Low pin count high voltage ultrasound transmitter and method therefor

摘要

An integrated single channel or multi-channel ultrasound transmitter that minimizes the number of input connections to a controller such as an FPGA, field programmable gate array, or a custom integrated circuit in an ultrasound system. The method is accomplished by integrating, in low voltage logic, a means to store and or program the patterns required for the transmitter output. The number of logic input connections can be further reduced by further integrating, in low voltage logic, programmable individual time delays and frequency divider for each transmitter output.

主权项

1. An ultrasound transmitter comprising:
control logic circuitry having a single input trigger to switch to at least two different voltage levels, wherein the control circuitry comprises: a shift register for each voltage level output of the transmitter, wherein the shift register defines a high voltage output pattern for each voltage level output of the transmitter; and a latch coupled to the shift register for sending data to the shift register; a high voltage output driver circuit coupled to the control logic circuitry; a counter having an input coupled to the single input trigger and an output coupled to each shift register; and a frequency divider having an input coupled to the single input trigger and an output coupled to the counter; and wherein an oscillator signal is coupled to an input of the frequency divider and an input of the counter.