PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To calculate the direction of a scanning line of ultrasonic waves to be transmitted/received from an ultrasonic probe accurately and in a short processing time.SOLUTION: Received signals are obtained from at least three grid points (upper grid points B1n and B2n and a lower grid point An) with different depths on ultrasonic scanning lines n and m based on ultrasonic detection signals from the ultrasonic probe, and propagation times between the respective grid points (Δt1, Δt1b, Δt2, Δt2b, etc.) are calculated. The angle between the scanning lines n and m is calculated based on the calculated propagation times.COPYRIGHT: (C)2013,JPO&INPIT【課題】超音波探触子から送受信される超音波の走査線方向を精度よく、かつ少ない処理時間で算出可能にする。【解決手段】超音波探触子からの超音波検出信号に基づいて超音波の走査線n,m上の3つ以上の異なる深さの格子点(上格子点B1n,B2n及び下格子点An)からの受信信号を取得し、各格子点間の伝播時間(Δt1,Δt1b,Δt2,Δt2b等)を算出する。これらの算出した伝播時間に基づいて走査線n,mのなす角度を算出する。【選択図】 図6
