Flexible ultrasonic transceiver device

Abstract

The utility model provides a kind of flexible ultrasonic transceiver, including body and control box assembled on body;Control box bottom has via hole and body inside intercommunication, surface assembly has control button and pilot lamp;Body appearance is flat, outer layer is made of packaging material with good flexibility and biocompatibility, inside encapsulated ultrasonic transducer array layer and electrode lead-out layer;Ultrasonic transducer array layer is a kind of flexible film type ultrasonic transducer array based on polymer film;Electrode lead-out layer is a piece of flexible printed circuit FPC, there are lead end and outgoing terminal pad on it, and the wiring of connecting both. The flexible ultrasonic transceiver proposed by the utility model has the advantages of flexible bendable, light and thin portable, simple production process, etc., and has broad application prospect in nondestructive testing, wearable device, biomedical and other fields.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to ultrasonic transceivers, and more particularly to a flexible ultrasonic transceiver that can conform to the surface of the object to be tested. Background Technology

[0002] Ultrasound imaging is a safe, non-invasive, real-time imaging technology widely used in clinical medicine, industrial flaw detection, and other fields. Currently, ultrasound imaging is most widely used in medical diagnosis, primarily for acquiring images of internal organs, especially the heart, abdomen, obstetrics and gynecology organs, and musculoskeletal system. This technology has become one of the commonly used clinical examination methods due to its advantages such as ultra-fast, high-resolution imaging, non-invasiveness, and high safety. With the development of information technology, new image processing and signal processing technologies will be introduced into ultrasound imaging, driving higher precision and faster imaging capabilities. Applying artificial intelligence algorithms to the interpretation and processing of ultrasound images is expected to improve diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. The combination of AI and ultrasound imaging also provides the possibility for developing more intelligent medical devices. Technological trends in ultrasound imaging in the medical field also include digitization and miniaturization. Traditional ultrasound equipment is bulky and expensive, while new, smaller devices, while maintaining image clarity, offer more comprehensive functions and can adapt to the needs of different clinical settings, including primary healthcare and outpatient emergency care.

[0003] However, traditional ultrasonic probes have some limitations, such as large size, the need for acoustic impedance matching, high manufacturing cost, and inflexibility. For example, in curved surface inspection, wearable devices, and biomedical fields, the fixed shape and poor conformability of rigid probes limit their use in applications such as home use, monitoring, and industrial flaw detection. Therefore, the development of flexible, large-area ultrasonic arrays has become a research hotspot.

[0004] This invention addresses current market demands by proposing a flexible ultrasonic transceiver device. It utilizes a flexible piezoelectric film and flexible printed circuitry to form a fully flexible and bendable ultrasonic transducer. The manufacturing process is simple and low-cost, providing a new option for the miniaturization of ultrasonic imaging products and their application in home and grassroots settings. Utility Model Content

[0005] This invention proposes a flexible ultrasonic transceiver device, comprising a main body and a control box mounted on the main body; the bottom of the control box has a through hole communicating with the interior of the main body, and the surface is equipped with control buttons and indicator lights; the main body is flat in shape, and the outer layer is made of a packaging material with good flexibility and biocompatibility, and the interior encapsulates an ultrasonic transducer array layer and an electrode lead-out layer; the ultrasonic transducer array layer is a flexible thin-film ultrasonic transducer array based on a polymer film; the electrode lead-out layer is a flexible printed circuit (FPC) with lead terminals and output terminal pads, as well as traces connecting the two.

[0006] The flexible thin-film ultrasonic transducer array based on polymer film comprises: a substrate material, using a flexible polyimide film as the supporting substrate; a bottom electrode, a patterned metal composite electrode deposited on the polyimide substrate; a piezoelectric layer, composed of a polymer film, formed into a highly dense ultrasonic transducer unit structure through a hot-pressing process; a top electrode, a patterned metal composite electrode deposited above the piezoelectric layer; and an encapsulation layer, using parylene C encapsulation layer, for protecting the transducer.

[0007] The bottom and top electrodes include leads that extend from the electrodes to the pin area for connection to external circuitry.

[0008] The lead end pads are matched with the pin areas of the transducer electrodes, and the two are connected by conductive adhesive or welding process.

[0009] The flexible ultrasonic transceiver also has a mesh support layer made of silicone rubber inside, which plays a supporting role between the electrode lead-out layer and the upper encapsulation layer.

[0010] The control box is equipped with a control board, which integrates a main control processor, interface unit, pulse transceiver unit, digital-to-analog converter unit, and power module. The control board is a PCB circuit board, and the various units are electrically connected through PCB traces.

[0011] A section of the flexible printed circuit (FPC) near the output pad enters the control box through a via between the control box and the main body, connecting to the connector on the control board, thereby enabling electrical connection between the ultrasonic transducer array and the pulse transceiver unit on the control board.

[0012] The interface unit is a WiFi interface or a Bluetooth interface, the power module includes a lithium battery and a charge / discharge management circuit, and the control box also includes a charging interface.

[0013] The ultrasonic transceiver device proposed in this invention uses flexible materials, which have good bending and deformation capabilities, allowing it to conform to curved surfaces and adapt to complex-shaped objects being inspected. The manufacturing process is simple, with low production costs and high production efficiency. The flexible materials and thin-film technology make the device lightweight, thin, and small in size, facilitating integration and portability. It has broad application prospects in non-destructive testing of curved structures in the industrial field, wearable monitoring devices in the health field, and ultrasonic imaging in the medical field.

[0014] Other features and advantages of this utility model will become clearer after reading the detailed description of the embodiments of this utility model in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To clearly illustrate the technical solution and embodiments of this utility model, the accompanying drawings are briefly described below. It should be noted that the drawings are primarily intended to explain the interconnections, structural features, and advantages of the various components of the device, and are not drawn to scale according to the actual dimensions of the device. Obviously, the drawings only relate to a limited set of embodiments and should not be construed as limiting the present utility model. Those skilled in the art can easily obtain new embodiments through formal variations based on these drawings.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the external structure of one embodiment of the present utility model;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional layered structural diagram of one embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 This is a functional block diagram of the control box according to one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The specific embodiments of this utility model are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] This utility model proposes a flexible ultrasonic transceiver device, the external structure of which is as follows: Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the flexible ultrasonic transceiver includes a main body A1 and a control box A2 mounted on the main body A1. The main body A1 is flat in shape, and its outer layer is made of a flexible and biocompatible encapsulation material to protect, support, and insulate the internal structure. There are strap through-holes A3 on both sides of the main body A1, through which straps with Velcro at both ends are passed to fix the flexible ultrasonic device to the surface of the object to be tested in necessary usage scenarios. The control box A2 is attached to the upper surface of the main body A1, and has a through-hole at the bottom communicating with the interior of the main body A1 for a flexible PCB connector. Control buttons A4 and indicator lights A5 are mounted on its surface.

[0021] An ultrasonic transducer array layer and an electrode lead-out layer are encapsulated inside the main body A1, and its cross-sectional structure is as follows. Figure 2 As shown in the figure. This image is a magnified cropped section; it's important to note that this image is only for illustrating the internal layered structure, and its scale does not represent the actual situation. As can be seen from the figure, from the bottom surface (facing the object under test) to the top surface, there are: a bottom encapsulation layer B1, an ultrasonic transducer array layer B2, an electrode lead-out layer B3, a mesh support layer B4, and an upper encapsulation layer B5. These layers are fixed together using an adhesive bonding process. The bottom and upper encapsulation layers are made of materials with good flexibility and biocompatibility, such as silicone rubber and polyurethane. The ultrasonic transducer array layer B2 is a flexible thin-film ultrasonic transducer array based on a polymer film, and its structure includes:

[0022] The substrate material uses a flexible polyimide film as the supporting substrate;

[0023] Bottom electrode: A patterned metal composite electrode is deposited on a polyimide substrate;

[0024] The piezoelectric layer is composed of a polymer film and is formed into a highly dense ultrasonic transducer unit structure through a hot embossing process.

[0025] The top electrode consists of a patterned metal composite electrode deposited above the piezoelectric layer;

[0026] The encapsulation layer is made of parylene (C) to protect the transducer.

[0027] The aforementioned bottom and top electrodes include leads that extend from the electrodes to the pin area for connection to external circuitry.

[0028] The electrode lead layer B3 is a flexible printed circuit (FPC). Lead terminals and output pads, along with connecting traces, are designed on the FPC to match the lead terminal pads with the pin areas of the transducer electrodes. Conductive adhesive or soldering is used to connect the transducer electrode pins to the lead terminal pads of the FPC. Finally, parylene C is used to encapsulate the connection to protect its stability. The output pads of the flexible printed circuit (FPC) and a section of the trace near the output pads are suspended and not fixed, entering the control box through a via between the control box A2 and the upper surface of the main body A1.

[0029] The mesh support layer is made of silicone rubber and serves as a support between the electrode lead-out layer and the upper encapsulation layer. At the same time, its mesh space provides free space for the flexible printed circuit (FPC) output terminals of the electrode lead-out layer, so as not to cause pulling on the FPC output terminals when the entire ultrasonic transceiver is bent.

[0030] The control box A2 houses a control board integrating a main control processor, interface unit, pulse transceiver unit, digital-to-analog converter unit, and power module. The flexible printed circuit (FPC) leads of the electrode lead layer connect to connectors on the control board, electrically connecting the ultrasonic transceiver array to the pulse transceiver unit on the control board. The control board is a PCB circuit board, with each functional unit electrically connected via PCB traces. The power module includes a lithium battery and charge / discharge management circuitry, and the control box also includes a charging interface. The interface unit is either a WiFi or Bluetooth interface. The main control processor controls the interface unit to receive the ultrasonic array's transmitted beam signal from the host computer. This signal is then converted from digital to analog signals by the multi-channel digital-to-analog converter unit. The multi-channel pulse transceiver unit generates pulse signals to excite the ultrasonic transceiver array, which are then sent to the array via the FPC, exciting it to generate directional ultrasonic waves through beamforming. The echo signal reception and processing process is the reverse and will not be described further.

[0031] The ultrasonic transceiver device proposed in this invention uses flexible materials, giving it excellent bending and deformation capabilities. It can conform to curved surfaces and adapt to complex shapes of objects requiring inspection. The manufacturing process is simple, with low production costs and high efficiency. The flexible materials and thin-film technology make the device lightweight, thin, and small, facilitating integration and portability. It can be applied to non-destructive testing of curved structures in the industrial field, such as defect detection in curved structures like pipes and pressure vessels; wearable monitoring devices in the health field, such as flexible ultrasonic sensor patches for monitoring physiological signals like heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration; and ultrasonic imaging in the medical field, such as ultrasound imaging of superficial tissues like skin and blood vessels.

[0032] The description of this utility model is given for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the utility model to the disclosed forms. The embodiments were chosen and described to better illustrate the principles and practical applications of the utility model, and to enable those skilled in the art to understand the utility model and design various embodiments with various modifications suitable for a particular purpose. All new embodiments that fall within the basic concept, construction principles, and spirit of this utility model, and are achieved through simple variations, modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements, should be included within the scope of protection of this utility model. The scope of this utility model is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A flexible ultrasonic transceiver, characterized in that, The flexible ultrasonic transceiver includes a main body and a control box mounted on the main body; the bottom of the control box has a through hole communicating with the interior of the main body, and the surface is equipped with control buttons and indicator lights; the main body is flat in shape, and the outer layer is made of a packaging material with good flexibility and biocompatibility, and the interior encapsulates an ultrasonic transducer array layer and an electrode lead-out layer; the ultrasonic transducer array layer is a flexible thin-film ultrasonic transducer array based on a polymer film; the electrode lead-out layer is a flexible printed circuit (FPC) with lead terminals and output terminal pads, as well as traces connecting the two.

2. The flexible ultrasonic transceiver according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible thin-film ultrasonic transducer array based on polymer thin film has the following structure: The substrate material uses a flexible polyimide film as the supporting substrate; Bottom electrode: A patterned metal composite electrode is deposited on a polyimide substrate; The piezoelectric layer is composed of a polymer film and is formed into a highly dense ultrasonic transducer unit structure through a hot embossing process. The top electrode consists of a patterned metal composite electrode deposited above the piezoelectric layer; The encapsulation layer uses parylene (C) to protect the transducer.

3. The flexible ultrasonic transceiver according to claim 2, characterized in that, The bottom and top electrodes include leads that extend from the electrodes to the pin area for connection to external circuitry.

4. The flexible ultrasonic transceiver according to claim 3, characterized in that, The lead end pads are matched with the pin areas of the transducer electrodes, and the two are connected by conductive adhesive or welding process.

5. The flexible ultrasonic transceiver according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible ultrasonic transceiver also has a mesh support layer made of silicone rubber inside, which plays a supporting role between the electrode lead-out layer and the upper encapsulation layer.

6. The flexible ultrasonic transceiver according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control box is equipped with a control board, which integrates a main control processor, interface unit, pulse transceiver unit, digital-to-analog converter unit, and power module. The control board is a PCB circuit board, and the various units are electrically connected through PCB traces.

7. The flexible ultrasonic transceiver according to claim 6, characterized in that, A section of the flexible printed circuit (FPC) near the output pad enters the control box through a via between the control box and the main body, connecting to the connector on the control board, thereby enabling electrical connection between the ultrasonic transducer array and the pulse transceiver unit on the control board.

8. The flexible ultrasonic transceiver according to any one of claims 6-7, characterized in that, The interface unit is a WiFi interface or a Bluetooth interface, the power module includes a lithium battery and a charge / discharge management circuit, and the control box also includes a charging interface.

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