Method of manufacturing a curved array ultrasonic transducer assembly
AssigneeAcoustic Imaging Technologies Corporation
InventorsLeroy A. Kopel, Randy G. Plank
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A curved array ultrasonic transducer is manufactured by cutting a flat transducer plate, which is attached to a flexible support plate, into a plurality of segments, the segments being hingedly attached by the support plate. The support plate is bent to a radius and the conductive traces in a flexible circuit board are electrically connected to the transducer plate segments. The flexible circuit board, having a plurality of branches, is bent to a perpendicular position such that the traces in the plurality of branches become substantially aligned. The traces exiting the branches are then electrically connected to a pin and socket connector device.
Claims11
A method of connecting a flexible circuit board to a flexible array of ultrasonic transducer elements comprising the following steps in the sequence set forth:
- bending the flexible array to a desired radius;
- securing the array in a curved tooling form of the desired radius;
- aligning conductive traces in the flexible circuit board with the elements of the array in the tooling form;
- and
- electrically connecting the aligned traces to the elements of the curved array while in the tooling form.
A method of manufacturing a curved array ultrasonic transducer assembly comprising the following steps in the order set forth:
- bonding a flexible support layer to one longitudinal edge of an ultrasonic transducer plate;
- cutting the transducer plate into a plurality of segments while leaving a portion of the flexible support layer uncut between each segment;
- bending the support layer, having the individual segments bonded thereto, to a desired radius thus forming a convexly curved transducer array;
- electrically connecting traces at a first end of a flexible circuit board to the respective transducer segments;
- bending the flexible circuit board toward the center of the arc formed by the curved transducer array such that it is substantially perpendicular to the chord of the formed arc;
- and
- electrically connecting a connector to the traces at a second end of the flexible circuit board.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.