector 84 at a first computer cable end and to a computer at a second computer cable end. - The electronic components comprise re-programmable and/or testable electronic components and the computer is configured to re-program and/or test the electronic components.
- The electronic components are configured to control the emission of non-destructive testing energy and to receive and process response signals of the energy emission.
- The electronic components may be configured to have at least one ultrasonic acquisition unit. Alternatively, for non-destructive eddy current testing, the electronic components may comprise at least one eddy current controller unit. For the purpose of an X-ray analytical instrument, the electronic components may be configured to comprise an X-ray detector pulse acquisition unit and a signal processor for processing X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectra.
- Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, it can be appreciated that various designs can be conceived based on the teachings of the present disclosure, and all are within the scope of the present disclosure.
Claims (10)
Priority Applications (1)
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US17/113,517 US20210088481A1 (en) | 2017-06-22 | 2020-12-07 | Portable phased array test instrument |
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US201762523339P | 2017-06-22 | 2017-06-22 | |
US16/012,361 US10890565B2 (en) | 2017-06-22 | 2018-06-19 | Portable phased array test instrument |
US17/113,517 US20210088481A1 (en) | 2017-06-22 | 2020-12-07 | Portable phased array test instrument |
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US10890565B2 (en) | 2017-06-22 | 2021-01-12 | Olympus America Inc. | Portable phased array test instrument |
US11495881B1 (en) | 2018-12-10 | 2022-11-08 | Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. | Antenna system with integrated electromagnetic interference shielded heat sink |
US11686710B2 (en) * | 2020-03-31 | 2023-06-27 | Evident Canada, Inc. | Longitudinal and circumferential ultrasound scanner |
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US10890565B2 (en) | 2017-06-22 | 2021-01-12 | Olympus America Inc. | Portable phased array test instrument |
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US10890565B2 (en) | 2021-01-12 |
CN109115890A (en) | 2019-01-01 |
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