Granted Patent B2

US 12,446,913 · App. 18/526,230 · Granted Oct 21, 2025

Inventors: Sora Rhee (Spring Mills, PA); Jacob S. Gee (Cincinnati, OH); Steven P. Smolik (West Chester, OH); Stephen J. Balek (Springboro, OH); William D. Dannaher (Cincinnati, OH)

Assignee: Cilag GmbH International

A61B17/320068A61B17/320092B06B1/0611B06B3/00A61B2017/00084A61B2017/0011A61B2017/00402A61B2017/00504A61B2017/22027A61B2017/320071A61B2017/320084A61B2017/320094B06B1/0614

Abstract

Claims (41)

1. A transducer assembly comprising:

a housing comprising a conduit section and a base portion;

a conductive element at least partially surrounding the conduit section of the housing;

an ultrasonic transducer comprising a plurality of piezoelectric elements and a plurality of electrodes arranged in a stack configuration, wherein the ultrasonic transducer comprises an even multiple of the plurality of piezoelectric elements;

a first borehole defined through the ultrasonic transducer;

an end mass comprising an interior surface, a wall, and a second borehole, wherein the second borehole is defined therethrough, and wherein the end mass to engage with the housing; and

wherein:

the conduit section of the housing to pass through the first borehole of the ultrasonic transducer and the second borehole of the end mass,

the end mass to compress the ultrasonic transducer against the base portion of the housing, and

the plurality of piezoelectric elements are electrically connected in parallel.

2. The transducer assembly of claim 1 , wherein the even multiple of the plurality of piezoelectric elements are paired in opposite directions.

3. The transducer assembly of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic transducer comprises a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is electrically coupled to the interior surface of the end mass and the second end is electrically coupled to the base portion of the housing.

4. The transducer assembly of claim 1 , wherein: wherein each of the plurality of electrodes comprises an outer edge and an aperture that defines an inner edge of each electrode.

5. The transducer assembly of claim 4 , wherein:

a first electrode of the plurality of electrodes is located between a pair of the plurality of piezoelectric elements; and

the first electrode is electrically coupled to the conductive element.

6. The transducer assembly of claim 5 , wherein the inner edge of the first electrode comprises an inner tab extending towards a center of the aperture, and wherein inner tab electrically couples the pair of the plurality of piezoelectric elements to the conductive element.

7. The transducer assembly of claim 5 , wherein the first electrode comprises a positive electrical polarity.

8. The transducer assembly of claim 5 , wherein a second electrode of the plurality of electrodes is electrically couple to the wall of the end mass.

9. The transducer assembly of claim 8 , wherein the outer edge of the second electrode comprises outer tabs that electrically couples the pair of the plurality of piezoelectric elements to the wall of the end mass.

10. The transducer assembly of claim 9 , wherein the first electrode comprises a negative electrical polarity.

11. A transducer assembly comprising:

a housing comprising a wall and a base portion;

an ultrasonic transducer comprising a plurality of piezoelectric elements and a plurality of electrodes arranged in a stack configuration, wherein the ultrasonic transducer comprises an even multiple of the plurality of piezoelectric elements;

a first borehole defined through the ultrasonic transducer;

an end mass comprising an interior surface and a second borehole, wherein the second borehole is defined therethrough, and wherein the end mass to engage with the housing;

an alignment feature to engage with the first borehole of the ultrasonic transducer and the second borehole of the end mass; and

wherein:

the alignment feature to pass through the first borehole of the ultrasonic transducer and the second borehole of the end mass,

the end mass to compress the ultrasonic transducer against the base portion of the housing, and

the plurality of piezoelectric elements are electrically connected in parallel.

12. The transducer assembly of claim 11 , wherein the alignment feature to maintain a gap between the ultrasonic transducer and the wall of the housing.

13. The transducer assembly of claim 11 , wherein the even multiple of the plurality of piezoelectric elements are paired in opposite directions.

14. The transducer assembly of claim 11 , wherein the ultrasonic transducer comprises a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is electrically coupled to the interior surface of the end mass and the second end is electrically coupled to the base portion of the housing.

15. The transducer assembly of claim 11 , wherein: wherein each of the plurality of electrodes comprises an outer edge and an aperture that defines an inner edge of each electrode.

16. The transducer assembly of claim 15 , wherein:

a first electrode of the plurality of electrodes is located between a pair of the plurality of piezoelectric elements; and

the first electrode is electrically coupled to the alignment feature.

17. The transducer assembly of claim 16 , wherein the alignment feature comprises a source lead electrically coupled to the inner edge of the first electrode, and wherein the first electrode electrically couples the pair of the plurality of piezoelectric elements to the alignment feature.

18. The transducer assembly of claim 16 , wherein: wherein the alignment feature comprises a return lead electrically coupled to the inner edge of a second electrode of the plurality of electrodes.

19. The transducer assembly of claim 18 , wherein the second electrode electrically couples a second piezoelectric element of the pair of piezoelectric elements to the alignment feature.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (86)