Appeal No. 1997-3026 Page 2
Application No. 08/344,053
The invention pertains to ultrasound probes and, more
particularly, to a method and system of connecting a transducer
array to a coaxial cable in such a probe. Rather than
individually connecting the wires of the coaxial cable to the
corresponding terminals on the transducer flex circuit, all
pairs of opposing terminals are mass-connected electrically in
a single operation by pressing the terminal areas of two flex
circuits together.
Representative independent claim 6 is reproduced as
follows:
6. A system for electrically connecting a
multiplicity of electrodes on a transducer array to a
corresponding multiplicity of wires of a coaxial cable,
comprising:
a first flexible circuit having one end electrically
connected to said signal electrodes of said transducer array;
and
a second flexible circuit having one end electrically
connected to said wires of said coaxial cable,
wherein the other end of said first flexible circuit
overlaps and is electrically connected to the other end of said
second flexible circuit, said other end of said first flexible
circuit having a first row of terminals spaced with a first
linear pitch and said other end of said second flexible circuit
having a second row of terminals spaced with said first linear
pitch, each terminal of said first row of terminals overlapping
a respective terminal of said second row of terminals, said
overlapping terminals being bonded by a layer of cured adhesive
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