Ultrasonic inspection apparatus

Claim 1

IN A DEVICE FOR INSPECTING A SELECTED AREA OF MEMBER FOR FLAWS EXTENDING GENERALLY NORMAL TO THE SURFACE OF THE MEMBER, WHICH COMPRISES A MAIN ULTRASONIC PULSE BEAM GENERATOR FOR GENERATING A SERIES OF PULSE BEAMS, A PILOT ULTRASONIC PULSE BEAM GENERATOR FOR GENERATING A SIMILAR SERIES OF PULSE BEAMS, A FLUID COUPLING BETWEEN THE GENERATORS AND THE MEMBER TO ONE SIDE OF THE SELECTED AREA, THE MAIN GENERATOR BEING ARRANGED TO TRANSMIT THE PULSE BEAM INTO THE MEMBER AT A SELECTED ANGLE OF INCIDENCE DIFFERENT THAN NINETY DEGREES TO BE REFLECTED BETWEEN THE SURFACES THEREOF AND TO COINCIDE WITH THE SELECTED AREA, THE PILOT PULSE BEAM GENERATOR BEING ARRANGED TO TRANSMIT THE PULSE BEAMS PERPENDICULARLY TO THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE MEMBER AND THEREBY REFLECTED FROM THE OUTER SURFACE AND ESTABLISHING A GATING PULSE, A SIGNAL RESPONSIVE MEANS HAVING A CONTROL INPUT MEANS WHICH IS CONNECTED TO SAID GENERATORS AND HVING A PAIR OF CONTROL OUTPUT MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING A PAIR OF OUTPUT SIGNALS, A FLAW INDICATING UNIT HAVING A PAIR OF INPUT MEANS NE OF WHICH IS CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID CONTROL OUTPUT MEANS, A TIMED GATE MEANS CONNECTED TO THE OTHER OF SAID CONTROL OUTPUT MEANS OF THE SIGNAL RESPONSIVE MEANS AND TO SAID FLAW INDICATING UNIT AND RESPONSIVE TO A GATE PULSE TO CONDITION SAID INDICATING UNOT TO OPERATIVELY RESPOND TO SIGNALS FROM THE SIGNAL RESPONSIVE MEANS AND PRODUCE AN INDICATION OF FLAW RELATED PULSE SIGNALS FROM WITHIN THE SELECTED AREA.