In a fixing device, a belt moves in a predetermined direction to heat and melt a toner image on a recording medium. A pressing rotary member is pressed against the belt to form a nip portion to nip and convey the recording medium bearing the toner image. A heating member is fixedly provided inside a loop formed by the belt and faces an inner circumferential surface of the belt. The heating member is heated by a heater to heat the belt. The heating member includes a primary heating portion directly heated by the heater, and a secondary heating portion heated by heat conducted from the primary heating portion. The primary heating portion and the secondary heating portion are provided in a circumferential direction of the heating member. The secondary heating portion has a heat capacity smaller than a heat capacity of the primary heating portion.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a fixing device for fixing a toner image on a recording medium and an image forming apparatus including the fixing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Related-art image forming apparatuses, such as copiers, facsimile machines, printers, or multifunction printers having at least one of copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile functions, typically form an image on a recording medium (e.g., a transfer sheet) according to image data. Thus, for example, a charger uniformly charges a surface of an image carrier; an optical writer emits a light beam onto the charged surface of the image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier according to the image data; a development device supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier to make the electrostatic latent image visible as a toner image; the toner image is directly transferred from the image carrier onto a recording medium or is indirectly transferred from the image carrier onto a recording medium via an intermediate transfer member; a cleaner then cleans the surface of the image carrier after the toner image is transferred from the image carrier onto the recording medium; finally, a fixing device applies heat and pressure to the recording medium bearing the toner image to fix the toner image on the recording medium, thus forming the image on the recording medium.
Market demand for high-speed image forming apparatuses requires that a toner image be fixed on a recording medium properly in the fixing device even when the image forming apparatus forms the toner image on the recording medium at high speed with a shortened warm-up time and first print.
To address such demand, the fixing device may include a heating member such as a heat-conductive metal pipe provided inside a loop formed by an endless belt and facing an inner circumferential surface of the belt. A heater provided inside the heating member heats the heating member and the heating member heats the whole belt.
More specifically, the heating member is pressed against a pressing rotary member located outside the loop formed by the belt via the belt to form a nip portion between the pressing rotary member and the belt that nips a recording medium bearing a toner image as the recording medium passes through the nip portion. A reinforcement member is provided inside the heating member to press against the pressing rotary member via the heating member and the belt so as to reinforce the heating member at the nip portion. The heater provided inside the heating member heats the belt via the heating member.
With such a structure, the recording medium bearing the toner image passing through the nip portion receives heat from the belt and pressure from the pressing rotary member to fix the toner image on the recording medium.
However, in such a fixing device, sufficient time is needed to warm up the belt. Otherwise, the belt may not be heated uniformly in a circumferential direction of the belt. Uneven or incomplete heating of the belt in the circumferential direction may cause the toner image to be fixed on the recording medium unevenly or may cause localized hot offsets on the toner image.
One prominent reason why the heater may not heat the heating member uniformly in the circumferential direction of the heating member may rest with the structure of the heating member itself. That is, the heating member may be constituted so as to include a primary heating portion directly heated by the heater and a secondary heating portion continuous with and adjacent to the primary heating portion and heated indirectly by heat conducted from the primary heating portion.
Also, the reinforcement member may block radiation heat generated by the heater toward the heating member. Accordingly, a part of the heating member may not be heated by the radiation heat.
Failure of the heater to heat the heating member uniformly in the circumferential direction of the heating member may result in failure of the heating member to expand thermally uniformly in the circumferential direction of the heating member. Consequently, parts of the heating member may come into substantial frictional contact with the belt, interfering with movement of the belt and adversely affecting the durability of the belt.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus with heating member heated uniformly in circumferential direction


A steerable introduction system for deploying an interventional tool (e.g., a replacement valve) within an anatomical object (e.g. a heart). The steerable introduction system employs a steerable introducer (20) including an end-effector for positioning the interventional tool within the anatomical object (e.g., the end-effector passively guides or actively steers the interventional tool within the anatomical object). The steerable introduction system further employs an image guidance workstation (120) controlling an actuation of a translation, a pivoting and/or a rotation of the end-effector within the anatomical object responsive to surgical image data illustrative of a position of the end-effector within the anatomical object (e.g., ultrasound or X-ray image data illustrative of a surgical position of the end-effector within a heart). The motion actuation by the image guidance workstation (120) of the end-effector facilitates a coaxial alignment and/or a coplanar alignment of the interventional tool and a structure of the anatomical object (e.g., a diseased aortic valve of a heart).

An aortic valve replacement is a medical procedure in which a diseased aortic valve is replaced with an artificial valve. More particularly, a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement generally involves, under image X-ray or ultrasound guidance, a deployment of the artificial valve in a beating heart via a small incision in the patient's body.
There are numerous approaches for executing a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement.
A first example is a transapical approach generally involving a small incision in a lower part of a chest of a patient, and a small puncture in a left ventricle of a beating heart of the patient. An introducer sheath is guided through the small incision and small puncture into the left ventricle via a guidewire, and a balloon catheter supporting the artificial valve is introduced via the introducer sheath into the left ventricle for deploying the artificial valve at the diseased aortic valve site.
A second example is a transaortic approach generally involving a small incision in an upper part of a chest of a patient, and a small puncture in an aorta of a beating heart of the patient. An introducer sheath is guided through the small incision and small puncture into the aorta via a guidewire, and a balloon catheter supporting the artificial valve is introduced via the introducer sheath into the aorta for deploying the artificial valve at the diseased aortic valve site.
For a successful aortic valve replacement, the introduction of the balloon catheter in the left ventricle or the aorta requires both a coaxial alignment and a coplanar alignment of the artificial valve and the diseased aortic valve. However, both a coaxial alignment and a coplanar alignment of the artificial valve and the diseased aortic valve has proven to be challenging for various reasons due to the complex motion of the heart (e.g., heart beating and a flapping of the diseased aortic valve).
One primary reason is that the patient incision point, the heart puncture point and the aorta valve annulus are rarely co-linear, and therefore a straight line introduction of the balloon catheter into the left ventricle or the aorta is not suitable.
To address this straight line limitation of a straight-line introducer sheaths, introducer sheaths as known in the art have been equipped with deflection tendons to actuate a pitch motion and/or a yaw motion of a distal end of the introducer sheath with an aim to achieve the coaxial alignment and the coplanar alignment of the artificial valve and the diseased aortic valve.
However, a transmission length of the deflection tendons extends from the distal end to the proximal end of the introducer sheath and typically fails to provide a precise actuation of a desired pitch motion and/or yaw motion of the distal end of the introducer sheath for the coaxial alignment and the coplanar alignment of the artificial valve and the diseased aortic valve, particularly in view of anatomical structures of the patient (e.g., ribs, hear muscles, trabeculations inside the heart) limiting such actuation of the introducer sheath.
Furthermore, the deflection tendons do not provide a translational motion of the introducer sheath that may be necessary for both the coaxial alignment and the coplanar alignment of the artificial valve and the diseased aortic valve.

Image guidance of a steerable introducer for minimally invasive procedures


The present invention relates to methods for producing transgenic animals, particularly transgenic rats, using retroviral constructs engineered to carry the transgene(s) of interest.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for generating transgenic animals, particularly transgenic birds and fish, using viral constructs engineered to carry the transgene(s) of interest.
2. Description of the Related Art
Early transgenic experiments used an oncoretrovirus to introduce the gene of interest into embryonic cells (Jaenisch Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 73:1260-1264 (1976)). In a typical experiment an engineered Moloney strain of mouse leukemia virus (MoMLV) was injected into the blastocyst cavity of mice. While the transgene was often integrated into the genome of the resulting mice, no gene expression could be detected.
Today, the majority of transgenic animals are made using direct injection technology (Gordon and Ruddle Science 214:1244-1246 (1981)). Briefly, a DNA construct carrying the gene of interest is injected directly into the pronucleus of a single-cell zygote. The cell is then implanted into a pseudo-pregnant female and the resulting progeny is analyzed for expression of the gene.
While this method achieves both integration and expression of the transgene, there are a number of significant drawbacks to the direct injection technique. First, in order to carry out the technique it is necessary to inject DNA directly into the pronucleus. This is possible in some specific strains of mice, such as Black6×BDA, because the male pronucleus is visible. However, in other animals and other strains of mice the pronucleus is less visible, making the technique extremely difficult. Further, the injection requires the assistance of a skilled technician and a significant investment in equipment; micromanipulators are necessary to hold the cell and the injection pipette and a pressure source is required that can deliver picoliter amounts of DNA solution.
A second equally significant problem with the direct injection method is the low percentage of injected zygotes that produce transgenic animals. The injection pipette must go through the zona pellucida, the cell membrane and the nuclear envelope. Thus only 80-90% of mouse cells survive the injection. Other animal cells are less hardy and the survival rates are somewhat lower, with about 60% survival for rats and 40-50% for cows. In mice, of the original zygotes, about 25% are successfully injected and implanted in a pseudopregnant female. About 20% of the resulting animals have the transgene integrated into their genome. Of these, about 20% will express the gene. However, even if the animals express the gene, it is possible that the expression pattern will not be useful. Thus, only about 1% of injected zygotes result in transgenic animals that express the gene of interest. This low efficiency of transgenesis is particularly troubling for larger animals, such as pigs, cows or goats, in which obtaining large numbers of embryos is not possible (see, e.g., Wall et al. J. Cell. Biochem. 49:113 (1992)).
In addition, direct pronuclear injection is not possible for many types of animals, including birds.


An LC component includes a coil conductor spirally wound around the outer peripheral surface of a wound core member having a substantially rectangular cross-section. A dielectric layer is arranged so as to cover the coil conductor. A capacitor electrode is provided on the dielectric layer so as to wind approximately once around the wound core member in the peripheral direction of the wound core member. The capacitor electrode includes first, second, third, and fourth surfaces. The capacitor electrode is divided by two cut grooves. One cut groove crosses the capacitor electrode obliquely from one side of the first surface of the capacitor electrode to the other side of the second surface adjacent to the first surface. Similarly, the other cut groove crosses the capacitor electrode obliquely from one side of the third surface of the capacitor electrode to the other side of the fourth surface adjacent to the third surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an LC component, and more particularly, to a surface mount type LC component for use as a noise filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a conventional LC component is shown in FIG. 14. In an LC component 1, terminal electrodes 2 and 3 are provided on both ends of a columnar wound core member having a spiral coil provided around the peripheral surface thereof. A dielectric layer 7 is provided on the central surface of the wound core member so as to cover the spiral coil. Further, on the dielectric layer 7, a ring capacitor electrode 8 is provided and wound once around the wound core member in the outer peripheral direction. FIG. 15 is an equivalent electric circuit diagram of the LC component 1.
The ring capacitor electrode 8 functions as a one turn coil, a so-called short ring, because it is wound once around the peripheral surface of the wound core member. For this reason, a magnetic flux caused by an electric current flowing through the spiral coil is interlinked with the ring capacitor electrode 8 so that an induced current flows in the ring capacitor electrode 8. The induced current circulates in the capacitor electrode 8 consuming energy. Therefore, the conventional LC component 1 has the problem that the Q value and the inductance of the spiral coil are low.
To overcome the problems described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide an LC component in which a capacitor electrode does not function as a short ring, and the Q value and the inductance of a coil are high.
According to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, an LC component includes a wound core member, a coil conductor spirally wound around the outer peripheral surface of the wound core member, a dielectric layer arranged to cover the coil conductor, a capacitor electrode provided on the dielectric layer, and a cut groove arranged to divide the capacitor electrode.
According to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, an LC component includes a wound core member having a substantially rectangular cross-section, a coil conductor spirally wound around the outer peripheral surface of the wound core member, a dielectric layer arranged to cover the coil conductor, a capacitor electrode provided on the dielectric layer so as to wind approximately once around the wound core member in the outer peripheral direction of the wound core member, a first cut groove crossing the capacitor electrode from one side of a first surface of the capacitor electrode to the other side of a second surface adjacent to the first surface, and a second cut groove crossing the capacitor electrode from one side of a third surface of the capacitor electrode to the other side of a fourth surface adjacent to the third surface.
According to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, an LC component includes a wound core member having a substantially circular cross-section, a coil conductor spirally wound around the outer peripheral surface of the wound core member, a dielectric layer arranged to cover the coil conductor, a capacitor electrode provided on the dielectric layer so as to wind approximately once around the wound core member in the outer peripheral direction of the wound core member, and having four areas in the outer peripheral direction of the wound core member, a first cut groove crossing the capacitor electrode from one side of the first area of the capacitor electrode to the other side of the second area adjacent to the first area, and a second cut groove crossing the capacitor electrode from one side of the third area of the capacitor electrode to the other side of the fourth area adjacent to the third area.
The coil conductor is preferably a spiral coil formed by laser working, or other suitable methods.
The capacitor electrode preferably has a band shape but may have other suitable shapes.
The coil conductor covered with the dielectric layer is protected by the dielectric layer. The dielectric layer constituting the capacitor also functions as a protection layer for the coil conductor.
The capacitor electrode does not function as a short ring because it is divided by the cut groove. That is, when a magnetic flux caused by a current flowing through the coil conductor is interlinked with the capacitor electrode, no circulating current flows in the capacitor electrode. As a result of this unique arrangement, the Q value and the inductance of a coil are high.
Other features, characteristics, elements and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings.

LC component with grooves cut in the capacitor electrode


A humidity control device includes a first adsorption element (81) and a second adsorption element (82). A first filter (301) is provided under the first adsorption element (81), while a second filter (302) is provided under the second adsorption element (82). The humidity control device performs first operation and second operation alternately. Directions of air flowing through the respective filters (301, 302) are reversed between the first operation and the second operation. Reversal of the direction of the air flowing through each filter (301, 302) removes dust and the like from each filter (301, 302).

Conventionally, a ventilation system including a generally-called total heat exchanger (503) has been known as one type of air conditioners. As shown in FIG. 39, the ventilation system includes an air supply path (501) for supplying outdoor air indoors, and an air exhaust path (502) for discharging room air outdoors. Wherein, "OA", "SA", "RA", and "EA" mean outdoor air, air (supply air) supplied indoors, room air, and air (exhaust air) discharged outdoors, respectively.
The total heat exchanger (503) includes a first passage (504) and a second passage (505), wherein the first passage (504) is arranged in the air supply path (501) and the second passage (505) is arrange in the air exhaust path (502). At each upstream side of the first passage (504) and the second passage (505), a filter (506, 507) is provide so that no dust or the like enters inside of the total heat exchanger (503).
In the above ventilation system, outdoor air sucked in the air supply path (501) passes through the first passage (504) of the total heat exchanger (503), to be supplied indoors, while room air sucked in the air exhaust path (502) passes through the second passage (505) of the total heat exchanger (503), to be discharged outdoors. In the total heat exchanger (503), heat and moisture are exchanged between the outdoor air passing through the first passage (504) and the room air passing through the second passage (505).
Further, a humidity control device as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Publication No. 9-329371A has been known as another air conditioner. This humidity control device, which includes an adsorption element for adsorbing moisture in air, dehumidifies supply air for ventilation by the adsorption element, to supply the dehumidified air indoors, and regenerates the adsorption element by exhaust air for ventilation.
The present inventors applied the above ventilation system with the total heat exchanger (503), to devise a ventilation system with an adsorption element having the following humidity control and cooling passages, in lieu to the total heat exchanger (503) in the aforementioned ventilation system. Namely, the humidity control passage for allowing the adsorption element to adsorb moisture in the air flowing therein and the cooling passage for cooling the adsorption element warmed by adsorption heat by the air flowing therein are provided at the air supply path (501) and at the air exhaust path (502), respectively. With this construction, outdoor air is dehumidified and supplied indoors and the adsorption element is cooled by utilizing the room air to be discharged outdoors.
Means of Solving the Problems
However, direct application to the conventional construction involves the following problems.
Conventionally, the air in each air path flows in one direction, and therefore, considerable amounts of dust and the like are deposited on the filters after long-term operation, thereby inviting performance degradation and lifetime shortening of the total heat exchanger and the adsorption element. For example, in a ventilation system installed in a building facing a road, outdoor air includes a large amount of dust and much dust is deposited on filters on the outdoor side. This is the significant problem.
To tackling this problem, periodic filter cleaning is considered for preventing performance degradation and lifetime shortening of the total heat exchanger and the adsorption element. However, the device for which periodic cleaning is inevitable involves a considerable burden on maintenance and may invite increase in maintenance cost.
In an air conditioner including an air conditioning element such as a total heat exchanger, an adsorption element, and the like, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems and has its object of preventing performance degradation and extending lifetime of the air conditioning element while reducing a burden on maintenance and maintenance const.


Assembly of a needle (1) and a fluid supply device (7b), the needle (1) being provided with needle coupling means (2), the supply device (7b) being provided with a nozzle (9b), the needle coupling means (2) comprising a standardized construction with standardized internal dimensions according to the Luer standard, the needle coupling means (2) further comprising a projection (5), which renders fitting the needle (1) to a supply device with a nozzle (7a) arranged for cooperation with needle coupling means having standardized construction and dimensions according to the Luer standard impossible, the nozzle (7b) of the supply device (9b) being lengthened relative to a standardized nozzle (9a), such that the needle coupling means (2) with projection (5) can still be coupled to the lengthened nozzle (9b). The invention further relates to a needle (1), a syringe (7b), a method for performing an intraneural puncture and a method for preparing an insertion device for intraneural administration.

The invention relates to an assembly of a needle and a fluid supply device, the needle being provided with needle coupling means, the supply device being provided with a nozzle, the needle coupling means comprising a standardized construction with standardized dimensions according to the Luer standard.
Such an assembly is known from practice and is used for administering a medicine to a patient. This involves the medicine being introduced, with the aid of the fluid supply device, via the needle, into an administering location of the patient. The supply device can, for instance, comprise a syringe which can be coupled directly with the nozzle to the needle coupling means of the needle. Such a syringe can also be indirectly brought into fluid communication with the needle coupling means, with the aid of, for instance, a fluid tube or hose which is also provided with a nozzle. In this last manner, also a fluid reservoir such as a drip can be brought in fluid communication with the needle. The known assembly can be used in combination with other means which can be used optionally, such as for instance suction needles, filters, regulating means such as taps, and connecting means arranged to bring various fluid reservoirs into fluid communication with one needle. To that end, these means are also provided with the standardized construction with standardized dimensions according to the Luer standard, so that they can cooperate mutually exchangeably with the needle coupling means. According to the above-mentioned Luer standard, the coupling means comprise conical fittings which are provided with a 6% cone as described in the NEN-ISO 594-1 standard.
The use of the known assembly comprises different operations. First, the supply device is filled with fluid containing, for instance, a medicine. The filling is generally done by a pharmacist or a pharmacist's assistant in a pharmacy. Subsequently, the medicine can be administered, which is performed, for instance, in a sterile surgery or operating theatre of a hospital. Administration is generally performed by specially trained staff, such as doctors or nurses. For the purpose of administering the medicine, the needle is inserted into a predetermined administering location of the patient. Then, the supply device is brought into fluid communication with this needle via the needle coupling means. Finally, fluid with the medicine can be introduced into the patient at the desired location by operating the supply device. An administering location can for instance be an intramuscular, intravenous or intraneural, i.e. at least an intrathecal or intradural, location which corresponds to administration into a muscle, a vein or the nervous system, respectively. Intraneural administration can, for instance, be carried out intrathecally using, generally, a lumbar puncture needle.
A drawback of this known assembly is that it can be used for any administering location. Hence, the situation may arise that a medicine destined to be introduced in a first administering location of a patient is erroneously introduced into another administering location. Such an error can have grave, even fatal consequences. One of the most notorious administering errors comprises the intraneural administration of the medicine vincristine to be administered intravenously. A child suffering from leukemia can be subjected to a chemotherapeutic treatment, for which, according to a certain treatment protocol, the medicine vincristine has to be administered on the same day as a second medicine, to be administered intraneurally. Then, it happens that the two different medicines are confused, so that vincristine is administered intraneurally, and the child may die. The confusion of intraneurally and intravenously to be administered medicines may already have happened during the filling of the fluid supply device, or may happen in the surgery during administration.
A proposal for a solution to this problem of confusion is known from an article of R. A. Anderson et al., published in the journal "Medical and Pediatric Oncology" 1999, pages 401 and 402, issue 32. There, the coupling means of a syringe is provided with a detachable marking element to indicate that the syringe contains a medicine which may, during administration, only be administered intraneurally. A drawback of this proposal is that different pharmacists, doctors and/or nurses of different pharmacies or hospitals, respectively, may, in practice, have come to different agreements regarding the meaning of such a marking. A different person may, for instance, use the marking to indicate that the syringe contains a medicine destined for non-intraneural administration.
According to the same article, a second solution is to provide both the needle coupling means of the needle and the nozzle of the syringe with a non-standardized, particular shape or size, such that cooperation with, respectively, a nozzle or needle coupling means having a standardized construction and dimensions according to the Luer standard, is impossible. As a result, during administration, the confusion of two medicines is no longer possible, at least when the different syringes have been correctly filled with the different medicines. This solution has the drawback that means to be used optionally which have a standardized construction and dimensions according to the Luer standard, such as suction needles, filters and the like, cannot cooperate with these adapted needle coupling means and nozzles. For that reason, before use, such standardized treatment means have to be replaced with new treatment means with adapted coupling constructions, which entails relatively high replacement costs.
The present invention contemplates solving the above-mentioned drawbacks of the assembly while maintaining its advantages. Hence, the invention provides an assembly with which the risk that, in use, a medicine destined for non-intraneural administration is mistakenly administered intrathecally via the needle, is very small. Further, the needle and administration device according to the invention can be used in combination with a number of other treatment means, standardized according to the Luer standard.

Assembly of a needle and a fluid supply device and methods of their use


The present invention relates to expanded NK cells. The NK cells have been expanded ex vivo, are activated and have a cytotoxic phenotype. The cytotoxicity against malignant cells is markedly increased compared to non-expanded NK cells. The invention also relates to a method of treatment.

NK cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes that lyse certain tumor and virus infected cells without any prior stimulation or immunization. NK cells are also potent producers of various cytokines, e.g. IFN-y, TNF-α, GM-CSF and IL-3. Therefore, NK cells are also believed to function as regulatory cells in the immune system, influencing other cells and responses.
In humans, NK cells are broadly defined as CD56+CD3− lymphocytes. The cytotoxic activity of NK cells is tightly controlled by a balance between the activating and inhibitory signals from receptors on the cell surface. A main group of receptors that inhibits NK cell activation are the inhibitory killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). Upon recognition of self MHC class I molecules on the target cells, these receptors deliver an inhibitory signal that stops the activating signalling cascade, keeping cells with normal MHC class I expression from NK cell lysis. Activating receptors include the natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCR) and NKG2D that push the balance towards cytolytic action through engagement with different ligands on the target cell surface. Thus, NK cell recognition of target cells is tightly regulated by processes involving the integration of signals delivered from multiple activating and inhibitory receptors.
Several strategies have been used to enhance NK cell responses to tumors. Cytokines are used in the treatment of some human cancers and NK cell differentiation and activation is affected by cytokines such as interleukins (e.g. IL-2, IL-12. IL-15, IL-18 and IL-21). The effect of IL-2 administration on activation and expansion of NK cells in cancer patients have been assessed in several trials with mixed outcomes depending on type of tumor and the conditions used for IL-2 administration. One example of cellular therapy is the NK cell-mediated killing of leukaemia cells which is based on NK cell alloreactivity.
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell neoplasm characterized by the clonal proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow (BM). The malignant cells are associated with the synthesis of monoclonal immunoglobulin and a high incidence of osteolytic bone lesions. The disease accounts for about 2% of all cancer deaths and nearly 20% of deaths caused by hematological malignancies. Although allogeneic stem cell transplantation occasionally cures these patients and drugs like thalidomide, lenalidomide and bortezomib have improved outcome, high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) still appears to be the best treatment for patients up to 65-70 years of age. However the great majority of patients with MM are incurable due to the persistence of minimal residual disease. Thus, novel methods for complementing or improving current treatments are needed.
In order to use NK cells in adoptive immunotherapeutic strategies, the availability of functionally active NK cells on a clinical scale is crucial. Clinical trials that have been performed using autologous NK cells were hampered by the fact that the cell dose was inadaptable to the demands of clinical trials. Therefore, the development of protocols for large-scale generation of NK cells is important to evaluate the potential of NK cell-based therapeutic protocols. Examples of reports that deal with ways of expanding and culturing human NK-cells are U.S. Ser. No. 10/242,788 and WO 2006/052534.
Human ex vivo expanded NK cells would be favorable candidates for immunotherapeutic approaches against malignant disease if they could target tumor cells.


In the two-sided coating of a web by feeding the web through the nip of a pair of pressing rolls onto which the coating substance is metered, the amount of the coating substance applied to each pressing roll is measured by infrared absorption and the relative coating quantities RW.sub.o onto the upper side and RW.sub.u to the underside are calculated by the relations EQU RW.sub.o =M2.sub.o /(M2.sub.o +M2.sub.u) and EQU RW.sub.u =M2.sub.u /(M2.sub.o +M2.sub.u); and. where M2.sub.o represents an infrared absorption measurement of the coating on the roll applying the coating to the upper side and M2u represents the absorption measurement of the coating on the roll applying the substance to the underside of the web.

An apparatus for the two-sided coating of a web of paper or cardboard can comprise two juxtaposed pressing rollers defining a pressing gap or nip between them through which the web can pass. An applicator and metering system can be provided for each of these rollers, upstream of the nip with respect to the direction of rotation of the roller to apply to the roller a layer of a material, usually a liquid or other flexible substance, transferred to the web at the nip.
Such apparatus can be employed for the two-sided coating of glue or sizing (starch, carboxymethylcellulose-CMC, synthetic size or glue) or pigment dispersions onto paper or cardboard webs.
The purpose of the applicator and metering or dosing system assigned to each roller is the application to the respective roller of a film of the coating material in a metered amount.
An apparatus of this type is described in the German Utility Model 84 14 413.
In this system, the applicator and metering unit includes a nozzle chamber open toward the respective pressing roller, and at a downstream side of this chamber, a metering element which is pressed against the pressing roller and which closes the nozzle chamber.
The metering elements which can be used can include a doctor bar formed with peripheral grooves or flutes and fabricated, for example, by adjacent turns of wire on a support. The amount of the flowable substance which is applied to the pressing roller is then determined by the groove cross-section where the doctor bar is applied forceably against the surface of the pressing roller.
Other known metering elements include doctor bars with smooth surfaces, shaver blades or shaver strips and, in general, doctor blades.
In these systems, the coating weight applied to the surface of the pressing roller, i.e. the weight of material per unit area, can be varied by varying the pressing force with which the doctor bar or doctor blade is urged toward the pressing roller.
It is known to measure the quantity of the coating substance applied to a web continuously and directly upon the web. For this purpose, radioactively-emitting elements may be provided and the absorption of the radioactive radiation through the web can indicate the coating weight (quantity in weight units per unit area) and/or the moisture of the coating applied to the web which, in turn, can be correlated with the quantity of coating applied per unit area and, for a given and known substance, the thickness thereof or the amount of the substance coated onto or penetrating into the web.
For adjustment and/or monitoring of the coating weight, separately for each side, complex measuring devices must be provided and juxtaposed with each side of the web directly and, as experience has shown, can provide with any accuracy only the total quantity of coating material applied by the two-sided coating without any significant possibility of accurately indicating the quantity applied to each side.
Mention may also be made of U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,770 which provides a sensor and a method for determining the basis weight, i.e. the weight per unit area, of coating material on a substrate.
The infrared sensor of this apparatus determines the amount of a coating material on a substrate using measurements of infrared radiation reflected from the substrate or the transmission of infrared radiation through the substrate. This system employs at least two separate weavelength regions of the infrared.
More particularly, the infrared coating sensor includes a source of infrared radiation, a beam of which is transmitted toward the moving sheet. When the beam reaches the sheet, it first passes through the coating material and then into the base paper sheet. A portion of the energy is transmitted through the sheet. Some of the infrared energy, after entering the base sheet, is reflected back in the general direction of the source. It is recognized in this reference that infrared radiation is preferentially absorbed by the coating and/or the base sheet itself.
Notwithstanding the ability to utilize infrared measurements to determine the coating on the sheet, the sensor and the use of it in this patent do not assure extremely precise applications of the coating substances to both sides of a web of paper or paper board.


An image forming system including a rotatable image bearing member, a rotatable transfer sheet bearing member for bearing a transfer sheet, and a common drive source for rotatably driving the image bearing member and the transfer sheet bearing member. An image is transferred from the image bearing member onto the transfer sheet born by the transfer sheet bearing member. The image bearing member and the transfer sheet bearing member are rotated at the same angular velocity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system for transferring an image formed on an image bearing member onto a transfer sheet carried by a transfer sheet bearing member, and more particularly it relates to an image forming system suitable to be used with color electrophotographic equipment of electrophotographic type of electrostatic type.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, in color electrophotographic equipment, an electrophotographic photosensitive drum acting as an image bearing member is rotatably supported and a toner forming means forming a toner image on the drum is arranged around the drum.
More particularly, the photosensitive drum is uniformly charged by a primary charger and a light image corresponding to image information is illuminated on the photosensitive drum by an exposure means comprising a laser scanner and the like, thus forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum. Then, the electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image, for example, by a shiftable developing means.
The shiftable developing means comprises four developing devices containing magenta color developer, cyan color developer, yellow color developer and black color developer, respectively, and a guide for holding these four developing devices and shiftable in a horizontal direction. The shiftable developing means permits movement of a desired developing device to a position facing an outer surface of the photosensitive drum.
The various color toner images formed on the photosensitive drum are successively transferred and superimposed on a transfer sheet carried and conveyed by a rotating transfer drum acting as a transfer sheet bearing member.
The photosensitive drum is supported on a rotary shaft so that it is rotated by driving the rotary shaft by a driven motor. The photosensitive drum is provided at its axial end with a flange having a gear which is meshed with a gear integrally formed with the transfer drum in the vicinity of a surface of the latter. Thus, when the photosensitive drum is rotated, the transfer drum is also rotatingly driven.
When such a driving system is used, in order to prevent a so-called "discrepancy in color" in the superimposing transfer of the toner images, techniques wherein an outer diameter of the transfer drum is greater than that of the photosensitive drum by an integral number times have been proposed, as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 49-113635 and 61-83557. Further, a technique wherein the photosensitive drum and the transfer drum are driven by independent driven motors has also been proposed.
Such discrepancy in color occurs due to the discrepancy in rotational axes and/or in the circularity of the photosensitive drum and/or transfer drum, i.e., a distance between respective points on the surface of the photosensitive drum and the rotational axis thereof or a distance between respective points on the surface of the transfer drum and the rotational axis thereof is not constant. That is to say, if peripheral speeds are different at any plural points on the outer surface of the photosensitive drum or the transfer drum, the discrepancy in the different color images will occur.
Accordingly, in conventional color electrophotographic equipment, when a driving force is transmitted from the gear on the flange of the photosensitive drum to the transfer drum there occurs the limitation in that the outer diameter of the transfer drum must be greater, by an integral number of times, than that of the photosensitive drum, or the high accurate circularity and coaxiality of a pitch circle of the flange gear is required.
For example, if the pitch circle of the flange gear deviates from circularity by a, an amount of deviation or discrepancy on the peripheral surface of the transfer drum will be as follows: ##EQU1## Where, r is a radius of the photosensitive drum (r>>a), .phi. is a phase difference of the photosensitive drum (due to the difference in diameter between the transfer drum and the photosensitive drum) caused when the transfer drum is rotated by one revolution.
The amount of discrepancy becomes maximum when the phase difference is .pi. (.phi.=.pi.), for example, which corresponds to the fact that a ratio between the diameter of the transfer drum and that of the photosensitive drum is 3:2. In this case, the maximum amount of discrepancy becomes 2a. Thus, to limit the discrepancy in color due to the noncoaxiality within 50 .mu.m, high accurate coaxiality within a range of 25 .mu.m or less is required. Further, when the photosensitive drum and the transfer drum are driven independently, two or more motors are required, thus leading to a cost increase.

Image forming system including rotatable image bearing member and rotatable transfer sheet bearing member rotatably driven by common drive source


A modularized system and method for interactively diagnosing and addressing workplace issues that can lead to employee turnover includes computer-delivered assessment and training modules, each directed to a particular aspect of improving employee retention by focusing on retention competencies. Some modules are intended for employee use; others, for supervisors. The employee sector modules are primarily administered for the purpose of data collection, the resulting data utilized to prescribe assessment and training modules to the supervisor. The supervisor sector modules include an assessment adapted to create an individualized learning plan, wherein questions assess understanding of the topic, and then a job simulation is presented, guiding the user through a simulation applying the concepts from the lesson, followed by a mastery assessment. After passing the mastery assessment, the user can view and print learning activities and key learning points for each program.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for human resources management, and, more particularly, to such systems and methods for improving retention of employees.
2. Description of Related Art
Employee turnover is a persistent problem in the business arena. Not only does turnover affect workplace morale, but the expense of replacing employees can be very high depending upon expertise.
Studies have shown that a major contributing factor to employee turnover is lack of effectiveness at the supervisor level. A method and system for measuring leadership effectiveness has been disclosed by Morrel-Samuels (U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,340).

Employee retention system and associated methods


A method and apparatus for editing a source video that has already been taken to stabilize images in the video. To eliminate jerky motion from a video, changes in shots are first detected. Then, any jerkiness within the video of that shot is classified and the video is segmented further into smaller segments based on this classification. The jerkiness within the selected segments is removed. The corrected shot, comprising a plurality of frames, is then added to the preceding shot until all shots of the video have been appropriately corrected for jerkiness. To help the user identify the shots being edited, keyframes or snapshots of the shots are displayed, thereby allowing the user to decide whether processing of the shot is desired and which shots should be incorporated into the final video.

People currently use video editor programs to edit an existing source video to create personalized videos, for example, home movies that contain only the portions of one or more videos of interest to the user. The video editor program attaches user-selected portions of frames or images to other frames or images to create an edited or personalized video.
Although the video editing process provides flexibility for users to edit existing video and create new videos therefrom, the process is typically time-consuming and frustrating. Images captured on the video often appear jittery or jerky because the camera was in motion while the video was originally made. This camera motion causes the images in the frames of the video to exhibit uneven or jerky motion and uneven zoom when the captured image is zoomed in on.
Current video appliances, for example, camcorders and personal video recorders, can, to some extent, stabilize images while the video is originally being taken and can locate objects within shots while the video is being taken. However, these features are currently not implemented in video editor programs which operate on videos that have already been taken. Thus, if a video was originally taken with a video recorder that did not have the capability of removing camera jitter from the recorded video or the capability of allowing for jitterless zooming while the video is being taken, it is very difficult subsequently to remove these imperfections from the video.

Method and apparatus for editing source video to provide video image stabilization


A property of a layer is measured by: (1) focusing a heating beam on a region (also called “heated region”) of a conductive layer (2) modulating the power of the heating beam at a predetermined frequency that is selected to be sufficiently low to ensure that at any time the temperature of an optically absorbing layer is approximately equal to (e.g., within 90% of) a temperature of the optically absorbing layer when heated by an unmodulated beam, and (3) measuring the power of another beam that is (a) reflected by the heated region, and (b) modulated in phase with modulation of the heating beam. The measurement in act (3) can be used directly as a measure of the resistance (per unit area) of a conductive pad formed by patterning the conductive layer. Change in measurement across regions indicates a corresponding change in resistance of the layer.

Silicide layers of sub-micron (i.e. less than 1 micron) dimensions are conventionally used in integrated circuits. Such layers can be formed in a two step process as follows. In a first step, a film of metal (such as titanium, cobalt or nickel) is deposited onto a silicon substrate, or a layer of polysilicon. In a second step, the film is annealed to form a metal-silicon compound (such as titanium silicide, cobalt silicide, or nickel silicide). Conventionally, the sheet resistance of such a silicide layer is measured on a test wafer, and the measured sheet resistance may be multiplied by a measurement of a silicide layer's thickness on a production wafer, to determine a property of the layer, called "resistivity."
A number of methods exist for measuring sheet resistance of the test wafer. In one method, four probes are brought into physical contact with the silicide layer, to measure the layer's sheet resistance directly. See, for example, "The Four-Point Probe", Section 1.2, pages 2–20 in the book "Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization" by Dieter K. Schroder, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1990. The just-described method requires the silicide layer to have an area (e.g., 5 square mm) that may be several orders of magnitude larger than the area of a silicide layer after etching (e.g., <0.5 square microns). Due to such a requirement on the size of the silicide layer (to have a 108 times larger area), and the need to contact the silicide layer, such measurements are performed prior to patterning (i.e. typically on a test wafer).
Many methods, such as spectroscopic ellipsometry, Rutherford backscattering (RBS), scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry can also be used to determine the sheet resistance, as described in, for example, an article entitled "Spectroscopic ellipsometry investigation of nickel silicide formation by rapid thermal process" by Yaozhi Hu and Sing Pin Tay, Journal of Vacuum Science Technology, volume 16, no. 3, published May/June 1998 by the American Vacuum Society.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,776 granted to Smith et al. (hereinafter "Smith") describes measuring changes in optical reflectivity (column 4, line 5–6) caused by thermal waves (column 3, line 42) to "monitor variations in electrical conductivity and resistance . . . " (column 4, lines 53–54). Specifically, Smith requires "periodically exciting the sample at a highly localized spot on the sample surface . . . The pump beam functions to periodically heat the sample which in turn generates thermal waves that propagate from the irradiated spot . . . Features at or beneath the sample surface can be studied by monitoring the variations they induce in these waves" (column 1, lines 25–40). Note also that Smith requires the pump and probe beams to be non-coincident and non-coplanar.
Smith also states that "when the optical reflectivity of the sample is to be monitored, it is desirable to arrange the pump and probe beams to be coincident on the sample" (column 1, lines 60–64). When using such coincident beams, Smith notes problems created by "surfaces associated with defective vias are often not optically flat . . . " (column 3, lines 6–13). Moreover, prior art also states that "[w]hen materials other than semiconductors are to be evaluated, such as metals . . . analysis of the thermal wave patterns is required" (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,710 at column 7, lines 41–44).
See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,074 granted to Opsal et al.

Apparatus and method for measuring a property of a layer in a multilayered structure


Outer peripheral portions of magnetizing terminals 39a constituting a magnetizing apparatus 33a for magnetizing a permanent magnet 32, are made longer than inner peripheral portions. Coils 40 for magnetization are wound around the shorter length inner peripheral portions. A distance L32 between the magnetizing terminals 39a and a step portion 37 of a support ring 34 can thus be shortened, so that the axial length of the encoder 31a can be reduced. This results in reducing the axial length of an encoder 31a to thereby miniaturize and lighten a speed sensing rolling bearing unit incorporating the encoder 31a.

Heretofore there are various known constructions for a speed sensing rolling bearing unit for supporting a wheel of a vehicle on to a suspension unit so as to be freely rotatable, and for sensing the rotational speed of the wheel in order to control an anti-lock braking system (ABS) or a traction control system (TCS).
With all of the rotational speed sensing units incorporated into these speed sensing rolling bearing units, there is provided a tone wheel which rotates together with the wheel, and a sensor which outputs an output signal which changes at a frequency proportional to the rotational speed of the tone wheel.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,697, special consideration to the side of sensor is not taken.
The sensor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,124 has a shortage that the magnetic flux emanating from the north poles is inclined to leak from the core metal to the south pole resulting in inefficient magnetic flux across the coil and inefficient output voltage.
The sensor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,358 has a shortage that the dual structure of radially outer and inner sections causes the structure complicated and enlarged
In Japanese Hatsumei Kyokai Technical Report No. 94-16051, there is disclosed a speed sensing rolling bearing unit such as shown in FIG. 1.
With this unit, a flange 2 for attaching a wheel, is formed on an outer peripheral surface of an axially outer end portion (here the term "outer" means the widthwise outer side of the vehicle when fitted to a vehicle; the left side in FIG. 1) of a hub 1 constituting an inside member, and an inner ring raceway 3a and a step 4 are formed on an outer peripheral surface of a central portion. Furthermore, an inner ring 5 formed with an inner ring raceway 3b on an outer peripheral surface thereof and constituting an inside member together with the hub 1, is externally secured to the outer peripheral surface of the hub 1 with an axially outer end face thereof abutted against the step 4. Instead of having the inner ring race way 3a formed directly on the outer peripheral surface of the hub 1, an inner ring (not shown in the figure) separate to the hub 1 may be formed, and this inner ring and the inner ring 5 may be externally secured to the hub 1.
A male threaded portion 6 is formed on a portion near the axially inner end of the hub 1. The inside member is made up by securing the inner ring 5 to a predetermined portion on the outer peripheral surface of the hub 1 by means of a nut 7 which is threaded onto the threaded portion 6 and tightened. Furthermore, an outside member 8 which is located around the hub 1, is provided on a central outer peripheral surface thereof with an attachment portion 9 for securing the outside member 8 to a suspension unit. Moreover, outer ring raceways 10a, 10b are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outside member 8, facing the respective inner ring raceways 3a, 3b.
Furthermore, a plurality of rolling members 11 are respectively provided between the inner ring raceways 3a, 3b and the outer ring raceways 10a, 10b, so that the inside member can rotate freely inside the outside member 8. With the example of FIG. 1, balls are used for the rolling members 11. However in the case of a rolling bearing unit for heavy vehicles, taper rollers may be used for the rolling members.
A seal ring 12 is fitted between the inner peripheral surface at the axially outer end of the outside member 8 and the outer peripheral surface of the hub 1 to cover the opening at the axially outer end of the space existing between the inner peripheral surface of the outside member 9 and the outer peripheral surface of the hub 1, in which is provided the plurality of rolling members 11.
A base end portion of an encoder 13 (left end portion in FIG. 1) is externally secured to a portion on an axially inner end portion (inner here means the side towards the center of a vehicle when fitted to a vehicle) of the inner ring 5, spaced away from the inner ring raceway 3b. The encoder 13 is formed in an overall annular shape (short cylindrical shape) from a ferromagnetic metal plate such as steel plate. The encoder 13 is made up with a smaller diameter portion 14 and a larger diameter portion 15 formed concentric with each other and connected by a stop portion 16 With the encoder 13, the larger diameter portion 15 is externally fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the inner ring 5, and is secured to the inner ring 5 with the stop portion 16 abutted against the end rim portion of the inner ring 5. Consequently, the smaller diameter portion 14 is supported concentric with the inner ring 5. Furthermore, a plurality of apertures 17 constituting rotation side cutout portions, are formed at even spacing around the circumferential direction, so that the magnetic characteristics around the circumferential direction change alternately and at even spacing. The respective apertures 17 are of the same rectangular shape and elongate in the axial direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 1).
An opening portion at the axially inner end of the outside member 8 is covered with a cover 18 made in a bottomed cylindrical shape by deep drawing a metal plate such as stainless steel plate or aluminum plate. An annular sensor 20 is enclosed in an annular synthetic resin portion 21 inside an inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical portion 19 of the cover 18. The sensor 20 comprises a permanent magnet 22, a stator 23 formed from a ferromagnetic material such as steel plate, and a coil 24, and is formed in an overall annular shape by embedding the respective components 22, 23, 24 in the synthetic resin portion 21.
Of the respective constituent members of the sensor 20, the permanent magnet 22 is formed in an overall annular shape (ring shaped) and is magnetized radially. The inner peripheral surface of the permanent magnet 22 faces the outer peripheral surface of the portions not formed with the apertures 17 at the base end portion of the smaller diameter portion 14 of the encoder 13, across a small gap 25.
The stator 23 is formed in an overall annular shape of J-shape in cross section. An inner peripheral surface of an end portion of a radially outer cylindrical portion 26 of the stator 23 and an outer peripheral surface of the permanent magnet 22, are positioned close to or abutted against each other. An inner peripheral surface of a radially inner cylindrical portion 27 of the stator 23 opposes the portion formed with the plurality of apertures 17 at one part of the smaller diameter portion 14 of the encoder 13, across the small gap 25. Moreover, a plurality of cutouts 28 (fixed side cutout portions) are formed in the radially inner cylindrical portion 27 around the circumferential direction at a pitch (central angle pitch) equal to that of the apertures 17. Consequently, the radially inner cylindrical portion 27 is formed in a comb teeth configuration.
The coil 24 is formed in an annular shape by winding a conducting wire onto a bobbin 29 of a non magnetic material, and is located on an inner peripheral portion of the radially outer cylindrical portion 26 of the stator 23. An electromotive force induced in the coil 24 is taken out from a connector 30 which protrudes from an outer surface of the cover 18.
At the time of using the speed sensing rolling bearing unit constructed as described above, when the encoder 13 rotates together with the inner ring 5 which constitutes the inside member, the magnetic flux density in the stator 23 facing the encoder 13 changes, and the voltage induced in the coil 24 thus changes at a frequency proportional to the rotational speed of the hub 1. The reason for the change in the voltage induced in the coil 24 with the change in density of the magnetic flux flowing in the stator 23, is the same as for the case of conventional well known rotational speed sensing sensors. Moreover, the reason for the change in the density of the magnetic flux flowing in the stator 23 with rotation of the encoder 13 is as follows.
With the apertures 17 provided in the encoder 13 and the cut outs 28 provided in the stator 23, since these have the same pitch, then with rotation of the encoder 13, there is an instant where these simultaneously oppose each other around the whole periphery. Furthermore, at the instant when the respective apertures 17 and the respective cutouts 28 oppose each other, then column portions (ferromagnetic bodies) existing between the adjacent apertures 17, and tongue portions (ferromagnetic bodies) existing between the adjacent cutouts 28 oppose each other across the small gap 25. With the column portions and the tongue portions (ferromagnetic bodies) opposing each other in this way, a high density magnetic flux flows between the encoder 13 and the stator 23.
On the other hand, if the phase of the apertures 17 and of the cutouts 28 is displaced by one half, then the density of the magnetic flux flowing between the encoder 13 and the stator 23 drops. That is to say, in this condition, the apertures 17 provided in the encoder 13 oppose the tongue portions, and simultaneously, the cutouts 28 provided in the stator 23 opposes the column portions. With the column portions opposing the cut outs 28, and the tongue portions opposing the apertures 17 in this way, a relatively large air space exists around the whole periphery between the encoder 13 and the stator 23. Hence, in this condition the density of the flux flowing between the two members 13 and 23 drops. The result is that the voltage induced in the coil 24 changes in proportion to the rotational speed of the hub. By using the sensor 20 as described above, then the output voltage induced in the coil 24 changes at a frequency proportional to the rotational speed of the inside member.
With the speed sensing rolling bearing unit constructed and operated as described above, the magnetic flux output from the end face of the permanent magnet 22 of the sensor 20 always flows in the same direction inside the stator 23 of the sensor 20. Only the magnitude of the magnetic flux density changes with rotation of the encoder 13, and a voltage corresponding to this change in the magnetic flux is induced in the coil 24. Therefore it is difficult to increase the amount of change in the voltage (the difference between the maximum and minimum amount). In particular at the time of low speed traveling when the speed at which the magnetic flux density changes is low, the absolute value of the induced voltage, and the amount of change is small.
In view of this situation, there has been proposed a construction where a permanent magnet is provided on the encoder side, with south poles and north poles located on a portion of the permanent magnet facing the sensor, alternately and at even spacing around the circumference. If such an encoder incorporating permanent magnets is used, then the magnetic flux flows in the stator of the sensor alternately in opposite directions. This is referred to as alternating magnetic flux. Consequently voltages can be induced in the coil fitted to the stator, in mutually opposite directions with rotation of the encoder, thus enabling an increase in the sensor output.
Moreover, to increase the output from the sensor, it is effective to increase the diameter of the detected face of the encoder which faces the sensor. Therefore, contrary to the construction shown in the FIG. 1, the encoder is located diametrically outside of the sensor so that the diameter of the inner peripheral surface of the encoder (detected face) is increased. Furthermore, by increasing the diameter of the encoder, the number of poles provided on the encoder can be increased which is also effective in increasing the detection accuracy.
FIG. 2 shows an encoder 31 which satisfies the above requisites, and a magnetizing apparatus 33 for magnetizing a permanent magnet 32 of the encoder 31. The encoder 31 comprises an annular support ring 34 made of metal plate, and a permanent magnet 32 which is supported and secured around the whole periphery of the support ring 34. The support ring 34 comprises a smaller diameter portion 35 for attachment to a rotation ring such as the inner ring 5 (refer to FIG. 1), a larger diameter portion 36 concentric with the smaller diameter portion 35, and a ring shaped step portion 37 connecting between an and rim of the larger diameter portion 36 and an end rim of the smaller diameter portion 35. The permanent magnet 32 is formed in an overall cylindrical shape and is affixed to the inner peripheral surface of the larger diameter portion 36 around the whole periphery. Furthermore, south poles and north poles are located on the inner peripheral surface of the permanent magnet 32 alternately and at even spacing around the circumferential direction.
With the magnetizing apparatus 33 for magnetizing the permanent magnet 32 in order to make the encoder 31, a plurality of magnetizing terminals 39 are located in a cylindrical formation on an end portion (left end portion in FIG. 2) of a ferromagnetic yoke 38, at the same pitch as the pitch of the adjacent south and north poles of the permanent magnet 32, and at even spacing around the circumference. The magnetizing terminals 39 are provided in the same number as the total number of south poles and north poles located on the inner peripheral surface of the permanent magnet 32, protruding radially outward from the outer peripheral surface at the tip end of the yoke 38, with their respective outer peripheral surfaces elongate in the axial direction of the permanent magnet 32 (left to right direction in FIG. 2). Respective coils 40 are wound around the respective magnetizing terminals 39. On switching on power, the respective coils 40 radially magnetize the magnetic body (permanent magnet material, high coercive force material) which is to become the permanent magnet 32 and which faces the outer peripheral surfaces of the respective magnetizing terminals 39.
The portion surrounding the respective magnetizing terminals 39 at the tip end portion of the yoke 38 is covered with a synthetic resin portion 41, and the respective coils 40 are embedded within this synthetic resin portion 41. A location plate 42 made of a metal plate is secured to an end face of the synthetic resin portion 41. At the time of magnetizing the permanent magnet 32 to alternately locate the south poles and the north poles on the inner peripheral surface of the permanent magnet 32, the location plate 42 is abutted against the step portion 37 of the support ring 34. In this condition, the respective magnetizing terminals 39 face the inner peripheral surface of the magnetic body (permanent magnet material, high coercive force material) which constitutes the permanent magnet 32, along the full length of the magnetic body. Then in this condition, power to the respective coils 40 is switched on to magnetize the magnetic body thereby producing a permanent magnet 32 with south poles and north poles formed on the inner peripheral surface alternately and at even spacing.
When using the conventional magnetizing apparatus 33 as shown in FIG. 2 to magnetize the permanent magnet 32 of the encoder 31 having the construction shown in FIG. 2, a distance L.sub.32 between the end rim of the permanent magnet 32 and the side face of the step portion 37 of the support ring 34 cannot be made sufficiently small. That is to say, in the condition with the outer peripheral surfaces of the respective magnetizing terminals 39 of the magnetizing apparatus 33 and the inner peripheral surface of the magnetic body of the permanent magnet 32 opposing each other, the synthetic resin portion 41 in which a portion of the coils 40 is embedded and the location plate 42 exist between the end face of the yoke 38 and the step portion 37. It is therefore not possible to avoid an increase in the distance L32 by this amount.
If the distance L.sub.32 is increased, then the axial dimension of the encoder 31 is also increased by this amount, thus making it difficult to miniaturize and lighten a speed sensing rolling bearing unit incorporating the encoder 31.

Rolling bearing unit with rotational speed sensor


A current transformer includes a Rogowski coil, having an opening at the center in which a conductor penetrates, comprising, a printed circuit board having a plurality of layers forming at least first to fourth circuit board surfaces including a circuit board top surface, a circuit board bottom surface and circuit board conducting internal surfaces between the circuit board top surface and the circuit board bottom surface, a plurality of radial metal foils, each metal foil radiating from a center that is approximately the center of the opening, mounted on the first to fourth circuit board surfaces, a first winding formed by electrically connecting metal foils on the first and second circuit board surfaces with first plated through holes penetrating the first and second circuit board surfaces in a thickness direction of the printed circuit board, a second winding formed by electrically connecting metal foils on the third and fourth circuit board surfaces with second plated through holes penetrating the third and fourth circuit board surfaces in a thickness direction of the printed circuit board, a first return circuit line electrically connected with the first winding in series, a second return circuit line electrically connected with the second winding in series, and a pair of the first winding and the first return circuit line and a pair of the second winding and the second return circuit line being electrically connected in series.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a current transformer and current transformer system which are used to measure an alternating current passing in, for example, a main circuit of electric power distribution equipment or substation main circuits equipment, and especially relates to a current transformer and digitalized electronic current transformer system using a Rogowski coil.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a penetrated type current transformer is used in many cases for measuring alternating current passing in electric power distribution equipment, substation main circuit equipment and so on. In a conventional penetrated type current transformer, a secondary winding is wound around a toroidal former, that is a core, and a conductor in which a primary current passes penetrates a centered opening of the core. An iron core, or non-ferromagnetic material is used as the core of this penetrated type current transformer. Among these, a current transformer using a non-ferromagnetic material is called a air core coil type current transformer or a Rogowski coil, which can acquire excellent linearity characteristics without saturation.
FIG. 14 shows the structure of a common Rogowski coil. The Rogowski coil 1 shown in this figure is constituted by a conductor winding 2 coiled from point P to point Q on all over the periphery of the core 6 made of the non-ferromagnetic material, and returning a wire (return circuit line) 3 from point Q to point R in a direction opposite to a winding direction of the winding 2 along the core 6. The return circuit line 3 usually returns between the core 6 and the winding 2. Moreover, a conductor 5 of a main circuit of electric power distribution equipment or substation equipment penetrates an opening 6a of the core 6.
In this situation, voltage is generated proportional to amount of time differential of the primary current flowing in the conductor 5 between terminals 4, 4 of the winding 2 and the return circuit line 3. Accordingly, the above-mentioned primary current can be measured by integrating this voltage and multiplying a constant determined by a form of the coil. For an ideal Rogowski coil, the voltage between terminals 4, 4 is not influenced by a gap of centered points of the core 6 and the conductor 5, and by magnetic field of outside the Rogowski coil 1. An ideal Rogowski coil satisfies the following conditions: (a) a winding interval (pitch) of the winding 2 is constant, (b) an area surrounded by the winding 2 is equal to an area surrounded by the return circuit line 3, (c) cross-sectional area of the core 6 is fixed over the entire circumference and not influenced by temperature, and (d) the winding 2 is completely wound over the entire circumference of the core 6 without any missing portion.
However, when manufacturing the Rogowski coil 1 as shown in FIG. 11, it is technically difficult to satisfy the above-mentioned condition (a), that is, to wind the winding 2 to the core 6 while keeping a constant winding interval. Although a fixed winding interval can be maintained by preparing slots or projections to the core 6 for fixing position of the winding 2, a special core and winding machine is necessary for this preparation, and thus increases the price of the Rogowski coil which becomes very expensive.
In order to solve this disadvantage, a conventional structure of the Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 15 has been constituted. In the Rogowski coil 1 shown in this figure, a metal foil 2e is formed on both sides of a printed circuit board 7 having an opening 9 penetrated by a conductor 5 at a central part so as to coincide with straight lines radially spreading from the center of the opening 9. Moreover, the winding 2 and the return circuit line 3 is constituted so that the radially-arranged metal foils 2e of one side surface of the printed circuit board 7 and the metal foils of a reverse side surface thereof are electrically connected by plated holes which penetrate the printed circuit board 7.
In this example shown in FIG. 15, the return circuit line 3 is formed in the shape of winding, thus, the output voltage between the terminals 4, 4 per unit current and unit frequency becomes large, and sensitivity of the Rogowski coil 1 improves. In addition, winding progress direction of the winding 2 is in a clockwise rotation, and that of the return circuit line 3 is in a counterclockwise rotation. This construction is shown such as a Japanese Patent Disclosure (koukai) No. 6-176947, which is a counterpart of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,400. According to such conventional technology, by applying general technique of manufacturing printed circuit boards, the Rogowski coil 1 can be inexpensively manufactured while keeping winding intervals of the winding 2 and the return circuit line 3 constant. Therefore, it becomes possible to realize the condition (a) mentioned above to a remarkable degree. Hereinafter, a Rogowski coil whose windings are constituted by metal foils arranged on the printed circuit board is called as a printed circuit board type Rogowski coil.
By the way, in the conventional Rogowski coil mentioned above, the condition (b), that is, the condition of making an area which the winding 2 surrounds and an area which the return circuit line 3 surrounds equal, cannot be fulfilled completely. This makes it easier for the Rogowski coil to be influenced by an external magnetic field, and this gives rise to an error at the time of current measurement increases.
FIG. 16 is a pattern diagram showing a situation that magnetic flux Φ, due to an external magnetic field in a direction of penetrating an opening 6a at the center of the core 6, interlinks the winding 2 of the common Rogowski coil 1 as shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 17 is a pattern diagram showing a situation that the same magnetic flux Φ due to the external magnetic field interlinks the return circuit line 3 of the common Rogowski coil 1 as shown in FIG. 14.
Since the winding progress direction of the winding 2 is reverse of that of the return circuit line 3, the voltage generated between the terminals 4, 4 of the Rogowski coil 1 shown in FIG. 14 is equal to a difference of the voltage generated between the points P and Q shown in FIG. 16 and the voltage generated between the points P and Q shown in FIG. 14. Assuming that the magnetic flux Φ due to the external magnetic field is uniform all over the surface of the Rogowski coil 1, if the area A, designated by diagonal hatched lines in FIG. 16, which the winding surrounds is not equal to the area B, designated by diagonal hatched lines in FIG. 17, which the return circuit line surrounds, a voltage due to the exterior magnetic field is generated between the terminals 4, 4. Since this voltage is unrelated to the primary current which should originally be measured, it causes a measurement error.
Factors that give rise an external magnetic field are explained below. For example, the external magnetic field is generated when a bend exists in the conductor 5 or when a current flowing conductor 8 exists near the Rogowski coil 1, as shown in FIG. 18, or when the conductor 5 is arranged at an angle to the Rogowski coil 1 as shown in FIG. 19. When applying the Rogowski coil 1 to an actual electric power distribution main circuit equipment or substation main circuit equipment, it is impossible to completely eliminate the above-mentioned factors. In addition, since usually an actual magnetic flux Φ due to the external magnetic field is not uniform, the influence becomes still more complicated.
It is possible to reduce an error by completely making the area A which the winding surrounds and the area B which the return circuit line 3 surrounds equal, more preferably, by arranging the form of the winding 2 and the form of the return circuit line 3 to be completely identical. However, in the common Rogowski coil 1 shown in FIG. 14, it is difficult to manufacture while controlling the area the return circuit line 3 surrounds being constant, thus it is very difficult to avoid the influence of an external magnetic field. On the other hand, though the Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 15 reduces the influence of an external magnetic field considerably, there is still the influence of the external magnetic field because of the constitutional reason that the area the return circuit line 3 is smaller than the area the winding 2 surrounds.
Now, although the influence of the external magnetic field to the Rogowski coil has been explained so far, another problem is explained here. That is, although it has been stated that the influence of the external magnetic field can be considerably reduced by adopting the Rogowski coil as shown in FIG. 15, there is still a problem that the common Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 14 cannot be simply replaced with the Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 15. The reason of the impossibility of the simple replacement of the coils is that, a scale of the secondary output voltage of the Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 15 in terms of the primary current (the scale corresponds to a current transformation ratio in case of an iron core type current transformer) cannot be raised to a level of that of the common Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 14.
As known well, the secondary output voltage of a Rogowski coil is proportional to the product of a number of turns of the coil and a cross-sectional area of one turn coil. As for the common Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 14, the secondary output voltage in terms of the primary rated current is usually several tens of volts per kilo ampere. In the Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 14, since cross section of one turn coil can be decided arbitrarily as long as restrictions of an attachment space allow, and since the number of turns of the coil can be adjusted so that required secondary output voltage may be obtained, by means such as double winding or triple winding, several tens of volts per kilo ampere can be obtained easily as the secondary output voltage. If the several tens of volts per kilo ampere can be obtained as the secondary output voltage from the Rogowski coil, an analog voltage signal can be transmitted without being influenced by noises from the power distribution main circuit equipment or substation main circuit equipment in the field where the Rogowski coil is installed to the main control building of electric power installation where a protection units and control units are affected, that is, without degradation of a signal which effects the protection units and the control units.
However, for the Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 15, there is a physical limit in a number of turns of a coil and a size of cross section of one turn coil in the winding, because of a structural reason that the coil winding is composed of the metal foils formed on the printed circuit board. Although depended on the size of the printed circuit board and the width of the metal foil, a number of turns of a coil is limited to at most one thousand, and the cross section of one turn coil in the winding is restricted due to the fact that the manufacturing limit of thickness of the printed circuit board is at most 5 to 6 millimeters. Thus, the secondary output voltage of the Rogowski coil shown in FIG. 12 is limited at most 100 mV/kA. Though it is assumed that ten sheets of the Rogowski coils are connected in series, the secondary output voltage is about 1 V/kA, and, from a viewpoint on withstanding transmission noise, it is difficult to transmit an accurate analog-voltage signal to a main control building of an electric power installation.


A system including a processor is energized from a source which is subject to power failure. To allow the state of the system to be restored after the power failure, at least portions of the volatile data of the processor are stored in non-volatile electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (Eeprom). In order to effectuate the data transfer, storage capacitors must provide power to the Eeprom and to the processor. In order to minimize the amount of storage capacitance, the processor power is maintained only until the data to be stored is transferred to the buffer of the Eeprom. Eeprom power is maintained until after a later time at which the buffer transfers the data to non-volatile storage of the Eeprom.

Televisions do not typically remember the last operating state of the set in the event of a power failure. Thus, the occurrence of a power failure may necessitate reprogramming of the set to restore it to the same state it had at the time of the power outage. One piece of data which may not be stored is the time of day, which is typically counted by a clock. In order to save money, the clock does not have its own power source, and so the clock loses the current time upon power failure. There are other pieces of data which might be useful in restoring the state of a television receiver after a power failure, such as the ON or OFF state of the set, the audio volume level and the channel.
In one prior-art scheme, an Eeprom was used to store data from a microprocessor of the receiver during a power failure. The video processor and Eeprom were powered until the transfer of the data to non-volatile storage occurred. As the processing power of the video processors increases for providing high definition television, so does the cost of powering the various elements required to transfer data to non-volatile storage.
Improved data storage arrangements are desired.
An Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only-Memory (Eeprom) may include a volatile input data buffer and a non-volatile data storage region. The time required for transfer of data into non-volatile portions of the Eeprom includes the sum of the time required to store the data in the buffer, plus the time required to transfer the data from the buffer to the non-volatile storage region. According to an aspect of the invention, power is applied to the processor of the system upon the occurrence of a power failure for only so long as is required in order to sense the power failure and to transfer the data to be stored from the processor to the buffer of the Eeprom. Power is provided to the relatively high-power processor for only the minimum time required for the data transfer, and the relatively low-power Eeprom can be maintained operative for an additional length of time to allow it to complete the transfer of data from the buffer to the non-volatile storage portion of the Eeprom.


A driving member (44) for an outer operational device (13) of a door lock includes a base portion (440) engaged with a connection member (595). The base portion (440) includes an engagement groove (449) having teeth (450). The connection member (595) and the base portion (440) are movable between a releasing position and a push position when a handle (197) is pivoted. A pressing rod (442) is detachably engaged with the base portion (440) and includes an insertion block (446) received in the engagement groove (449), with teeth (447) of the insertion block (446) engaged with the teeth (450) of the base portion (440). The pressing rod (442) and the base portion (440) are jointly movable. The pressing rod (442) has a driving end (445) operatively connected to a pressing member (155) of a latch device (12) having a latch (124) operatively connected to the pressing member (155).

The present invention relates to a driving member for an outer operational device of a door lock and, more particularly, to a driving member for an outer operational device mounted to an outer side of a door for retracting a latch of a latch device mounted to the door.
Various door locks have been developed according to differing needs in different places. One type of door lock includes a latch device mounted between inner and outer sides and having a latch. An outer operational device is mounted to the outer side of the door and operatively connected to the latch device. The outer operational device includes a sliding block, a handle operatively connected to the sliding block, and a driving member operatively connected to the sliding block. An end of the driving member abuts a bottom of a pressing member operatively connected to the latch. When the handle is pivoted, the sliding block is actuated to move the driving member for retracting the latch from a latching position to an unlatching position. The outer operational device is mounted to the door by a plurality of fixing holes in the outer side of the door. However, if the positions of the fixing holes are incorrect, the end of the driving member presses against the bottom of the pressing member, such that the latch may be initially in a position between the latching position and the unlatching position. In another case, the end of the driving member may be spaced from the bottom of the pressing member, such that the latch can not be moved to the unlatching position when the handle is pivoted. Thus, the door can not be reliably closed and opened. A solution of this problem is drilling new fixing holes in the outer side of the door, which is troublesome, while the new fixing holes can not guarantee proper installation of the outer operational device.
Thus, a need exists for an adjustable driving member for the outer operational device of a door lock to allow easy installation.

Driving member for an outer operational device of a door lock


A lock releasing mechanism of a connector in which connector terminals are received in terminal receiving chambers respectively in a manner that tongue pieces of the connector terminals are in opposition to each other, and a wiring groove is provided in the outside of the terminal receiving chambers so that all of electric wires connected to the connector terminals are laid in the same direction, whereby the connector terminals can be made the same with each other in configuration to thereby reduce the cost. Further, by pushing a single lock releasing member, lock releasing levers are moved to thereby simultaneously urge the tongue pieces of the connector terminals in opposition to each other to release the connector terminals in a lump from locking with partner-side connection terminals, whereby the workability in maintenance can be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lock releasing mechanism of a connector used for connecting wire harnesses in an automobile or connecting electrical devices to wire harnesses, and particularly relates to a lock releasing mechanism of a connector suitable for detaching various three-phase lamps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent automobiles are automated and mounted with AV devices and navigation systems. Inevitably, a large number of wiring materials such as wire harnesses, connectors, and so on, are used for connecting electronic devices to each other. On the other hand, running automobiles vibrate in accordance with the conditions of their engines and the roads. Therefore, there is a case where a lock mechanism is provided in an automobile so as to prevent the connectors from becoming disconnected undesirably causing accidents such as circuit breaking and so on.
A connector with a conventional lock mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. This connector 61 has a housing 62 integrally molded with synthetic resin, three connector terminals 64a, 64b and 64c buried in terminal receiving chambers 63 (see FIG. 10) formed in the housing 62, electric wires 65a, 65b and 65c connected to the respective connector terminals 64a, 64b and 64c, and a lock mechanism 91 which is described below.
Each of the connector terminals 64a, 64b and 64c which is arranged by using a metal plate as shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 and has a base plate 71 and vertical side walls 72 forming a box-like structure. A free edge portion of each of the side walls 72 is bent onto the base plate 71 to form a flange edge 73. A tongue piece 74 formed integrally with the front end of the base plate 71 is extended backward with a gentle slope between the side walls 72. A free end of the tongue piece 74 is bent outward at a right angle to form a releasing operation portion 75.
In addition, a lock lance 76 for engaging with a partner-side plug terminal 81 is provided at the center portion of the tongue piece 74. Further, at the rear end of the base plate 71, one of the electric wires 65a, 65b and 65c is connected by solderless contact through a clamping portion 78 as shown by the dotted lines.
The partner-side plug terminal 81 having a lock hole 82 is inserted between the tongue piece 74 bent backward and the flange edge 73 as shown in FIG. 14.
The partner-side plug-terminal 81 pushes the tongue piece 74 toward the base plate 71 and flexes the flange edge 73 so as to make the flange edge 73 come into contact with the terminal 81. The terminal 81 comes to rest surely between the tongue piece 74 and the flange edge 73. Accordingly, the lock lance 76 is engaged with the lock hole 82 to thereby prevent the partner-side plug terminal 81 from coming off. In addition one of the connector terminals 64a, 64b and 64c is electrically connected to the partner-side plug terminal 81.
Next, releasing the lock between each of the connector terminals 64a, 64b and 64c and the partner-side plug terminal 81 will be described. Lock releasing plates 91 are provided on opposing sides of the housing 62 and outside the connector terminals 64a and 64c as shown in FIG. 10. Each of these lock releasing plates 91 has a shape as if it is cut out from the housing 62 partially so as to be able to be pushed as shown in FIG. 11. As a result, the lock releasing plates 91 can be transformed flexibly toward the inside of the housing 62 by hand.
That is, when each of the lock releasing plates 91 is pushed in the direction of arrow A as shown in FIG. 14, the lock releasing plate 91 is transformed flexibly as shown by the dotted lines so that the releasing operation portion 75 formed on the free end side of the tongue piece 74 is pushed toward the base plate 71. As a result, the tongue piece 74 is transformed as shown by the dotted lines so that the lock lance 76 is removed from the lock hole 82 to release the lock. Then, the partner-side plug terminal 81 can be detached from the connector terminals 64a and 64c.
In the above-mentioned lock releasing mechanism of connector terminals, however, when two partner-side plug terminals 81 connected to a pair of connector terminals 64a and 64c are removed, the lock releasing plate 91 associated with one of the connector terminals 64a and 64c is transformed flexibly toward the inside of the housing 62 so as to remove one of the partner-side plug terminals 81. Then the other lock releasing plate 91 associated with the other one of the connector terminals 64a and 64c is flexibly transformed to remove the other partner-side plug terminal 81. Because the work of releasing must be performed in such a procedure, there is a problem on the workability in maintenance.
In addition, the releasing operation portions 75 of the connector terminals 64a and 64c are disposed outside in order to be associated with the lock releasing plates 91. However, the electric wires 65a and 65c are designed to be led out to the outside of the housing 62 at the point requiring the shortest length of wire. Therefore, the respective configurations of the connector terminals 64a and 64c may be the same in the portions shown by the solid lines in FIG. 12, but they must be reversed in the portions where clamping and connection of the electric wires 65a and 65c are carried out.
For example, when a connector terminal shown in FIG. 12 is the connector terminal 64c, the electric wire 65a of the connector terminal 64a is designed to be led out in the opposite direction of that shown in FIG. 12. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide two kinds of connector terminals. This is a cause of increasing the number of parts and assembling processes, and hence a cause of increasing the cost.
In addition to the above-mentioned connector 61, an example of connector entitled "Multiple Adaptor for Electric Connection between a Plate-like Terminal of an Electrical Apparatus and a Ribbon-like Electric Wire" is disclosed, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Sho. 50-151389, and another example entitled "Connector" is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 4-14775.
However, the multiple adaptor disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Sho. 50-151389 is to perform locking and lock releasing by use of a member separate from a in housing. Accordingly, the number of parts is increased. In addition, only one of a plurality of connector terminals cannot be disconnected.
On the other hand, in the connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 4-14775, a lock releasing rod is formed integrally with a housing, but it is not to perform lock releasing upon connector terminals disposed on opposing sides at a predetermined distance as in the connector 61.


A method includes receiving a cross-sectional image of a component, including a plurality of pixels representing the component, at a perspective, determining a threshold color value based on color values associated with the plurality of pixels, and setting an updated color value for each pixel of the plurality of pixels based on the threshold color value. The method includes analyzing a set of adjacent pixels of the cross-sectional image that is selected based on a geometric parameter based on an expected geometry of a physical domain of the component, identifying a plurality of adjacent pixels from the set of adjacent pixels that is likely to be associated with the physical domain of the component based on the updated color values associated with the plurality of adjacent pixels, and outputting a representation of the component including the plurality of adjacent pixels that are likely to be associated with the physical domain.

Industrial computed tomography (CT) scanning may be used to produce three-dimensional representations of scanned components. A component may be scanned by an irradiation source to generate cross-sectional images of the component at various intervals along a depth of the component. The cross-sectional images may be used to create the three-dimensional representation of the component. Industrial CT scanning may be used to inspect components for defects, measure internal sections of components, and generate models of prototypes.

Representation of a component using cross-sectional images