Patent ID: 8413515

Claim:
An ultrasonic inspection apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic transducer, in which a plurality of piezoelectric transducers are arranged, emits ultrasound to an inspection region of an object to be inspected and receives a reflection echo of the ultrasound; a flaw inspection device that causes the ultrasonic transducer to emit the ultrasound, detects and calculates an electric echo signal of the reflection echo received by the ultrasonic transducer, and generates flaw inspection image information of the inspection region of the object to be inspected; a scanner mechanism that drives the ultrasonic transducer on the object to be inspected based on previously generated scanning path information; a distance and tilt calculation unit that calculates, a distance and a tilt between an opening surface of the ultrasonic transducer and the inspection region of the object to be inspected, simultaneously with the movement of the ultrasonic transducer driven by the scanner mechanism; a control unit that calculates, based on the distance and the tilt calculated by the distance and tilt calculation unit, a deviation between a scanning position based on the scanning path information and a predetermined scanning position where a normal line to the inspection region of the object to be inspected and the opening surface of the ultrasonic transducer intersect each other and where the ultrasonic transducer and the inspection region of the object to be inspected are located with a predetermined distance therebetween, and generates a control signal for correcting the distance and the tilt between the opening surface of the ultrasonic transducer and the inspection region of the object to be inspected to the predetermined scanning position in accordance with the thus calculated deviation; and a driving mechanism that operates independently from the scanner mechanism and drives the ultrasonic transducer to the predetermined scanning position in response to the control signal generated by the control unit, wherein at least the ultrasonic transducer and the driving mechanism are integrally formed as an integral ultrasonic transducer.