Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging equipment employing a transducer which includes an acoustic propagating medium formed with a concave surface at one end thereof and formed with a piezoelectric thin film on the other end thereof opposing to the one end, and a medium arranged in the concave surface in order to permit the concave surface to effect a lens action, and a dummy transducer which eliminates a transmitted echo and an echo from the lens boundary and which is constructed of the acoustic propagating medium and an acoustic absorber.

Abstract: Focussing sound transducer head comprise at least one focussing sound transducer head for transmitting ultrasonic pulses to form a focussed sound beam having a relatively constricted depth zone, in which the sound beam is narrower than a sound beam that would be transmitted by a nonfocussing sound transducer head that is otherwise comparable to the sound transducer head which transmits said focussed sound beam, and for deriving echo signals from echoes generated in response to the pulses. A scanning mechanism moves the sound beam across a section surface in an object to be examined. Display controls are adapted to receive said echo signals and cause the echo signals to be displayed on a fluorescent screen at locations which are geometrically coordinated with the locations at which the corresponding echoes have originated in the section surface.

Abstract: An intake barrel connected to an intake pipe of an internal combustion engine is provided therein with a venturi member. Openings are formed in the wall of the intake barrel at the upstream and downstream sides of the venturi member. A bypass passage forming member provided with a groove of a length greater than the distance between said openings is fixed to the outside of the intake barrel. A bypass passage is formed by these openings and the groove. A spacer is interposed between the intake barrel and the bypass passage forming member. The cross-sectional area of the bypass passage can be varied by varying the thickness of the spacer.

Abstract: Laser light for producing acoustic waves in a specimen to be examined is carried to the specimen from a single laser by a plurality of fiber optic cables. The fiber optic cables have different path lengths to cause a specific time delay between adjacent fiber optic cables to focus and steer the sonic waves in a desired direction.

Abstract: A battery electrode fatigue simulator having a frame which supports therein a pivotal and a stationary beam. The pivotal and stationary beams secure therebetween an electrode plaque which is to undergo the fatigue simulation. Also mounted to the frame is a rotatable cam of predetermined dimension which acts upon a cam follower forming part of the pivotal beam thereby causing cyclic movement or displacement of the pivotal beam. This cyclic displacement is transferred to the plaque as a cyclic stress in tension. Measurements are made of the displacement of the pivotal beam as well as resistance of the plaque during the application of the cyclic stress. The cyclic displacement versus resistance relationship is representative of the fatigue a battery electrode will undergo during actual battery operation.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for acoustically inspecting hot flat plates while on-line by utilizing an array or arrays of transducers continually spaced a set distance from the bottom of the plates by serrated rollers spring mounted with the array of transducers in a container with overflowing liquid wetting the passing plate to acoustically couple the transducers to the plate and a spray of sufficient force to temporarily cool the hot plate and dispel steam and vapor formed, the spray being in a direction opposite the direction of travel of the hot plate; and support of the unit on a track mounted carriage, with the liquid reused through a reservoir connected system. It is critical that the spray be at an angle of 27.degree. or less to the horizontal and that the spray have sufficient force to have an apparent liquid velocity of at least 44 feet per second, adding the speed of the water and the hot plate together.

Abstract: A method of determining the projection of the upper end (15) of a cylinder liner (14) above the top surface (13) of a cylinder block structure (10). The cylinder liner (14) is caused to be fully inserted into the cylinder bore (11) by a press ring (32) acting on the upper end of the cylinder liner concurrently with the measurement of its position. The press ring is resiliently forced against the top surface (37) of the cylinder liner by a plurality of pressure springs (35) and a pressure plate (25). The pressure plate is urged into engagement with the cylinder block structure top surface (13) by a holddown bar (26). The measuring system utilizes a gage indicator (20) having a probe which is selectively engaged with the upper surface of the cylinder liner adjacent positions of force transfer between the press ring and cylinder liner. The probe is caused to determine the position of the cylinder block structure upper surface (13) selectively directly or indirectly.

Abstract: An operational testing device for inlet valves and outlet valves of reciprocating engines which are separately driven for an operational test comprises at least one microphone arranged in the inlet pipe and at least one microphone arranged in the outlet pipe of the engine, a combined amplifier and electronic filter, and a gate circuit to which the signals of the microphones are supplied after passing the amplifier and electronic filter. To enable a clear identification of the microphone signals of a defective valve as compared to signals generated by valve noise and extraneous noise, a gate circuit is controlled according to the crank angle of the engine, at least one limit value switch is provided to which the signal is forwarded via the gate circuit in a predetermined crank angle area, and an interpretive circuit is controlled according to the crank angle, actuated by the output signal of the limit value switch and allocating the output signal to the particular valve causing the signal.

Abstract: A tool for manipulating an ultrasonic inspection transducer is actuated to move the transducer over the surface of an irregular weld body. The weld body disclosed, joins the nozzle of a reactor vessel to its vessel, the irregularity of the weld body defined by the intersection of the two cylinders. The transducer is moved over the surface of the weld body and actuated to scan through a predetermined angle in relation to the changing aspect of the geometry of the weld body by a cam mounted at the pivoting center of the tool.

Abstract: A pressure transducer body is described which has a bore running its length and contains (a) a means for receiving a pressure transducer, (b) a fluid reservoir, (c) a stationary elastic plug member having embedded therein a T-shaped rigid pin member, and (d) a chamber for receiving a fluid under pressure. The elements of the transducer body are combined in such a way that pressures of fluids flowing into chamber (d) are accurately measured using conventional pressure transducers even at very high pressures (e.g. 20,000 psi). More importantly, perhaps, the configuration of the transducer body permits accurate pressure measurements on pressurized fluids which are corrosive and/or abrasive. This makes the pressure transducer bodies particularly useful in the oilfield service industries for measuring the pressure of acidizing or hydraulic fracturing fluids used in stimulation.

Abstract: An acoustic polarimeter for measuring the anisotropy of a sample comprises an electroacoustic transducer which transmits a high-frequency transverse acoustic wave and is fixed on a birefringent measuring plate. The acoustic wave is received by a second transducer and this latter is sensitive to the component of the wave which is parallel to the transmitted wave. Transmission devices are provided for delivering electrical signals which are frequency-modulated about a tunable mean frequency. The electrical signals applied to the second transducer are received on a zero indicator, thus permitting determination of the directions of the slow axis and fast axis of the sample as well as the angle of phase shift introduced by the sample.

Abstract: The disclosed invention, a gasometer, measures the total dissolved gas pressure in a fluid in relation to the ambient atmospheric pressure, thus determining the relative saturation of dissolved gases in the liquid. In prior devices, bubbles have caused inaccurate readings, thus requiring that an operator be present during operation to manually clear bubbles. This gasometer is an improvement over previous devices in that it allows continuous and automatic monitoring of the dissolved gas pressures in the fluid by greatly reducing or eliminating the formation of bubbles in the apparatus. The formation of bubbles is prevented by selectively pressurizing the testing chamber using inlet and outlet valves at either end to selectively vary the pressure. The gasometer containing a pressurized chamber is inserted into the fluid transport system. Located in the interior of the chamber is semipermeable tubing which allows gas to pass through to its interior, but which excludes the fluid.

Abstract: Sheet or plate stock is used as to defects by a row of ultrasonic transmitting transducers on one side and receiving transducers on the other. The transmitting transducers receive frequency-modulated signals via individual buffers, and the receiving transducers feed individual, digital amplitude envelope minima to detection circuits whose outputs are fed to a computer which also feeds operating parameters to the source for the modulated signals. Different types (autonomy) of the receiver channels are described as well as diagnostic and setup procedures.

Abstract: A pulse-echo device for obtaining information about a flowing fluid in which a transducer unit comprises an electrically-shielded transducer with a lens for three-dimensionally focusing energy waves, which unit can be inserted into a hole extending through the sidewall of a pipe so that the energy waves focused by the lens are directed across the flow through the pipe. The transducer is surrounded by two electrically-grounded shields which are insulated from each other and separately grounded to isolated the transducer from stray electrical pulses.

Abstract: Apparatus to detect and/or locate an inhomogeneity in a medium comprises a transducer to transmit frequency-modulated ultrasonic energy through the medium and a transducer to receive reflected energy. The transducers are connected to a phase-locked loop which maintains a required relationship between the phase of the transmitted modulation and the phase of the received modulation by adjustment of the modulation frequency. The modulation frequency adjustment is kept within predetermined upper and lower frequency limits so that the loop can lock only on to received ultrasonic energy which has travelled a distance within a predetermined region in the medium. The energy may be scanned across the region to produce a profile of the inhomogeneity, such as tissue at a certain depth within a limb.

Abstract: A method of determining the phase angle of a vibrating mechanism using line segments of selected angles. The motion of the line segments on the vibration mechanism is observed and the phase angle of the vibratory mechanism is determined using information from the observation.

Abstract: The RF output of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 11 is periodically gated by gate 15 to a transducer 18 which produces acoustic waves in bolt 19. The reflected acoustic waves are converted to electrical signals by transducer 18 and gated by a gate 20 to mixer 31. Mixer 31 also receives the output from VCO 11 and produces an output which is filtered by low pass filter 32. The output of filter 32 is a DC signal proportional to the phase difference change from a fixed phase difference between the two input signals to mixer 32. This DC signal is sampled at an instant and held by circuit 33 in response to the "P" signal. The output of circuit 33 is integrated by integrator 34 and then applied to VCO 11 to change the frequency of VCO 11 such that the phase difference between the two inputs to mixer 31 remains at said fixed phase difference. The frequency of VCO 11 is a measure of the change in strain of bolt 19.

Abstract: The invention provides apparatus for measuring the rate of flow of liquid being circulated in a closed loop system by a pump using a bolus of indicator injected suddenly into the system upstream of the pump and a sampling station downstream of the pump. The apparatus includes signal means for location at the sampling station to provide an electrical signal proportional to the indicator passing this station. The electrical signal has an increasing portion, a decaying exponential portion, and a distorted portion caused by recirculation of the indicator in the system. A signal analyzer is coupled to the signal means to receive the electrical signal and includes a wave generator sensitive to the exponential portion and including extrapolation means for providing a portion of the exponential curve lost by interference by recirculation. The signal analyzer provides an output signal corresponding to the increasing portion, the exponential portion, and the portion provided by the extrapolation means.

Abstract: An ultrasonic transducer device is provided which is used in ultrasonic inspection of the material surrounding a threaded hole and which comprises a wedge of plastic or the like including a curved threaded surface adapted to be screwed into the threaded hole and a generally planar surface on which a conventional ultrasonic transducer is mounted. The plastic wedge can be rotated within the threaded hole to inspect for flaws in the material surrounding the threaded hole.

Abstract: An electromagnetic flowmeter for measuring the flow rate of electrically-conductive fluids through a conduit. A magnetic field generating device has a U-shaped iron core with a gap between the ends thereof and a coil on the core energizable to produce a magnetic field across the gap. A boxlike body of molded resin has a bottom wall and side walls with the iron core and coil enclosed in the central portion thereof. The body extends along the axis of the conduit and receives the conduit removably but snugly between the side walls thereof. The bottom wall of the body is spaced below the conduit by an electrode receiving space and a substantially diametrially opposed pair of electrodes enter the conduit within the gap along a line substantially at right angles to the magnet field across the gap. The boxlike body has end walls with upward facing depressions supporting portions of the conduit axially spaced in opposite directions from the electrodes. Clamping members clamp the conduit in the end wall depressions.