VOLTAGE UPCONVERTER

• US 20180264470A1
• Filed: 01/30/2015
• Published: 09/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lu, Sirena, Giri, Manish, Smith, Matthew David, Valencia, Melinda M.
• Granted Patent: US 10,639,633 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/147 Employing temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/023 Sending and receiving of information, e.g. using bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0645 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0415 electrical forces, e.g. electrokinetic
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502715 characterised by interfacing components, e.g. fluidic, electrical, optical or mechanical interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/50273 characterised by the means or forces applied to move the fluids micropumps F04B19/006, of the membrane type F04B43/043
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/4875 Details of handling test elements, e.g. dispensing or storage, not specific to a particular test method test-elements per se B01L, automatic analysers G01N35/00, in-vivo analysis on the human body for medical diagnosis A61B
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 15/00 Arrangements characterised by the use of multiplexing for the transmission of a plurality of signals over a common path

Abstract

A controller is connected to controlled devices on a microfluidic chip with a multiplexer. Signal transmission band width is differently allocated amongst the plurality of controlled devices on the microfluidic chip.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a microfluidic chip comprising;

a fluid channel;

a plurality of controlled devices in the fluid channel;

a plurality of electrical connectors fewer in number than the first plurality of controlled devices; and

a first electrical multiplexer circuitry electrically connecting the plurality of controlled devices to the plurality of electrical connectors;

a second electrical multiplexer circuitry electrically connected to the plurality of electrical connectors; and

a controller connected to the second electrical multiplexer circuitry to differently allocate signal transmission bandwidth amongst the plurality of controlled devices.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of controlled devices comprises a plurality of electric sensors.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a first electric sensor to identify a first characteristic of a fluid on the microfluidic chip and a second electric sensor to identify a second characteristic of the fluid on the microfluidic chip, the second characteristic being different than the first characteristic and wherein the controller differently allocates signal transmission bandwidth amongst the first electric sensor and the second electric sensor.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first plurality of controlled devices further comprises a pump.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controller is to allocate a first signal transmission bandwidth to each of the plurality of electric sensors and a second signal bandwidth to the pump.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controller is to allocate a first signal transmission bandwidth to a first electric sensor of the plurality of electric sensors, a second signal transmission bandwidth to a second electric sensor of the plurality of electric sensors and a third signal bandwidth to the pump, the first signal transmission bandwidth being different than the second signal transmission bandwidth, the second transmission bandwidth being different than the third signal transmission bandwidth and the first signal transmission bandwidth being different than the third signal transmission bandwidth.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a temperature sensor.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is to allocate a first signal transmission bandwidth to each of the plurality of electric sensors, a second signal transmission bandwidth to the pump and a third signal transmission bandwidth to the temperature sensor, wherein the first signal transmission bandwidth is different than the second signal transmission bandwidth, wherein the second signal transmission bandwidth is different than the third signal transmission bandwidth and wherein the first signal transmission bandwidth is different than the third signal transmission bandwidth.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller is to allocate the signal transmission bandwidth such that the controller is to poll and receive data from each of the plurality of electric sensors at a frequency of at least once every 2 μ

s, such that the controller is to transmit pulses to the pump at a frequency of at least once every 100 μ

s and not more frequent than once every 50 μ

s and such that the controller is to poll and receive signals from the temperature sensor at a frequency of at least once every 10 ms and not more frequent than once every 1 ms.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the individual controlled devices are of a class of controlled devices, wherein the controller is to allocate the signal transmission bandwidth differently amongst the individual controlled devices based upon a geometry of the fluid channel proximate to each of the individual controlled devices.

11. A method comprising:

connecting a controller to a plurality of controlled devices on a microfluidic chip with a multiplexer; and

differently allocating signal transmission bandwidth amongst the plurality of controlled devices.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of controlled devices comprises a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of sensors to sense a different characteristic the fluid on the microfluidic chip, wherein signal transmission bandwidth is differently allocated amongst the plurality of sensors.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising adjusting the allocation of signal transmission bandwidth amongst the plurality of controlled devices based upon at least one of signal quality and signal resolution.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the microfluidic chip comprises a plurality of electrical contact pads connected to the plurality of controlled devices, the plurality of electrical contact pads being fewer in number than the plurality of controlled devices.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions to direct a processor to;

receive signals from a controlled device on a microfluidic chip indicating a fluid parameter; and

automatically adjust an allocation of signal transmission bandwidth to the controlled device on the microfluidic chip based upon at least one of a signal quality and a signal resolution of the received signals.