1. Measurement probe, for an apparatus for measurement of the thickness of thin layers, having a housing which has at least one printed circuit board and at least one sensor element which is associated with the printed circuit board, and having a contact cup which is arranged at the lower end of the housing, characterized in that the at least one printed circuit board comprises a fixed layer and a flexible layer, and the flexible layer is provided such that it is separated in places from the fixed layer, and is in the form of a flexible strip, which has at least one connecting line.
2. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible strip has a connecting lug at a free end.
3. Measurement probe according to claim 2, characterized in that the flexible strip is passed out of the housing.
4. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one printed circuit board and the at least one sensor element are arranged such that they are fixed with respect to one another.
5. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that a first printed circuit board has at least one further associated printed circuit board, which holds the at least one sensor element.
6. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that a first and at least one further printed circuit board are connected firmly to one another and have contact-making points, which are connected to one another, in mutually adjacent areas.
7. Measurement probe according to claim 6, characterized in that contact-making points are provided as solder points in the area of the first and further printed circuit board.
8. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that a first printed circuit board and at least one further printed circuit board are connected by at least one flexible strip, which has at least one connecting line.
9. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that a first and at least one further printed circuit board are integral.
10. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that an at least one further printed circuit board holds a sensor element, which is arranged by means of contact-making points, as a Hall-sensor, and is arranged opposite a field concentrator, which is held by the printed circuit board, and magnets.
11. Measurement probe according to claim 10, characterized in that the sensor element which is in the form of a Hall sensor has connecting lines which are passed through the printed circuit board and made contact with via connecting points on the first printed circuit board.
12. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that an at least one further printed circuit board has a second sensor element, which is arranged concentrically with respect to the first sensor element and is in the form of a coil whose connecting lines are provided on the first printed circuit board.
13. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that a holding section is fitted to a first printed circuit board and holds the sensor elements, and the holding section is formed detachably or non detachably, attached to or integrally with the first printed circuit board.
14. Measurement probe according to claim 13, characterized in that the at least one sensor element has a primary winding and a secondary winding for a magnetic induction measurement, at least one coil for an eddy current measurement method, or a combination.
15. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that a first printed circuit board has at least one oscillator.
16. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that a first printed circuit board and the at least one sensor element are firmly encapsulated in the housing by means of an electrically nonconductive compound.
17. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that a metallic cover is provided on the housing and has an opening which is preferably in the form of a slot and is intended for holding the first printed circuit board.
18. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing has a projection or a depression, as a rotation prevention means, on one outer face.
19. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that an axial guide is provided on one outer face of the housing and has at least three projections which extend along the housing wall.
20. Measurement probe according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing is inserted into an apparatus for measurement of the thickness of thin layers, and the flexible strip which has at least one connecting line is connected by means of a plug connection to a data processing system or to a signal line.
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 method of transferring a representation of an image to a surface, the method comprising the steps of:
a) receiving the image as an image file;
b) converting the image file to an intermediate file comprising a series of dots that vary according to the image;
c) manipulating the dots to accommodate features of the surface;
d) converting the intermediate file into at least one control file, the control file being operable to be utilized by a machine to physically manipulate the surface according to the dots, thereby transferring the representation to the surface; and
e) scaling the intermediate file to the surface by dividing the intermediate file into a plurality of sub-components, wherein each of the sub-components corresponds to one of a plurality of individual sheets that are to be combined to form the surface and the surface is larger than the machine can handle.
2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the dots are positioned according to a predetermined grid.
3. The method as set forth in claim 2, wherein the intermediate file is a raster file.
4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the dots and the markings vary in size according to the image.
5. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the markings are selected from the group consisting of indentations, holes, bumps, and blanks according to the image.
6. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the markings are positioned according to a predetermined grid, vary in size according to the image, and are selected from the group consisting of indentations, holes, bumps, and blanks according to the image.
7. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein each control file corresponds to each sheet and each marking, such that each sheet is produced by a plurality of processes performed by the machine and each process is controlled by a separate control file.
8. The method as set forth in claim 1, further including the step of assembling the sheets adjacent a building, thereby transferring the representation of the image to the building.
9. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the features include windows, doors, and edges of one or more individual sheets.
10. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the features are selected from the group consisting of windows, doors, and edges of one or more individual sheets.
11. A method of transferring a representation of an image to a surface of a building, the method comprising the steps of:
a) receiving the image as an image file;
b) converting the image file to a raster file comprising a series of dots that vary in size according to the image, wherein the dots are arranged according to a predetermined grid and selected ones of the dots are left blank according to the image;
c) scaling the raster file to the surface by dividing the raster file into a plurality of sub-components, such that each sub-component corresponds to a portion of the representation to be transferred to each of a plurality of individual metal sheets that are to be combined to form the surface;
d) associating the dots with markings selected from the group consisting of indentations, holes, and bumps according to the image;
e) manipulating the dots to accommodate features selected from the group consisting of windows, doors, and edges of the sub-components;
f) generating a plurality of control files that may be used by a machine to transfer the markings onto the sheets, thereby transferring the representation to the surface.
12. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein each control file corresponds to each sheet and each marking, such that each sheet is produced by a plurality of processes performed by the machine and each process is controlled by a separate one of the control files.
13. The method as set forth in claim 11, further including the step of assembling the sheets adjacent the building, thereby transferring the representation of the image to the building.
14. A method of transferring a representation of an image to a surface of a building, the method comprising the steps of:
a) receiving the image as an image file selected from the group consisting of TIFF, JPEG, GIF, and BMP;
b) converting the image file to a raster file comprising a series of dots that vary in size according to the image, wherein the dots are arranged according to a predetermined grid and selected ones of the dots are left blank according to the image;
c) scaling the raster file to the surface, such that the image will occupy at least a majority of the surface;
d) dividing the raster file into a plurality of sub-components, such that each sub-component corresponds to a portion of the image;
e) associating each sub-component with each of a plurality of individual metal sheets that are to be combined to form the surface;
f) associating selected ones of the dots with indicia independent of the image;
g) associating the dots with markings selected from the group consisting of indentations, holes, and bumps according to the image;
h) manipulating the dots to accommodate windows of the surface;
i) manipulating the dots to accommodate doors of the surface;
j) manipulating the dots to accommodate edges of the sheets; and
k) generating a plurality of control files that may be used by a machine to transfer the markings onto the sheets, thereby imparting the representation to the surface.
15. The method as set forth in claim 14, wherein each control file corresponds to each sheet and each marking, such that each sheet is produced by a plurality of processes performed by the machine and each process is controlled by a separate control file.
16. The method as set forth in claim 14, further including the step of assembling the sheets adjacent the building, thereby transferring the representation of the image to the building.