Patent ID: 6072144
Filing Date: 2000-06-06
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
Apparatus for measuring the quality of spot welds, which apparatus comprises a housing; a fluid medium in the housing; transmitter means for transmitting at least one ultrasonic pulse through the fluid medium to a spot weld, the ultrasonic pulse then reverberating in the spot weld; and receiver means; the receiver means being ultrasonically sensitive so that it is able to receive echoes from the spot weld caused by the reverberation of the ultrasonic pulse in the spot weld, the receiver means being positioned in the vicinity of a bottom part of the housing so that the ultrasonic pulse passes through the receiver means on its way to the spot weld and so that the receiver means is able to be pressed directly over the spot weld in plan view, the receiver means comprising a plurality of ultrasonically sensitive elements, and the ultrasonically sensitive elements being small in relation to the size of the receiver means and the spot welt so that an echo is able to be collected from each ultrasonically sensitive element that is nearest an echo source in the spot weld before the echoes from adjacent ultrasonically sensitive elements interfere with each other, whereby the apparatus is able to obtain the equivalent of an accurate contact print of the spot weld.