Focussing electroacoustic transducer and method for testing its output power

• US 20030026435A1
• Filed: 08/06/2002
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Richard Wolf GmbH (Richard & Annemarie Wolf- Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: Richard Wolf GmbH (Richard & Annemarie Wolf- Stiftung)
• Inventors: Bauer, Edgar
• Application Number:
  US10/213,125
• Publication Number:
  US 20030026435A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/56
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/22004 using mechanical vibrations, e.g. ultrasonic shock waves A61B17/225 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/22029 Means for measuring shock waves
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/06 operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices per se H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 2201/20 Application to multi-element transducer
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 2201/40 with testing, calibrating, safety devices, built-in protection, construction details
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 2201/55 Piezoelectric transducer
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 2201/76 Medical, dental
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 11/08 using piezoelectric devices
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 15/043 producing shock waves G10K15/046, G10K15/06 take precedence; generating seismic energy G01V1/02

Abstract

With a focusing electroacoustic transducer with a carrier which on its front side is equipped with a first group and on its rear side with a second group of ceramic piezolelements, a testing of the transducer power in a transducer test operating mode is carried out in that one of the element groups on the front or rear side is impinged with a high voltage impulse corresponding to the high voltage produced on normal operation of the transducer, and thereupon a secondary voltage impulse serving as a measurement voltage which at the same time is produced by a mechanical loading of the piezoelements of the other group transmitted by the carrier, as a measure of the present transducer power of the activated element group is compared to pregiven, previously determined and stored reference values of the transducer power of the activated element group.

Claims

1. A focusing electroacoustic transducer with a carrier which on its front side is equipped with a first group and on its rear side with a second group of ceramic peizoelements, wherein in normal operation of the electroacoustic transducer the first element group may be activated time delayed with respect to the second element group with in each case a high voltage impulse and may be set into operation for emitting sound, characterised in that the transducer for a transducer test operation is set up such that one of the element groups may be activated with a primary high voltage impulse corresponding to the high voltage impulse produced on normal operation and thereupon a secondary voltage impulse produced by the piezoelements of the other element group due to a mechanical loading transmitted via the carrier may be produced as a measurement signal and as a measure of the present transducer power compared to pregiven, previously determined and stored reference values which indicate the normal transducer power.

2. A transducer according to claim 1, wherein it further comprises:

a microcontroller, a mains part which may be activated and set by the microcontroller and is set up for producing the high voltage, a high voltage switch means for an impulse-like switching of the high voltage impulse produced by the mains part to each element group via in each case a connection lead, a trigger means which may be activated by the microcontroller for producing a trigger signal which is supplied to the switch means for switching, and an A/D converter which on the input side is connected to at least one of the connection leads and on the output side to the microcontroller, wherein the secondary voltage impulse tapped from one element group in the transducer test operating mode is digitalised by the A/D converter and transmitted to the microcomputer which is set up to store the digitalised voltage and to compare this to reference values which have been previously stored in it and to display the comparison result on a display.

3. A transducer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the transducer test operation mode after activation of the one element group with the primary high voltage impulse and the derivation of the secondary voltage impulse from the other element group, the activation may be reversed by way of a switch means, so that the element group which previously was not activated is now impinged with the primary high voltage impulse and the secondary voltage impulse is derived from the other element group as a measurement signal.

4. A method for testing the output power of a focusing electroacoustic transducer which is equipped on the front side with a first group and on the rear side with a second group of ceramic piezolelements, wherein in normal operation the first element group may be activated time-delayed with respect to the second element group with in each case a high voltage impulse and may be set into operation for emitting sound, wherein the method has the following steps:

A one of the element groups is activated with a primary high voltage impulse which corresponds to a high voltage impulse produced in the normal operation of the electroacoustic transducer;

B a secondary voltage impulse which is produced in the piezoelements of the other element group by way of mechanical loading transmitted via the carrier after the primary high voltage impulse produced in step A, is derived as a measurement signal.

C the secondary voltage impulse produced in step B and derived as a measurement signal is compared to at least one pregiven and in method steps A and B previously evaluated reference value of the transducer power of the activated element group.

5. A method according claim 4, wherein the secondary voltage impulse derived in step B for producing a measurement signal is subjected to an A/C conversion and converted into a digital measurement signal.

6. A method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein with the previously specified power measurement of the intact electroacoustic transducer three voltage amplitudes of the secondary voltage impulse are stored as reference values, which respectively correspond to the maximum compression, the maximum deflection and the compression directly following the maximum compression, of the piezolements of the other element group.

7. A method according to one of the claims 4 to 6, wherein the element group activated with the primary voltage impulse in step A is changed and wherein the secondary voltage impulse is then derived from the respective other element group.