Patent ID: 9658193
Date: 2017-05-23
CPC Classifications: G01N

Claim:
1. An ultrasonic scanner comprising: a member having an inspection surface for rolling across a surface of an object to be inspected; an axle attached to the member wherein the member moves relative to the axle during said rolling across the surface of the object to be inspected; a curved transducer housing unit disposed within the member, the curved transducer housing unit being spaced apart from and mounted in transverse relation to the axle, wherein a curvature of the curved transducer housing unit is configured to focus on a common point on the surface of the object to be inspected; electronics hardware disposed within the member, the electronics hardware comprising at least an encoder; a plurality of ultrasonic transducers disposed within the member, the plurality of ultrasonic transducers including at least sixty four ultrasonic transducers, wherein the plurality of ultrasonic transducers are fixed in a curved formation on the curved transducer housing unit such that the plurality of ultrasonic transducers are each aimed at the common point on the surface of the object to be inspected, the curved formation of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers on the curved transducer housing unit facilitating focusing of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers on the common point on the surface of the object, wherein the plurality of ultrasonic transducers comprises a phased array of ultrasonic transducers, and the ultrasonic scanner is configured to activate a first group of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers to inspect at a first inspection angle and a second group of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers to inspect at a second inspection angle, the first group and second group being different groups, wherein activating the different groups of ultrasonic transducers mitigates sensitivity loss of the ultrasonic scanner during inspection of the object; and a signal processing electrical cable, the signal processing electrical cable being electrically coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers and disposed at least partially within the axle.