Multi-array Ultrasonic Probe Tile Alignment via Segmented Substrate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ultrasonic probe apparatuses face challenges in aligning tiles uniformly to ensure accurate transmission and reception of ultrasonic beams, leading to potential malfunctions and reduced accuracy in diagnostic imaging.
Innovation Solution
A multi-array ultrasonic probe apparatus with a substrate featuring guide and adhesive portions that align tiles in identical directions and levels, using semiconductor process technology to minimize alignment errors and prevent adhesive leakage, allowing for precise control over beam transmission and reception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If tiles are mounted on the substrate without guide portions, then the mounting process is simpler, but the alignment precision of tiles deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is segmented into distinct functional regions: guide portions (protrusions) for positioning tiles and adhesive portions (depressions) for bonding. This segmentation allows each region to perform its specific function optimally, achieving precise alignment while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide portions act as intermediary elements between the substrate and tiles, providing physical constraints that ensure precise alignment during mounting. These protrusions serve as mediators that transfer positioning information from the substrate design to the tile placement, achieving high alignment precision without complex external fixtures.
2Strength
If adhesive material is applied generously to ensure bonding, then the bonding strength increases, but adhesive leakage onto tiles occurs causing malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive material is applied locally within the adhesive portions (depressions) rather than uniformly across the entire substrate surface. This localized application ensures sufficient bonding strength at the tile-substrate interface while preventing overflow onto the tile surfaces, thereby maintaining both bonding strength and functional reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive portions are designed as depressed regions that extract or contain the adhesive material in specific locations. By taking out material from the substrate surface to create these depressions, the design provides controlled spaces for adhesive application, preventing uncontrolled leakage while ensuring adequate bonding.
3Manufacturing precision
If tiles are aligned manually to ensure uniform direction and level, then the alignment accuracy improves, but the manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portions and adhesive portions are designed to enable self-alignment of tiles during the mounting process. The physical constraints provided by the protrusions and depressions allow tiles to automatically position themselves in the correct orientation and level, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual alignment operations while maintaining high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate is pre-formed with guide portions and adhesive portions that encode the desired tile arrangement pattern. This preliminary structuring of the substrate creates built-in alignment features that guide tile placement, eliminating the need for real-time manual adjustment and significantly improving manufacturing efficiency while maintaining uniformity.
4Ease of operation
If guide portions are made wider to facilitate tile insertion, then the ease of mounting increases, but the space for adhesive portions decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate surface is segmented into distinct guide portions (protrusions) and adhesive portions (depressions). This segmentation allows the guide portions to be optimized for tile insertion ease while the adhesive portions are simultaneously optimized for bonding area, resolving the space conflict through functional separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from a two-dimensional surface area consideration to a three-dimensional volumetric arrangement. By creating protrusions and depressions with vertical dimension, the guide portions can be wider for ease of insertion while the adhesive portions utilize the vertical depth and lateral spacing to maintain sufficient bonding area without direct area competition.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
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AI summary
A multi-array type ultrasonic probe apparatus includes n tiles which transmit and receive an ultrasonic beam; and a substrate having n guide portions on which the n tiles are mounted, respectively, to be aligned in a multi-array. The multi-array ultrasonic probe apparatus may align tiles in identical directions and at identical levels to control a direction and a time for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic beam to be transmitted and received at the tiles, thereby providing a stable ultrasonic beam.