Ultrasonic phased array transducer device with two-dimensional hinge array structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11536699-B2
Application number	US-202017079427-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 24, 2020
Priority date	Apr 24, 2020
Publication date	Dec 27, 2022
Grant date	Dec 27, 2022

Abstract

An ultrasonic phased array transducer device with a two-dimensional hinge array structure belongs to equipment in the technical field of ultrasonic detection. A connecting rod is fixedly connected to a fixed support and a two-dimensional hinge array respectively. Voice coil motors are symmetrically arranged in a shape of the British “Union Jack” with the connecting rod as a center, and are fixedly connected to the fixed support. Force output rods are respectively connected to voice coil motor coils and the upper surfaces of array units. Piezoelectric array elements are fixedly connected to the lower surfaces of all the array units. The numbers of the voice coil motors and the force output rods are 2N (N=4, 8, 12, 16, 20), the number of the piezoelectric array elements is 2N+1, and different N values are selected according to the sizes of workpieces to be detected. In the disclosure, by adjusting the current of each voice coil motor coil, the corresponding force output rod generates displacement to drive the two-dimensional hinge array unit to generate displacement, so as to push out and retract the hinge array unit and the piezoelectric array element fixedly connected below and drive the two-dimensional hinge array to generate deformation, so that the piezoelectric array elements fully fit with the surface of the workpiece to be detected. The disclosure can be applied to detection of the workpieces to be detected with flat surfaces, curved surfaces or spherical surfaces.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic phased array transducer device, comprising
a support base with arms radially extending from a center position of the support base,
voice coil motors, and
a two-dimensional hinge array with piezoelectric array elements,
wherein the arms are rotationally symmetrical with respect to the center position;
wherein the voice coil motors are connected to the arms;
wherein each of the voice coil motors comprises a force output rod and a coil, one end of the force output rod is connected to the coil, and the other end of the force output rod is connected to a first surface of the two-dimensional hinge array;
wherein the piezoelectric array elements are connected to a second surface of the two-dimensional hinge array, opposite from the first surface;
wherein the voice coil motors are configured to individually displace the force output rods, thereby deforming the two-dimensional hinge array and engaging the piezoelectric array elements with a surface of a workpiece.

2. The ultrasonic phased array transducer device of claim 1 , further comprising a connecting rod, wherein one end of the connecting rod is connected to and extends axially from the center position of the support base, and the other end of the connecting rod is connected to the two-dimensional hinge array.

Assignees

• Harbin Inst Technology

Inventors

• Shi Weijia
• Wang Bingquan
• Zhao Bo
• Tan Jiubin

Classifications

• G01N29/262 Primary

  by electronic orientation or focusing, e.g. with phased arrays (phased arrays per se G10K11/34) · CPC title

• G01N29/2487

  Directing probes, e.g. angle probes (directing arrangements G01N29/221) · CPC title

• B06B1/0622

  on one surface · CPC title

• G01N2291/106

  one or more transducer arrays · CPC title

• G10K11/346

  using phase variation · CPC title