BY MICRODISPENSER

BACKGROUND

[001] The disclosure relates generally to techniques for sensing materials dissolved in fluids. More specifically, the disclosure relates to techniques for detecting and/or measuring contaminants in water. Water may contain a variety of trace materials, such as metals, which determine the water’s suitability for a variety of applications, such as for drinking. Various measurement techniques and apparatuses may be used to sense the presence or amount of a contaminant in the water.

[002] A given measurement technique may have a lowest detectible limit, a minimum concentration of a given substance that must be present for the measurement technique to sense it. Measurement techniques with relatively high lowest detectible limits may be desirable for certain applications, for example because such techniques may be cheaper, more portable, quicker, etc. However, the concentration of a particular substance m a given water sample may fall below the lowest detectable limits of these techniques, and thus further processing of the sample may be required before the technique can be used.

SUMMARY

[003] In at least one aspect, the present disclosure may relate to a system which may include a container, a microdispenser, a substrate, a heater, and a measurement system. The container may store a fluid comprising water and a contaminant. The microdispenser may be fluidly coupled to the container and may eject at least one droplet comprising a volume of the fluid. The substrate may include at least one test zone which may receive the ejected at least one droplet. The substrate may be selectively movable between a first position proximate the microdispenser for receipt of the at least one droplet on the at least one test zone, and a second position away from the microdispenser. Tire heater may heat the substrate and evaporate at least a portion of the water from the at least one droplet of the fluid and concentrate the contaminant on the at least one test zones. The measurement system may identify a presence. quantity, or both of the contaminant on the substrate wiien the substrate is in the second position

[004] In at least one aspect, the present disclosure may relate to a method of measuring a fluid contaminant. The method may include providing a system which may include a container which may store a fluid comprising water and a contaminant, a microdispenser, a substrate winch may include at least one test zone, a heater, and a measurement system. The method may also include fluidly coupling the container to the microdispenser, and ejecting at least one droplet of the fluid from the microdispenser onto the at least one test zone of the substrate. The method may also includeheating the droplet of the fluid with the heater. The method may include evaporating the water from the droplet to concentrate the contaminant on the substrate. The method may include detecting the contaminant, measuring the amount of the contaminant, or both with the measurement system.

[005] The foregoing summary' is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[006] The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several examples m accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, m which:

[QQ7] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a water quality testing system, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein;

[008] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram, partially in cross-section, depicting a water quality testing system with hydrophilic test zones arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein; [QQ9] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram, partially in cross-section, depicting a water quality testing system with microwells arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein;

[0101 Figure 4 is a schematic diagram depicting a water quality testing system with a cartridge based transportation system arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein;

[Oil] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram in cross-section depicting a water quality testing system with a tape based transportation system arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein;

[012] Figure 6 is a flow chart depicting a method of measuring fluid contaminants arranged m accordance with at least some embodiments described herein; and

[013] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing device that is arranged for concentrating contaminants in water,

[014] all arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[Q15] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative examples described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other examples may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are implicitly contemplated herein.

[016 This disclosure is drawn, inter alia, to methods, systems, products, devices, and/or apparatus generally related to concentration of water contaminants via dispensing by a microdispenser. An example device includes a container, droplet ejector (or microdispenser), heater, and a measurement system. The container may store a fluid including water and a contaminant. The microdispenser may be fluidly coupled to the container and may eject at least one droplet including a volume of the fluid. The substrate may include at least one test zone which may receive the ejected at least one droplet, the substrate selectively movable between a first position proximate the mierodispenser for receipt of the at least one droplet on the at least one test zone, and a second position away from the mierodispenser. The heater may heat the substrate and evaporate at least a portion of the water from the at least one droplet of the fluid and concentrate the contaminant on the at least one test zones. The measurement system may identify a presence, quantity, or both of the contaminant on the substrate when the substrate is in the second position.

[017] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a water quality testing system, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Figure 1 shows system 100, mierodispenser 102, fluid source 104, fluid 106, ejected droplet 108 and evaporated droplet 108’, substrate 110, test zone 112, heater 114, and measurement unit 116. Also shown are forced air unit 118, operations unit 120, controller 122, processor 124, power supply 126, interface 128, enclosure 130, and transportation system 132. The various components described in Figure 1 are merely examples, and other variations, including eliminating components, combining components, and substituting components are all contemplated.

[018] The system 100 includes a mierodispenser (which may also be referred to herein as a pdispenser and/or microinjector) 102 in selective fluid communication with a fluid source 104 containing a fluid 105 including water 106 and a contaminant 107. The mierodispenser 102 may selectively eject portions of the fluid 105 as one or more droplets 108. The droplets 108 may be ejected onto a substrate 1 10, which may have one or more test zones 112 to receive the droplets 108. A test zone is a region of limited area on the substrate 110 winch receives droplets 108 which are later to be measured as evaporated droplets 108’ by measurement unit 116. A heater 114 may selectively heat the substrate 110 and/or dropl ets 108, causing at least a portion of the droplets 108 to evaporate, leaving evaporated droplets 108’. A measurement unit 116 may detect and/or measure properties of the evaporated droplets 1082 A forced air unit 118 may selectively move air across the droplets 108. An operations unit 120 may be coupled to one or more of the mierodispenser 102, the heater 114, the measurement unit 116, or the forced air unit 118. The operations unit 120 includes a controller 122, a processor 124, a power supply 126, and an interface 128. An enclosure 130 may contain one or more of the components of the system 100.

[019] The microdispenser 102 selectively ejects droplets 108 of the fluid 105. The microdispenser 102 may take the form of a chip. The microdispenser 102 may selectively heat a volume of the fluid 105. The fluid 105 may be superheated and may he ejected through a nozzle of the microdispenser 102. The microdispenser 102 may be operated on demand, or may operate on a cycle. The microdispenser 102 may have a plurality of nozzles. The plurality of nozzles may be fluidly coupled to multiple fluid sources, such as fluid source 104 In one example, the microdispenser 102 may have about 100 nozzles, although other examples may have other numbers of nozzles. The droplets 108 ejected by each microdispenser 102 may all be of a similar size. Each of the droplets may be about 50 pL in one example, about 40 pL in one example, about 30 pL in one example, about 20 pL in one example, or about 10 pL in one example. Other volumes are possible in other examples. The microdispensers 102 may selectively eject droplets 108 at a high rate of speed. In one example, the microdispenser 102 may eject about 5,000 droplets 108 per second. Other rates may be used in other examples.

[020] The fluid source 104 may be any container capable of holding a fluid 108. The fluid source may also be fluidly coupled to an outside source of the fluid 108, such as being in-line with a pipe. The fluid 105 source may be directly fluidly coupled to the microdispenser 102, or there may be one or more valves to control flow. The fluid 105 may be water 106, which may contain impurities and/or contaminants 107. Other fluids may be used in other examples, including beverages (e.g., juice, milk, beer, wine, soda), chemicals, or other fluids. The contaminant 107 may be a substance dissolved in the fluid 105, such as, for example, lead. The contaminant 107 may exist in trace amounts in the fluid 105. The concentration of the contaminant 107 the fluid 105 may be below a lowest detectable limit of the contaminant 107 of a particular testing method for the contaminant 107.

[021] The substrate 110 may be a flat material. The substrate may be rigid, flexible, or may combine rigid and flexible regions. The substrate may comprise glass, ceramics, semiconductors, polymer, paper, polyester, polyimide, polyether-ether- ketone (PEEK), gold, silver, other materials, or combinations thereof. The substrate may be disposable or reusable. The substrate may be a separate component inserted into the enclosure 130, and the system 100 may accommodate multiple types of substrate 110. The substrate 110 includes test zones 1 12 on a surface of the substrate 110. The test zones may be regions of the surface of the substrate 1 10. The test zones 112 may include structures and/or chemical coatings to contain the droplets 108 and 108' within a perimeter of the test zone 1 12, Additional coatings may be placed on the substrate 108 and/or test zones 1 12 to interact with certain contaminants 107, for example, by chemical reaction. In some examples, the test zones 112 may bind to the contaminant 107. Other interactions may occur in other examples. A region of the substrate 110 may have a plurality of the test zones 1 12. The test zones 1 12 may be arranged in a pattern or array. The pattern of the test zones 112 may correspond to a pattern of nozzles of the microdispenser 102. Different test zones 112 may have coatings or other preparations for a variety of different tests of the fluid 105.

The heater 114 may be a flat heater. The heater 1 14 may indirectly heat the droplets 108 by heating the substrate 110, or may directly heat the droplets 108. The heater 114 may selectively apply heat to the substrate 110 and/or droplets 108. The heater 108 may be run continuously, may operate on a cycle, or may be activated and deactivated as needed. The heater 114 may be thermostatically controlled to avoid thermal runaway. The heater 114 may be a resistive (Joule) heater, which heats up in response to an electrical current. The heater 1 14 may include heater elements surrounded by a heater substrate. The substrate 110 may be supported on a surface of the heater 114 or may be proximate to the heater 114. The heater 114 may extend across a region of the enclosure 130 from a region under the microdispenser 102 to a region under the measurement unit 116. In some embodiments, the heater 114 may extend only under a portion of the region, such as being positioned about an area below the microdispenser 102. The heater 114 may facilitate all or a portion of the fluid 105 evaporating, leaving an evaporated droplet 108’ with an increased concentration of the contaminant 107. The heater 114 may apply energy _' to bring the fluid 105 to a boiling point of the fluid 105. In the example where the fluid 105 includes water 106, the heater may increase the temperature of the droplet 108 to roughly l00°C. Other temperatures may be used in other examples. The substrate 110 may be heated before, during, after, or in a desired sequence of steps before, during, and/or after the ejection of the droplets 108 onto the substrate 110. [Q23] In an example, the microdispenser 102 may have 100 nozzles which each eject droplets 108 from with a volume of 50pL per droplet at a rate of 5kHz Assuming that water has a density of lg/mL and a heat of evaporation (at i00°C) of 2250 J/g, then the amount of power required to continuously evaporate water from the droplets 108 as they arrive on the substrate 1 10 may be about 56 Watts. In this example, the total power available may be around 200 Watts (e g., above the about 56 Watts required) to account for heat loss and the need to heat components from room temperature. Other power configurations and/or power requirements are possible in other examples.

[Q24] The measurement unit 1 16 may measure the presence and/or amount and/or concentration of contaminants 107 in the evaporated droplets 108’. The measurement unit 116 may include sensors such as optical sensors, electronic sensors, chemical sensors, physical sensors, and combinations thereof. The sensors may collect measurements from each of the test zones 112, or may combine measurements from several of the test zones 112. Different sensors of the measurement unit 116 may be directed at different test zones 112, The evaporated droplets 108’ may have an increased concentration of contaminants compared to droplets 108 (and fluid 105). Tire fluid 105 may have a concentration of contaminants 107 which is below a limit of detection of a sensor while the evaporated droplet 108’ may have a concentration above the limit of detection. Tire increase in contaminant concentration may be a concentration factor defined as the ratio of the concentration of the contaminant 107 in the evaporated droplet 108’ to the concentration of the contaminant 107 in the initial droplet 108. In some embodiments, the concentration factor may be between about 2 and 1000. In some examples, the concentration factor may be about 333, in other examples the concentration factor may be about 500. Other concentration factors may be used m other embodiments.

[025] Tire forced air unit 118 may provide airflow' across the surface of the substrate 110 containing the test zones 112. As the droplets 108 evaporate, the air around the substrate 110 may have an increasing saturation of the fluid 105 (e.g., an increased humidity). The forced air unit 118 may move unsaturated air over the droplets 108 to replace the saturated air. The forced air unit 1 18 may increase an evaporation rate of the droplets 108. The forced air unit 118 may include a fan. The forced air unit 1 18 may move air from an outside of the enclosure 130 into an interior of the enclosure 130. The forced air unit 118 may be operated continuously or may be activated periodically or as needed.

[026] In an example, the microdispenser 102 may output from 100 nozzles, with each nozzle dispensing a droplet 108 of about 50pL at a rate of 5kHz. In this example, the system 100 may have a concentration factor of about 500. From this, it can be calculated that about 2.5pL of water may need to be evaporated to achieve this concentration factor. Assuming that water expands by a factor of about 1700 during its transition from liquid to vapor, then about 4mL of water vapor must be removed. The evaporation process may take about a second, in which case the forced air unit should move about 4mL/s of air flow. A higher flow rate (e.g., 20mL/s) may be chosen to ensure that water vapor is quickly removed from the enclosure 130.

[027] Tire operation unit 120 may determine information based on the measurement unit 116 and/or may control the operation of the system 100. The processor 124 (e.g., the processor 124 operating in accordance with stored executable instructions for determining information) may determine a concentration of the contaminant 107 m the fluid 105. The processor may calculate a ratio between a measured amount of the contaminant 107 in the evaporated droplet 108’ and a known initial volume of the droplets 108. The volume of fluid in the droplets 108 may be measured, or it may be a known property based on the microdispenser 102 used. A total volume of ejected fluid 106 in a given time frame may be determined by knowing the total number of droplets 108 ejected in that time frame and the volume of each droplet 108 ejected. The total number of droplets ejected may be determined as a rate that each of the microinjectors 102 eject droplets multiplied by the number of the microinjectors 102 that are in operation. In some examples, the system 100 may evaporate all or substantially all of the fluid 106 from the test zones 112.

[028] Tire operation unit 120 may output information to the interface 128. The interface may include input/output features for displaying information from the system 100 and receiving input from a user of the system 100. The interface 128 may receive information from the processor 124 and/or send information to the controller 122. The interface 128 may be coupled to the system by a wired connection or a wireless connection (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth). The interface 128 may include a display. The interface may include a keyboard, touchscreen, buttons, or other input methods. The interface may be separate from or integral with the enclosure 130.

[029] Power supply 126 supplies power to one or more of the operations unit 120, the measurement unit 116, the heater 114, the forced air unit 118, and the interface 128. The power supply 126 may he self-contained (e.g , battery powered), or may draw' power from an external source (e.g., a wall socket). The power supply 126 may be directly connected to each of the components, or may be connected to one or more components (e.g., the operations unit 120) winch in turn distributes power to other components. The power supply may be integral with, or separate from, the enclosure 130

[030] The enclosure 130 may contain one or more of the components of the system 100. In certain embodiments, the enclosure 130 may include the microdispenser 102, the heater 108 and the measurement unit 116. The enclosure may have a slot or other opening for the selective placement of the substrate 110. The enclosure may have a single opening for the substrate 110 or may have a separate ingress and egress. The enclosure 130 may have layers around an inner surface of the enclosure 130. The layers may include a heat reflector and an insulator. The layers may help to maintain an increased temperature in the enclosure 130. In some examples, the insulator may be silicone rubber, polyimide, polyester, or combinations. In some examples the heat reflector may be metal foil (e.g., aluminum foil) or a metal coating layer (e.g., an evaporated aluminum layer, optionally covered with a transparent passivating layer) on a supporting material (e.g., glass or polystyrene or polyethylene or polypropylene or polycarbonate or cyclic olefin copolymer). In other examples other substances may be used for the layers. The enclosure may have external plugs or feedthroughs or connectors to attach to one or more components of the operation unit 120. The operation unit may be integral to the enclosure 120.

[031] Test zones 112 of the substrate 110 may be moved between a first position and second position. In the first position one or more of the test zones 112 are positioned to receive the droplets 108. In the second position, the test zones 112 which received the droplets 108 are proximate to the measurement unit 120. The substrate 1 10 may be moved between the positions manually or automatically. The movement of the substrate may be continuous or discrete. Mechanical stops within the enclosure 130 may define the first and second positions. The substrate 110 may have a plurality of groups of test zones 112. In one example, while one group of test zones 112 is in the first position, another group of test zones may be in the second position. Further groups of test zones 112 on the same substrate 110 may be outside the first and second position or between the positions.

[032] In some embodiments, a transportation system 132 may he provided to selectively move the substrate 110 from the first position to the second position. The transportation system 132 may include a platform which supports the substrate 110. The transportation system 132 may include actuators which selectively move the platform. The transportation system 132 may move in response to input from a user and/or may move automatically. The transportation system 132 may move between discrete locations (e.g., shuttle between a first and second position), or may have continuously variable positions (e.g., a conveyor belt). The transportation syste 132 may be motorized or may be manually driven. The transportation system 132 may be integral with the enclosure 130, or may be a separate component.

[Q33] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram, partially in cross-section, depicting a water quality testing system with hydrophilic test zones arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Figure 2 shows system 200, microdispenser 202, fluid source 204, fluid 205, droplets 208, evaporated droplets 208’, substrate 210, test sites 212, test zone coating 213, heater 214, heater element 214a, heater substrate 214b, measurement station 216, enclosure 230, chamber 232, and nozzles 234. The various components described in Figure 2 are merely examples, and other variations, including eliminating components, combining components, and substituting components are all contemplated.

[034] The system 200 depicted in Figure 2 may be implemented using the system 100 of Figure 1 in some examples. Figure 2 show's an embodiment of the current disclosure where the test zones are hydrophilic regions on a hydrophobic substrate. Figure 2 shows a system 200 with a fluid source 204 containing a fluid 205. The fluid source 204 is fluidly coupled to the chamber 232 of the microinjector 202. The microinjector 202 may eject droplets 208 of the fluid 205 onto a test zones 212 of the substrate 210. The test zones 212 may include a test zone coating 213. A heater 214 may support the substrate 210, and may include one or more heater elements 214a enclosed in a heater substrate 214b. A measurement station 216 may record data from evaporated droplets 208’ The components of the system 200 may be within an enclosure 230.

[035] The system 200 shows a possible embodiment of the test zones 212, as well as more detail of a microinjector 202, which may be an implementation of the test zones 1 12 and the microinjector 102 of Figure 1 in some examples. The system 200 is surrounded by an enclosure 230 with openings on either side for air flow from a forced air unit (not shown). The substrate 210 is supported on the heater 214, and may be moved between the first and second position manually (e.g., being pushed by a user to slide the substrate 210 across the surface of the heater 214). As shown, the enclosure 230 includes a heat reflector and an insulating layer which extend across a portion of the interior of the enclosure 230. The heat reflector and insulating layer may have an area which matches an area of the heater 214. The heater 214 may he supported on the heat reflector and insulating layer.

[036] The microinjector 202 may be one or more individual ejection devices. The microinjector 202 includes one or more chambers 232, one or more microinjector heaters 236 and at least one nozzle 234 in fluid communication with the chamber 232. Although only one chamber 232, microinjector heater 236, and two nozzles 234 are shown, it is to be understood that the microinjector 202 may have any number of these features. The microinjector may have a plurality of chambers 232, which may be connected to separate sets of nozzles 234. Similarly, each of the chambers 232 may have a heater 236, or a heater 236 may heat more than one chamber 232. Each chamber may be in fluid communication with one or more nozzles 234. The chambers 232 may be in selective fluid communication with the same fluid source 204, or to different fluid sources 204. The nozzles 234 may be supplied as an array. The chambers 232, heaters 236, and nozzles 234 may be packaged together on a chip.

[037] Tire microinjector 202 selectively ejects droplets 208 onto the substrate 210.

Fluid 205 is drawn into the chambers 232. The microinjector heater 236 heats the fluid 205. The fluid 205 may be heated above a boiling point of the fluid 205 and at least a portion of the fluid may become superheated. At least a portion of the fluid 205 may undergo a rapid vaporization, forming a bubble. The portion of the fluid 205 that forms the bubble may be the portion of the fluid 205 nearest to the heater 214. The bubble may force some or all of the fluid 205 to exit the chamber 232 through the nozzles 234. The fluid 205 may form a droplet 208 upon exiting the nozzles 234. The microinjector 202 may selectively eject the droplets 208 in response to activation of the microinjector heaters 236. The microinjector 202 may be operated on a cycle to dispense droplets 208 at regular intervals. The microinjector 202 may be operated as needed, or in response to a controller (such as controller 122 of Figure 1). The microinjector 202 may eject droplets 208 when test zones 212 of the substrate 210 are positioned below the microinjector 202.

[Q38] The heater 214 may include at least one heater element 214a and a heater substrate 214b The heater elements 214a may heat up in response to energy. Hie heater elements 214a may be electrically conductive elements with a resistance in some examples, the heater elements 214a may be a wire. The heater elements 214a may heat up when an electric current is run through the heater elements 214a. The heater elements 214a may all be connected to each other, or may be separately addressable. Different regions of the heater elements 214a may be activated separately from other regions in order to selectively heat different parts of the heater 214. The heater elements 214a may be embedded in a heater substrate 214b. The heater elements 214a may be fully or partially enclosed in the heater substrate 214b. The heater elements 214a may be on a top or bottom surface of the heater substrate 214b. The heater substrate 214b may heat up in response to heating of the heater elements 214a. The heater substrate 214b may distribute heat from the heater elements 214a. The heater substrate 214b may be in contact with the substrate 210 to transfer heat from the heater elements 214a to the substrate 210. The heater substrate 214b may be silicone rubber, polyimide, polyester, or combinations.

[039] The test zones 212 may hold or contain the droplets 208 for evaporation and measurement. The test zones 212 may be designated regions of a surface of the substrate. The test zones 212 may be physically or chemically distinct regions of the substrate 210. As shown in Figure 2, the test zones 212 have a chemical coating 213 added to a surface of the substrate 210. In some embodiments, the coating 213 may be dispensed onto the substrate 210 by the microinjector 202. The chemical coating 213 may be a hydrophilic coating. The surface of the substrate 210 may otherwise be hydrophobic, or have a hydrophobic coating. Accordingly, when the fluid 205 is an aqueous fluid, droplets 208 will be attracted by the hydrophilic test regions 212 and repelled by the hydrophobic remainder of the substrate 210. In other embodiments, the test zones 212 may be uncoated regions of a hydrophilic substrate 210, while the areas between the test zones 212 have a hydrophobic coating. In yet other embodiments, both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions may be coatings on the substrate 210. Other types and configurations of coatings may be used in other examples.

[040] The chemical coating 213 may he a dried material on the substrate 210. The coating 213 may be rehydrated by the droplet 208 and may swell to form a gel (e.g., a hydrogel). The coatings 213 may absorb the droplets 208. The coatings 213 may be fibers, particulates (e.g., beads), resins, and/or 3-dimensional matrices (e.g., matrices for solid phase extraction or solid phase microextraction) to increase a surface area of the test zone 212 in order to increase an absorption of the droplet 208.

[041] Example hydrophilic materials and/or coatings include papers (e.g., nitro cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose esters, and combinations thereof), complex polymeric carbohydrates (e.g., dextrans, agarose, alginate, agar, carrageenans, pectin, chitin, xantan gums, guar gums, and derivatives thereof), polyethylene glycols, proteins (e.g., bovine serum albumin, fish skin gelatin, skimmed milk, etc,), polymers (e.g., polyacrylamides (PA), polyvinylalcohols (PVA), polyvinypyrrolidones (PVP), and copolymers), fiber glass, and combinations thereof.

[042] Examples of hydrophobic materials and/or coatings include Polycarbonate (PC), Polystyrene (PS), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PEP), polyethylene terephtha!ate (PET), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), nylons, silicones, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), Polysuifone (PS), Polyethersulfone (PES), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), Polyamide (PA) and other thermoplastic polymers.

[043] The coating 213 may be used to chemically react with the contaminant. The coating 213 may bind to a contaminant to prevent evaporation of the contaminant. The coating 213 may be used to facilitate a particular measurement modality. In one example, gold and/or silver may be coated onto the substrate when the measurement is surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). In another example, the coating 213 may be a matrix for facilitating the extraction and detection of contaminants such as organic acids that promote ionization for mass spectrometric detection or ligands for optical detection of metals. Other coatings may be used for other measurements. A mix of different coatings 213 may be used on different test zones 212 of a substrate 210 The different coatings 213 may correspond with different contaminants and/or different measurement modalities.

[044] A group of different coatings 213 may be chosen to allow detection of different properties with a single type of detector (e.g., the measurement unit 1 16 of Figure 1 ) For example, in one embodiment, the coating 213 may include reagents which cause a colorimetric reaction determined by an analyte such as a property of the droplet 208 and/or a contaminant of the droplet 208. Tire colorimetric reactions may then be detected and/or measured using an optical or spectrophotomic detector (e.g., a camera, a spectrophotometer). Some example analytes and coatings for colorimetric reactions may include: pH determined by water soluble pH indicator; nitrates determined by gold nanoparticles (AuNP) coupled to Griess Reagent; chlorine determined by phenylene diamine; fluoride determined by imidazole based chelate and/or Zn EDTA; heavy metals (e.g., Hg, Pb, and/or Ag) determined by AuNP and alcane thiols; algal toxins and/or proteins determined by enzyme linked immunoassays; DNA determined by polymerase chain reaction reagents; herbicides determined by enzyme linked immunoassays; pharmaceuticals (e.g., ibuprofen) determined by cobalt chloride complexes; bacteria determined by detection of specific enzymes and/or activity assays; BPA bisphenol determined by BPA-specific aptamer and cationic polymer- induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs); and/or hardness determined by EDTA chelates. Other detection methods and other groups of analytes may be used in other embodiments.

[Q45] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram, partially in cross-section, depicting a water quality testing system with microwells arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Figure 3 depicts a system 300 with microdispenser 302, fluid source 304, fluid 305, droplets 308, evaporated droplets 308’, substrate 310, test sites 312, heater 314, heater element 314a, heater substrate 314b, measurement station 316, enclosure 330, chamber 332, nozzles 334, and microwells 338. The various components described in Figure 3 are merely examples, and other variations, including eliminating components, combining components, and substituting components are all contemplated. [Q46] The system 300 may be implemented using the system 100, 200 of Figures 1-2, respectively, in some examples. The system 300 is similar to the system 200, except that the system 300 may have an alternative embodiment of the test zones 312. The system 300 may have generally similar components, and may operate in an analogous manner to, the system 200 of Figure 2 The system 300 has a substrate 310 with microwells 338 positioned at the test zones 312. The substrate 310 may be removable, and may be interchangeable with the substrate 210 without a need to change other components of the system. In some examples, a single substrate may have a mix of different test zone types, such as coated regions 212 and microwells 312.

[047] The microwells 338 are physical structures on the substrate 310 which hold droplets 308 and evaporated droplets. The microwells 338 include walls which extend a distance above the surface of the substrate 310 and define an enclosed area. The microwells 338 may hold a nanoliter-scale volume of the fluid 305. The microwells 338 may be integral with the substrate 310 or may be separate components added to the substrate 310. The microwells 338 may be made from the same material as the substrate 310, or may be different materials from the substrate 310. The microwells 338 may have one or more coatings. The coatings may be applied to an inner surface of the microwells 338. The coatings may be analogous to other coatings for the test zones discussed herein. In some examples the microwells may be part of a microtiter plate. The microtiter plates may be made of polystyrene, polycarbonate or polypropylene, cycloolefin with well volumes ranging from a few microliters to about 500 microliters. Other types of microwells may be provided in other examples.

[Q48] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram depicting a water quality testin system with a cartridge based transportation system arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Figure 4 depicts system 400, microdispenser 402, substrate 410, used substrate 410’, evaporated droplets 408’, measurement unit 416, enclosure 430, and opening 440. The various components described in Figure 4 are merely examples, and other variations, including eliminating components, combining components, and substituting components are all contemplated.

[Q49] The system 400 may be implemented using one or more of systems 100, 200, and/or 300 of Figures 1-3, respectively, in some examples. The system 400 may include an enclosure 430 winch contains a microdispenser 402 and a measurement unit 416. Figure 4 shows a substrate 410 being inserted into an opening 440 of the enclosure 430, and a used substrate 410’, with evaporated droplets 408’, being removed from an opening 440 of the enclosure 430.

[050] In the example of Figure 4, the enclosure 430 may be in the form of a box, such as a rectangular box. Other shapes, such as oblate, trapezoidal, contoured, or more complex shapes (e.g., shaped to fit in the palm of a user’s hand) may be used in other examples. The enclosure 430 may have rounded edges and/or comers or straight edges and/or comers. The enclosure may include metal, plastic, natural materials (e.g., wood), or combinations. The enclosure 430 may have one or more layers lining an inside of the enclosure 430 as described herein. The enclosure 430 may have an opening 430. The opening 430 may be all or a portion of one or more of the sides of the enclosure 430. Although one opening is shown m the example of Figure 4, other embodiments may have more than one opening. For example, the enclosure 430 may have an opening corresponding to the first position, and an opening corresponding to the second position along one face of the enclosure 430. Other placements and numbers of openings are possible in other examples.

[051] Substrate 410 is shown being inserted into the enclosure 430, and used substrate 410’ is shown being removed from the enclosure 430. The used substrate 410’ may have a number of evaporated droplets 408’ on a surface of the used substrate 41 O’. As shown in the example of Figure 4, the evaporated droplets 408’ are arranged in an array corresponding to an array of test zones (not shown). Other layouts of droplets are possible in other examples. The substrates 410, 410’ are discrete components, such as a generally flat rectangular plate. The substrate 410 may be inserted into the enclosure 430 at an end of the encl osure 430 corresponding to the fluid dispenser 402. After fluid is dispensed on the substrate 410, it may be moved such that it is under the measurement unit 416. The substrate 410 may be moved by removing the substrate 410 from the enclosure and reinserting it, or by sliding the substrate 410 from one end of the enclosure 430 to the other. The system 400 may dispense fluid onto the substrate 410 and evaporate the fluid to form evaporated droplets 408’ as described herein. The used substrate 410’ with evaporated droplets 408’ may be removed from the system once the measurement unit 416 has measured the evaporated droplets 408’. The substrates 410, 410’ may be moved by hand, or a transport system (e.g., a conveyor belt, not shown) may move the substrates 410, 410’. The used substrate 410’ may be disposable, or may be cleaned and reused as a substrate 410 again.

[052] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram in cross-section depicting a water quality testing system with a tape based transportation system arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Figure 5 depicts a system 500, a fluid dispenser 502, a substrate 510, test zones 512, a measurement unit 516, an enclosure 530, openings 540, and spools 542. The various components described in Figure 3 are merely examples, and other variations, including eliminating components, combining components, and substituting components are all contemplated.

[053] The system 500 may be implemented using one or more of systems 100, 200, 300 and/or 400 of Figures 1-4, respectively, m some examples. The system 500 may be generally similar to system 400, except that the system 500 may have tape based substrate 510 with one or more test zones 512. The system 500 may have an enclosure 530 which may contain fluid dispenser 502 and measurement unit 516. The enclosure 530 may have a pair of openings 540. The system 500 may have a flexible substrate 510 which is fed through the openings 540 and wound onto spools 542.

[054] In the example embodiment of Figure 5, the enclosure 530 has a pair of openings 540. The openings 540 may be on opposite sides of the enclosure 530. The openings 540 may be slots in a side of the enclosure 530. The openings 540 may be shaped to act as a receiver to guide the substrate 510.

[Q55] The substrate 510 may be a flexible material which may act as a tape. The substrate 510 may be a length of flexible material, or may be a continuous loop. The substrate 510 may be wound onto spools 542 before and/or after use in the system 500. The substrate 510 may have one or more test zones 512 on a surface of the substrate 510. The test zones 512 may repeat at regular intervals along a length of the substrate 510. The test zones 512 may be arranged in clusters or groups which repeat at regular intervals along the length of the substrate 510. The test zones 512 may be arranged so that when certain test zones 512 are under the fluid dispenser 502 (e.g., in the first position described herein) others of the test zones 512 are under the measurement unit 516 (e.g., in the second position described herein). The substrate 510 may be unwound from a spool 542 and into the enclosure 530. The substrate 510 may be wound onto a spool 542 as it exits the enclosure 530. The spools 542 may be manually and/or automatically wound to advance test zones 512 of the substrate 510 through the enclosure 530. Although shown as a strip being wound from one spool to another, the substrate 510 may be a continuous loop in some examples, and may have rollers to advance it through the system. Other arrangements of a strip substrate 510 may be used in other examples.

[056] Figure 6 is a flow chart depicting a method of measuring fluid contaminants arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. An example method may include one or more operations, functions or actions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, 660. The operations described in the blocks 610 through 660 may be performed in response to execution (such as by one or more processors described herein) of computer-executable instructions stored in a computer- readable medium, such as a computer-readable medium of a computing device or some other controller similarly configured.

[Q57] An example process may begin with block 610, which recites“Providing a system comprising a container configured to store a fluid comprising w¾ter and a contaminant, a microdispenser, a substrate comprising at least one test zone, a heater, and a measurement system.” Block 610 may be followed by block 620, which recites “Fluidly coupling the container to the microdispenser.” Block 620 may be followed by block 630 which recites “Ejecting at least one droplet of the fluid from the microdispenser onto the at least one test zone of the substrate”. Block 630 may be followed by block 640, which recites“Heating the droplet of the fluid with the heater”. Block 640 may be followed by block 650, which recites“Evaporating the water from the droplet to concentrate the contaminant on the substrate”. Block 650 may be followed by block 660, which recites “Detecting the contaminant, measuring the amount of the contaminant, or both, with the measurement system”.

[058] The blocks included in the described example methods are for illustration purposes. In some embodiments, the blocks may be performed in a different order. In some other embodiments, various blocks may be eliminated. In still other embodiments, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, supplemented with other blocks, or combined together into fewer blocks. Other variations of these specific blocks are contemplated, including changes in the order of the blocks, changes in the content of the blocks being split or combined into other blocks, etc. In some examples, the blocks 630 to 660 may be repeated, in other examples addition steps such as flowing air across the substrate may be provided.

[059] Block 610 recites,“Providing a system comprising a container configured to store a fluid comprising water and a contaminant, a microdispenser, a substrate comprising at least one test zone, a heater, and a measurement system” The provided system may be implemented by one or more of the systems 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 of Figures 1-5 respectively in some examples. The substrate may be provided separately from the other components of the system, and may be a substrate chosen for each specific measurement process to be performed. The providing may involve connecting different components together, such as connecting components of the system to an operation unit (such as operation unit 120 of Figure 1). The providing may further involve collecting the fluid and placing it in the container.

[060] Block 620 recites“Fluidly coupling the container to the microdispenser”. The container may be a separate component which connects to the microdispenser (e.g., connects to a connector of an enclosure containing the microdispenser). The container may be integral with the microdispenser. The fluidly coupling may involve selectively fluidly coupling the container to the microdispenser.

[061] Block 630 recites “Ejecting at least one droplet of the fluid from the microdispenser onto the at least one test zone of the substrate”. The droplets may be selectively ejected from the microdispenser. The droplets may be ejected in a cycle, or as needed. The droplets may be ejected in response to a signal, such as an indication that the at least one test zones are m the first position (e.g., under the microdispenser). The droplets may be ejected in a pattern to match locations of the test zones on the substrate.

[062] Block 640 recites“bleating the droplet of the fluid with the heater”. The droplet, or portions thereof, may be heated to a temperature at or around a boiling point of the fluid. The droplet may be heated directly, or may be heated indirectly, such as by heating the substrate. The heating may occur before, during, or after the ejecting, or a combination. The heating may be selectively activated to control an amount of energy applied to the droplets.

[063] Block 650 recites“Evaporate the water from the droplet to concentrate the contaminant on the substrate”. The water may evaporate in response to the heat from the heater. All, or a portion, of the water may evaporate. The amount of water evaporated may be controlled by controlling the amount of energy applied by the heater. The contaminant may not evaporate and may remain on the substrate. The reduced volume may lead to an increased concentration of the contaminant on the substrate. The increased concentration may lead to an increase in concentration dependent properties (e.g., optical properties such as absorption, scattering, and/or extinction). The evaporated water may be removed by an air flow, such as may be provided by forced air unit 118 of Figure 1 for example.

[Q64] Block 660 recites“Detecting the contaminant, measuring the amount of the contaminant, or both, with the measurement system”. The contaminants may be detected in a binary fashion to determine a presence of the contaminant. The presence of the contaminant may be detected if a measurement exceeds a threshold. The amount of the contaminant may be measured. The concentration of the contaminant may be measured. The detecting/measuring may involve one or more of optical, electronic, chemical, and physical measurements. In one example, an absorption of the test zone may be measured, and a concentration of the contaminant determined based on a known absorption coefficient of the contaminant. Other methods may be used in other examples.

[065] The measured amount of the contaminant may be used to determine an initial concentration of the contaminant in the fluid. In one example, this may involve determining an amount of the contaminant in the evaporated droplet and dividing the determined amount by a volume of water m the ejected at least one droplets. In another example, the increased concentration between the at least one droplets and the evaporated droplets may be a repeatable concentration factor. The concentration factor may be based on a calculated amount of water evaporated from the at least one droplets. The original concentration m the fluid may be determined by dividing the measured concentration in the evaporated droplet by the concentration factor. Other methods of determining the original amount of the contaminant in the fluid may be used in other examples.

[Q66] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing device 700 that is arranged for concentrating contaminants in water in accordance with the present disclosure. In a very basic configuration 701, computing device 700 typically includes one or more processors 710 and system memory 720. A memory bus 730 may be used for communicating between the processor 710 and the system memory 720.

[067] Depending on the desired configuration, processor 710 may be of any type including but not limited to a microprocessor (mR), a microcontroller (pC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof. Processor 710 may include one more levels of caching, such as a level one cache 711 and a level two cache 712, a processor core 713, and registers 714. An example processor core 713 may include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. An example memory controller 715 may also be used with the processor 710, or in some implementations, the memory controller 715 may be an internal part of the processor 710.

[068] Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory 720 may be of any type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combination thereof. System memory 720 may include an operating system 721, one or more applications 722, and program data 724 Application 722 may include a measurement procedure 723 that is arranged to determine a presence or amount of contaminant in a fluid as described herein. Program data 724 may include mathematical relationships, physical constants, known or expected properties of the fluid, known or expected properties of the contaminant, and/or other information useful for the implementation of contaminant measurement/deteetion. In some embodiments, application 722 may be arranged to operate with program data 724 on an operating system 721 such that any of the procedures described herein may be performed. This described basic configuration is illustrated in FIG. 7 by those components depicted within the dashed line of the basic configuration 701.

[069] Computing device 700 may have additional features or functionality, and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between the basic configuration 701 and any required devices and interfaces. For example, a bus/interface controller 740 may be used to facilitate communications between the basic configuration 701 and one or more storage devices 750 via a storage interface bus 741. The storage devices 750 may be removable storage devices 751, non-removable storage devices 752, or a combination thereof. Examples of removable storage and non-removable storage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data

Q7Q] System memory 720, removable storage 751 and non-removable storage 752 are all examples of computer storage media. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which may be used to store the desired information and which may be accessed by computing device 700. Any such computer storage media may be part of computing device 700.

071] Computing device 700 may also include an interface bus 742 for facilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., output interfaces, peripheral interfaces, and communication interfaces) to the basic configuration 701 via the bus/interface controller 740. Example output devices 760 include a graphics processing unit 761 and an audio processing unit 762, which may be configured to communicate to various external devices such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports 763. Example peripheral interfaces 770 include a serial interface controller 771 or a parallel interface controller 772, which may be configured to communicate with external devices such as input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.) via one or more I/O ports 773. An example communication device 780 includes a network controller 781, which may be arranged to facilitate communications with one or more other computing devices 790 over a network communication link via one or more communication ports 782.

Q72] The network communication link may be one example of a communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A‘ ^‘ modulated data signal” may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR) and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include both storage media and communication media.

[Q73] Computing device 700 may be implemented as a portion of a small-form factor portable (or mobile) electronic device such as a cell phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a personal media player device, a wireless web-watch device, a personal headset device, an application specific device, or a hybrid device that include any of the above functions. Computing device 700 may also be implemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computer configurations.

[074] The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular examples described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and examples can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and examples are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, reagents, compounds compositions or biological systems, which can, of course, vary it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular examples only, and is not intended to be limiting.

[075] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context an 'or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

[076] It will be understood by those within the art that, m general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as“open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term“having” should be interpreted as“having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as“includes but is not limited to,” etc.).

[077] It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and m the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases“at least one” and“one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles“a” or“an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to examples containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or“at least one” and indefinite articles such as“a” or“an” (e.g.,“a” and/or“an” should be interpreted to mean“at least one” or“one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of“two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).

[078] Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to“at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g.,“a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to“at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill m the art would understand the convention (e.g.,“a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase“A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of“A” or“B” or“A and

[079] In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

[Q8Q] As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non- limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as“up to,”“at least,”“greater than,”“less than,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1 -3 items refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 items. Similarly, a group having 1 -5 items refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 items, and so forth.

[Q81] While the foregoing detailed description has set forth various examples of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples, such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one example, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the examples disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and/or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art m light of this disclosure. For example, if a user determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the user may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmware vehicle; if flexibility is paramount, the user may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, the user may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.

[082] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative example of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memor', etc,; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communication link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

[Q83] Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/or network computing/communicati on systems.

[084] The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected”, or "operably coupled", to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable", to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

[OSS] While various aspects and examples have been disclosed herein, other aspects and examples will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and examples disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.