Ultrasound probe

Abstract

The present invention provides an ultrasonic probe that can be miniaturized while suppressing temperature rise due to heat generation from integrated circuits. [Solution] The system includes a sheet-shaped heat transfer member (23) disposed between the inner surface of the housing (12) and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the periphery of the integrated circuit (19), and a sheet-shaped heat transfer control member (24) disposed between the heat transfer member and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the periphery of the integrated circuit and for controlling heat conduction between the integrated circuit and the heat transfer member, wherein the heat transfer control member is in contact with the heat transfer member, and the contact area between the heat transfer control member and the heat transfer member per unit area directly above the integrated circuit is smaller than the contact area between the heat transfer control member and the heat transfer member per unit area around the integrated circuit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe, and particularly to an ultrasonic probe in which an integrated circuit is disposed inside a grip portion of a housing.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in the medical field, ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses using ultrasonic images have been put into practical use. Generally, this type of ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe incorporating a transducer array and a diagnostic apparatus main body connected to the ultrasonic probe. An ultrasonic beam is transmitted from the ultrasonic probe toward a subject, an ultrasonic echo from the subject is received by the ultrasonic probe, and an ultrasonic image is generated by electrically processing the received signal.

[0003] In recent years, an integrated circuit for generating an ultrasonic image from a received signal obtained by a transducer array has been disposed inside an ultrasonic probe, and the ultrasonic image generated inside the ultrasonic probe is transmitted to the diagnostic apparatus main body and displayed on a monitor of the diagnostic apparatus main body. In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, since an ultrasonic image is generated inside the ultrasonic probe, a general-purpose portable thin computer can be used as the diagnostic apparatus main body.

[0004] However, an integrated circuit performs signal processing for generating an ultrasonic image based on a received signal obtained by a transducer array, and is known to generate heat during operation. Therefore, it is desired to suppress a temperature rise inside the housing of the ultrasonic probe. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses an ultrasonic probe provided with a temperature rise suppression member for suppressing a temperature rise due to heat generation from an integrated circuit inside the housing of the ultrasonic probe.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

[0006] However, the temperature rise suppression member used in the ultrasonic probe described in Patent Document 1 has a complex configuration that includes a heat receiving member whose emissivity is increased by applying a ceramic coating to the surface of a material with high thermal conductivity, a heat diffusion member that extends from the front end to the rear end of the housing along the inner surface of the housing, a heat conducting member that is arranged to surround the integrated circuit and conducts the heat emitted from the integrated circuit to the heat diffusion member, and a heat radiating member that is arranged on the heat conducting member and radiates infrared rays toward the heat receiving member due to the heat of the heat diffusion member. In order to accommodate such a temperature rise suppression member, the thickness of the housing is particularly large, which is a problem as it makes the ultrasonic probe larger.

[0007] This invention was made to solve the problems of the past, and aims to provide an ultrasonic probe that can be miniaturized while suppressing the temperature rise caused by heat generation from integrated circuits. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above objective can be achieved with the following configuration. [1] An ultrasonic probe in which an integrated circuit is arranged inside the grip portion of the housing, A sheet-like heat transfer member is disposed between the inner surface of the housing and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the area around the integrated circuit, A sheet-like heat transfer control member is positioned between the heat transfer member and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the periphery of the integrated circuit, and is used to control heat conduction between the integrated circuit and the heat transfer member. Equipped with, The heat transfer control member is in contact with the heat transfer member. An ultrasonic probe in which the contact area between the heat transfer control member and the heat transfer member per unit area directly above the integrated circuit is smaller than the contact area between the heat transfer control member and the heat transfer member per unit area around the integrated circuit. [2] An ultrasonic probe in which an integrated circuit is arranged inside the grip portion of the housing, A sheet-like heat transfer member is placed between the inner surface of the housing and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the area around the integrated circuit, A sheet-like heat dissipation control member is positioned between the heat transfer member and the inner surface of the housing so as to cover at least the area around the integrated circuit, and is used to control the release of heat from the heat transfer member to the housing. Equipped with, The heat dissipation control component is in contact with the inner surface of the housing. An ultrasonic probe in which the contact area between the heat dissipation control member and the inner surface of the housing per unit area directly above the integrated circuit is smaller than the contact area between the heat dissipation control member and the inner surface of the housing per unit area around the integrated circuit. [3] The ultrasonic probe according to [1] or [2], wherein the heat transfer member has an opening located directly above the integrated circuit. [4] The ultrasonic probe according to [1] or [2], wherein the heat transfer member is made of an anisotropic heat-conducting material in which the thermal conductivity in the planar direction is higher than that in the thickness direction of the heat transfer member. [5] The ultrasonic probe according to [1] or [2], wherein at least the surface of the heat transfer member facing the integrated circuit is electrically insulated. [6] The ultrasonic probe described in [1] or [2], wherein the heat transfer member covers the entire back surface of the grip portion of the housing. [7] The ultrasonic probe according to [6], wherein the heat transfer member has a slit formed along the longitudinal direction of the housing, or has a tape shape with a width narrower than the width of the housing. [8] comprising at least one of a temperature sensor and a wireless communication circuit, The heat transfer member is positioned to cover at least one of the temperature sensor and the wireless communication circuit. The ultrasonic probe according to [1] or [2], wherein the heat transfer member has an opening corresponding to at least one of a temperature sensor and a wireless communication circuit. [9] The heat transfer control member has a plurality of recesses formed on the surface facing the heat transfer member, The ultrasonic probe according to [1], wherein the multiple recesses have an arrangement pattern corresponding to the integrated circuit.

[10] The heat dissipation control member has a plurality of recesses formed on the surface facing the inner surface of the housing, The ultrasonic probe according to [2], wherein the multiple recesses have an arrangement pattern corresponding to the integrated circuit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The device comprises a sheet-shaped heat transfer member positioned between the inner surface of the housing and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the periphery of the integrated circuit, and a sheet-shaped heat transfer control member positioned between the heat transfer member and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the periphery of the integrated circuit and for controlling heat conduction between the integrated circuit and the heat transfer member. The heat transfer control member is in contact with the heat transfer member, and the contact area between the heat transfer control member and the heat transfer member per unit area directly above the integrated circuit is smaller than the contact area between the heat transfer control member and the heat transfer member per unit area around the integrated circuit. This makes it possible to achieve miniaturization while suppressing the temperature rise due to heat generation from the integrated circuit. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a plan view showing an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a side view showing an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration around the integrated circuit in an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a plan view showing the configuration around the integrated circuit in an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic device equipped with an ultrasound probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 8] This is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the transmitting and receiving circuit of an ultrasonic probe in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 9] It is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the image generation unit of the ultrasonic probe in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 10] It is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration around the integrated circuit in the ultrasonic probe according to the modified example of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 11] It is a plan view showing the heat transfer member used in the ultrasonic probe according to another modified example of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 12] It is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration around the integrated circuit in the ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 13] It is a plan view showing the configuration around the integrated circuit in the ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 14] It is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration around the integrated circuit in the ultrasonic probe according to the modified example of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 15] It is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided with an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of this invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. The description of the constituent elements described below is made based on typical embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. In this specification, the numerical range represented by "~" means a range including the numerical values described before and after "~" as the lower limit value and the upper limit value. In this specification, "identical" and "the same" shall include the error range generally allowed in the technical field.

[0012] Embodiment 1 Figures 1-3 show an ultrasonic probe 11 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The ultrasonic probe 11 comprises a housing 12, which extends in a defined direction and has a wide, flat shape. The housing 12 has a front end 12A located at one end in the direction of extension, a rear end 12B located at the other end, and a grip portion 12C located between the front end 12A and the rear end 12B. The grip portion 12C is the part that is grasped by the user when performing an ultrasonic diagnosis using the ultrasonic probe 11.

[0013] For convenience, we will refer to the direction from the front end 12A to the rear end 12B as the +Y direction, the width direction of the wide, flat housing 12 which is perpendicular to the Y direction as the X direction, and the direction perpendicular to both the X and Y directions as the Z direction.

[0014] The housing 12 is formed from, for example, an insulating resin, and the grip portion 12C has a cylindrical shape surrounded by four side plate portions that extend along a center line C1, each extending from the front end 12A to the rear end 12B. The four side plate portions consist of a first side plate portion S1 oriented in the -Z direction, a second side plate portion S2 oriented in the +Z direction on the opposite side of the first side plate portion S1, a third side plate portion S3 connecting the first side plate portion S1 and the second side plate portion S2 and oriented in the +X direction, and a fourth side plate portion S4 connecting the first side plate portion S1 and the second side plate portion S2 and oriented in the -X direction.

[0015] As shown in Figure 3, when viewed from the X direction, the housing 12 has an external shape in which, although there are some undulating parts, the thickness in the Z direction gradually decreases from near the center in the Y direction towards the front end 12A along the center line C1. Furthermore, a projection 13 is formed on the +X direction side of the front end portion 12A to indicate the orientation of the ultrasonic probe 11, and a light-emitting portion 14 extending in the Y direction along the center line C1 is arranged on the outer surface of the third side plate portion S3.

[0016] Figure 4 shows the internal structure of the ultrasonic probe 11. A transducer array 15 is located inside the front end portion 12A of the ultrasonic probe 11. The transducer array 15 has multiple transducers arranged in the X direction, and the ultrasonic emission surface 15A of the transducer array 15 is exposed from the housing 12 and oriented in the -Y direction.

[0017] Inside the housing 12, a flat-shaped battery 16 is positioned along the inner surface of the housing 12, offset from the grip portion 12C towards the front end portion 12A. The battery 16 is positioned offset from the center line C1 in the -Z direction. As described above, the housing 12 has an external shape in which the thickness in the Z direction gradually decreases from near the center in the Y direction towards the front end 12A along the center line C1. Therefore, by positioning the battery 16 at a location biased toward the front end 12A side from the grip portion 12C and along the inner surface of the housing 12, the battery 16 is in an inclined state with respect to the center line C1.

[0018] The power receiving coil 17 is positioned on the +Y side of the battery 16 at a location offset to the -Z direction from the center line C1. The power receiving coil 17 has a flat plate shape that is thinner than the battery 16 and is positioned along the inner surface of the first side plate portion S1 of the grip portion 12C. Here, at least the region of the first side plate portion S1 in which the power receiving coil 17 is positioned has a planar inner surface and a planar outer surface, and the power receiving coil 17 is positioned in contact with the inner surface of the first side plate portion S1, or in very close proximity to the inner surface of the first side plate portion S1.

[0019] Furthermore, inside the housing 12, the circuit board 18 is positioned offset from the center line C1 to the side opposite to the battery 16 and the power receiving coil 17, that is, inside the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C. The circuit board 18 extends along the XY plane from the grip portion 12C to the vicinity of the oscillator array 15 at the front end portion 12A, and two integrated circuits 19 and 20 and a wireless communication circuit 21 are sequentially mounted on the surface of the circuit board 18 on the +Z side along the center line C1 in the +Y direction.

[0020] Furthermore, two temperature sensors 22, each connected to a circuit board 18, are located inside the housing 12. One of the two temperature sensors 22 is located between the two integrated circuits 19 and 20, and the other temperature sensor 22 is located between the integrated circuit 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21, both positioned close to the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C.

[0021] Furthermore, a sheet-like heat transfer member 23 is placed between the circuit board 18 and the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C, and the two integrated circuits 19 and 20 mounted on the circuit board 18 and the wireless communication circuit 21 are covered by the heat transfer member 23. The heat transfer member 23 is made of a sheet-like material with high thermal conductivity and has two openings 23A formed corresponding to the placement positions of the two temperature sensors 22, and the two temperature sensors 22 each face the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 through the corresponding openings 23A of the heat transfer member 23.

[0022] In the vicinity of the integrated circuit 19, as shown in Figure 5, a sheet-shaped heat transfer control member 24 is positioned between the heat transfer member 23 and the integrated circuit 19. The heat transfer control member 24, like the heat transfer member 23, is made of a sheet-shaped material with high thermal conductivity, with the surface of the heat transfer control member 24 on the +Z direction side in contact with the heat transfer member 23, and the back surface of the heat transfer control member 24 on the -Z direction side in contact with the surface of the integrated circuit 19.

[0023] Furthermore, a plurality of recesses 24A are formed on the surface of the heat transfer control member 24 facing the heat transfer member 23, on the +Z direction side. The plurality of recesses 24A have an arrangement pattern corresponding to the integrated circuit 19. For example, as shown in Figure 6, directly above the integrated circuit 19, the recesses 24A are arranged in portions that occupy a large area ratio relative to the surface of the integrated circuit 19, while around the integrated circuit 19, the arrangement of recesses 24A is limited to relatively small area portions.

[0024] Although the surface of the heat transfer control member 24 on the +Z side is in contact with the heat transfer member 23, a recess 24A is formed on the surface of the heat transfer control member 24 on the +Z side. Therefore, in the area where the recess 24A exists, the heat transfer control member 24 and the heat transfer member 23 do not come into direct contact. Therefore, due to the presence of multiple recesses 24A having arrangement patterns corresponding to the integrated circuit 19, the contact area between the heat transfer control member 24 and the heat transfer member 23 per unit area directly above the integrated circuit 19 is smaller than the contact area between the heat transfer control member 24 and the heat transfer member 23 per unit area around the integrated circuit 19. Here, "unit area" refers to regions with the same area defined directly above and around the integrated circuit 19 when comparing the contact areas between the heat transfer control member 24 and the heat transfer member 23. For example, when comparing the occupied area of ​​the +Z direction side surface of the integrated circuit 19 as a unit area, the contact area between the heat transfer control member 24 and the heat transfer member 23 directly above the integrated circuit 19 is smaller than the contact area between the heat transfer control member 24 and the heat transfer member 23 around the integrated circuit 19.

[0025] Therefore, heat generated in the integrated circuit 19 is less likely to be transferred to the heat transfer member 23 located directly above the integrated circuit 19, while it is more likely to be transferred to the heat transfer member 23 located around the integrated circuit 19. In this way, the heat transfer control member 24 controls the heat conduction between the integrated circuit 19 and the heat transfer member 23.

[0026] Furthermore, sheet-shaped heat transfer control members 24 are also placed between the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21 mounted on the circuit board 18 and the heat transfer member 23. Similar to the integrated circuit 19, the heat transfer control members 24 control the heat conduction between the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21 and the heat transfer member 23 so that heat generated in the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21 is less likely to be transferred to the heat transfer member 23 located directly above the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21, and more likely to be transferred to the heat transfer member 23 located around the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21.

[0027] Furthermore, copper sheets, heat dissipation gels, graphite sheets, etc., can be used as the forming material for the heat transfer member 23. Here, as the heat dissipation gel, for example, a gel-like material mainly composed of silicone, an acrylic-based gel-like material, etc., can be used. When the heat transfer member 23 is formed from a copper sheet or heat dissipation gel, the heat transfer control member 24 can be formed from a heat dissipation gel, a graphite sheet, an aluminum heat sink, a heat dissipation resin, etc. Here, the heat dissipation resin is a resin material with high heat dissipation properties, and for example, nylon resin, in particular nylon resin compounded with a thermally conductive filler, can be used as the heat dissipation resin. When the heat transfer member 23 is formed from a graphite sheet, the heat transfer control member 24 can be formed from a heat dissipation gel, an aluminum heat sink, a heat dissipation resin, or the like.

[0028] Furthermore, if the heat transfer member 23 is formed from an anisotropic thermal conductive material having a higher thermal conductivity in the planar direction than in the thickness direction of the heat transfer member 23, the heat generated by the heat-generating elements such as the integrated circuits 19 and 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21 can be efficiently conducted to locations away from the heat-generating elements. By forming the heat transfer member 23 from such an anisotropic thermal conductive material, it is possible to make the heat transfer member 23 thinner while maintaining thermal conductivity. Furthermore, in order to ensure electrical insulation, it is desirable to apply an electrical insulating treatment to at least the surfaces of the heat transfer member 23 that face the integrated circuits 19 and 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21.

[0029] Furthermore, the heat transfer member 23 and the heat transfer control member 24 can be held inside the housing 12 by, for example, sandwiching them between the circuit board 18 and the inner surface of the housing 12. However, in addition to being held in place, it may also be held inside the housing 12 by methods such as adhering it to the inner surface of the housing 12. In Figure 5, the back surface of the heat transfer control member 24 on the -Z direction side is in contact with the surface of the integrated circuit 19. However, the heat transfer control member 24 and the integrated circuit 19 do not necessarily need to be in contact with each other; they may be separated in the Z direction.

[0030] Next, Figure 7 shows the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic device equipped with an ultrasound probe 11 according to Embodiment 1. The ultrasound diagnostic device comprises an ultrasound probe 11 according to Embodiment 1 and a device body 41, and the ultrasound probe 11 and the device body 41 are connected by wireless communication.

[0031] The ultrasonic probe 11 has a transmitting / receiving circuit 31 connected to a transducer array 15, to which an image generation unit 32 and a wireless communication circuit 21 are sequentially connected. An ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33 is also connected to the transmitting / receiving circuit 31. Furthermore, a communication control unit 34 is connected to the wireless communication circuit 21, a light emission control unit 35 is connected to the light emission unit 14, and a charging control unit 36 ​​is connected to the power receiving coil 17. In addition, a probe control unit 37 is connected to the temperature sensor 22, the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33, the communication control unit 34, the light emission control unit 35, and the charging control unit 36. The power receiving coil 17 is connected to a battery 16. Here, the wireless communication circuit 21 and the probe control unit 37 are connected in a way that allows for bidirectional information exchange. Furthermore, the processor 38 on the ultrasonic probe 11 side is formed by the transmitting / receiving circuit 31, image generation unit 32, ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33, communication control unit 34, light emission control unit 35, charging control unit 36, and probe control unit 37.

[0032] The main unit 41 of the device is equipped with a wireless communication circuit 42, to which a display control unit 43 and a monitor 44 are sequentially connected. A communication control unit 45 is also connected to the wireless communication circuit 42, and the main unit control unit 46 is connected to the wireless communication circuit 42, the display control unit 43, and the communication control unit 45. An input device 47 is also connected to the main unit control unit 46. Here, the wireless communication circuit 42 and the main unit control unit 46 are connected in a way that allows for bidirectional information exchange.

[0033] Furthermore, the display control unit 43, the communication control unit 45, and the main unit control unit 46 form the processor 48 on the main unit 41 side of the device. Furthermore, the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11 and the wireless communication circuit 42 of the device body 41 are connected in a way that allows for bidirectional information exchange, thereby connecting the ultrasonic probe 11 and the device body 41 via wireless communication.

[0034] The transducer array 15 of the ultrasonic probe 11 has multiple transducers arranged in one or two dimensions. Each of these transducers transmits ultrasound according to a drive signal supplied from the transmitting / receiving circuit 31 and receives ultrasound echoes from the subject and outputs a received signal. Each transducer is constructed by forming electrodes at both ends of a piezoelectric body made of, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic represented by PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate), a polymer piezoelectric element represented by PVDF (Poly Vinylidene Di Fluoride), or a piezoelectric single crystal represented by PMN-PT (Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate).

[0035] The ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 33 transmits an ultrasonic beam and receives an ultrasonic echo based on instructions from the probe control unit 37 by controlling the transmission / reception circuit 31.

[0036] The transmitting and receiving circuit 31 transmits ultrasonic waves from the transducer array 15 and generates a sound line signal based on the received signal acquired by the transducer array 15, under the control of the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving control unit 33. As shown in Figure 8, the transmitting and receiving circuit 31 has a pulser 51 connected to the transducer array 15, and an amplifier 52, an AD (Analog Digital) converter 53, and a beamformer 54 connected sequentially in series to the transducer array 15.

[0037] The pulser 51 includes, for example, multiple pulse generators and supplies drive signals to multiple transducers of the transducer array 15, adjusting the delay amount, so that the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transducers form an ultrasonic beam, based on a transmission delay pattern selected according to a control signal from the ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 33. In this way, when a pulsed or continuous wave voltage is applied to the electrodes of the transducers of the transducer array 15, the piezoelectric material expands and contracts, generating pulsed or continuous wave ultrasonic waves from each transducer, and an ultrasonic beam is formed from the combined wave of these ultrasonic waves.

[0038] The transmitted ultrasonic beam is reflected by an object, such as a part of the subject, and the ultrasonic echo propagates toward the transducer array 15 of the ultrasonic probe 11. The ultrasonic echo propagating toward the transducer array 15 is received by each transducer that makes up the transducer array 15. At this time, each transducer that makes up the transducer array 15 expands and contracts upon receiving the propagating ultrasonic echo, generating a received signal which is an electrical signal, and these received signals are output to the amplification unit 52.

[0039] The amplification unit 52 amplifies the signals input from each transducer constituting the transducer array 15 and transmits the amplified signals to the AD conversion unit 53. The AD conversion unit 53 converts the signals transmitted from the amplification unit 52 into digital received data and transmits this received data to the beamformer 54. The beamformer 54 performs so-called receive focus processing by adding each received data converted by the AD conversion unit 53 with a corresponding delay, according to the sound velocity or sound velocity distribution set based on the reception delay pattern selected according to the control signal from the ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 33. This receive focus processing generates a sound ray signal in which each received data converted by the AD conversion unit 53 is added in phase and the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed. The sound ray signal thus generated is sent to the image generation unit 32.

[0040] As shown in Figure 9, the image generation unit 32 has a configuration in which a signal processing unit 55, a DSC (Digital Scan Converter) 56, and an image processing unit 57 are connected in series in sequence. The signal processing unit 55 applies distance-dependent attenuation correction to the sound line signal transmitted from the transmitting / receiving circuit 31 according to the depth of the ultrasonic reflection position, and then performs envelope detection processing to generate an image signal (B-mode image signal), which is tomographic image information about the tissue within the subject.

[0041] The DSC56 converts the image signal generated by the signal processing unit 55 into an image signal that follows the scanning method of a normal television signal (raster conversion). The image processing unit 57 generates an ultrasonic image signal by applying various necessary image processing, such as brightness correction, gradation correction, sharpness correction, and color correction, to the image signal input from the DSC 56. The ultrasonic image signal generated in this way by the image generation unit 32 is sent to the wireless communication circuit 21.

[0042] The wireless communication circuit 21 includes an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves and communicates wirelessly with the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41. In this process, the wireless communication circuit 21 modulates a carrier based on the image signal sent from the image generation unit 32 to generate a transmission signal, and wirelessly transmits the generated transmission signal to the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41. Examples of carrier modulation methods include ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying), PSK (Phase Shift Keying), QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying), and 16QAM (16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation).

[0043] The communication control unit 34 controls the wireless communication circuit 21 so that the ultrasonic image signal is transmitted at the transmission radio wave intensity set by the probe control unit 37. The light emission control unit 35 controls the light emission of the light emission unit 14, which is located on the outer surface of the third side plate portion S3 of the housing 12, under the control of the probe control unit 37, to represent various states of the ultrasonic probe 11. When the ultrasonic probe 11 is placed in the charger described later, the charging control unit 36 ​​controls the charging of the battery 16 via the charging coil 17, which is built into the housing 12.

[0044] The temperature sensor 22, located inside the housing 12, detects the temperature inside the housing 12, particularly the temperature near the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C, and sends this information to the probe control unit 37. The battery 16 supplies power to various parts within the ultrasonic probe 11. The receiving coil 17 receives charging power transmitted from a charger located outside the ultrasonic probe 11. The probe control unit 37 controls each part of the ultrasonic probe 11 based on a program or other data stored in advance.

[0045] The wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41 includes an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves, and communicates wirelessly with the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11. In this process, the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41 receives, for example, a transmission signal wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11 via the antenna, and outputs an ultrasonic image signal by demodulating the received transmission signal. The wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41 then sends the ultrasonic image signal output in this manner to the display control unit 43.

[0046] The display control unit 43, under the control of the main unit control unit 46, performs predetermined processing on the ultrasonic image signal transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 42 and displays the ultrasonic image on the monitor 44. The monitor 44 displays the ultrasound image under the control of the display control unit 43 and has a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL display (Organic Electroluminescence Display).

[0047] The communication control unit 45 controls the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41 so that it receives the transmission signal from the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11. The main control unit 46 controls each part of the main body 41 of the device based on a pre-stored program and user operations via the input device 47. The input device 47 is for the user to perform input operations and consists of devices such as a keyboard, mouse, trackball, touchpad, and touch sensor placed on top of the monitor 44.

[0048] In this embodiment, each process is executed on any computer. Furthermore, any computer may execute these processes using a processor as hardware, a program as software, or a combination thereof. In this case, the processor is configured to work in cooperation with the program to execute the various processes in this embodiment, and can function as a unit or means in this embodiment. The execution order of the processes by the processor is not limited to the order described and may be changed as appropriate. Any computer may be a general-purpose computer, a computer designed for a specific purpose, a workstation, or any other system capable of executing each process.

[0049] Here, the processor 38 on the ultrasonic probe 11 side and the processor 48 on the device body 41 side may each be composed of one or more hardware components, and the type of hardware is not limited. For example, the processor may be composed of a programmable logic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a dedicated circuit for executing a specific process such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), or an NPU (Neural Processing Unit). Furthermore, the type of hardware may be a combination of different types of hardware. When multiple hardware components are configured to execute one or more processes of a given processor, these multiple hardware components may be located in physically separate devices or in the same device. Also, in any embodiment, the order of each process performed by the processor is not limited to the order described above and may be changed as appropriate. The hardware is composed of electrical circuits (circuitry) that combine circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0050] In this embodiment 1, the processor 38 on the ultrasonic probe 11 side is composed of two integrated circuits 19 and 20 shown in Figure 4.

[0051] Furthermore, the program may be firmware or software such as microcode. Alternatively, the program may be, for example, a set of program modules, each function of which may be implemented by a processor configured to perform its respective function. The program may be program code or multiple code segments stored on one or more non-temporary computer-readable media (e.g., storage media or other storage). The program may be divided and stored on multiple non-temporary computer-readable media located on physically separate devices. Program code or code segments may represent any combination of procedures, functions, subprograms, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes, or instructions, data structures, or program statements. Program code or code segments may be connected to other code segments or hardware circuits by sending and receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents.

[0052] When performing an ultrasound diagnosis using the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus shown in Figure 7, first, under the control of the ultrasound transmission / reception control unit 33 of the ultrasound probe 11, an ultrasound beam is transmitted into the subject from multiple transducers of the transducer array 15 according to a drive signal from the transmission / reception circuit 31. The ultrasound echo from the subject is received by multiple transducers of the transducer array 15, and the received signal, which is an analog signal, is output from the multiple transducers to the transmission / reception circuit 31. The received signal is amplified by the amplification unit 52 of the transmission / reception circuit 31, converted to AD by the AD conversion unit 53, and then subjected to reception focus processing in the beamformer 54 to generate an acoustic ray signal, which is sent from the transmission / reception circuit 31 to the image generation unit 32.

[0053] Furthermore, the signal processing unit 55 of the image generation unit 32 applies attenuation correction due to distance corresponding to the depth of the ultrasonic reflection position and envelope detection processing to the sound line signal, thereby generating an image signal which is tomographic image information of the tissue within the subject. This is then converted into an image signal following the scanning method of a normal television signal by the DSC 56, and further, various necessary image processing such as gradation processing is performed by the image processing unit 57 to generate an ultrasonic image signal. The ultrasonic image signal generated in this manner is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11 to the main unit 41 of the device, received by the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41, and then the ultrasonic image is displayed on the monitor 44 via the display control unit 43.

[0054] During such operation, heat is emitted from the integrated circuit 19 mounted on the circuit board 18. However, the heat conduction between the integrated circuit 19 and the heat transfer member 23 is controlled by the heat transfer control member 24. As a result, the heat generated in the integrated circuit 19 is less likely to be transferred to the heat transfer member 23 located directly above the integrated circuit 19, while it is more likely to be transferred to the heat transfer member 23 located around the integrated circuit 19. The heat transferred from the integrated circuit 19 to the heat transfer member 23 is then widely conducted within the housing 12 via the sheet-like, highly thermally conductive heat transfer member 23, and released to the outside of the ultrasonic probe 11 through the housing 12.

[0055] Therefore, both have a simple structure in which only a sheet-like heat transfer member 23 and a heat transfer control member 24 are placed between the inner surface of the housing 12 and the integrated circuit 19, which effectively prevents the formation of so-called hot spots, which become locally hot, on the housing 12, for example, in the part located directly above the integrated circuit 19. Therefore, it becomes possible to miniaturize the ultrasonic probe 11 while suppressing the temperature rise caused by heat generation from the integrated circuit 19.

[0056] Similarly, heat is expected to be emitted from the other integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21 mounted on the circuit board 18, but sheet-shaped heat transfer control members 24 are placed between the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21 and the heat transfer member 23, respectively, so that, for example, the formation of a heat spot on the housing 12 in the part located directly above the integrated circuit 20 or wireless communication circuit 21 is effectively prevented.

[0057] In the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1, for example, as shown in Figure 10, the heat transfer member 23 may have an opening 23B located directly above the integrated circuit 19, corresponding to the integrated circuit 19. In this way, the heat conduction path from the integrated circuit 19 to the housing 12 located directly above the integrated circuit 19 is restricted, and the formation of a heat spot in the area directly above the integrated circuit 19 is more effectively prevented. Similarly, if the heat transfer member 23 has openings 23B located directly above the other integrated circuit 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21, the formation of heat spots in the portions located directly above the integrated circuit 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21 can be prevented even more effectively.

[0058] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the wireless communication circuit 21 is covered by a heat transfer member 23 inside the housing 12. However, since the wireless communication circuit 21 transmits and receives radio waves using a built-in wireless communication antenna, it is desirable that the heat transfer member 23 has an opening at a position corresponding to the wireless communication circuit 21 so as not to block the radio waves. In addition, instead of a wireless communication antenna built into the wireless communication circuit 21, a wireless communication antenna configured as a separate component from the wireless communication circuit 21 can also be used. In this case, it is desirable that the opening be at a position corresponding to the separate wireless communication antenna. Similarly, since the receiving coil 17 receives charging power wirelessly from a charger located outside the ultrasonic probe 11 when charging the battery 16, if the heat transfer member 23 also covers the receiving coil 17, it is desirable that the heat transfer member 23 has an opening at a position corresponding to the receiving coil 17 so that radio waves are not blocked.

[0059] As shown in Figure 1, the outer surface of the grip portion 12C of the housing 12 includes many curved sections. Therefore, as shown in Figure 11, it is preferable that the heat transfer member 23 has multiple slits 23C formed in the Y direction along the longitudinal direction of the housing 12. The presence of multiple slits 23C allows the sheet-like heat transfer member 23 to be positioned along the inner surface of the housing 12 without forming wrinkles, regardless of the shape of the outer surface of the grip portion 12C.

[0060] Instead of having multiple slits 23C, the heat transfer member 23 may be configured to have a tape shape with a width narrower than the width of the housing 12 in the X direction. Even in this way, the heat transfer member 23 can be positioned along the inner surface of the housing 12 without forming wrinkles. Furthermore, the sheet-like heat transfer member 23 can be positioned to cover the entire back surface of the grip portion 12C of the housing 12, thereby improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the ultrasonic probe 11.

[0061] Furthermore, in the first embodiment of the ultrasonic probe 11, the outer surface of the second side plate portion S2, which is located on the opposite side of the center line C1 from the first side plate portion S1 to the fourth side plate portion S4 surrounding the grip portion 12C, has a curved shape in at least a part of it. This configuration makes it easier for the user to grasp the grip portion 12C and improves the operability of the ultrasonic probe 11. Furthermore, since the projection 13 is formed on the +X side of the front end 12A of the ultrasonic probe 11, when the user grasps the grip portion 12C, the presence of the projection 13 makes it easy to grasp the orientation of the ultrasonic probe 11, thereby improving operability.

[0062] Furthermore, since the ultrasonic probe 11 has a light-emitting part 14 located on the outer surface of the third side plate portion S3 of the grip portion 12C, various states of the ultrasonic probe 11 can be indicated by changing the way light is emitted from the light-emitting part 14 under the control of the light emission control unit 35. for example, • Startup status of the ultrasonic probe 11 • Wireless connection status between the ultrasonic probe 11 and the main unit 41 of the device • Battery level 16 • Battery 16 charge status Error state • Software update status of the ultrasound probe 11 However, the notification is given by changing the color and pattern of the light emission.

[0063] Furthermore, the temperature near the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C, detected by the two temperature sensors 22, is sent to the probe control unit 37, and under the control of the light emission control unit 35, the heating state of the ultrasonic probe 11 can be indicated by light emission from the light emission unit 14. Generally, the surface temperature of an ultrasonic probe is limited to a temperature specified by safety standards. However, by changing the way the light-emitting part 14 emits light according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 22, the user can easily and intuitively grasp the surface temperature of the ultrasonic probe 11. Furthermore, the user can use the way the light-emitting part 14 emits light to determine if the surface temperature of the ultrasonic probe 11 has exceeded a predetermined temperature, and use this as a guideline to temporarily suspend the use of the ultrasonic probe 11.

[0064] Furthermore, if the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 22 reaches a predetermined threshold, the ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 33 can adjust the drive signal supplied from the transmission / reception circuit 31 to the transducer array 15 to reduce the frame rate of the ultrasonic imaging, stop the ultrasonic imaging, or take other measures to lower the surface temperature of the ultrasonic probe 11.

[0065] In the above embodiment 1, the projection 13 is formed to protrude from the front end 12A of the ultrasonic probe 11 on the +X side, but this is not the only possible configuration. The projection 13 can also be formed to protrude from the front end 12A of the ultrasonic probe 11 on the -X side. Similarly, in the above embodiment 1, the light-emitting part 14 is arranged on the outer surface of the third side plate portion S3 of the grip portion 12C facing the +X direction, but it is not limited to this, and the light-emitting part 14 may also be arranged on the outer surface of the fourth side plate portion S4 of the grip portion 12C facing the -X direction.

[0066] Embodiment 2 In the above embodiment 1, a sheet-shaped heat transfer control member 24 is arranged between the heat transfer member 23, the integrated circuits 19 and 20, and the wireless communication circuit 21, but the invention is not limited to this. Figure 12 shows the peripheral configuration of the integrated circuit 19 in the ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0067] In the vicinity of the integrated circuit 19, a sheet-shaped heat dissipation control member 25 is positioned between the heat transfer member 23 and the inner surface of the housing 12. The heat dissipation control member 25, like the heat transfer member 23, is made of a sheet-shaped material with high thermal conductivity, with the surface of the heat dissipation control member 25 on the +Z direction side in contact with the inner surface of the housing 12, and the back surface of the heat dissipation control member 25 on the -Z direction side in contact with the surface of the heat transfer member 23.

[0068] Furthermore, a plurality of recesses 25A are formed on the surface of the heat dissipation control member 25 facing the inner surface of the housing 12, on the +Z direction side. The plurality of recesses 25A have an arrangement pattern corresponding to the integrated circuit 19. For example, as shown in Figure 13, directly above the integrated circuit 19, the recesses 25A are arranged in portions that occupy a large area ratio relative to the surface of the integrated circuit 19, while around the integrated circuit 19, the arrangement of recesses 25A is limited to relatively small areas.

[0069] The surface of the heat dissipation control member 25 on the +Z side is in contact with the inner surface of the housing 12. However, since a recess 25A is formed on the surface of the heat dissipation control member 25 on the +Z side, the heat dissipation control member 25 and the inner surface of the housing 12 do not come into direct contact in the area where the recess 25A exists. Therefore, due to the presence of multiple recesses 25A having arrangement patterns corresponding to the integrated circuit 19, the contact area between the heat dissipation control member 25 and the inner surface of the housing 12 per unit area directly above the integrated circuit 19 is smaller than the contact area between the heat dissipation control member 25 and the inner surface of the housing 12 per unit area around the integrated circuit 19.

[0070] Therefore, the heat generated in the integrated circuit 19 and conducted to the heat transfer member 23 is less likely to be transferred to the part of the housing 12 directly above the integrated circuit 19, while it is more likely to be transferred to the part of the housing 12 located around the integrated circuit 19. In this way, the heat dissipation control member 25 controls the release of heat from the heat transfer member 23 to the housing 12.

[0071] Furthermore, sheet-shaped heat dissipation control members 25 are placed between the heat transfer member 23 and the inner surface of the housing 12 in the vicinity of the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21 mounted on the circuit board 18. Similar to the integrated circuit 19, the heat dissipation control members 25 control the release of heat from the heat transfer member 23 to the housing 12 so that the heat generated in the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21 and conducted to the heat transfer member 23 is less likely to be transferred to the housing 12 in the part directly above the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21, and more likely to be transferred to the part of the housing 12 in the periphery of the integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21.

[0072] Furthermore, if the heat transfer member 23 is formed from a copper sheet or heat dissipation gel, similar to the heat transfer control member 24 in Embodiment 1, the heat dissipation control member 25 can be formed from a heat dissipation gel, graphite sheet, aluminum heat sink, heat dissipation resin, etc. Also, if the heat transfer member 23 is formed from a graphite sheet, the heat dissipation control member 25 can be formed from a heat dissipation gel, aluminum heat sink, heat dissipation resin, etc.

[0073] In this second embodiment as well, the heat transfer member 23 can be formed from an anisotropic thermal conductive material having a higher thermal conductivity in the planar direction than in the thickness direction of the heat transfer member 23. In this case, it is desirable to apply an electrical insulating treatment to at least the surfaces of the heat transfer member 23 that face the integrated circuits 19 and 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21 in order to ensure electrical insulation.

[0074] Furthermore, the heat transfer member 23 and the heat dissipation control member 25 can be held inside the housing 12 by, for example, sandwiching them between the circuit board 18 and the inner surface of the housing 12. However, in addition to being held in place, it may also be held inside the housing 12 by methods such as adhering it to the inner surface of the housing 12. In Figure 12, the back surface of the heat transfer member 23 on the -Z direction side is separated from the surface of the integrated circuit 19, but the heat transfer member 23 and the integrated circuit 19 may be in contact with each other.

[0075] When the ultrasonic probe 11 is in operation, heat is emitted from the integrated circuit 19 mounted on the circuit board 18. However, the heat dissipation control member 25 controls the release of heat from the heat transfer member 23 to the housing 12. As a result, the heat generated in the integrated circuit 19 is less likely to be transferred to the part of the housing 12 directly above the integrated circuit 19, while it is more likely to be transferred to the part of the housing 12 located around the integrated circuit 19. The heat transferred from the integrated circuit 19 to the heat transfer member 23 is then widely conducted within the housing 12 via the sheet-like, highly thermally conductive heat transfer member 23, and released to the outside of the ultrasonic probe 11 through the housing 12.

[0076] Therefore, in the ultrasonic probe 11 of the second embodiment, the simple structure in which the sheet-shaped heat transfer member 23 and heat dissipation control member 25 are arranged between the inner surface of the housing 12 and the integrated circuit 19 effectively prevents the formation of a so-called hot spot, which becomes locally hot, on the housing 12, for example, in the part located directly above the integrated circuit 19. Therefore, similar to Embodiment 1, it is possible to miniaturize the ultrasonic probe 11 while suppressing the temperature rise due to heat generation from the integrated circuit 19.

[0077] Similarly, heat is expected to be emitted from the other integrated circuit 20 and wireless communication circuit 21 mounted on the circuit board 18. However, sheet-shaped heat dissipation control members 25 are placed between the inner surface of the housing 12 and the heat transfer member 23 in the vicinity of the integrated circuit 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21, respectively. This effectively prevents the formation of hot spots on the housing 12, for example, in the portion directly above the integrated circuit 20 or the wireless communication circuit 21.

[0078] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 14, the heat transfer member 23 may have an opening 23B located directly above the integrated circuit 19, corresponding to the integrated circuit 19. In this way, the heat conduction path from the integrated circuit 19 to the housing 12 located directly above the integrated circuit 19 is restricted, and the formation of a heat spot in the portion located directly above the integrated circuit 19 can be prevented more effectively. Similarly, if the heat transfer member 23 has openings 23B located directly above the other integrated circuit 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21, the formation of heat spots in the portions located directly above the integrated circuit 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21 can be prevented even more effectively.

[0079] As shown in Figure 11, if the heat transfer member 23 has a plurality of slits 23C formed in the Y direction along the longitudinal direction of the housing 12, the sheet-like heat transfer member 23 can be placed along the inner surface of the housing 12 without forming wrinkles, regardless of the shape of the outer surface of the grip portion 12C. Instead of having multiple slits 23C, the heat transfer member 23 may be configured to have a tape shape with a width narrower than the width of the housing 12 in the X direction. Furthermore, in the second embodiment as well, the sheet-like heat transfer member 23 can be arranged to cover the entire back surface of the grip portion 12C of the housing 12, thereby improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the ultrasonic probe 11.

[0080] Embodiment 3 The ultrasonic probe 11 according to Embodiment 1 has an image generation unit 32, as shown in Figure 7, and the ultrasonic image signal generated by the image generation unit 32 is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11 to the main body of the device 41, but is not limited to this. Figure 15 shows the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic device equipped with an ultrasound probe 11A according to Embodiment 3. The ultrasound diagnostic device comprises the ultrasound probe 11A according to Embodiment 3 and a device body 41A, and the ultrasound probe 11A and the device body 41A are connected by wireless communication.

[0081] The ultrasonic probe 11A is the same as the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 7, but with the image generation unit 32 removed and the wireless communication circuit 21 directly connected to the transmitting / receiving circuit 31, and a probe control unit 37A used instead of the probe control unit 37. The other configurations are the same as the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1. Furthermore, the ultrasonic probe 11A has the same housing 12 as the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1. The main unit 41A is the same as the main unit 41 in Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 7, but with an image generation unit 32 newly connected between the wireless communication circuit 42 and the display control unit 43, and a main unit control unit 46A connected to the display control unit 43, the communication control unit 45 and the image generation unit 32 instead of the main unit control unit 46. The other configurations are the same as the main unit 41 in Embodiment 1.

[0082] In the ultrasonic probe 11A, the ultrasonic probe 11A-side processor 38A is formed by the transmitting / receiving circuit 31, ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33, communication control unit 34, light emission control unit 35, charging control unit 36, and probe control unit 37A. Furthermore, in the main body 41A of the device, the image generation unit 32, the display control unit 43, the communication control unit 45, and the main body control unit 46A form the processor 48A on the main body 41A side.

[0083] The sound line signal generated by the transmitting / receiving circuit 31 of the ultrasonic probe 11A is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 21 to the main unit 41A of the device. The wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41A receives the sound line signal, and the image generation unit 32 performs attenuation correction and envelope detection processing on it to generate an ultrasonic image signal. The ultrasonic image is then displayed on the monitor 44 via the display control unit 43. In this way, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus equipped with the ultrasound probe 11A according to Embodiment 3 can also display ultrasound images on the monitor 44, just as the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus equipped with the ultrasound probe 11 according to Embodiment 1.

[0084] Furthermore, similar to the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1, the ultrasonic probe 11A has a sheet-shaped heat transfer member 23 and a heat transfer control member 24 positioned between the inner surface of the housing 12 and the integrated circuit 19, effectively preventing the formation of a so-called hot spot, which becomes locally hot, on the housing 12, for example, in the portion directly above the integrated circuit 19. Therefore, it becomes possible to miniaturize the ultrasonic probe 11A while suppressing the temperature rise caused by heat generation from the integrated circuit 19.

[0085] Furthermore, even if the sheet-shaped heat transfer member 23 and the heat dissipation control member 25 are arranged between the inner surface of the housing 12 and the integrated circuit 19, as in Embodiment 2, it is possible to similarly miniaturize the ultrasonic probe 11A while suppressing the temperature rise due to heat generation from the integrated circuit 19.

[0086] Furthermore, the device body 41 in Embodiments 1 and 2, and the device body 41A in Embodiment 3, can be in the form of a portable, thin computer or a stationary device body. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 11,11A Ultrasonic probe, 12 Housing, 12A Front end, 12B Rear end, 12C Grip section, 13 Projection, 14 Light-emitting section, 15 Transducer array, 15A Ultrasonic emission surface, 16 Battery, 17 Power receiving coil, 18 Circuit board, 19,20 Integrated circuit, 21,42 Wireless communication circuit, 22 Temperature sensor, 23 Heat transfer member, 23A,23B Opening, 23C Slit, 24 Heat transfer control member, 24A,25A Recess, 25 Heat dissipation control member, 31 Transmit / receive circuit, 32 Image generation unit, 33 Ultrasonic transmit / receive control unit, 34,45 Communication control unit, 35 Light emission control unit, 36 Charging control unit, 37,37A Probe control unit, 38,38A,48,48A Processor, 41,41A Main unit, 43 Display control unit, 44 Monitor, 46,46A Main control unit, 47 input device, 51 pulser, 52 amplifier, 53 AD converter, 54 beamformer, 55 signal processing unit, 56 DSC, 57 image processing unit, C1 centerline, S1 first side plate section, S2 second side plate section, S3 third side plate section, S4 fourth side plate section.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic probe in which an integrated circuit is located inside the grip portion of the housing, A sheet-like heat transfer member is disposed between the inner surface of the housing and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the area surrounding the integrated circuit, A sheet-like heat transfer control member is disposed between the heat transfer member and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the periphery of the integrated circuit and for controlling heat conduction between the integrated circuit and the heat transfer member. Equipped with, The heat transfer control member is in contact with the heat transfer member. An ultrasonic probe in which the contact area between the heat transfer control member and the heat transfer member per unit area directly above the integrated circuit is smaller than the contact area between the heat transfer control member and the heat transfer member per unit area around the integrated circuit.

2. An ultrasonic probe in which an integrated circuit is located inside the grip portion of the housing, A sheet-like heat transfer member is disposed between the inner surface of the housing and the integrated circuit so as to cover at least the area surrounding the integrated circuit, A sheet-like heat dissipation control member is disposed between the heat transfer member and the inner surface of the housing so as to cover at least the area around the integrated circuit and for controlling the release of heat from the heat transfer member to the housing. Equipped with, The heat dissipation control member is in contact with the inner surface of the housing. An ultrasonic probe in which the contact area between the heat dissipation control member and the inner surface of the housing per unit area directly above the integrated circuit is smaller than the contact area between the heat dissipation control member and the inner surface of the housing per unit area around the integrated circuit.

3. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat transfer member has an opening located directly above the integrated circuit.

4. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat transfer member is formed from an anisotropic thermal conductive material whose thermal conductivity in the planar direction is higher than that in the thickness direction of the heat transfer member.

5. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least the surface of the heat transfer member facing the integrated circuit is subjected to electrical insulation processing.

6. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat transfer member covers the entire back surface of the grip portion of the housing.

7. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 6, wherein the heat transfer member has a slit formed along the longitudinal direction of the housing, or has a tape shape with a width narrower than the width of the housing.

8. It comprises at least one of a temperature sensor and a wireless communication circuit, The heat transfer member is arranged to cover at least one of the temperature sensor and the wireless communication circuit. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat transfer member has an opening corresponding to at least one of the temperature sensor and the wireless communication circuit.

9. The heat transfer control member has a plurality of recesses formed on the surface facing the heat transfer member, The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of recesses have an arrangement pattern corresponding to the integrated circuit.

10. The heat dissipation control member has a plurality of recesses formed on a surface facing the inner surface of the housing, The ultrasonic probe according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of recesses have an arrangement pattern corresponding to the integrated circuit.

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