1. A scanning system for generating at least one view of a portion of a computed tomography image comprising:
a controller having a plurality of interconnected devices including:
a device for selecting a seed point for a structure of interest within the image;
a device for preprocessing a region of interest surrounding the seed point;
a device for estimating at least one inertia axis for the region of interest; and
a device for generating the at least one view from one or more of three planes that include the seed point and are orthogonal to the at least one axis of inertia.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the device for selecting a seed point performs a local search to refine the seed point.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the local search includes analyzing voxels proximate the seed point within the structure of interest by identifying a local maximum or minimum centered within the structure of interest.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the device for preprocessing a region of interest auto-correlates the region of interest.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the device for preprocessing a region of interest defines the region of interest as voxels surrounding the seed point and extending to boundaries of the structure of interest.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the device for estimating at least one inertia axis:
assigns density values to voxels in the region of interest depending on each voxel’s intensity and distance to the seed point; and
utilizes the density values to define a main axis of inertia and two other axes of inertia orthogonal to the main axis of inertia.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the device for estimating at least one inertia axis further defines the main axis of inertia by:
generating a plurality of 2 dimensional orthogonal slices along the main inertial axis;
locating a center point of the structure of interest within each slice; and
fitting a line to the center points of interest for the plurality of slices.
8. A method of generating at least one view of a portion of a computed tomography image comprising:
selecting seed point for a structure of interest within the image;
pre-processing a region of interest surrounding the seed point;
estimating at least one inertia axis for the region of interest; and
generating the at least one view from one or more of three planes that include the seed point and are orthogonal to each axis of inertia.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein selecting a seed point includes performing a local search to refine the seed point.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the local search includes analyzing voxels proximate the seed point within the structure of interest by identifying a local maximum or minimum centered within the structure of interest.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein pre-processing a region of interest includes auto-correlating the region of interest.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein pre-processing a region of interest includes defining the region of interest as voxels surrounding the seed point and extending to boundaries of the structure of interest.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein estimating at least one inertia axis includes:
assigning density values to voxels in the region of interest depending on each voxel’s intensity and distance to the seed point; and
utilizing the density values to define a main axis of inertia and two other axes of inertia orthogonal to the main axis of inertia.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the main axis of inertia is further defined by:
generating a plurality of 2 dimensional orthogonal slices along the main inertial axis;
locating a center point of the structure of interest within each slice; and
fitting a line to the center points of interest for the plurality of slices.
15. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to generate at least one view of a portion of a computed tomography image by:
selecting seed point for a structure of interest within the image;
pre-processing region of interest surrounding the seed point;
estimating at least one inertia axis for the region of interest; and
generating the at least one view from one or more of three planes that include the seed point and are orthogonal to each axis of inertia.
16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein selecting a seed point includes performing a local search to refine the seed point.
17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the local search includes analyzing voxels proximate the seed point within the structure of interest by identifying a local maximum or minimum centered within the structure of interest.
18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein auto-correlating a region of interest includes defining the region of interest as voxels surrounding the seed point and extending to boundaries of the structure of interest.
19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein estimating at least one inertia axis includes:
assigning density values to voxels in the region of interest depending on each voxel’s intensity and distance to the seed point; and
utilizing the density values to define a main axis of inertia and two other axes of inertia orthogonal to the main axis of inertia.
20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the main axis of inertia is further defined by:
generating a plurality of 2 dimensional orthogonal slices along the main inertial axis;
locating a center point of the structure of interest within each slice; and
fitting a line to the center points of interest for the plurality of slices.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A cartridge that can be detachably mounted in an image-forming device, the cartridge comprising:
a first wall;
a second wall opposing the first wall with a gap formed therebetween, the first wall and the second wall defining therebetween a developer-accommodating section that accommodates a developer; and
a reinforcing part spanning between the first wall and the second wall.
2. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first wall and the second wall have peripheral edges;
further comprising a side peripheral wall disposed between the peripheral edges of the first wall and the peripheral edges of the second wall,
the reinforcing part being disposed in a position separate from the side peripheral wall.
3. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an agitator that is disposed in the developer-accommodating section and is driven to rotate to stir the developer,
the reinforcing part being positioned out of contact with the rotating agitator.
4. The cartridge as claimed in claim 3, wherein the agitator rotates around its axis to form a rotational path, and the reinforcing part is positioned without overlapping an area of the rotational path of the agitator projected along the axis.
5. The cartridge as claimed in claim 3, wherein the developer-accommodating section has a discharge opening formed to discharge developer; and
the agitator is positioned near the discharge opening.
6. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first wall and the second wall each have an inner surface and an outer surface;
the outer surfaces of the first wall and second wall each have a grip region indicating part that informs the user where to grip the developer-accommodating section; and
the reinforcing part spans between the inner surface of the first wall opposite the grip region indicating part provided on the outer surface of the first wall and the inner surface of the second wall opposing the grip region indicating part provided on the outer surface of the second wall.
7. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the developer-accommodating section has a discharge opening formed to discharge developer; and
the reinforcing part has a guiding surface on an upstream part of the reinforcing part with respect to the direction that developer is discharged through the discharge opening to guide the developer downstream in the discharging direction.
8. The cartridge as claimed in claim 7, wherein the reinforcing part is tapered toward the upstream side with respect to the discharging direction.
9. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reinforcing part comprises a supporting post member disposed on one of the first wall and the second wall and protruding toward the other; and
a fitting member disposed on the other of the first wall and the second wall for fitting over the supporting post member.
10. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the developer-accommodating section has a fill through-hole that is used to introduce developer into the developer-accommodating section in a filling direction; and
the reinforcing part is positioned without overlapping an extended line extending into the developer-accommodating section from the fill through-hole along the filling direction.
11. The cartridge as claimed in claim 10, wherein the fill through-hole is positioned without overlapping the projected area of the agitator in the axial direction of the agitator.
12. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first wall and the second wall are substantially plate-shaped.
13. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the developer-accommodating section has detection windows through which a detection light is transmitted for detecting a amount of residual developer in the developer-accommodating section; and
the reinforcing part is positioned without overlapping an optical path of the detection light.
14. The cartridge as claimed in claim 5, further comprising two side walls facing each other along the axial direction of the agitator and being separate from each other;
wherein a distance between the side walls at a first position where the agitator is disposed is shorter than a distance between the side walls at a second position on the opposite side of the agitator from the discharge opening.
15. The cartridge as claimed in claim 14, wherein each of the side walls has a gap changing part that changes the distance between the side walls from the first position toward the second position, the gap changing part having a sloped surface that guides the developer in the discharging direction.
16. The cartridge as claimed in claim 14, wherein the fill through-hole is formed in at least one of the side walls at the second position.
17. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance between the inner surface of the first wall and the inner surface of the second wall in an upstream part of the developer-accommodating section with respect to a direction in which the cartridge is mounted is greater than a distance between the inner surface of the first wall and the inner surface of the second wall in a downstream part of the developer-accommodating section.
18. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second wall and the first wall further defines a developing section disposed adjacent to the developer-accommodating section and in fluid communication with the developer-accommodating section;
further comprising a developing roller that carries developer supplied from the developer-accommodating section, a part of the developing roller being exposed through an opening formed between the second wall and the first wall.
19. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the developer-accommodating section has a discharge opening that discharges developer; and
the reinforcing part is disposed adjacent to the discharge opening.
20. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the developer-accommodating section has a discharge opening that discharges developer; and
the reinforcing part is disposed in the discharge opening.
21. The cartridge as claimed in claim 20, wherein the reinforcing part comprises:
a partition wall that closes a top surface side of the discharge opening along a longitudinal direction of the discharge opening; and
linking walls disposed along the longitudinal direction of the discharge opening at prescribed intervals for linking the partition wall to the first wall.
22. An image-forming device, comprising:
a housing; and
a cartridge that is detachably mounted in the housing, the cartridge comprising;
a first wall;
a second wall opposing the first wall with a gap formed therebetween, the first wall and the second wall defining therebetween a developer-accommodating section that accommodates a developer; and
a reinforcing part spanning between the first wall and the second wall.
23. The image-forming device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the developer-accommodating section has a discharge opening that discharges developer; and
the cartridge is oriented in the housing to allow developer accommodated in the developer-accommodating section to shift toward the discharge opening by its own weight.
24. The image-forming device as claimed in claim 23, wherein the cartridge comprises an agitator that is located in the developer-accommodating section and that is driven to rotate to stir toner accommodated in the developer-accommodating section, the agitator being disposed above the discharge opening when the cartridge is mounted in the housing.
25. The image-forming device as claimed in claim 24, wherein the cartridge comprises a developing roller that carries a developer; and
a supply roller that supplies developer accommodated in the developer-accommodating section onto the developing roller;
wherein the developing roller and the supply roller are disposed below the developer-accommodating section when the cartridge is mounted in the housing.
26. The image-forming device as claimed in claim 25, wherein the agitator comprises a rotational shaft, and an agitating member provided on the rotational shaft;
wherein a vertical line extending downward from the rotational shaft intersects a line segment linking a shaft of the developing roller to a shaft of the supply roller when the cartridge is mounted in the housing.
27. The image-forming device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the cartridge includes a plurality of cartridges corresponding to a plurality of colors.
28. An image-forming device as claimed in claim 27, further comprising:
a feeding unit that picks up and feeds a recording medium;
a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium along a conveying path; and
discharging unit that discharges the recording medium from the housing;
wherein the plurality of cartridges are disposed between the feeding unit and the discharging unit along the conveying path;
a pickup direction in which the feeding unit picks up the recording medium is opposite a conveying direction in which the conveying unit conveys the recording medium through the housing to form images sequentially with the plurality of cartridges; and
the conveying direction is opposite a discharge direction in which the discharging unit discharges the recording medium from the image-forming device.
29. An image-forming device as claimed in claim 28, wherein the cartridges are mounted in and removed from the housing in a direction that is slanted both with respect to the conveying direction and a thickness direction of the recording medium orthogonal to the conveying direction.
30. An image-forming device as claimed in claim 28, further comprising a plurality of exposing devices corresponding to the plurality of cartridges, the plurality of cartridges being arranged in an alternating relationship with the corresponding exposing devices along the conveying direction for conveying the recording medium through the image-forming device.