Suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing bracket

Abstract

The invention discloses a suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame, comprising a mandibular angle frame, an angle measuring frame, a position corrector, a snap lock base and an snap lock linkage shaft; two mandibular angle frames with holes and slots are symmetrically fixed on the top ends of corresponding angle measuring frames; the two angle measuring frames are respectively fixed on both sides of the snap lock base, and the opening of the snap lock base is closed by the snap lock linkage shaft; the invention can better ensure that a relatively unchanged distance is maintained between the mandible of the wearer and the ultrasonic scanning probe to improve stability; at the same time, the wearer can adjust the angle of the ultrasonic scanning probe as needed to provide a quantitative basis for studying the influence of the inclination angle on the experiment; the mandibular angle frame can help the wearer minimize the experimental interference caused by the tongue movement compensation mechanism caused by excessive squeezing of the mandible by the device; the position corrector can automatically adjust the fixed position of the ultrasonic scanning probe to reduce the adverse influence of human intervention on the imaging result of the ultrasonic probe.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging of tongue movement in the study of pronunciation mechanism, in particular to a suspended self-adjusting ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame. Background Art

[0002] The pronunciation system of speech includes aspects such as tuning and phonation. Among them, tuning is used to represent the sound produced by the combination of organs such as tongue, palate, lips, and teeth in the mouth. With the continuous development of computer vision technology, researchers hope to provide more sufficient visual feedback for the study of pronunciation mechanism through a visualization method.

[0003] Usually, researchers use ultrasound imaging technology (i.e., holding the imaging probe against the mandible) to study the changes in the tongue movement trajectory during pronunciation and the correlation between the various tissues related to it. However, due to environmental factors, the scanning probe often sinks (coronal plane), rotates (cross-section plane) and tilts (mid-sagittal plane), which leads to errors in trajectory imaging (including deformation of the tongue movement trajectory and dislocation of the imaging contour). In order to minimize the above errors, the Euclidean distance between the lip edge of the speaker and the edge of the table (where the audio collection device is deployed) and the Euclidean distance between the ultrasound scanning probe and the edge of the table should remain unchanged relative to each other. At the same time, the gelatin part (ultrasound beam transmitter) at the upper end of the ultrasound scanning probe should be aligned with the central axis of the face and the imaging plane should always coincide with the mid-sagittal plane of the head.

[0004] A common method for stabilizing head detection is that researchers collect data by placing the head on a fixed backrest or bracket, placing the ultrasound imaging probe on a bracket directly below the mandible, and placing the microphone on a microphone bracket directly in front. Although the above method can reduce errors to a certain extent. However, the resulting problems of poor comfort, low flexibility, and large equipment footprint still make it difficult for users to cooperate with experimental data collection activities for a long time. At the same time, as the research deepens, researchers hope to ensure that the relative distance between the wearer's mandible and the ultrasound scanning probe remains unchanged, while also hoping to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze and study the degree of influence of changes in the scanning inclination angle on the ultrasound imaging results, thereby providing more sufficient visual feedback for in-depth research on the pronunciation mechanism. In addition, in terms of the method of fixing the ultrasound probe, researchers hope to minimize the adverse effects of human intervention on the ultrasound probe imaging results (including: virtual images and artifacts) and the interference of the results caused by the tongue movement compensation mechanism caused by excessive compression of the mandible when worn. In order to solve the above problems, the present application proposes a suspended self-adjustable ultrasound scanning probe fixing frame Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned technical deficiencies, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame, which can better ensure that the wearer's mandible and the ultrasonic scanning probe maintain a relatively unchanged distance during the speaker's pronunciation process to improve stability; at the same time, the wearer can adjust the angle of the ultrasonic scanning probe as needed to provide a quantitative basis for studying the influence of the inclination angle on the experiment; secondly, the mandibular angle frame can help the wearer minimize the interference of the experimental results caused by the tongue movement compensation mechanism caused by excessive squeezing of the mandible by the device; in addition, the position corrector can automatically adjust the fixed position of the ultrasonic scanning probe to reduce the adverse effects of human intervention on the ultrasonic probe imaging results (including: virtual images and artifacts); the above series of designs can help researchers obtain data information that is more in line with pronunciation habits and more realistic.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] The suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame is characterized in that it comprises a mandibular angle frame, an angle measuring frame, a position corrector, a buckle lock base and a buckle lock linkage shaft; two mandibular angle frames with holes and slots are symmetrically fixed on the top of the corresponding angle measuring frames; the two angle measuring frames are respectively fixed on both sides of the buckle lock base, and the opening of the buckle lock base is closed by the buckle lock linkage shaft; the two position correctors are symmetrically arranged on the buckle lock base, and are connected to the bottom ends of the two angle measuring frames in a one-to-one correspondence; the two mandibular angle frames are respectively arranged on the tops of the two angle measuring frames, and are symmetrical;

[0008] Preferably, the angle measuring bracket comprises an upper shell of the angle measuring bracket, an angle measuring bracket connecting piece, an angle measuring gear, an angle measuring gear shaft hole, a support spring, a spring fixing column, a spring blocking piece, a lock buckle and a spring limiting block; the lock buckle is arranged in the bottom end of the upper shell of the angle measuring bracket, a spring blocking piece is fixed at the tail end of the lock buckle, a spring fixing column is fixed at the middle position of the top of the spring blocking piece, the support spring is located between the elastic blocking piece and the top surface of the upper shell of the angle measuring bracket, and the bottom end of the support spring and the spring fixing column are fixedly connected; the bottom end of the lock buckle is located between two spring limiting blocks, and the two spring limiting blocks are respectively fixed on the two inner side surfaces of the bottom of the upper shell of the angle measuring bracket; the angle measuring gear is provided with an angle measuring gear shaft hole, the outer side of the upper shell of the angle measuring bracket is provided with an angle measuring bracket connecting piece, and the angle measuring bracket connecting piece is connected with the angle measuring gear shaft hole of the angle measuring gear through the gear shaft;

[0009] Preferably, the positioner comprises a positioner branch, a pull-back column, a positioner limit block, a positioner stop plate, a compression spring and a positioner shell; a positioner branch is fixed to the upper end of the pull-back column, and a positioner stop plate is fixed to the lower end of the pull-back column and is placed in the positioner shell; the positioner stop plate is located between two positioner limit blocks, and the two positioner limit blocks are respectively fixed on the two inner side surfaces of the top of the positioner shell; the compression spring is located between the positioner stop plate and the inner bottom surface of the positioner shell, and the two ends of the compression spring are respectively connected to the positioner stop plate and the inner bottom surface of the positioner shell.

[0010] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: it can better ensure that a relatively unchanged distance is maintained between the mandible of the wearer and the ultrasonic scanning probe to improve stability; at the same time, the wearer can adjust the angle of the ultrasonic scanning probe as needed to provide a quantitative basis for studying the influence of the inclination angle on the experiment; secondly, the mandibular angle frame can help the wearer minimize the interference of the experimental results caused by the tongue movement compensation mechanism caused by excessive squeezing of the mandible by the device; in addition, the position corrector can automatically adjust the fixed position of the ultrasonic scanning probe to reduce the adverse effects of human intervention on the imaging results of the ultrasonic probe (including: virtual images and artifacts); the above series of designs can help researchers obtain data that is more in line with pronunciation habits and more realistic. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0012] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame provided by the present invention;

[0013] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the external structure of the angle-protracting bracket of the suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame provided by the present invention;

[0014] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the internal structure of the angle-protracting bracket of the suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing bracket provided by the present invention;

[0015] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the internal structure of the position corrector of the suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame provided by the present invention;

[0016] Explanation of the reference numerals in the accompanying drawings: chin angle frame 1, angle measuring bracket 2, position corrector 3, buckle lock base 4, buckle lock linkage shaft 5, upper shell of angle measuring bracket 6, angle measuring bracket connecting piece 7, angle measuring gear 8, angle measuring gear shaft hole 9, support spring 10, spring fixing column 11, spring stop plate 12, lock 13, spring limit block 14, position corrector branch 15, pullback column 16, position corrector limit block 17, position corrector spring stop plate 18, compression spring 19, position corrector shell 20. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] like Figure 1-Figure 4 As shown, the suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame includes a mandibular angle frame 1, an angle measuring frame 2, a position corrector 3, an opening and locking base 4 and an opening and locking linkage shaft 5; two mandibular angle frames 1 with holes and slots are symmetrically fixed on the top of the corresponding angle measuring frames 2; the two angle measuring frames 2 are respectively fixed on both sides of the opening and locking base 4, the opening of the opening and locking base 4 is closed by the opening and locking linkage shaft 5, and the opening and locking base 4 can be opened or closed by the opening and locking linkage shaft 5; the two position correctors 3 are symmetrically arranged on the opening and locking base 4, and are connected to the bottom ends of the two angle measuring frames 2 in a one-to-one correspondence; the two mandibular angle frames are respectively arranged on the top of the two angle measuring frames 2, and are symmetrical;

[0019] Furthermore, the angle measuring bracket 2 includes an upper shell 6 of the angle measuring bracket, a connecting piece 7 of the angle measuring bracket, an angle measuring gear 8, an axial hole 9 of the angle measuring gear, a supporting spring 10, a spring fixing column 11, a spring blocking piece 12, a locking buckle 13 and a spring limiting block 14; the locking buckle 13 is arranged in the bottom end of the upper shell 6 of the angle measuring bracket, the tail end of the locking buckle is fixed with a spring blocking piece 12, a spring fixing column 11 is fixed at the middle position of the top of the spring blocking piece 12, the supporting spring 10 is located between the elastic blocking piece and the angle measuring bracket, and the locking buckle 13 is arranged at the bottom end of the upper shell 6 of the angle measuring bracket, and the spring blocking piece 12 is fixed with a spring fixing column 11 at the middle position of the top of the spring blocking piece 12. The bottom end of the support spring 10 is fixedly connected to the spring fixing column 11 between the inner top surfaces of the upper end shell 6 of the angle measuring bracket; the bottom end of the lock buckle 13 is located between the two spring limit blocks 14, and the two spring limit blocks 14 are respectively fixedly placed on the two inner side surfaces of the bottom of the upper end shell 6 of the angle measuring bracket; the angle measuring gear 8 is provided with an angle measuring gear shaft hole 9, and the outer side of the upper end shell 6 of the angle measuring bracket is provided with an angle measuring bracket connecting piece 7, and the angle measuring bracket connecting piece 7 is connected to the angle measuring gear shaft hole 9 of the angle measuring gear 8 through the gear shaft;

[0020] Furthermore, the positioner 3 includes a positioner branch 15, a pull-back column 16, a positioner limit block 17, a positioner 3 stop plate, a compression spring 19 and a positioner shell 20; the positioner branch 15 is fixed to the upper end of the pull-back column 16, and the positioner 3 stop plate is fixed to the lower end of the pull-back column 16, and is placed in the positioner shell 20; the positioner 3 stop plate is located between two positioner limit blocks 17, and the two positioner limit blocks 17 are respectively fixed on the two inner side surfaces of the top of the positioner shell 20; the compression spring 19 is located between the positioner 3 stop plate and the inner bottom surface of the positioner shell 20, and the two ends of the compression spring 19 are respectively connected to the positioner 3 stop plate and the inner bottom surface of the positioner shell 20.

[0021] When in use, the user fixes the ultrasound scanning probe bracket on the mandible of the head, passes the headband through the hole on the mandibular angle frame 1, and suspends the ultrasound scanning bracket as a whole just below the mandible. The mandibular angle frame 1 is used to ensure that the ultrasound detection bracket is located just below the mandible by ensuring the vertical angle with the mandibular angles on both sides of the head; the data collection direction of the ultrasound scanning probe is changed by rotating the upper end shell of the angle-proportional bracket 2; the positioner 3 is used to ensure that the fixed ultrasound probe is always located on the median line of the ultrasound scanning bracket; and the user can use it to install and remove the ultrasound scanning probe by rotating the buckle lock linkage shaft 5;

[0022] The mandibular angle bracket 1 can ensure that the entire ultrasonic scanning bracket is suspended directly below the central axis of the mandible (vertically), thereby ensuring that the relative distance between the wearer's mandible and the ultrasonic scanning probe will not change due to long-term data collection activities. At the same time, the mandibular foot bracket allows the device to give an upward mandibular angle position to the head, avoiding excessive squeezing of the tongue in the mandible, thereby reducing experimental interference caused by the movement compensation mechanism of the tongue;

[0023] The angle-protracting bracket 2 can help the wearer adjust the ultrasonic scanning angle (mid-sagittal plane). When the wearer adjusts the angle, the angle-protracting gear 8 causes the lock buckle 13 to move upward (vertically) along the track left by the two spring limit blocks 14, and the support spring 10 connected to the spring fixing column 11 contracts. At this time, the lock buckle 13 is subjected to an upward thrust (vertically). When the angle adjustment is completed, the support spring 10 returns to its original state, causing the lock buckle 13 to move downward (vertically), and when the spring blocking piece 12 is blocked by the spring limit block 14, it stops moving, and finally locks the lock buckle 13, thereby completing an angle adjustment;

[0024] The positioner 3 autonomously adjusts the position of the ultrasonic probe in the bracket on the central axis through the balancing force. When the user places the ultrasonic scanning probe between the positioner branches 15, the ultrasonic scanning probe will cause the support column connected to the positioner branch 15 to move in the opposite direction along the track left between the two positioner limit blocks 17, and the compression spring 19 connected to the support column will shrink. At this time, the positioner branch 15 is subjected to a thrust toward the vector angle bracket 2. When the fixation is completed, the compression spring 19 will cause the positioner branch 15 to move in the opposite direction to the angle bracket 2 in order to restore the original shape. When the stop plate of the positioner 3 is blocked by the positioner limit block 17, it stops moving and finally locks the balance position of the positioner branch 15. This allows the ultrasonic scanning probe to always be in a balanced position on the central axis.

[0025] The ultrasound probe bracket with the mandibular angle frame 1 structure can be always suspended at a fixed position directly below the central axis of the wearer's mandible (in the vertical direction) by fixing the mandibular angle. The mandibular foot frame allows the device to give an upward mandibular angle position to the head, avoiding excessive squeezing of the tongue in the mandible, thereby reducing experimental interference caused by the movement compensation mechanism of the tongue;

[0026] The imaging scanning angle of the ultrasonic scanning probe installed in the positioner 3 can be adjusted by rotating the upper shell 6 of the protractor bracket. When adjusting, hold the upper shell 6 of the protractor bracket and the protractor gear 8 with both hands respectively, and rotate and adjust (clockwise or counterclockwise) according to the desired scanning angle. The upper shell 6 of the protractor bracket relies on the protractor bracket connector 7 as a support to rotate around the axis installed in the protractor gear shaft hole 9 to adjust the angle. After the adjustment is completed, the user can fix it to the new angle by letting go;

[0027] The ultrasonic scanning probe can be installed in the positioner 3 with the positioner twigs 15 by squeezing. During installation, the user opens the buckle lock base 4 and places the conventional ultrasonic scanning probe in the two positioners 3 with the positioner twigs 15. After installation, the user closes the buckle lock base 4 and clamps the positioner twigs 15 connected by the support columns in the positioners 3 on both sides inward, thereby ensuring that the ultrasonic scanning probe is always located at the central axis position of the ultrasonic scanning probe bracket.

[0028] The design of the present invention can play a certain degree of limiting role in the imaging position of the wearer's head during the process of ensuring the acquisition of ultrasonic imaging data, that is, ensuring that a relatively constant distance between the wearer's mandible and the ultrasonic scanning probe can be maintained to improve stability. The wearer can adjust the angle of the ultrasonic scanning probe as needed to provide a quantitative basis for studying the influence of the inclination angle on the experiment. Secondly, the mandibular angle frame 1 can help the wearer minimize the interference of the experimental results caused by the tongue movement compensation mechanism caused by excessive squeezing of the mandible by the device. In addition, the positioner 3 can automatically adjust the fixed position of the ultrasonic scanning probe to reduce the adverse effects of human intervention on the imaging results of the ultrasonic probe (including: virtual images and artifacts). The above series of designs can help researchers obtain data information that is more in line with pronunciation habits and more realistic; at the same time, long-term data acquisition can provide long-term, stable and effective data source information for subsequent data analysis and model building.

[0029] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A suspended self-adjustable ultrasonic scanning probe fixing frame, characterized in that: It includes a mandibular angle frame, an angle measuring bracket, a position corrector, a buckle lock base and a buckle lock linkage shaft; two mandibular angle frames with holes and slots are symmetrically fixed on the top of the corresponding angle measuring brackets; the two angle measuring brackets are respectively fixed on both sides of the buckle lock base, and the opening of the buckle lock base is closed by the buckle lock linkage shaft; the two position correctors are symmetrically arranged on the buckle lock base and are connected to the bottom ends of the two angle measuring brackets one by one; the two mandibular angle frames are respectively arranged on the top of the two angle measuring brackets, and are relatively symmetrical; the angle measuring bracket includes an upper shell of the angle measuring bracket, an angle measuring bracket connecting piece, an angle measuring gear, an angle measuring gear shaft hole, a support spring, a spring fixing column, a spring blocking piece, a lock buckle and a spring limit block; the lock buckle is arranged in the bottom end of the upper shell of the angle measuring bracket, a spring blocking piece is fixed at the tail end of the lock buckle, a spring fixing column is fixed at the middle position of the top of the spring blocking piece, the support spring is located between the elastic blocking piece and the top surface of the upper shell of the angle measuring bracket, and the support The bottom end of the spring is fixedly connected to the spring fixing column; the bottom end of the lock buckle is located between the two spring limit blocks, and the two spring limit blocks are respectively fixed on the two inner side surfaces of the bottom of the upper end shell of the protractor bracket; the protractor gear is provided with a protractor gear shaft hole, and the outer side of the upper end shell of the protractor bracket is provided with a protractor bracket connecting piece, and the protractor bracket connecting piece is connected to the protractor gear shaft hole of the protractor gear through the gear shaft; the corrector includes a corrector branch, a pull-back column, a corrector limit block, A position corrector block, a compression spring and a position corrector shell; a position corrector branch is fixed to the upper end of the pull-back column, and a position corrector block is fixed to the lower end of the pull-back column and is placed in the position corrector shell; the position corrector block is located between two position corrector limit blocks, and the two position corrector limit blocks are respectively fixed on the two inner side surfaces of the top of the position corrector shell; the compression spring is located between the position corrector block and the inner bottom surface of the position corrector shell, and the two ends of the compression spring are respectively connected to the position corrector block and the inner bottom surface of the position corrector shell.

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