Ultrasonic nondestructive material tester

Claim 2

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receiving echoes of energy reflected from the interfaces in said eyeball, receiving means coupled to the search unit and effective to produce signals corresponding to the echoes received by the search unit, a cathode ray oscilloscope, sweep generator means coupled to the cathode ray oscilloscope for scanning the electron beam across the face of the oscilloscope to produce a visible trace, first and second channels coupled to said receiving means for sequentially coupling the receiving means to the oscilloscope whereby the oscilloscope produces separate traces for each channel, trigger means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signal corresponding to the first echo from the eyeball, and means coupling said trigger means to the sweep generator whereby the sweep generator is triggered in response to the signal corresponding to the first echo, said coupling means including at least one time delay means for one of said channels whereby the sweep for that channel is delayed for a predetermined interval after the first echo whereby the first and second traces correspond to different portions within the eyeball.

Claim 3

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receiving echoes of energy reflected from the interfaces in said eyeball, receiving means coupled to the search unit and effective to produce signals corresponding to the echoes received by the search unit, a cathode ray oscilloscope, sweep generator means coupled to the cathode ray oscilloscope for scanning the electron beam horizontally across the faCe of the oscilloscope to produce a horizontal visible trace, first and second channels coupled to said receiving means for sequentially coupling the receiving means to the oscilloscope whereby the oscilloscope produces separate traces for each channel, vertical deflection means in at least one of said channels for displacing one of said traces vertically from the other trace, trigger means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signal corresponding to the first echo from the eyeball, means coupling said trigger means to the sweep generator whereby the sweep generator is triggered in response to the first echo, said coupling means including at least one time delay means for one of said channels whereby the sweep for that channel is delayed for a predetermined interval after the first echo whereby the first and second traces correspond to a different portion within the eyeball.

Claim 4

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receiving echoes of energy reflected from the interfaces in said eyeball, receiving means coupled to the search unit and effective to produce signals corresponding to the echoes received by the search unit, a cathode ray oscilloscope, sweep generator means coupled to the cathode ray oscilloscope for scanning the electron beam horizontally across the faCe of the oscilloscope to produce a horizontal visible trace, first and second channels coupled to said receiving means for sequentially coupling the receiving means to the oscilloscope whereby the oscilloscope produces separate traces for each channel, vertical deflection means in at least one of said channels for displacing one of said traces vertically from the other trace, trigger means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signal corresponding to the first echo from the eyeball, means coupling said trigger means to the sweep generator whereby the sweep generator is triggered in response to the first echo, said coupling means including at least one time delay means for one of said channels whereby the sweep for that channel is delayed for a predetermined interval after the first echo whereby the first and second traces correspond to a different portion within the eyeball.

Claim 5

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball which is divided into a plurality of imaginary segments, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receiving echoes of energy reflected from the interfaces in said eyeball, receiving means coupled to the search unit and effective to produce a signal corresponding to the echoes received by the search unit, a cathode ray oscilloscope, sweep generator means coupled to the cathode ray oscilloscope for scanning the electron beam horizontally across the face of the oscilloscope to produce a visible trace, a channel for each of said segments in the eyeball, each of said channels being coupled to the oscilloscope whereby the oscilloscope produces separate traces for each channel corresponding to the respective segment in said eyeball, trigger means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the portion of the signal corresponding to the first echo from the eyeball, means coupling said trigger means to the sweep generator, and time delay means in said coupling means whereby the horizontal scan for each channel is delayed for a predetermined interval which is a function of the position of the corresponding segment in the eyeball.

Claim 6

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball which is divided into a plurality of imaginary segments, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receiving echoes of energy reflected from the interfaces in said eyeball, receiving means coupled to the search unit and effective to produce a signal corresponding to the echoes received by the search unit, a cathode ray oscilloscope, sweep generator means coupled to the cathode ray oscilloscope for scanning the electron beam horizontally across the face of the oscilloscope to produce a visible trace, a channel for each of said segments in the eyeball, each of said channels being coupled to the oscilloscope whereby the oscilloscope produces separate traces for each channel corresponding to the respective segment in said eyeball, trigger means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the portion of the signal corresponding to the first echo from the eyeball, means coupling said trigger means to the sweep generator, and time delay means in said coupling means whereby the horizontal scan for each channel is delayed for a predetermined interval which is a function of the position of the corresponding segment in the eyeball.

Claim 7

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball, said instrument including the combination of means for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and producing a signal corresponding to the echoes of said energy reflected from inside said eyeball, a cathode ray oscilloscope, horizontal and vertical deflection means in the cathode ray oscilloscope for scanning the electron beam in said oscilloscope across the face of the oscilloscope whereby a visible trace is produced, sweep means coupled to said first means and responsive to the signal therefrom, said sweep means being coupled to the horizontal deflection means and effective to sweep said electron beam horizontally across the face of the oscilloscope, time delay means coupled to the sweep means whereby the preselected horizontal sweeps of said electron beam are delayed for predetermined intervals, and means coupling said first means to the vertical deflection means for deflecting the electron beam vertically in response to said signal as it is swept horizontally, said last means being effective to deflect the electron beam vertically a predetermined distance when the sweep is delayed to thereby provide a pair of vertically displaced traces representing different portions of said signal from said first means and corresponding to different portions of said eyeball.

Claim 8

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball, said instrument including the combination of means for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and producing a signal corresponding to the echoes of said energy reflected from inside said eyeball, a cathode ray oscilloscope, horizontal and vertical deflection means in the cathode ray oscilloscope for scanning the electron beam in said oscilloscope across the face of the oscilloscope whereby a visible trace is produced, sweep means coupled to said first means and responsive to the signal therefrom, said sweep means being coupled to the horizontal deflection means and effective to sweep said electron beam horizontally across the face of the oscilloscope, time delay means coupled to the sweep means whereby the preselected horizontal sweeps of said electron beam are delayed for predetermined intervals, and means coupling said first means to the vertical deflection means for deflecting the electron beam vertically in response to said signal as it is swept horizontally, said last means being effective to deflect the electron beam vertically a predetermined distance when the sweep is delayed to thereby provide a pair of vertically displaced traces representing different portions of said signal from said first means and corresponding to different portions of said eyeball.

Claim 9

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball which is subdivided into a plurality of imaginary segments, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic energy, means for acoustically coupling the search unit to said eyeball whereby said search unit transmits ultrasonic energy into said eyeball And receives echoes of said ultrasonic energy reflected from the interfaces within said eyeball, transmitting means coupled to said search means and effective to cause said search unit to transmit pulses of said ultrasonic energy into said eyeball, receiving means coupled to said search unit and responsive to the signals produced by said search unit in response to the echoes, and indicating means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signals therefrom, said indicating means being effective to produce separate indications for each segment and to separately indicate the distances to said interfaces in each of said segments, said indicating means including a cathode ray oscilloscope which is effective to produce separate visible traces for said segments corresponding to the signals, and means in said cathode ray oscilloscope for vertically displacing said traces from each other whereby there is a separate trace for each of said segments.

Claim 10

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball which is subdivided into a plurality of imaginary segments, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic energy, means for acoustically coupling the search unit to said eyeball whereby said search unit transmits ultrasonic energy into said eyeball And receives echoes of said ultrasonic energy reflected from the interfaces within said eyeball, transmitting means coupled to said search means and effective to cause said search unit to transmit pulses of said ultrasonic energy into said eyeball, receiving means coupled to said search unit and responsive to the signals produced by said search unit in response to the echoes, and indicating means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signals therefrom, said indicating means being effective to produce separate indications for each segment and to separately indicate the distances to said interfaces in each of said segments, said indicating means including a cathode ray oscilloscope which is effective to produce separate visible traces for said segments corresponding to the signals, and means in said cathode ray oscilloscope for vertically displacing said traces from each other whereby there is a separate trace for each of said segments.

Claim 11

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball which is subdivided into a plurality of imaginary segments, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic energy, means for acoustically coupling the search unit to said eyeball whereby said search unit transmits ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receives echoes of said ultrasonic energy reflected from the interfaces within said eyeball, transmitting means coupled to said search means and effective to cause said search unit to transmit pulses of said ultrasonic energy into said eyeball, receiving means coupled to said search unit and responsive to the signals produced by said search unit in response to the echoes, indicating means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signals therefrom, said indicating means being effective to produce separate indications for each segment and to separately indicate the distances to said interfaces in each of said segments, and said indicating means including a cathode ray oscilloscope, a sweep generator coupled to said cathode ray oscilloscope for causing the electron beam thereof to sweep across the oscilloscope and produce a visible trace, and means coupled to the receiving means and the sweep generator for energizing said sweep generator in response to the portions of said signals corresponding to said segments.

Claim 12

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball which is subdivided into a plurality of imaginary segments, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic energy, means for acoustically coupling the search unit to said eyeball whereby said search unit transmits ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receives echoes of said ultrasonic energy reflected from the interfaces within said eyeball, transmitting means coupled to said search means and effective to cause said search unit to transmit pulses of said ultrasonic energy into said eyeball, receiving means coupled to said search unit and responsive to the signals produced by said search unit in response to the echoes, indicating means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signals therefrom, said indicating means being effective to produce separate indications for each segment and to separately indicate the distances to said interfaces in each of said segments, and said indicating means including a cathode ray oscilloscope, a sweep generator coupled to said cathode ray oscilloscope for causing the electron beam thereof to sweep across the oscilloscope and produce a visible trace, and means coupled to the receiving means and the sweep generator for energizing said sweep generator in response to the portions of said signals corresponding to said segments.

Claim 13

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball which is subdivided into a plurality of imaginary segments, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic energy, means for acoustically coupling the search unit to said eyeball whereby said search unit transmits ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receives echoes of said ultrasonic energy reflected from the interfaces within said eyeball, transmitting means coupled to said search means and effective to cause said search unit to transmit pulses of said ultrasonic energy into said eyeball, receiving means coupled to said search unit and responsive to the signals produced by said search unit in response to the echoes, indicating means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signals thereform, said indicating means being effective to produce separate indications for each segment and to separately indicate the distances to said interfaces in each of said segments, and said indicating means including a cathode ray oscilloscope having a display, a sweep generator coupled to the display in the cathode ray oscilloscope and effective to produce a horizontal scan of the electron beam in the cathode ray oscilloscope, a separate channel for each of said segments effective to sequentially couple the cathode ray oscilloscope to the receiving means whereby the cathode ray oscilloscope produces a separate trace for each of said segments, and means for displacing said traces at different positions on the face of the oscIlloscope for indicating different segments within the eyeball.

Claim 14

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball which is subdivided into a plurality of imaginary segments, said instrument including the combination of an ultrasonic search unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic energy, means for acoustically coupling the search unit to said eyeball whereby said search unit transmits ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receives echoes of said ultrasonic energy reflected from the interfaces within said eyeball, transmitting means coupled to said search means and effective to cause said search unit to transmit pulses of said ultrasonic energy into said eyeball, receiving means coupled to said search unit and responsive to the signals produced by said search unit in response to the echoes, indicating means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the signals thereform, said indicating means being effective to produce separate indications for each segment and to separately indicate the distances to said interfaces in each of said segments, and said indicating means including a cathode ray oscilloscope having a display, a sweep generator coupled to the display in the cathode ray oscilloscope and effective to produce a horizontal scan of the electron beam in the cathode ray oscilloscope, a separate channel for each of said segments effective to sequentially couple the cathode ray oscilloscope to the receiving means whereby the cathode ray oscilloscope produces a separate trace for each of said segments, and means for displacing said traces at different positions on the face of the oscIlloscope for indicating different segments within the eyeball.

Claim 15

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball, said instrument including an ultrasonic means for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receiving echoes reflected from said eyeball, a cathode ray oscilloscope, a sweep generator for scanning the electron beam across the oscilloscope, trigger means coupled to the sweep generator and said ultrasonic means, said trigger means being responsive to the first echo from said eyeball and effective to cause the sweep generator to sweep the electron beam across the face of the cathode ray oscilloscope to produce a trace, a plurality of channels coupled to the ultrasonic means and said cathode ray oscilloscope, means for causing only one of said channels to be operative at a time, the operative channel being effective to produce a trace at its respective level whereby separate traces are provided for each of the channels, and time delay means for at least one of said channels coupled to the trigger means and effective to delay the sweep when that respective channel is operative whereby the trace for that channel corresponds to a different segment of the eyeball.

Claim 16

An ultrasonic inspection instrument for inspecting an eyeball, said instrument including an ultrasonic means for transmitting ultrasonic energy into said eyeball and receiving echoes reflected from said eyeball, a cathode ray oscilloscope, a sweep generator for scanning the electron beam across the oscilloscope, trigger means coupled to the sweep generator and said ultrasonic means, said trigger means being responsive to the first echo from said eyeball and effective to cause the sweep generator to sweep the electron beam across the face of the cathode ray oscilloscope to produce a trace, a plurality of channels coupled to the ultrasonic means and said cathode ray oscilloscope, means for causing only one of said channels to be operative at a time, the operative channel being effective to produce a trace at its respective level whereby separate traces are provided for each of the channels, and time delay means for at least one of said channels coupled to the trigger means and effective to delay the sweep when that respective channel is operative whereby the trace for that channel corresponds to a different segment of the eyeball.

Claim 17

The ultrasonic inspection instrument of claim 8 including reference means for producing a sequence of reference signals corresponding to predetermined distances in the eyeball, and an additional channel effective to produce an additional trace containing reference markers corresponding to said signals whereby the dimension on said trace may be determined from the last trace.