ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER AND METHOD OF GENERATING AND/OR RECEIVING ULTRASOUND

• US 20140165740A1
• Filed: 11/18/2013
• Published: 06/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sick AG (Sick)
• Original Assignee: Sick AG (Sick)
• Inventors: SPEIDEL, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/082,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20140165740A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/861.28
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/0685 on the back only of piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/662 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/667 Arrangements of transducers for ultrasonic flowmeters; Circuits for operating ultrasonic flowmeters
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/002 Devices for damping, suppressing, obstructing or conducting sound in acoustic devices G10K1/06 - G10K1/10 take precedence; for electro-mechanical transducers for communication H04R3/002

Abstract

An ultrasound transducer (10) is provided having an oscillating body (12) for generating and/or receiving ultrasound and having a damping body (14) which has a first part body (16) of a first material arranged at a rear side of the oscillating body (16), said first material having an acoustic impedance matched to a material of the oscillating body (12), and which has a second part body (18) of a second material arranged at the first part body (16), said second material having a high acoustic damping. In this respect, the first part body (16) is conical and its base surface is arranged on the oscillating body (12).

Claims

1. An ultrasound transducer (10) having an oscillating body (12) for generating and/or receiving ultrasound and having a damping body (14) which has a first part body (16) of a first material arranged at a rear side of the oscillating body (12), said first material having an acoustic impedance matched to a material of the oscillating body (12), and which has a second part body (18) of a second material arranged at the first part body (16), said second material having a high acoustic damping,

wherein the first part body (16) is conical and forms a cone and has a base surface which is arranged on the oscillating body (12).

2. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the damping body (14) is cylindrical in that the second part body (18) has a cylindrical outer contour and a conical hollow space for receiving the first part body (16).

3. The ultrasound transducer in accordance with claim 1, wherein the oscillating body (12), the first part body (16) and the second part body (18) are held together by a compressive force along the cone axis or by means of a housing cover (30) screwed onto the second part body (18).

4. The ultrasound transducer in accordance with claim 1, wherein the oscillating body (12), the first part body (16) and the second part body (18) are held together by means of a spring force which acts on the second part body (18).

5. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the jacket surface of the cone includes an angle between 60°

and 75°

with the base surface.

6. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 5, wherein the jacket surface of the cone includes an angle of approximately 65°

with the base surface.

7. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first part body (16) has a cylindrical base (20) having a larger radius than the base surface of the cone.

8. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 7, wherein the second part body (18) surrounds the cone, but not the cylindrical base (20) of the first part body (16).

9. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein a material of the oscillating body (12) is a ceramic material.

10. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first material is brass.

11. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 10, wherein the first material is CuZn39Pb2.

12. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second material is a plastic.

13. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 12, wherein the second material is PTFE.

14. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance with claim 1, wherein the oscillating body (12) has a first electrode (26) on a front side disposed opposite the rear side and has a second electrode (24) on the rear side, with a part region of the first electrode (26) being drawn around the oscillating body (12) up to the rear side and being contacted there and the second electrode (24) being contacted via the first part body (16).

15. The ultrasound transducer (10) in accordance claim 1, wherein the first part body (16) has a cut-out (28).

16. An ultrasound throughflow measurement apparatus (100) for measuring the flow speed of fluids (102) in a conduit (104) which has a measurement body (106) which can be inserted into the conduit (104) and in this manner forms a section of the conduit (104), said measurement body having at least one pair of ultrasound transducers (10a-b) arranged therein, and also has an evaluation unit for determining the flow speed from a transit time difference of ultrasound transmitted and received with and against the flow.

17. The ultrasound throughflow measurement apparatus (100) in accordance with claim 16, wherein the measurement body (106) has thin-walled regions (110) at which the ultrasound transducers (10a-b) are mounted from the outside such that a thin-walled region (110) acts together with the oscillating body (12) as an oscillatory membrane of the ultrasound transducers (10a-b).

18. The ultrasound throughflow apparatus (100) in accordance with claim 16, wherein an insulating layer (32) is arranged between the thin-walled region (110) and the oscillating body (12).

19. The ultrasound throughflow apparatus (100) in accordance with claim 18, wherein an insulating layer (32) of parylene or SiO₂ is arranged between the thin-walled region (110) and the oscillating body (12).

20. A method of generating and/or receiving ultrasound using an oscillating body (12), wherein ultrasound is suppressed at a rear side of the oscillating body (12) by a damping body (14) which has a first part body (16) of a first material having an acoustic impedance matched to a material of the oscillating body (12) and which has a second part body (18) arranged at the first part body (16) and said second part body being of a material having a high acoustic damping,

wherein ultrasound waves reflected back by the damping body (14) into the oscillating body (12) are at least partly suppressed by multiple reflection at an interface between the conically formed first part body (16) forming a cone and the second part body (18) and by absorption in the second part body (18), said first part body (16) having a base surface and being arranged with its base surface on the oscillating body (12) and said second part body (18) surrounding a jacket surface of the cone.