ULTRASONIC CONVERTER PROBE EQUIPPED WITH MECHANICALLY OPERABLE ULTRASONIC BEAM

摘要

An ultrasonic transducer probe having a mechanically steerable acoustic element includes a linear motor having a stationary magnet assembly and a coil bidirectionally linearly movable with respect to the magnet assembly. A mechanical arrangement formed of a pair of spaced apart, rotatably mounted pulleys and a flexible belt connecting the pulleys couples the coil and an ultrasonic transducer or acoustic element. The transducer element is mounted for rotation with at least one of the pulleys so that linear motion of the motor coil is converted to rotative motion of the transducer whereby the transducer and the ultrasonic beam it emits is caused to sweep through a selected angular sector. A position sensor formed of a supplemental stationary magnetic material and a position coil mounted for movement with the motor coil is utilized for detecting the linear position of the coil and, correspondingly, the angular orientation or position of the transducer element.