Ultrasonic probe having dual-motion transducer

An ultrasonic probe comprising:

• an elongated housing having an acoustic window at one end thereof;
• an ultrasonic transducer located in said housing for emitting an acoustic beam through said acoustic window;
• a dual motion drive means located at the other end of said housing for providing dual motions having a reciprocating motion and a swing motion transverse to the reciprocating motion;
• and
• means for coupling said drive means to said transducer to transmit thereto said dual motions so that said beam is steerable in orthogonal directions, wherein said coupling means comprises:
• a drive shaft connected at one end to said dual motion drive means to transmit said reciprocating and swing motions to the other end thereof;
• and
• means for movably mounting said transducer at the other end of said drive shaft so that said transducer is swingable in a first plane in response to said reciprocating motion and in a second plane normal to said first plane in response to said swing motion, wherein said transducer is formed with an opening extending in the transverse direction of the housing, said mounting means comprising:
• a pivot member extending through said transducer and said drive shaft in said transverse direction;
• and
• an arcuate guide member spaced from said pivot member, the guide member extending through said opening so that said transducer is swingable about said guide member in response to said reciprocating motion and further swingable about the axis of said drive shaft in response to said swing motion.