ULTRASONIC PROBE, CHARGER, ULTRASONIC DIAGNOSTIC APPARATUS AND ULTRASONIC DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM
First Claim
1. An ultrasonic probe comprising:
- a rechargeable battery;
a transducer that uses said battery as an operational power source and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves;
a communicator that uses said battery as the operational power source and wirelessly communicates with outside using a signal related to the transmission and reception by said transducer;
a detector for detecting that said battery is connected to a charger; and
a controller for stopping transmitting and receiving operations of the ultrasonic waves that are executed by said transducer, when it is detected by said detector that said battery is connected to said charger.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic probe that can be efficiently charged in a short time, a charger and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, as well as an ultrasonic diagnostic system that uses them are provided by the present invention, which comprises a detector for detecting whether or not an ultrasonic probe having a rechargeable battery or the charger for charging this is in charging state; and a controller for stopping transmitting and receiving operations of ultrasonic waves. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprises a transmitting and receiving circuit for executing the generation of a signal related to the transmission of the ultrasonic waves and the generation of the diagnostic information based on the signal related to the reception of the ultrasonic waves; a probe switching circuit for selecting one of a plurality of ultrasonic probes; and a controller for controlling the probe switching circuit in accordance with a detection signal from the detector. The ultrasonic diagnostic system comprises the above-mentioned ultrasonic probes, chargers and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
24 Citations
5 Claims
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1. An ultrasonic probe comprising:
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a rechargeable battery; a transducer that uses said battery as an operational power source and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves; a communicator that uses said battery as the operational power source and wirelessly communicates with outside using a signal related to the transmission and reception by said transducer; a detector for detecting that said battery is connected to a charger; and a controller for stopping transmitting and receiving operations of the ultrasonic waves that are executed by said transducer, when it is detected by said detector that said battery is connected to said charger.
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2. A charger for charging a battery of an ultrasonic probe that contains a transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves using a rechargeable battery as an operational power source, and a communicator for wirelessly communicating with outside using a signal related to the transmission and reception by said transducer, said charger comprising:
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a detector for detecting that said ultrasonic probe is connected to said charger to charge said battery; and a controller for stopping the transmitting and receiving operations of ultrasonic waves that are executed by said transducer, when the connection of said ultrasonic probe is detected by said detector.
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3. A charger for charging a battery of an ultrasonic probe that contains a transducer that uses a rechargeable battery as an operational power source and executes transmitting and receiving operations of ultrasonic waves, and a communicator that wirelessly communicates with outside using a signal related to the transmission and reception of said transducer, said charger comprising:
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a detector for detecting that said ultrasonic probe is connected to said charger to charge said battery; and a signal transmitter for transmitting a detection signal from said detector to outside.
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4. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that uses respective rechargeable batteries as operational power sources, and sets, as the target of a communication, a plurality of ultrasonic probes for executing:
- the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves to and from an examinee; and
the wireless transmission/reception of the signal related to the transmission and a reception of said ultrasonic waves to and from an external apparatus, and selects any one of said plurality of ultrasonic probes, in accordance with the detection signals obtained by detecting that said ultrasonic probes are connected to the chargers for charging said batteries, respectively, and transmits/receives the signal related to the transmission and reception of said ultrasonic waves, and contains;a communicator for wirelessly communicating the signal related to the transmission and reception of said ultrasonic waves; a transmitting and receiving circuit for generating the signal related to the transmission of the ultrasonic signal in said ultrasonic probe, and adding as the transmission signal to said ultrasonic probe to said communicator, and generating a diagnostic information on the basis of the signal related to the reception of the ultrasonic waves in said ultrasonic probe that is received in said communicator; a probe switching circuit for selecting any one of said plurality of ultrasonic probes and enabling the transmission/reception to/from said transmitting and receiving circuit; and a controller for controlling said probe switching circuit so that said ultrasonic probe which is not connected to said charger is selected, in accordance with said detection signal.
- the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves to and from an examinee; and
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5. An ultrasonic diagnostic system comprising:
- a plurality of ultrasonic probes for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, a plurality of chargers for charging said ultrasonic probes respectively and individually, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for transmitting/receiving a signal to/from said ultrasonic probes to generate diagnostic information, wherein
said probe comprises; a rechargeable battery; a transducer that uses said battery as an operational power source and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from an examinee; and a first communicator that uses said battery as an operational power source and wirelessly communicates, using a signal related to the transmission and reception of said transducer, with said ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, said charger comprises; a detector for detecting that said ultrasonic probe is connected; and a signal transmitter for transmitting a detection signal from said detector to said ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and said ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprises; a communicator for wirelessly communicating by using a signal related to the transmission and reception of said ultrasonic waves; a transmitting and receiving circuit for generating the signal related to the transmission of the ultrasonic waves by said ultrasonic probe, and supplying to said communicator as a transmission signal to said ultrasonic probe, and generating diagnostic information in accordance with the signal related to the reception of the ultrasonic waves in said ultrasonic probe, which signal is received by said communicator; a probe switching circuit for selecting any one of said plurality of ultrasonic probes to enable the transmission/reception to/from said transmitting and receiving circuit; and a controller for controlling said probe switching circuit so that said ultrasonic probe which is not connected to said charger is selected, in accordance with said detection signal.
- a plurality of ultrasonic probes for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, a plurality of chargers for charging said ultrasonic probes respectively and individually, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for transmitting/receiving a signal to/from said ultrasonic probes to generate diagnostic information, wherein
Specification