| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 073644000 | Having significant coupling means | 45 |
| 20080202245 | PROBE FOR INSPECTION OF EDGES OF A STRUCTURE - An apparatus including a linear array transducer coupled to an upper housing of the apparatus and positioned above a tapered chamber. The tapered chamber configured to maintain a column of couplant between the linear array transducer and a structure to be inspected as the linear array transducer is positioned over an edge of the structure. | 08-28-2008 |
| 20080236288 | INSPECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTION OF MATERIAL PROPERTY ANOMALIES - A method for inspecting a part is provided. The method includes immersing the part in a couplant medium, delivering ultrasonic wave energy to at least one subvolume of the part using an ultrasonic transducer immersed in the couplant medium and receiving ultrasonic wave energy from the part at a fundamental frequency and at least one harmonic frequency using an ultrasonic receiver immersed in the couplant medium. The method also includes generating a nonlinear image corresponding to at least one material property variation of the part using the received ultrasonic energy and using the nonlinear image of the part to determine whether one or more material property anomalies are present in the part. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20090126496 | Ultrasound Probe Arrangement - The invention relates to an ultrasound probe arrangement ( | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090158851 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AIR-COUPLED TRANSDUCER - An air-coupled transducer includes a ultrasonic transducer body having a radiation end with a backing fixture at the radiation end. There is a flexible backplate conformingly fit to the backing fixture and a thin membrane (preferably a metallized polymer) conformingly fit to the flexible backplate. In one embodiment, the backing fixture is spherically curved and the flexible backplate is spherically curved. The flexible backplate is preferably patterned with pits or depressions. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090165563 | PHASED ARRAY ULTRASONIC WATER WEDGE APPARATUS - A phased array ultrasonic probe assembly includes, in an exemplary embodiment, a housing and a phased array transducer supported inside the housing. The housing includes a first side wall and an opposing second side wall, and a first end wall and an opposing second end wall. The first and second side walls and the first and second end walls define a housing cavity in which the phased array transducer is positioned. The first and second side walls each have an inside surface that include a plurality of projections. | 07-02-2009 |
| 20090235751 | CONFORMABLE ULTRASONIC ARRAY APPARATUS - A method and apparatus for ultrasonic inspection. The ultrasonic inspection apparatus comprises ultrasonic transducers, a body, a set of engagement members and a set of ports. The ultrasonic transducers are at a position generally adjacent to a surface of an object. The body has a contact surface capable of contacting the surface and is capable of holding the set of ultrasonic transducers. The engagement members are connected to the body for engagement with the surface. The engagement members are flexibly bendable and are conformed to contours across the surface to form a coupling region within the body. The set of ports deliver a coupling material to the coupling region. The engagement members, when in contact with the surface of the object, cause a seal to retain an amount of the coupling material within the coupling region sufficient to couple the ultrasonic transducers to the surface. | 09-24-2009 |
| 20090249879 | INSPECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTION OF MATERIAL PROPERTY ANOMALIES - An inspection system includes an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver ultrasonic wave energy to at least one sub volume of the part, and an ultrasonic receiver configured to receive ultrasonic wave energy from the part at a fundamental frequency and at least one harmonic frequency. Both the ultrasonic transducer and the ultrasonic receiver are located on the same side of the part in various configurations. In a method, ultrasonic wave energy is delivered to at least one subvolume of the part using an ultrasonic transducer and ultrasonic wave energy from the part at a fundamental frequency is received at least one harmonic frequency using an ultrasonic receiver positioned on the same side of the part to determine whether one or more material property anomalies are present in the part. | 10-08-2009 |
| 20100005892 | ACTIVE ACOUSTIC DRIVER FOR MAGNETIC RESONANCE ELASTOGRAPHY - A driver for applying an oscillating stress to a subject undergoing a medical imaging procedure, such as with magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), includes a passive driver located in the bore of the magnet and in direct contact with the skin of the subject. A remotely located active driver includes a linear motor and a sealed diaphragm that produces acoustic pressure waves in response to an applied current. The pressure waves are directed through a tube and into a chamber formed within the passive driver. Vibrations produced in response to the pressure waves create shear waves that are directed into the subject to aid in the imaging procedure. | 01-14-2010 |
| 20100011866 | ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER - An ultrasonic transducer with a housing having an ultrasonic window in a first region of the housing for transmitting ultrasonic waves, and a transducer element located in the housing adjacent to the ultrasonic window. To prevent ultrasonic waves from being transmitted as housing waves between the first region of the housing, by way of at least one intermediate second region of the housing, to a third region of the housing on opposite side of the second region from the first region, in the second region of the housing, at least two weakly coupled mechanical resonators are provided which are arranged essentially in secession in the propagation direction of the housing waves. | 01-21-2010 |
| 20100011867 | ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER - An ultrasonic transducer for installation in an instrument housing, the ultrasonic transducer having a transducer housing and a housing fixture, the transducer housing being put under pressure by a medium in its installed state on its emitting and/or receiving side. To provide an ultrasonic transducer for installation in an instrument housing, which implements a measure for avoiding crosstalk of ultrasonic signals and avoids the disadvantages known from the prior art—at least partially, the ultrasonic transducer is wherein the transducer housing indirectly forms at least one contact area in its installed state with the housing fixture, the transducer housing and the housing fixture being at least indirectly pressed against one another in a first contact area with existing, but as slight as possible, surface pressure by a pre-loading mechanism. | 01-21-2010 |
| 20100024559 | Hybrid Inspection System And Method Employing Both Air-Coupled And Liquid-Coupled Transducers - A hybrid inspection system and method are provided which utilize both an air-coupled transducer and a liquid-coupled transducer in order to enjoy the advantages offered by both types of transducers. The hybrid inspection system may include a first probe that includes the air-coupled transducer, such as a capacitive machined ultrasonic transducer, which is configured to emit ultrasonic signals and to air couple the ultrasonic signals into a workpiece. The hybrid inspection system may also include a second probe that includes the liquid-coupled transducer, such as a piezoelectric transducer, configured to receive the ultrasonic signals emitted by the air-coupled transducer of the first probe via a liquid coupling between the transducer and the workpiece. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100064812 | ULTRASONIC PROBE - An ultrasonic probe includes a probe body having a contact surface and a cavity that is open at the contact surface, an ultrasonic transducer carried by the body, and a spacer within the cavity. The spacer has a first surface acoustically coupled to the transducer, and a second (coupling) surface within the cavity. The spacer propagates an acoustic signal between the transducer and the coupling surface. The coupling surface is spaced apart from the contact surface to form a recess within the body. The body further has at least one port for circulating a coupling fluid into the recess. Depth of the recess is selected to balance gravitational force on the coupling fluid versus surface tension of the coupling fluid so a bead of the fluid forms over an edge of a structure under inspection as the probe is moved over the edge. | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100236330 | DRY-COUPLED PERMANENTLY INSTALLED ULTRASONIC SENSOR LINEAR ARRAY - This invention relates to permanent, ultrasonic, flexible, dry-coupled, linear arrays for the inspection of pipelines, process equipment, and the like. The permanent, ultrasonic, flexible, dry-coupled, linear arrays detect and/or measure corrosion wall loss, stress corrosion cracking, and/or internal initiated pipeline cracking. The apparatus for ultrasonically testing materials includes a linear array of ultrasonic sensors, and a flexible, acoustically transmissive, dry-coupling surrounding at least a portion of each of the ultrasonic sensors. | 09-23-2010 |
| 20110107837 | INSPECTION DEVICE - An inspection device ( | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110113886 | APPARATUS FOR COUPLING AN ULTRASOUND PROBE TO AN OBJECT - Improved coupling apparatus ( | 05-19-2011 |
| 20110126628 | NON-DESTRUCTIVE ULTRASOUND INSPECTION WITH COUPLING CHECK - A method for non-destructive ultrasonic testing of a test piece includes a plurality of testing cycles, each of said cycles comprising a transmitting of at least one ultrasonic impulse into the test piece by a plurality of ultrasonic transducers and a receiving of the at least one ultrasonic impulse passing through the test piece by the ultrasonic transducer or optionally by other ultrasonic transducers. The plurality of ultrasonic transducers are phase-controllable and form at least one phase array. The method comprises at least one first testing cycle in which the phase-controllable ultrasonic transducers of the at least one phase array are controlled during transmitting such that the rear wall echo of the test piece is detected by said phase array during receipt. The method comprises at least one second testing cycle in which the phase-controllable ultrasonic transducer of the same phase array are controlled during transmitting. | 06-02-2011 |
| 20110126629 | KNEE ACOUSTIC MATCHING DEVICE FOR ULTRASONIC PROBE - An acoustic matching device has a water bag ( | 06-02-2011 |
| 20110132094 | ULTRASONIC PROBE SUPPORT DEVICE - A mounting unit ( | 06-09-2011 |
| 20110283799 | Planar Probe Head and Ultrasonic Testing Device and Method for a Component - A planar probe for the coupling of ultrasonic signals to a planar component to be tested by means of water-free jet technology is provided. The planar probe includes: at least one preflow chamber; a flow chamber located downstream of at least one preflow chamber, wherein the flow chamber extends through a slot-shaped water outlet opening to a lower surface of the planar probe; a probe, wherein a lateral surface of the probe comprises emitting/receiving elements and forms an inner wall section of the flow chamber; a base body for the reception of the probe; and a sliding plate comprising the slot-shaped water outlet opening, whose planar extension along the component is larger than the planar extension of the base body along the component, wherein the planar probe is connected to the sliding plate. | 11-24-2011 |
| 20110314919 | AMPLIFYING ULTRASONIC WAVEGUIDES - Ultrasonic waveguides having improved velocity gain are disclosed for use in ultrasonic medical devices. Specifically, the ultrasonic waveguides comprises a first material having a higher acoustic impedance and a second material having a lower acoustic impedance. | 12-29-2011 |
| 20120017686 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ULTRASONIC MEASUREMENTS - An ultrasonic measurement device and method in which an ultrasonic transducer is acoustically coupled to an object to be measured by a resilient material contact layer. The transducer transmits a plurality of consecutive ultrasonic transmit signals into the object being measured, the transmit frequency of each of the plurality of transmit signals being distinct from the frequency of the other transmit signals of the plurality of transmit signals. Signal echoes of the transmitted signals are received, and based on the received signal echoes, at least one transmit frequency to be used for ultrasonic measurement of the object is selected. | 01-26-2012 |
| 20120067129 | ULTRASONIC TESTING APPARATUS FOR PIPE OR TUBE END PORTION - An ultrasonic testing apparatus for a pipe end portion, which enables accurate ultrasonic testing, comprises an ultrasonic probe disposed under the pipe end portion. The probe | 03-22-2012 |
| 20120103098 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ACOUSTICALLY TREATING MATERIAL - Methods and systems for acoustically treating material using a continuous process in which material may be caused to flow in a continuous or intermittent fashion into/out of an acoustic treatment chamber where the material is exposed to focused acoustic energy. The methods and systems may be arranged to permit continuous processing for extended periods while an acoustic energy source operates at a relatively high power output. Treatment chambers may include features such as an acoustic window, a heat exchanger, inlet/outlet flow arrangements, an inspection window, insert elements that define a treatment volume size or shape, etc. Treatment system configurations relating to arrangements of a treatment chamber relative to an acoustic source and coupling medium, material flow paths, and others are provided. | 05-03-2012 |
| 20120204650 | ACOUSTIC TRANSDUCER ASSEMBLY FOR A PRESSURE VESSEL - A transducer assembly includes an acoustic sensor element and an acoustic waveguide. The acoustic waveguide includes a rotatable acoustic coupler, a tube, and a foot. The foot has a mounting surface that is mountable on a fluid conduit. A circuit assembly couples to acoustic sensor element and provides a diagnostic output. | 08-16-2012 |
| 20120266679 | ULTRASONIC COUPLER ASSEMBLY - An ultrasonic coupler assembly for coupling an ultrasonic transducer to a pipe wall is disclosed, wherein the ultrasonic coupler is configured using three quadrilateral sections to reduce the temperature extreme to which the ultrasonic transducer is exposed and to improve the quality of the ultrasonic signal passing through the ultrasonic coupler. | 10-25-2012 |
| 20130112000 | ULTRASONIC SENSOR - Disclosed herein is an ultrasonic sensor, including: a case partitioning an inner space; a temperature-compensation ceramic maintaining a temperature of a sensor to be constant; sockets accommodating the temperature-compensation ceramic; a negative (−) terminal and a positive (+) terminal connected to the sockets, respectively; a piezoelectric ceramic connected to the positive (+) terminal and vibrating when power is supplied thereto; and an acoustic absorbent absorbing vibration of the piezoelectric ceramic. | 05-09-2013 |
| 20130160555 | TRANSDUCER DEVICE HAVING COUPLED RESONANT ELEMENTS - A transducer device includes first and second resonant elements and a common coupling cavity. The first resonant element includes a first membrane arranged over a first cavity in a substrate and a first transducer structure stacked on the first membrane. The second resonant element includes a second membrane arranged over a second cavity in the substrate. The common coupling cavity is configured to couple acoustic signals from the first and second resonant elements. | 06-27-2013 |
| 20130167647 | Concurrent Multiple Characteristic Ultrasonic Inspection - A method for acoustically measuring an external surface of a component and a wall thickness or component thickness at that location is provided. The method also provides for measuring the external surface by physical contact while concurrently acoustically measuring a wall thickness at that location. | 07-04-2013 |
| 20130199298 | APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATION OF FLUID SAMPLE PROCESSING USING ULTRASONIC WAVES - A system for processing fluid samples includes a centrifuge assembly in combination with a transducer assembly, where one or more sample containers for containing fluid samples are connected to the centrifuge assembly. The centrifuge assembly is configured to rotate about a centrifuge-assembly axis in a rotating configuration of the system, and the transducer assembly is configured to direct ultrasonic energy towards the one or more sample containers in an ultrasonic-processing configuration of the system. | 08-08-2013 |
| 20130205904 | ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER FOR AN ULTRASONIC FLOW MEASURING DEVICE - An ultrasonic transducer for an ultrasonic flow measuring device, comprising an electromechanical transducer element, which is prestressed against an ultrasonic window of the ultrasonic transducer by a suitable structure, wherein a first surface of the electromechanical transducer element faces the ultrasonic window, and wherein a second surface of the electromechanical transducer element lying opposite the first surface is divided into a plurality of segments, which are galvanically connected with the suitable structure for prestressing. | 08-15-2013 |
| 20130233082 | ULTRASONIC INSPECTION TOOL - An ultrasonic inspection probe comprising: a flexible ultrasonic array, a flexible coupling component arranged to ultrasonically couple the flexible ultrasonic array to a workpiece at a coupling boundary surface, a loading component arranged to apply a pressure to the coupling component to a surface opposite the coupling boundary surface to maintain contact between the coupling boundary surface and a workpiece. | 09-12-2013 |
| 20130239690 | MRE EXCITATION APPARATUS, EXCITATION SYSTEM, AND EXCITATION METHOD - An MRE excitation apparatus ( | 09-19-2013 |
| 20130298685 | LINEAR SCANNER WITH ROTATING COUPLING FLUID - An inspection arrangement and an associated method for inspecting an elongate object. The arrangement includes a housing providing an interior space. The housing has an entrance and exit that are aligned. The arrangement includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensor arrays disposed to direct ultrasonic sensory pluses. Each sensor array has a plurality of ultrasonic sensors with each ultrasonic sensor positioned to direct a respective ultrasonic sensory pulse in a respective direction. The arrangement includes a fluid delivery device that delivers a coupling fluid into the interior space. The coupling fluid transmits the ultrasonic sensory pluses to the elongate object. The arrangement includes a plurality of redirecting elements associated with the plurality of ultrasonic sensor arrays. Each redirecting element is positioned such that ultrasonic sensory pluses from the respective ultrasonic sensor array proceed through the respective redirecting element and are redirected along a different direction. | 11-14-2013 |
| 20140000372 | INSTALLATION FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING, BY IMMERSION ULTRASOUNDS, OF WORKPIECES | 01-02-2014 |
| 20140047924 | Flexible Ultrasound Inspection System - A method and apparatus comprising an array of piezoelectric elements, a flexible substrate connected to the array of piezoelectric elements, and an organic circuit system formed on the flexible substrate and connected to the array of piezoelectric elements. The flexible substrate is configured to substantially conform to a surface of a test object. The organic circuit system is configured to cause the array of piezoelectric elements to send sound signals into the test object. | 02-20-2014 |
| 20140208854 | UNIT CONSISTING OF AN ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER AND A TRANSDUCER HOLDER - An ultrasonic transducer and a transducer holder for preventing the transmission of housing waves has a decoupling ring between a housing flange of a transducer housing and a holder flange of the transducer holder. Preferably, there is a gasket between the housing flange of the transducer housing and the decoupling ring in addition to a gasket between the decoupling ring and the holder flange of the transducer holder. | 07-31-2014 |
| 20140290371 | ACOUSTIC MATCHING BODY, ULTRASONIC PROBE, AND ULTRASONIC MEASURING DEVICE - An acoustic matching body includes a convex curved surface formed by generatrices that extend parallel to one another and a groove formed on the curved surface along a line of intersection between a plane intersecting the generatrices and the curved surface. | 10-02-2014 |
| 20140360274 | PORTABLE ULTRASONIC PROBE - A portable ultrasonic probe includes a main body including a transducer to generate an ultrasonic wave and a folder portion including a display portion and pivotally coupled to an end portion of the main body, the main body includes a first heat radiation module configured to absorb and emit heat generated by the transducer, and the folder portion includes a second heat radiation module thermally coupled to the first heat radiation module when the folder portion is in a first position and configured to emit heat transmitted from the first heat radiation module. | 12-11-2014 |
| 20150059479 | TRANSDUCER WITH DRY ADHESIVE COUPLANT - A transducer for stimulating an article under test with ultrasonic vibration may include a transducer body having a transmitting face and configured to generate ultrasonic vibration through the transmitting face, and an couplant mounted on the transmitting face, the couplant having a multiplicity of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes extending therefrom in a direction substantially normal to the transmitting face. | 03-05-2015 |
| 20150135840 | SYSTEMS AND DEVICES FOR COUPLING ULTRASOUND ENERGY TO A BODY - Methods and systems for coupling ultrasound to the body, including to the head, are disclosed. The system is optionally configured to transmit ultrasound energy for transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation. Couplant assemblies are described that incorporate a semi-solid component that interfaces directly to the user's body and face of the ultrasound transducer. These couplant assemblies can be shaped, molded, or otherwise machined and, in some embodiments, contain one or more liquid, gel, or other non-solid component in an enclosed reservoir of the couplant assembly. Beneficial embodiments of ultrasound coupling assemblies described herein include those that conform to the contour of the user's body (e.g. the user's head for transcranial applications) and can easily be removed without leaving a messy residue. By having solid materials physically contacting the body, no residue is left that requires cleanup. | 05-21-2015 |
| 20150338381 | ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER WITH REDUCED APERTURE DELAY LINE - A delay line for an ultrasound transducer including: upper and lower surfaces, wherein the upper surface is configured to engage with an ultrasonic transducer and the lower surface is configured to engage with an object to be tested and the upper and lower surfaces have an area that is smaller than an area of the ultrasonic transducer; and at least one attachment face configured to attach to the ultrasound transducer. A method of applying ultrasonic energy to an object, the method including: applying a delay line to an object, wherein the delay line has: upper and lower surfaces, wherein the upper surface is configured to engage with an ultrasonic transducer and the lower surface is configured to engage with an object to be tested and the upper and lower surfaces have an area that is smaller than an area of the ultrasonic transducer; and at least one attachment face configured to attach to the ultrasound transducer; generating ultrasonic pulses via a transducer attached to the delay line; determining measurements based on the ultrasonic pulses; and determining characteristics of the object based on the measurements. | 11-26-2015 |
| 20150346161 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DIAGNOSING TUBE SENSOR INTEGRITY - A structural health monitoring apparatus is presented. According to an embodiment, the structural health monitoring apparatus comprises: a plurality of transducers configured for coupling to a structure, the structure comprising an outer structure surrounding and coupled to an inner structure, the transducers further configured for coupling to only the outer structure so as to transmit stress waves through the inner structure, and still further configured to receive the transmitted stress waves from the outer structure after they have passed through the inner structure; and an analyzer configured to detect damage within the inner structure according to the received transmitted stress waves from the outer structure. | 12-03-2015 |
| 20150355146 | ULTRASONIC FLAW DETECTION JIG, ULTRASONIC FLAW DETECTION METHOD AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING ULTRASONIC FLAW DETECTION JIG - An ultrasonic flaw detection jig includes a base section with which a probe of the ultrasonic inspection apparatus is brought into contact; and a prominence section provided for the base section and inserted into an inspection object hole of an inspection object. The inspection object hole includes a countersunk section connected with a main surface of the inspection object and extending from the main surface while reducing a diameter; and a connection section connecting a bottom of the countersunk section and the rear surface of the inspection object. The prominence section has a conical shape corresponding to the shape of the countersunk section. | 12-10-2015 |
| 20150376371 | ULTRASONIC SENSOR ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING RUBBER OF ULTRASONIC SENSOR ASSEMBLY - Provided is an ultrasonic sensor assembly for a vehicle. The ultrasonic sensor assembly is characterized by including a hollow housing, a rubber which couples a sensor cell to the housing, and a potting liquid with which the interior of the housing is filled, in which the rubber is made of fumed silica. | 12-31-2015 |
| 20160187301 | ULTRASONIC PROBE APPARATUS AND ULTRASONIC IMAGING APPARATUS USING THE SAME - An ultrasonic probe apparatus and an ultrasonic imaging apparatus are disclosed. The ultrasonic probe apparatus includes: an ultrasonic transducer configured to output an electrical signal upon receiving ultrasonic waves; a sound absorption unit, one surface of which is an installation surface of the ultrasonic transducer and is electrically connected to the ultrasonic transducer; a first electronic circuit electrically connected to the sound absorption unit; and a substrate connection unit disposed between the sound absorption unit and the first electronic circuit, configured to electrically interconnect the first electronic circuit and the sound absorption unit. The ultrasonic imaging apparatus includes the above ultrasonic probe and a main body. | 06-30-2016 |
