Obtaining sensing results indicating time variation

US8153949B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated · US

Inventors

• Peter Kiesel · Palo Alto, US
• Joerg Martini · San Francisco, US
• Michael Bassler · Erlangen, DE
• Markus Beck · Scotts Valley, US
• Noble M. Johnson · Menlo Park, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 18, 2008
• Grant date: Apr 10, 2012
• Expiry date: Apr 17, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2015/1027
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

In response to objects having relative motion within an encoding/sensing region relative to an encoder/sensor that, e.g., photosenses emanating light or performs impedance-based sensing, sensing results can indicate sensed time-varying waveforms with information about the objects, about their relative motion, about excitation characteristics, about environmental characteristics, and so forth. An encoder/sensor can include, for example, a non-periodic arrangement of sensing elements; a longitudinal sequence of sensing elements with a combined sensing pattern that approximates a superposition or scaled superposition of simpler sensing patterns; and/or IC-implemented sensing elements that include photosensing arrays on ICs and readout/combine circuitry that reads out photosensed quantities from cells in groups in accordance with cell-group sensing patterns and combines the readout photosensed quantities to obtain the sensing results. Objects can move fluidically as in flow cytometry, through scanning movement as in document scanning, or in other ways.