Patent ID: 8087298
Filing Date: 2012-01-03
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A portable ultrasonic probe deployment device for inspecting material located on an inspection surface, the device comprising: a housing; a phased array pulse-echo ultrasonic probe attached to the housing, the ultrasonic probe functioning as both a transmitter and a receiver and positioned to define an ultrasonic wave path from the ultrasonic probe to an inspection site on the inspection surface and back, the ultrasonic probe making an ultrasonic scan along an index direction; roller guides attached to the housing for facilitating movement along a scan direction transverse to the index direction, and retarding movement along the index direction, the roller guides located proximal to fore and aft ends of the housing with respect to the scan direction; a position encoder attached to the housing, for encoding a position of the device along the scan direction; a conforming seal attached to a bottom side of the housing and conforming to unevenness in the inspection surface, the seal forming a seal around the inspection site; a cavity created within the housing and the seal, the cavity extending along a portion of the ultrasonic wave path that includes the inspection site; a permeable membrane attached to the bottom side of the housing between the housing and the seal, the permeable membrane dividing the cavity into a non-contact chamber contained by the housing and a contact chamber contained by the seal, the contact chamber including the inspection site; a water supply port connected to the non-contact chamber for supplying water to the non-contact chamber, the permeable membrane permitting flow of water from the non-contact chamber to the contact chamber; and, one or more vacuum ports extending to the inspection surface for removing excess water from the inspection surface, the one or more vacuum ports disposed proximal to the fore and aft ends of the housing, and not disposed along the lateral sides of the housing.