The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 16, 1993
Filed:
Jul. 10, 1991
Makoto Hirama, Tochigi, JP;
Takashi Kumazawa, Tochigi, JP;
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Kanagawa, JP;
Abstract
In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which ultrasonic echo beams is focused three-dimensionally, a probe employs plural transducers arranged in two directions, lateral and azimuth directions. The transducers arranged in each azimuth direction are connected to a transmitting-receiving channel in a transmitting-receiving portion via a switch circuit. The switch circuit operates on the control of a switching controller and can connect a transducer selected by the controller in the azimuth direction to the transmitting-receiving channel. Output signals from the transmitting-receiving portion are supplied to a signal processing portion, in which beam forming for three-dimension echo beams is carried out by using a beam former. Thus, transducers arranged on each line in the lateral direction can be driven simultaneously, resulting in a more compact circuit and a reduced number of transmitting and receiving for better real-time processing. Further, the beam former is devided into two stage, one for the lateral direction and the other for the azimuth direction. This combination of two beam formers lead to adjustable focuses in the both direction in addition to a reduced memory capacity in the signal processing.
Data source: USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) public patent records. Weekly synchronization. How IDiyas builds this profile