Ultrasound transducer testing apparatus, method and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application disclose an ultrasonic transducer testing device, an ultrasonic transducer testing method and a computer readable storage medium. The ultrasonic transducer testing device comprises a clamping device, a testing container and a processing unit. The clamping device comprises a connecting mechanism and a moving mechanism; the transducer is arranged on the connecting mechanism, the connecting mechanism is electrically connected with the transducer to realize excitation and reception of the ultrasonic transducer; the connecting mechanism is arranged on the moving mechanism, and the moving mechanism is used to drive the transducer to move automatically; the testing container is used to accommodate the transducer and coupling liquid to realize testing; and the processing unit is electrically connected with the clamping device and the transducer through the connecting mechanism. The processing unit controls the transducer to move in the testing container according to a preset method, collects echo information of the transducer in the testing container, and completes detection. Therefore, whether the transducer array element foot position mark of the ultrasonic transducer is wrong can be quickly determined.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of ultrasonic detection, and particularly relates to an ultrasonic transducer testing device, an ultrasonic transducer testing method and a computer readable storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] Ultrasound is the current mainstream clinical imaging technology, which has the characteristics of no radiation and low cost. The ultrasonic transducer is an essential key part of an ultrasonic diagnostic instrument, which has the functions of ultrasonic emission and reception. The ultrasonic transducer array element is a plurality of channels cut in the ultrasonic transducer, which can be excited by an electronic system according to certain rules and time sequences, so as to realize the emission and reception of ultrasonic waves. The arrangement mode, quantity, shape and size of the ultrasonic transducer array element will affect the acoustic field characteristics of the ultrasonic waves, and further affect the performance and function of the ultrasonic diagnostic instrument.

[0003] If the working state of the ultrasonic transducer array element is abnormal or the pin mark of the ultrasonic transducer array element is wrong, when the ultrasonic host is connected, the imaging quality may be affected, or even the imaging may be failed. Moreover, after the transducer is packaged and connected to the host, it is time-consuming and laborious to disassemble the transducer. How to more simply test whether the transducer array element pin mark of the transducer is wrong is a technical problem to be solved by the person skilled in the art.

[0004] The foregoing narrative is to provide general background information and does not necessarily constitute the prior art. SUMMARY

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to propose an ultrasonic transducer testing device, an ultrasonic transducer testing method and a computer readable storage medium, which can more simply test whether the transducer works normally and whether the transducer array element pin mark of the transducer is wrong.

[0006] The technical problem of the application is solved by the following technical scheme:

[0007] The application provides an ultrasonic transducer testing device, which comprises a clamping device for fixing and moving the transducer, the clamping device comprising a connecting mechanism and a moving mechanism; the transducer is arranged on the connecting mechanism, and the connecting mechanism controls the transducer through electrical connection; the connecting mechanism is arranged on the moving mechanism, and the moving mechanism is used for moving the transducer; a testing container is used for containing the transducer and a coupling liquid to realize testing; the testing container comprises a containing groove and a reflector; the containing groove is the main body of the testing container, the reflector is arranged in the containing groove, and the coupling liquid fills the containing groove; a processing unit is electrically connected with the clamping device and the transducer through the connecting mechanism; the transducer comprises a plurality of transducer elements, the transducer elements are used for emitting ultrasonic waves when activated and collecting echo information formed after the ultrasonic waves meet the reflector and are reflected back; the processing unit is used for activating the transducer elements during testing, controlling the emitting surface of the transducer to face the reflector through the clamping device, and controlling the transducer to move in the testing container according to a preset track; the processing unit acquires and processes the echo information fed back by the transducer elements during the movement of the transducer, so as to realize detection of the transducer.

[0008] In an optional embodiment of the application, the clamping device further comprises a degree-of-freedom adjusting mechanism; the connecting mechanism is connected with the moving mechanism through the degree-of-freedom adjusting mechanism, and the degree-of-freedom adjusting mechanism is used for adjusting the orientation and / or angle of the transducer according to the control of the processing unit, so that the beam emitted by the transducer elements is perpendicular to the reflector during the movement of the transducer.

[0009] In an optional embodiment of the application, the working surface of the reflector is perpendicular to the acoustic axis of the transducer, and the working surface is the surface of the reflector facing the transducer; the setting parameters of the reflector are determined according to the acoustic wave index emitted by the transducer, and the setting parameters include at least one of the relative distance between the transducer and the reflector, the surface thickness, the lateral dimension, the parallelism of the working surface and the roughness of the working surface; the height of the reflector is higher than the height of the transducer and lower than the height of the containing groove.

[0010] In an optional embodiment of the application, the height of the coupling agent injected into the containing groove is consistent with the height of the reflector; when the transducer starts testing, it is placed in the containing groove, and the coupling agent completely immerses the transducer.

[0011] In an optional embodiment of the application, the processing unit comprises an oscilloscope, which is used for collecting and processing the echo information to display; the working state of each channel of the transducer can be determined by observing the pulse wave.

[0012] The application further provides an ultrasonic transducer testing method applied to the ultrasonic transducer testing device provided above, and the ultrasonic transducer testing method comprises the following steps: performing a correction operation on the ultrasonic transducer testing device, so that the ultrasonic transducer testing device is ready to start testing; obtaining device information of the transducer through the connecting mechanism, determining a moving track according to the device information, and the device information is used to represent the transducer array elements of the transducer; controlling the moving mechanism to move according to the moving track, and obtaining echo information generated by the transducer in the moving process through the connecting mechanism; generating a detection report according to the echo information and outputting the detection report, and the detection report is used to represent the working state of the transducer.

[0013] In an optional embodiment of the application, the control of the ultrasonic transducer testing device to perform the correction operation comprises: cleaning the working surface of the transducer and the reflector, and the working surface is the surface of the reflector facing the transducer; the ultrasonic transducer testing device further comprises a degree of freedom adjusting mechanism, and the connecting mechanism is connected with the moving mechanism through the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism; the ultrasonic transducer testing device adjusts the position and / or angle of the transducer by controlling the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism, so that the acoustic axis of the transducer is perpendicular to the working surface; the transducer is placed into the containing groove by controlling the moving mechanism, and the position of the transducer is adjusted, so that the reflector is located at the maximum sound intensity point in the sound beam of the transducer, and the maximum sound intensity point is determined according to the device information; the coupling agent is injected into the containing groove, so that the height of the coupling agent is consistent with the height of the reflector, and the coupling agent immerses the transducer; when it is determined that there is no interference element in the coupling agent, it is determined that the correction operation is completed, and the interference element comprises at least one of the following: gas bubble impurities, suspended particles, liquid flow, and liquid temperature change.

[0014] In an optional embodiment of the application, the device information of the transducer is obtained through the connecting mechanism, and the moving track is determined according to the device information, which comprises: determining the transducer array element position and the transducer shape according to the device information; generating the moving track according to the transducer array element position and the transducer shape, and the moving track comprises a moving route and a moving direction; the moving route is used to control the moving mechanism, so as to ensure that each transducer array element will pass through the liquid surface of the coupling agent at least twice in different directions in the moving process; and the moving direction is used to control the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism, so as to ensure that the acoustic axis of the transducer array element is perpendicular to the reflector when the transducer array element passes through the liquid surface of the coupling agent.

[0015] In an optional embodiment of the application, the detection report is generated according to the echo information and outputted, which comprises: determining the number of echoes of the transducer array elements of the transducer when passing through the liquid surface of the coupling agent according to the echo information; determining the number of array elements located below the liquid surface of the coupling agent when the transducer passes through the coupling agent according to the moving track and the device information; when the number of echoes and the number of array elements are not equal, it is determined that there is a transducer array element foot position marking error in the transducer array elements located on the liquid surface of the coupling agent; and all the number of echoes and the number of array elements are traversed to generate the detection report.

[0016] The application also provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program realizes the method as described above when executed by a processor.

[0017] The application has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] The application uses the transducer to form echo information by crossing coupling agents, and determines whether the transducer array element on the transducer has a transducer array element foot position marker error, so that the device can check whether the array element foot position marker is incorrect in a simpler way before being connected to an ultrasonic host, and can check the specific error array element.

[0019] The above description is only a summary of the technical solutions of the application. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the application, the following preferred embodiments are described in detail in combination with the drawings, and the above and other purposes, characteristics and advantages of the application can be more obvious and easy to understand. It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and cannot limit the application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings according to these drawings without creative labor.

[0021] Among them:

[0022] Figure 1 A first structural schematic diagram of an ultrasonic transducer testing device provided by an embodiment;

[0023] Figure 2 A second structural schematic diagram of an ultrasonic transducer testing device provided by an embodiment;

[0024] Figure 3 A structural schematic block diagram of a processing unit provided by an embodiment

[0025] Figure 4 A flowchart of an ultrasonic transducer testing method provided by an embodiment;

[0026] Figure 5 A first angle setting schematic diagram of a convex linear array probe transducer provided by an embodiment;

[0027] Figure 6FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a convex linear array probe transducer at a second angle in relation to a reflector from a top view, according to an embodiment;

[0028] Figure 7 FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a second angle setting of a convex linear array probe transducer, according to an embodiment;

[0029] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a convex linear array probe transducer at a first angle in relation to a reflector from a top view, according to an embodiment;

[0030] Figure 9 FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a linear array probe transducer, according to an embodiment;

[0031] Figure 10 FIG. 10 is a first state diagram of an ultrasonic transducer testing device when a linear array probe transducer starts a test, according to an embodiment;

[0032] Figure 11 FIG. 11 is a second state diagram of an ultrasonic transducer testing device when a linear array probe transducer is in a test, according to an embodiment;

[0033] Figure 12 FIG. 12 is a schematic view of various transducers, according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0035] Currently, conventional ultrasonic transducer testing devices can only use a pulse echo testing system to test whether a transducer has a bad channel. Or other methods, such as connecting the transducer and the host computer, tilting the reflector in the water tank at a certain angle, and observing whether the received reflection points are on the same straight line. However, the prior art cannot accurately check the element position mark error. Therefore, the present application provides an ultrasonic transducer testing device. In order to clearly describe the ultrasonic transducer testing device provided by the present embodiment, please refer to Figures 1-3 .

[0036] For the ultrasonic transducer testing device provided by the present application, the structure schematic diagram of each component and the connection relationship can be referred to Figure 1 . As shown in Figure 1 , the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 comprises a clamping device 110, a test container 120 and a processing unit 130.

[0037] The clamping device 110 is used to fix and move the transducer 140, which can be an ultrasonic transducer to be tested. The transducer 140 includes a plurality of transducer elements 141, which are used to emit ultrasonic waves when activated and collect echo information reflected back after the ultrasonic waves encounter a reflector. Specifically, the clamping device 110 includes a connecting mechanism 111 and a moving mechanism 112. The transducer 140 is arranged on the connecting mechanism 111, and the fixing component of the connecting mechanism 111 is used to fix the transducer 140. The fixing component can include, but is not limited to, a screw, a clamp, a buckle, a magnet, a magic tape, a suction cup, etc., as long as it can fix the transducer 140 in a certain way. Further, the connecting mechanism 111 also includes a connecting component, which is used to realize the electrical connection between the processing unit 130 and the transducer 140. In a wired manner, the transducer 140 can be connected through a USB interface to realize the control of the processing unit 130 on the transducer 140. In other embodiments, the connecting component can also realize the electrical connection between the processing unit 130 and the transducer 140 in a wireless connection manner.

[0038] Further, the connecting mechanism 111 is arranged on the moving mechanism 112, and the moving mechanism 112 is a mechanical device for moving the connecting mechanism 111 and the transducer 140. In a preferred embodiment, the moving mechanism 112 can realize vertical movement. The moving mechanism 112 is also connected with the processing unit 130 and controlled by the processing unit 130 to move according to a predetermined trajectory. The specific moving process will be described in detail below.

[0039] In an embodiment, the clamping device 110 also includes a degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113. The connecting mechanism 111 is connected with the moving mechanism 112 through the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113. The degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113 is used to adjust the orientation and / or angle of the transducer 140 according to the control of the processing unit 130, so that the sound axis of the transducer element 141 of the transducer 140 is perpendicular to the reflector 122 when the transducer element 141 passes through the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123 during the movement of the transducer 140.

[0040] In an embodiment, the connection relationship of the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113 in the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 can be specifically referred to Figure 2 . For example Figure 2As shown, the connecting mechanism 111 is arranged on the degree-of-freedom adjusting mechanism 113, which is in turn arranged on the moving mechanism 112. The degree-of-freedom adjusting mechanism 113 is also electrically connected with the processing unit 130 and is controlled by the processing unit 130, so that it can rotate, twist, etc. according to the control to adjust the orientation and / or angle of the transducer 140. It can be understood that the present application completes the test according to the echo information formed by the interaction of the ultrasonic wave and the reflector 122. Therefore, the quality of the acquired echo information will directly affect the accuracy of the final detection result. Meanwhile, each transducer element 141 on the transducer 140 can emit an ultrasonic wave, and the quality of the acquired echo information is best when the acoustic axis of the ultrasonic wave is perpendicular to the reflector 122. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the acoustic axis of the ultrasonic wave emitted by each transducer element 141 to be perpendicular to the reflector 122 when the transducer element 141 passes through the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123, and the degree-of-freedom adjusting mechanism 113 is used for the adjustment. Specifically, the degree-of-freedom adjusting mechanism 113 can have six degrees of freedom for adjustment, so that the effective acoustic axis center of the transducer element 141 can be aligned with the reflector 122 during the test.

[0041] The ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 further comprises a test container 120. The test container 120 in the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 is used to accommodate the transducer 140 to realize the test. Specifically, the test container 120 comprises a containing groove 121, a reflector 122 and a coupling agent 123.

[0042] In an embodiment, the containing groove 121 is the main body of the test container 120, as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 As shown, the containing groove 121 can be a cavity capable of accommodating the reflector 122, the coupling agent 123 and the transducer 140, and the shape and material thereof are not limited in the present application.

[0043] In an embodiment, the reflector 122 is arranged in the containing groove 121, the working surface of the reflector 122 is perpendicular to the acoustic axis of the transducer 140, and the working surface is the surface of the reflector 122 facing the transducer 140; the setting parameters of the reflector 122 are determined according to the acoustic wave index emitted by the transducer 140, and the setting parameters include at least one of the relative distance from the transducer 140, the surface thickness, the lateral dimension, the parallelism of the working surface and the roughness of the working surface; the height of the reflector 122 is higher than the height of the transducer 140 and lower than the height of the containing groove 121.

[0044] In an embodiment, the side of the reflector 122 facing the transducer 140 is referred to as the working surface, which needs to be set up in order to improve the testing effect. The working surface needs to be located at the point of maximum acoustic intensity in the acoustic beam of the transducer 140, etc., and different transducers 140 emit acoustic waves that are different, so the device parameters of the transducer 140 need to be obtained, and the setting parameters of the reflector 122 are determined according to the acoustic wave index in the device parameters. The setting parameters can include but are not limited to at least one of the relative distance from the transducer 140, the surface thickness, the lateral dimension, the parallelism of the working surface, and the roughness of the working surface. Specifically, a more general setting parameter is proposed in the present application, which can be specifically: the relative distance from the transducer 140 is set to 10 cm according to the acoustic wave index. The surface thickness is not less than 30 mm, so that the reflected waves from the front and back surfaces can be clearly separated. The lateral dimension should be large enough, at least three times the linear dimension of the beam cross-sectional area (usually not less than 100 mm). The parallelism deviation of the working surface is not greater than 0.02 mm, or within 1 / 20 of the wavelength in water. The roughness Rz of the working surface is less than 0.63 μm, or within 1 / 100 of the wavelength in water. Further, the setting parameters can also include some parameters that do not need to be determined by the acoustic wave index, for example, the acoustic characteristic impedance of the material used for the reflector 122 should be greater than 10.0 x 10 6 Pa·s / m; the material used should have corrosion resistance (usually stainless steel material is used because of good reflectivity). It can be understood that the above specific parameters are all for general and conventional settings, and the specific settings need to be determined according to the actual needs. The numbers disclosed above are only a simple description of the scheme, and not a limitation on the technology.

[0045] In an embodiment, the coupling agent 123 is a predetermined liquid that fills the accommodation groove 121; the height of the coupling agent 123 injected into the accommodation groove 121 is consistent with the height of the reflector 122; when the transducer 140 starts testing, it is placed in the accommodation groove 121, and the coupling agent 123 completely immerses the transducer 140.

[0046] In an embodiment, the coupling agent 123 can be pure water in a preferred embodiment. Further, when the coupling agent 123 is injected into the accommodation groove 121, the height of the injected liquid should be consistent with the height of the reflector 122, so that the reflector 122 is just immersed in the coupling agent 123. When testing starts, the transducer 140 should also be immersed in the coupling agent 123, and in a preferred embodiment, only the distal end transducer element 141 is located at the junction of the coupling agent 123 and the air. The subsequent detection process will be described in detail in the method, which is not described here.

[0047] The ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 further comprises a processing unit 130. The processing unit 130 is electrically connected with the clamping device 110 and is electrically connected with the transducer 140 through the connecting mechanism 111. The transducer 140 is provided with a plurality of transducer elements 141 on one surface thereof. The transducer elements 141 can emit ultrasonic waves when activated and collect echo information formed by reflection of the ultrasonic waves. The processing unit 130 is configured to activate the transducer elements 141 during testing and control the transducer 140 to move in a preset track in the testing container 120 after the transducer 140 is arranged by the clamping device 110 with the surface provided with the transducer elements 141 facing the reflector 122. The processing unit 130 acquires echo information formed by reflection interaction between the transducer elements 141 and the reflector 122 during movement of the transducer 140 and realizes detection of the transducer 140 by using the echo information formed by the reflection interaction.

[0048] In an embodiment, Figure 3 An internal structure diagram of the processing unit 130 in an embodiment is shown. The processing unit 130 can be a terminal or a server. As shown in the figure, Figure 3 The processing unit 130 comprises a processor, a memory and a network interface connected through a system bus. The memory comprises a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium of the processing unit 130 stores an operating system and can further store a computer program. The computer program is executed by the processor to enable the processor to implement the ultrasonic transducer testing method. The internal memory can also store a computer program. The computer program is executed by the processor to enable the processor to execute the ultrasonic transducer testing method. Those skilled in the art can understand that Figure 3 The structure shown in the figure is only a block diagram of part of the structure related to the scheme of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the processing unit 130 to which the scheme of the present application is applied. The specific processing unit 130 can comprise more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have a different arrangement of components. For the case where the processing unit 130 is a mobile terminal, the specific form can be, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (English: personal digital assistant, abbreviation: PDA), a mobile Internet device (English: mobile Internet device, abbreviation: MID) and a wearable device (such as a smart watch) and the like. The corresponding information can be processed and displayed by an application (such as an APP) on the mobile terminal, and the corresponding operation can be performed, thereby improving the use efficiency.

[0049] In one embodiment, the processing unit 130 includes an oscilloscope for converting the echo information into a pulse wave and displaying the pulse wave, and by observing the pulse wave, it can be determined whether the transducer 140 has a transducer array element foot mark error.

[0050] In one embodiment, the processing unit 130 can further include a relay board. The relay board is electrically connected with the aforementioned holding device 110 and the transducer 140, so as to realize the communication and control of the processing unit 130 to the holding device 110 and the transducer 140. Further, the processing unit 130 can further include a pulse signal generator / receiver, for example, a DPR300 pulse signal generator / receiver, and can include an oscilloscope. Therefore, the electric energy of the excitation pulse can be converted into the ultrasonic wave pulse transmitted through the material testing or medium. The DPR300 is configured to operate in a pulse echo mode, and the reflected acoustic echo of the transducer is converted into an electronic signal and transmitted to the DPR300 T / R connector by the sensor. The low-noise DPR300 receiver amplifies these electronic signals, and the signals are transmitted through adjustable high-pass filters and low-pass filters. The gain of the DPR300 receiver can be adjusted in the range of 13 decibels to 66 decibels, and there are six high-pass filters and six low-pass filters to set the bandwidth-limited receiver frequency response. The amplified and filtered signals are output to the oscilloscope. Thus, the obtained echo information becomes visualized, so as to complete the test.

[0051] The foregoing describes the specific structure of the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100, but according to the foregoing description, it can be seen that the device also needs a corresponding control method to complete the test. For this purpose, the present application also provides an ultrasonic transducer testing method applied to the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 provided in the foregoing. For a clear description of the ultrasonic transducer testing method provided by the present application, please refer to Figures 1-12 , including steps S410-S440.

[0052] Step S410: Perform a correction operation on the ultrasonic transducer testing device, so as to prepare the ultrasonic transducer testing device to start testing.

[0053] In one embodiment, step S410: controlling the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 to perform a correction operation includes: cleaning the working surfaces of the transducer 140 and the reflector 122, the working surface being the side of the reflector 122 facing the transducer 140; the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 further includes a degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism 113, and the connecting mechanism 111 is connected to the moving mechanism 112 through the degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism 113; the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 adjusts the orientation and / or angle of the transducer 140 by controlling the degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism 113, so that the acoustic axis of the transducer 140 is perpendicular to the working surface. The transducer 140 is placed into the receiving tank 121 by controlling the moving mechanism 112, and the position of the transducer 140 is adjusted so that the reflector 122 is located at the point of maximum sound intensity in the sound beam of the transducer 140, the point of maximum sound intensity is determined according to the equipment information; a coupling agent 123 is injected into the receiving tank 121 so that the height of the coupling agent 123 is consistent with the height of the reflector 122, and the coupling agent 123 immerses the transducer 140; when it is determined that there are no interfering elements in the coupling agent 123, the correction operation is considered to be completed. Interfering elements include at least one of the following: bubble impurities, suspended particles, liquid flow, and liquid temperature change.

[0054] In one embodiment, preparations can be made in advance before the test begins to facilitate its commencement. For example, the working surfaces of the transducer 140 and reflector 122 can be cleaned. Specifically, the transducer element 141 of the transducer 140 can be cleaned to remove any oil, dust, or other substances that may be present on its outer surface. In addition, the transducer 140 can be thoroughly moistened with degassed water before the test to ensure that no air bubbles remain on its outer surface.

[0055] Also refer to Figure 2 The ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 also includes a degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism 113, and the connecting mechanism 111 is connected to the moving mechanism 112 through the degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism 113; the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 adjusts the orientation and / or angle of the transducer 140 by controlling the degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism 113. If the transducer array elements 141 of the transducer 140 are distributed as follows... Figure 5 As shown. That is to say, when as Figure 5 For a similar convex linear array probe transducer 140, the acoustic axis direction of the sound wave emitted by the corresponding transducer element 141 is difficult to determine. Furthermore, according to... Figure 5 When the convex linear array probe transducer 140 shown is placed inside the test container 120, it may cause issues due to the angle, such as... Figure 6 As shown: the sound wave emitted by transducer element 141 is not perpendicular to reflector 122. Figure 6 The arc extending from the transducer element 141 is also the schematic acoustic axis, which will be followed... Figure 8 Similarly, that is to say... Figure 6In the shown case, the transducer 140 at the angle of the reflector 122 is as shown in Figure 7

[0056] To this end, to ensure that the transducer 140 can emit sound waves vertically to the reflector 122 during measurement, i.e. the transducer 140 at the angle of the reflector 122 can be as shown in Figure 5 Figure 5 Figure 8 the shown angle, so as to ensure that the sound axis of the transducer array element 141 to be tested is always perpendicular to the reflector 122 in the top view as shown in

[0057] The device information of the transducer 140 can also be obtained to determine the point of maximum sound intensity in the sound beam of the transducer array element 141. The relative distance between the transducer 140 and the reflector 122 is adjusted by moving the moving mechanism 112 and / or the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113, so as to ensure that the reflector 122 is located at the point of maximum sound intensity in the sound beam of the transducer array element 141 to be tested at the beginning of the test.

[0058] Further, the coupling agent 123 is injected into the accommodating groove 121 so that the height of the coupling agent 123 is consistent with the height of the reflector 122, and the coupling agent 123 immerses the transducer 140. When it is determined that there is no interference element in the coupling agent 123, the correction operation is considered to be completed, wherein the interference element can include but is not limited to any one of the following: whether there is a bubble impurity, suspended particles, liquid flow, liquid temperature change in the coupling agent 123. After the correction operation as described above, it is considered that the transducer 140 is ready for testing.

[0059] Step S420: Obtain the device information of the transducer through the connecting mechanism, and determine the moving track according to the device information, wherein the device information is used to represent the transducer array element of the transducer.

[0060] ​​​In an embodiment, the step S420 of obtaining the device information of the transducer 140 via the connecting mechanism 111, and determining the moving track according to the device information, comprises: determining the transducer element 141 position and the transducer shape according to the device information; generating the moving track according to the transducer element 141 position and the transducer shape, the moving track comprising a moving route and a moving direction; the moving route is used to control the moving mechanism 112 to ensure that each transducer element 141 passes through the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123 at least twice in different directions during the moving process; the moving direction is used to adjust the degree of freedom of the mechanism 113 to ensure that the sound axis of the transducer element 141 is perpendicular to the reflector 122 when each transducer element 141 passes through the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123.

[0061] In an embodiment, there are various transducers 140 on the market, which can be in the form of Figure 5 , or in the form of Figure 9 , and there are other forms of transducers, such as linear arrays, 1.5D surface arrays, etc., which will be described in the following figures. Here, the transducer in the form of Figure 5 , 9 is described for the convenience of description. As can be seen, different transducers 140 have different parameters such as transducer element 141 distribution, number, and form, and therefore cannot be tested by a single track. Therefore, the device information of the transducer 140 is obtained after the transducer 140 is electrically connected via the connecting mechanism 111. The device information records the transducer element 141 position and the transducer shape, and according to the transducer element 141 position and the transducer shape, a specific moving track can be generated for the transducer 140. Specifically, the moving track comprises a moving route and a moving direction. The moving route is used to control the moving mechanism 112 to ensure that each transducer element 141 passes through the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123 at least twice in different directions during the moving process. It can be understood that the transducer 140 in the form of Figure 5 or Figure 9 passes through the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123 only once, and only determines that there is a problem with a certain row or several rows, and it is impossible to determine which transducer element 141. It can be seen that the transducer element 141 in the transducer 140 in the form of Figure 5 or Figure 9 is actually two-dimensionally distributed on a plane, and therefore passes through the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123 multiple times in different dimensions, and the echo information can accurately determine which transducer element 141 has a problem. That is, twice in different directions can be two dimensions.

[0062] Further, the moving track also includes a moving direction, which is used to control the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113 to ensure that the sound axis of the ultrasonic wave emitted by each transducer array element 141 is perpendicular to the reflector 122 when the transducer array element 141 crosses the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123. Referring to the above description of the structure of the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113, and Figures 5-8 During the moving process, especially when the measured transducer array element 141 crosses the coupling agent 123, the echo information obtained by the transducer array element 141 can be ensured to be true and effective according to the control of the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113.

[0063] Step S430: controlling the moving mechanism to move according to the moving track, and obtaining the echo information generated by the transducer during the moving process through the connecting mechanism.

[0064] In an embodiment, for the convenience of description, the embodiment takes the transducer 140 shown in Figure 9 as an example to illustrate how to move. Before the moving, according to the control of the correction operation, the instrument state of the ultrasonic transducer testing device 100 is as shown in Figure 10 , the coupling agent 123 and the reflector 122 are in the same height, and the transducer 140 is completely immersed in the coupling agent 123. And the transducer 140 is activated to emit sound waves towards the reflector 122, and the echo information is collected according to the sound waves returned by the reflector 122. The moving mechanism 112 is controlled to move according to the moving track, so as to drive the transducer 140 to move upwards, and the transducer array element 141 of the transducer 140 will change to the state as shown in Figure 11 during the crossing process. As shown in Figure 11 , it can be seen that the sound waves emitted by the transducer array element 141 will gradually not interact with the reflector 122 when crossing the coupling agent 123, and the collected echo information will change significantly. Therefore, the changed echo information can be highlighted. Similarly, after moving the transducer 140 in the direction as shown in Figure 10 , Figure 11 , the direction of the transducer 140 can also be changed by the degree of freedom adjusting mechanism 113. For example, in addition to the transducer shown in Figure 5 , 9 , there are many styles, and therefore various transducer diagrams are provided in Figure 12 . Referring to Figure 12From left to right, they are two-dimensional surface array probe transducer, 1.5D surface array probe transducer, linear array probe transducer, and convex linear array probe transducer. That is to say, if each type of transducer only passes through the coupling agent 123 once, some transducer elements 141 may not be able to be detected. Therefore, the transducers 140 can be passed through the coupling agent 123 again for detection according to different angles and dimensions of the moving track. Thus, the transducers 140 can pass through the coupling agent 123 twice in different directions, so as to specifically determine the transducer element 141 with a problem when an error occurs in the transducer element 141.

[0065] Step S440: generating a detection report according to the echo information and outputting, the detection report being used to represent whether the transducer has a transducer element foot position mark error.

[0066] In an embodiment, step S440: generating a detection report according to the echo information and outputting, includes: determining the number of echoes of the transducer element 141 of the transducer 140 when passing through the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123 according to the echo information; determining the number of elements located below the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123 when the transducer 140 passes through the coupling agent 123 according to the moving track and the device information; when the number of echoes and the number of elements are not equal, it is determined that the transducer element 141 located on the liquid surface of the coupling agent 123 has a transducer element foot position mark error; and traversing all the number of echoes and the number of elements to generate the detection report.

[0067] In an embodiment, Figure 10 , 11 As shown in the state diagram, the activated transducer element 141 continuously emits ultrasonic waves to the reflector 122 during the movement, and the echo information is formed according to the ultrasonic waves reflected by the reflector 122. After each row or column of transducer elements 141 passes through the coupling agent 123, the collected echo information will change accordingly. According to the change, it can be determined whether there is a transducer element foot position mark error, and in the case of an error, which transducer element 141 has a problem.

[0068] Specifically, the echo information can be converted into waveform chart output by an oscilloscope in the processing unit 130, and the number of echoes in the waveform chart is determined. By moving the track and combining the echo information, the number of transducer array elements 141 located in the coupling agent 123 during the transducer array elements 141 crossing the coupling agent 123 can be determined. If the number of echoes of the oscilloscope is equal to the number of array elements immersed in the coupling agent 123, then the pin assignment of the array elements located on the coupling agent 123 is correct; if the numbers are inconsistent, then the pin assignment of the array elements located on the coupling agent 123 is incorrect. By traversing all the echo numbers and array element numbers, it can be determined whether there is a transducer array element pin assignment error, and in the case of an error, which transducer array elements 141 have problems, thereby corresponding to generate a detection report.

[0069] Therefore, by using the echo information formed by the transducer 140 crossing the coupling agent 123 by a simple instrument mechanism, the present application determines whether the transducer array elements 141 arranged on the transducer 140 have a transducer array element pin assignment error. Thus, the device can ensure that the connection is correct before connecting to the ultrasonic host, and can check whether the pin assignment of each array element is correct in a simpler way after excluding the ultrasonic transducer with a bad channel, and can check the specific error array element.

[0070] In one embodiment, the present application also provides a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to make the processor execute the steps of the foregoing method,

[0071] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program. The program can be stored in a non-volatile computer readable storage medium, and when the program is executed, the processes of the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be included. Any reference to memory, storage, database, or other medium used in the embodiments provided in the present application can include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration but not limitation, RAM is available in various forms, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link (Synchlink) DRAM (SLDRAM), memory bus (Rambus) direct RAM (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic RAM (RDRAM), etc.

[0072] Any combination of the technical features of the above embodiments can be made. In order to make the description simple, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described, however, as long as the combination of the technical features does not exist, it should be considered as the scope of the present application.

[0073] The above embodiments only express several implementation manners of the present application, and the description is more specific and detailed, but it should not be understood as a limitation on the scope of the patent of the present application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary skilled in the art, without departing from the concept of the present application, a number of modifications and improvements can be made, which are all within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present application should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic transducer testing device, characterized in that, include: A clamping device is used to fix and move a transducer; the clamping device includes a connecting mechanism and a moving mechanism; the transducer is disposed on the connecting mechanism, and the connecting mechanism controls the transducer through an electrical connection; the connecting mechanism is disposed on the moving mechanism, and the moving mechanism is used to drive the transducer to move; A test container is used to contain the transducer and coupling fluid for testing; the test container includes a receiving tank and a reflector; the receiving tank is the main body of the test container, the reflector is disposed in the receiving tank, and the coupling fluid fills the receiving tank; The processing unit is electrically connected to the clamping device and electrically connected to the transducer through the connecting mechanism. The transducer includes multiple transducer array elements. The transducer array elements are used to emit ultrasonic waves when activated and collect the echo information formed after the ultrasonic waves encounter a reflector and are reflected back. The processing unit is used to activate the transducer array element during testing, and control the clamping device to move the transducer's emitting surface toward the reflector, and then control the transducer to move within the test container along a preset trajectory. During the movement of the transducer, the processing unit acquires and processes the echo information fed back by the transducer array element to detect the transducer.

2. The ultrasonic transducer testing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The clamping device also includes a degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism; The connecting mechanism is connected to the moving mechanism through the degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism. The degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism is used to adjust the orientation and / or angle of the transducer according to the control of the processing unit, so that the beam emitted by the transducer array element is perpendicular to the reflector during the movement of the transducer.

3. The ultrasonic transducer testing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The working surface of the reflector is perpendicular to the acoustic axis of the transducer, and the working surface is the side of the reflector facing the transducer. The setting parameters of the reflector are determined according to the acoustic wave index emitted by the transducer, and the setting parameters include at least one of the following: relative distance between the transducer and the reflector, surface thickness, lateral dimension, parallelism of the working surface, and roughness of the working surface. The height of the reflector is higher than the height of the transducer, but lower than the height of the receiving tank.

4. The ultrasonic transducer testing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The height to which the coupling agent is injected into the accommodating groove is the same as the height of the reflector; When the transducer is tested, it is placed in the receiving tank and the coupling agent completely submerges the transducer.

5. The ultrasonic transducer testing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The processing unit includes an oscilloscope, which is used to acquire and process the echo information, convert the echo information into pulse waves for display, and determine the working status of each channel of the transducer by observing the pulse waves.

6. A method for testing an ultrasonic transducer, characterized in that, Applied to the ultrasonic transducer testing apparatus as described in claim 1, the ultrasonic transducer testing method includes the following steps: A calibration operation is performed on the ultrasonic transducer testing device to prepare it for testing. The device information of the transducer is obtained through the connection mechanism, and the movement trajectory is determined based on the device information. The device information is used to characterize the transducer array elements of the transducer. The movement of the moving mechanism is controlled according to the moving trajectory, and the echo information generated by the transducer during the movement is obtained through the connecting mechanism; A detection report is generated and output based on the echo information. The detection report is used to characterize the working status of the transducer.

7. The ultrasonic transducer testing method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The control performs a correction operation on the ultrasonic transducer testing device, including: Clean the working surfaces of the transducer and the reflector, wherein the working surface is the side of the reflector facing the transducer; The ultrasonic transducer testing device further includes a degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism, and the connecting mechanism is connected to the moving mechanism through the degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism; the ultrasonic transducer testing device controls the degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism to adjust the orientation and / or angle of the transducer so that the acoustic axis of the transducer is perpendicular to the working surface; The transducer is placed into the receiving slot by controlling the moving mechanism, and the position of the transducer is adjusted so that the reflector is located at the point of maximum sound intensity in the sound beam of the transducer, and the point of maximum sound intensity is determined according to the equipment information. A coupling agent is injected into the receiving tank so that the height of the coupling agent is the same as the height of the reflector, and the coupling agent immerses the transducer. When it is determined that there are no interfering elements in the coupling agent, the correction operation is considered to be completed. The interfering elements include at least one of the following: bubble impurities, suspended particles, liquid flow, and liquid temperature changes.

8. The ultrasonic transducer testing method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the transducer's device information through the connecting mechanism and determining the movement trajectory based on the device information includes: The transducer array element positions and transducer shapes are determined based on the device information. A movement trajectory is generated based on the position of the transducer element and the shape of the transducer. The movement trajectory includes a movement path and a movement direction. The movement path is used to control the movement mechanism to ensure that each transducer element crosses the surface of the couplant at least twice in different directions during the movement. The movement direction is used for the degree of freedom adjustment mechanism to ensure that when each transducer element crosses the surface of the couplant, the acoustic axis of the ultrasonic wave emitted by the transducer element is perpendicular to the reflector.

9. The ultrasonic transducer testing method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The step of generating and outputting a detection report based on the echo information includes: The number of transducer elements of the transducer when crossing the surface of the couplant is determined based on the echo information; the number of elements of the transducer located below the surface of the couplant when crossing the couplant is determined based on the movement trajectory and the device information. When the number of echoes and the number of array elements are not equal, it is determined that there is a transducer array element pin marking error on the liquid surface of the coupling agent. The detection report is generated by iterating through all the said echo counts and the said array element counts.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method as described in any one of claims 6 to 9.

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