Patent ID: 8354842

Claim:
A segmented magnetostrictive patch array transducer comprising: a plurality of magnetostrictive patches attached along a circumference of a rod member; a plurality of insulators disposed on the magnetostrictive patches; a plurality of meander coils, each of the meander coils comprising a plurality of coil lines extending along the circumferential direction of the rod member on each of the insulators, wherein a current flows through adjacent coil lines in opposite directions to one another; and a magnetic field forming unit having a plurality of magnets that respectively form a magnetic field along the circumferential direction of the rod member on the magnetostrictive patches, wherein when a current is applied to at least one meander coil, the magnetostrictive patch located near the corresponding coil line of the meander coil is deformed due to magnetostriction so that a shear wave is generated along the rod member, or when the magnetostrictive patches are deformed due to a wave transmitted along the rod member, an electromotive force is generated in the meander coil due to an inverse magnetostrictive effect.