312results about How to "Low detection sensitivity" patented technology

A vacuum cleaner includes a dust sensor of the light emitting and light receiving type, which sensor detects the quantity of dust which is sucked during a cleaning operation. The vacuum cleaner also includes a sensitivity correction section which compensates for lowering of the dust detection sensitivity due to soiling of the dust sensor, a limit detection section which detects a condition in which the compensation of dust detection sensitivity by the sensitivity correction section reaches a limit value, and an information section which informs the vacuum cleaner user of the condition in which correction of the dust detection sensitivity by the sensitivity correction section has reached its limit value.

A method for investigating specimens, wherein a spectral splitting of the radiation coming from the specimen is carried out for specimen points or point distributions, for the operation of a laser scanning microscope or a fluorescence screening arrangement or a flow cylinder comprising the steps of generating a λ-stack so that the spectral distribution is measured by individual detection channels and storing the signals so as to be correlated to the detection signals with at least one of the spatial coordinates x, y and z and / or so as to be correlated to the measurement time t.

An active (laser-illuminated) imaging system is described that is suitable for use in backscatter absorption gas imaging (BAGI). A BAGI imager operates by imaging a scene as it is illuminated with radiation that is absorbed by the gas to be detected. Gases become "visible" in the image when they attenuate the illumination creating a shadow in the image. This disclosure describes a BAGI imager that operates in a linescanned manner using a high repetition rate pulsed laser as its illumination source. The format of this system allows differential imaging, in which the scene is illuminated with light at least 2 wavelengths-one or more absorbed by the gas and one or more not absorbed. The system is designed to accomplish imaging in a manner that is insensitive to motion of the camera, so that it can be held in the hand of an operator or operated from a moving vehicle.

An active (laser-illuminated) imaging system is described that is suitable for use in backscatter absorption gas imaging (BAGI). A BAGI imager operates by imaging a scene as it is illuminated with radiation that is absorbed by the gas to be detected. Gases become "visible" in the image when they attenuate the illumination creating a shadow in the image. This disclosure describes a BAGI imager that operates in a linescanned manner using a high repetition rate pulsed laser as its illumination source. The format of this system allows differential imaging, in which the scene is illuminated with light at least 2 wavelengths-one or more absorbed by the gas and one or more not absorbed. The system is designed to accomplish imaging in a manner that is insensitive to motion of the camera, so that it can be held in the hand of an operator or operated from a moving vehicle.

A reduction in the weight of a display device with a touch sensor is achieved while a decrease in the sensitivity thereof is suppressed. The display device includes, between a pair of substrates, a touch sensor, a color filter, and a display portion provided with a display element. A stress relief layer whose product of the dielectric constant and specific gravity is smaller than that of the substrate provided with the touch sensor is provided, whereby parasitic capacitance between an electrode and a wiring included in the touch sensor and an electrode and a wiring included in the display portion can be reduced.

Provided is a magnetic encoder which includes plural rows of magnetic encoder tracks. One magnetic encoder track of the magnetic encoder tracks includes magnetic pattern magnetized thereto to generate signals of equal pitch for detection of rotation. The magnetized magnetic pattern includes N poles and S poles arranged in alternate fashion. The magnetic encoder is configured to be employed spaced through an air gap from sensors that read magnetic signals of the respective magnetic encoder tracks. The magnetic encoder track is configured such that the magnetic pattern thereof acting on position of the corresponding sensor is, under the interference of magnetism of the plural rows of magnetic encoder tracks, detected by the corresponding sensor as an equal pitch magnetic pattern.

The prostate gland or other region of interest is stimulated with laser light, resulting in ultrasound waves (photoacoustic effect) which are focused by an acoustic lens and captured by a specific 1- or 2D sensor array and subsequently displayed as a C-scan on a computer screen. The amplitude of the ultrasound waves generated by laser stimulation is proportional to the optical absorption of the tissue element at that spatial location. Variability in tissue absorption results in C-scan image contrast. The photoacoustic imaging is combined with an ultrasound C-scan image produced with a plane ultrasound wave applied to the region of interest.

One inventive aspect is a touch control liquid crystal display device. The device includes a color film substrate, a thin film transistor array substrate, and a liquid crystal layer between the color film substrate and the thin film transistor array substrate. The color film substrate includes a grid-shaped black matrix layer, a touch control layer, and a color film layer. The touch control layer includes metal grid electrodes in a rectangle, where the metal grid electrodes include metal lines intersecting transversely and vertically. In addition, the metal grid electrodes include drive electrodes and sense electrodes. The drive electrodes are connected together through first metal connection lines in a first direction, and the sense electrodes are connected together through second metal connection lines in a second direction. In addition, the projection of the metal grid electrodes falls into the projection of the black matrix layer in the light transmission direction.

Detection column wires and detection row wires are configured of thin wires made of a conductive material having light reflectivity, such as a metal or alloy including silver and aluminum. A predetermined plural number of detection column wires are electrically connected to form a plurality of column-direction bundle wires. A predetermined plural number of detection row wires are electrically connected to form a plurality of row-direction bundle wires. A reflected-light distribution pattern is further provided. When viewed in a direction vertical to the surface of the touch screen, the reflected-light distribution pattern includes a curved portion, and the normal lines of the curved portion head for all directions.

A cross point nonvolatile memory device capable of suppressing sneak-current-caused reduction in sensitivity of detection of a resistance value of a memory element is provided. The device includes perpendicular bit and word lines; a cross-point cell array including memory cells each having a resistance value reversibly changing between at least two resistance states according to electrical signals, arranged on cross-points of the word and bit lines; an offset detection cell array including an offset detection cell having a resistance higher than that of the memory cell in a high resistance state, the word lines being shared by the offset detection cell array; a read circuit (a sense amplifier) that determines a resistance state of a selected memory cell based on a current through the selected bit line; and a current source which supplies current to the offset detection cell array in a read operation period.

The present invention relates to novel enzymes designed for direct detection, characterization and quantitation of nucleic acids, particularly RNA. The present invention provides enzymes that recognize specific nucleic acid cleavage structures formed on a target RNA sequence and that cleave the nucleic acid cleavage structure in a site-specific manner to produce non-target cleavage products. The present invention provides enzymes having an improved ability to specifically cleave a DNA member of a complex comprising DNA and RNA nucleic acid strands.

The invention provides methods for detecting contamination in a PCR reaction. Methods of the invention are especially useful for detection of contamination in heterogeneous samples containing a rare nucleic acid to be detected.

A water trap system based on a thermoelectric cooling device is employed to remove a major fraction of the water from air samples, prior to analysis of these samples for chemical composition, by a variety of analytical techniques where water vapor interferes with the measurement process. These analytical techniques include infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, ion mobility spectrometry and gas chromatography. The thermoelectric system for trapping water present in air samples can substantially improve detection sensitivity in these analytical techniques when it is necessary to measure trace analytes with concentrations in the ppm (parts per million) or ppb (parts per billion) partial pressure range. The thermoelectric trap design is compact and amenable to use in a portable gas monitoring instrumentation.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting one or more analytes, for example analytes selected from the group comprising nucleic acids, metabolites, peptides, proteins, hormones, pesticides, neurotransmitters, ions in blood, electrolytes, toxic gases, pH and biological warfare agents, the apparatus comprising an insulating substrate, at least one first electrode on the substrate at least one elongate nanostructure extending from and electrically connected to the or each said electrode and extending over the surface of the wafer away from the respective electrode, a passivating layer covering the or each electrode, but not all of said at least one elongate nanostructure, a well crossing the at least one elongate nanostructure extending from the or each electrode and forming a static reservoir for a liquid being investigated for the presence of at least one analyte, a reference electrode provided on said substrate within said well or insertable into said well and respective readout pads electrically connected to the or each electrode and to the reference electrode if the latter is provided on the substrate, the at least one elongate nanostructure being capable of being functionalized for detecting one or more analytes.

A vibrator for generating a signal for measuring a physical quantity using a vibrator is provided, including at least one bending vibration arm vibrating in bending mode along a specified plane and having a first end, an opposed second end, and first and second main faces that are substantially parallel with each other. A base portion is provided at the first provided at the first end of the bending vibration arm, a weight portion is provided at the second end of the bending vibration arm, and grooves are formed on the first and second main faces. The vibrator further includes driving means for exciting a driving vibration in the vibrator, and detecting means provided on one of the bending vibration arms for detecting an output signal based on detection vibrations induced in the vibrator responsive to the physical quantity to be measured.

A magnetic detection coil is provided, which includes a plurality of differential coils. Each differential coil is made of one of superconductors and metallic materials. The differential coils having mutually different loop directions are arranged in parallel at a spatially predetermined distance apart and mutually electrically connected in series. Each differential coil is one of a first-order differential coil and a second-order differential coil.

An image defect inspection apparatus, which detects a gray level difference between corresponding pixels in two inspection images and which, if the gray level difference exceeds a detection threshold value, judges that one or the other of the pixels in the two inspection images represents a defect, comprises: a variance computing unit which computes the variance of the coordinate value of the pixel by weighting the coordinate value in accordance with the gray level difference detected for the pixel; and a detection sensitivity reducing unit which reduces the detection sensitivity for the defect as the variance increases.

An antenna switching apparatus which detects an antenna of good reception with high precision and suppresses control errors in antenna switching. A comparator compares a noise component obtained from a selected antenna with a threshold for noise detection. When noise detection occurs a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time, an antenna switching control unit outputs an antenna switching control signal to switch to another antenna. If all antennas are switched within a predetermined time, a noise switching count analyzing unit outputs a sensitivity control signal, deciding that the threshold should be changed. A noise detection sensitivity setting unit, when supplied with the sensitivity control signal within a predetermined time, increases the threshold to lower the noise detection sensitivity of the comparator. When the predetermined time elapses without the sensitivity control signal being supplied, the noise detection sensitivity setting unit decreases the threshold to lower the noise detection sensitivity of the comparator. The noise detection sensitivity is thus varied and adjusted to the actual reception quality, whereby an antenna of good reception is detected with high precision and control errors in antenna switching are suppressed.

The invention relates to a metal-modified photonic crystal biological detection film as well as a preparation method and application thereof. The film is a metal-modified photonic crystal film marked of a biological function substance which is marked by a fluorescence labeling molecule, wherein the biological function substance marked by the fluorescence labeling molecule is a biological function substance marked by a single fluorescence labeling molecule or a receptor fluorescence labeling pair. By the utilization of the characteristics of photonic crystal enhancement and metal surface enhancement, the adaptation of the fluorescence labeling biological function substance, and the specific responsiveness and the specific affinity of the fluorescence labeling biological function substance on a target biological substance, the target biological substance and the biological function substance generate response, thereby the illumination change of the biological function substance marked by the fluorescence labeling molecule is caused. Moreover, the sensitivity of a system for detecting the target biological substance can be effectively enhanced by reading and identifying fluorescent signals of the fluorescence labeling molecule through photonic crystal enhancement and metal surface enhancement, consequently the high-sensitivity biological detection can be realized.

A method, an apparatus and a computer program for determining a location at which satellite ranging signals (RS1-RS 4) have been received. At least one pseudorange selection cycle (511, 512), including an initial selection cycle (511), is performed and said location is determined utilizing the selected pseudoranges (1004). Said initial selection cycle includes: determining a first admissible pseudorange (r11) associated with a first satellite (SV1); determining (502) all pseudoranges (r21, r22, r31, r32) associated with at least two additional satellites (SV2, SV3) which combined with said first pseudorange (r11) form admissible relative pseudoranges; forming (503) a set (1001) of pseudorange vectors representing all possible combinations of said determined pseudoranges (r11, r21, r22, r31, r32) associated with said first (SV1) and at least two additional satellites (SV2, SV3); and forming (504) a set (1002) of selected pseudorange vectors by selecting at least one vector from said set (1001) of pseudorange vectors. At least when said set (1001) of pseudorange vectors includes plural vectors, said selecting includes evaluating each vector in said set (1001) of pseudorange vectors according to a predetermined rule.

Arrangement and method for the optical detection of light radiation which is excited and / or backscattered in a specimen, wherein the illumination of the specimen and / or the detection of the specimen light is carried out by at least two objectives arranged on different sides of the specimen. The specimen illumination is focused in or in the vicinity of a pupil plane of the beam path between the specimen plane and the detection plane at least on one axis and an element for the spatial separation of the illumination light from the detection light are provided in this plane.

A cross point nonvolatile memory device capable of suppressing sneak-current-caused reduction in sensitivity of detection of a resistance value of a memory element is provided. The device includes perpendicular bit and word lines; a cross-point cell array including memory cells each having a resistance value reversibly changing between at least two resistance states according to electrical signals, arranged on cross-points of the word and bit lines; an offset detection cell array including an offset detection cell having a resistance higher than that of the memory cell in a high resistance state, the word lines being shared by the offset detection cell array; a read circuit (a sense amplifier) that determines a resistance state of a selected memory cell based on a current through the selected bit line; and a current source which supplies current to the offset detection cell array in a read operation period.

A safety device for power window, which generates pulses by rotation of a raising / lowering motor for raising or lowering a window glass of a power window for vehicle, and determines occurrence of pinching of a foreign substance from change in pulse width during closing operation of a window, and thus reverses window operation into window opening operation, is obtained, wherein false determination due to variation in voltage of a battery hardly occurs.A storage unit that stores a change rate of pulse width of continuous pulses, which is detected by a pulse width detector during raising operation of the window glass in a reference condition, while relating the change rate to window position information given by a window position counter; a calculation unit that calculates the continuous pulse width detected by the pulse width detector during raising operation of the window glass while relating the pulse width to the window position information given by the window position counter; and a control unit that compares a stored value of the change rate of pulse width stored by the storage unit, the stored value being related to the window position information, to a calculation value of a change rate of pulse width calculated by the calculation unit, the calculation value being related to the window position information, and when a difference between both change rates of pulse width exceeds an allowable value, drives the raising / lowering motor in a direction of opening the window glass are provided.

A dual sensor intruder alarm (DSIA) for detecting an intruder in a security zone monitored by the DSIA comprising: a PIR sensor; an additional sensor, and a controller that determines an operating difference between the ambient temperature and a normative surface temperature of an intruder in the security zone; wherein if the operating difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold difference, the controller determines whether an intruder is present in the security zone using signals from both the PIR sensor and the additional sensor and if the operating difference is less than the predetermined threshold difference, the controller uses signals from the additional sensor but not from the PIR sensor to determine presence of an intruder.

A signal intercept and analysis processor for a wideband intercept receiver system including at least one wideband receiver has a signal detector operatively connectable to the wideband receiver and a signal extractor operatively connected to the signal detector and connectable to the wideband receiver for performing signal extraction directly on a wideband signal output of the receiver and for performing the signal extraction only upon detection of a signal by the signal detector. The signal detector includes a generator of a coarsely sampled or decimated time-frequency representation of the wideband signal output. The time-frequency representation is decimated or coarsely sampled in time compared to an inverse frequency filter bandwidth used in the time-frequency representation. The generator preferably includes a digital filter bank. The digital filter bank in turn may include means for performing a sequence of windowed FFTs on samples of the wideband signal output, wherein a stride between consecutive one of the FFTs is considerably larger than a length of each of the FFTs.

A terahertz wave detection device which includes an absorption portion which absorbs a terahertz wave and generates heat and a conversion portion which converts the heat generated by the absorption portion into an electric signal, wherein the absorption portion includes a dielectric layer, a plurality of metal structures which are provided on one surface of the dielectric layer and are arranged to be separated from one another by an interval having a predetermined length; and a metal layer which is provided on the other surface of the dielectric layer, and wherein the interval is shorter than a wavelength of the terahertz wave which is absorbed by the absorption portion.

A mass spectrometer featured in including an ion source including a first electrode, a second electrode, and a dielectric unit having a sample introducing unit and a sample discharging unit and provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, a power source of ionizing a sample by a discharge generated between the first electrode and the second electrode by applying an alternating current voltage to either one of the first electrode and the second electrode, a mass spectrometry unit of analyzing an ion discharged from the sample discharging unit, and a light irradiating unit of irradiating an area of generating the discharge with light.

A magnetic detection coil is provided, which includes a plurality of differential coils. Each differential coil is made of one of superconductors and metallic materials. The differential coils having mutually different loop directions are arranged in parallel at a spatially predetermined distance apart and mutually electrically connected in series. Each differential coil is one of a first-order differential coil and a second-order differential coil.

In a passive keyless entry (PKE) system, a PKE key-fob has magnetic sensor coils arranged in non-perpendicular and non-parallel orientations therebetween, resulting in a more uniform omnidirectional pickup pattern when sensing a time varying magnetic field source from an interrogator base station of the PKE system. The magnetic sensor coils may also be stagger tuned to reduce frequency resonance change due to mutual inductance coupling interaction and / or create a desired magnetic field frequency response pickup pattern. Reducing null zones of different orientations of the PKE key-fob results in more uniform and reliable operation of the PKE system, and tuning the magnetic sensors to operate within the correct frequency and bandwidth of the interrogation magnetic signal increases the useful operating range of the PKE key-fob.