1. A method of separating particles by size, comprising:
loading a set of particles of various sizes and responsive to electromagnetic forces into a starting position upon a separation collection component, wherein the separation collection component has a plurality of conductors each coupled to a current source;
sending a first current through a first set of conductors in a first direction drawing a subset of larger particles from the set of particles toward a first adjacent position to the starting position on the separation collection component;
sending one or more successively lower currents compared to the first current through a second set of conductors in the first direction drawing a subset of smaller particles from the set of particles toward a second adjacent position to the starting position on the separation collection component; and
wherein loading the set of particles further comprises applying a higher current relative to the first current in a second direction through the first set of conductors drawing the set of particles towards the starting position on the separation collection component.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein loading the set of particles further comprises physically placing the set of particles upon the separation collection component.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the separation collection component is a grid having rows and columns of conductors.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the starting position, the first adjacent position and the second adjacent position are selected to intersect with a row conductor or a column conductor on the grid.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the rows of conductors are separated from the columns of conductors by a non-conductive material.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the non-conductive material is selected from a set of materials including: Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, and Aluminum Nitride.
7. The method of claim 3 wherein the rows of conductors in the grid are positioned at right angles relative to the columns of conductors.
8. The method of claim 3 wherein the rows are separated by one or more widths and the columns are separated by one or more widths.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein each conductor from the plurality of conductors is each coupled to individual current sources.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of conductors are coupled to one or more current sources through a switching device that shares the one or more current sources among the plurality of conductors.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the starting position, the first adjacent position and the second adjacent position are arbitrary positions on the separation collection component.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the set of particles are composed of paramagnetic materials.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the set of particles are composed of magnetic materials.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the magnetic materials include a magnetic coating around a non-magnetic core and non-magnetic coating around a magnetic core.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the current source coupled to each conductor can be varied monotonically.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein the higher current in the second direction generates an electromagnetic force opposite in direction from the forces associated with the first current and the successively lower currents applied in the first direction.
17. The method of claim 1 wherein the higher current is greater in magnitude compared with the first current and successively lower currents.
18. The method of claim 1 wherein the subset of smaller particles include particles having a smaller radius than at least one particle in the set of particles.
19. The method of claim 1 wherein the subset of smaller particles includes particles having a smaller mass than at least one particle in the set of particles.
20. A computer program product for separating particles by size, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:
load a set of particles of various sizes and responsive to electromagnetic forces into a starting position upon a separation collection component, wherein the separation collection component has a plurality of conductors each coupled to a current source;
send a first current through a first set of conductors in a first direction drawing a subset of larger particles from the set of particles toward a first adjacent position to the starting position on the separation collection component;
send one or more successively lower currents compared to the first current through a second set of conductors in the first direction drawing a subset of smaller particles from the set of particles toward a second adjacent position to the starting position on the separation collection component; and
wherein the instructions that load the set of particles further comprises instructions that apply a higher current relative to the first current in a second direction through the first set of conductors drawing the set of particles towards the starting position on the separation collection component.
21. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the separation collection component is a grid having rows and columns of conductors.
22. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein the rows of conductors are separated from the columns of conductors by a non-conductive material selected from a set of materials including: Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, and Aluminum Nitride.
23. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the separation collection component is an arbitrary arrangement of conductors.
24. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the plurality of conductors are coupled to one or more current sources through a switching device that shares the one or more current sources among the plurality of conductors.
25. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the starting position, the first adjacent position and the second adjacent position are arbitrary positions on the separation collection component.
26. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the set of particles are composed of paramagnetic materials.
27. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein the set of particles are composed of magnetic materials.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A circuit comprising:
a first portion of a content addressable memory (CAM) configured to perform a first inequality operation implemented between 1 to n CAM entries; and
a second portion of the CAM configured to perform a second inequality operation implemented between the 1 to n CAM entries,
wherein the first portion and the second portion are triangularly arranged side by side such that the first inequality operation and the second inequality operation are implemented between the 1 to n CAM entries using the same n wordlines, and
wherein the first inequality operation is a less-than or greater-than operation, and the second inequality operation is a less-than or greater-than operation.
2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the CAM is n+1 bits wide or the CAM includes an additional row per pair of the first inequality operation and the second inequality operation.
3. The circuit of claim 1, wherein a first output of the first portion and a second output of the second portion are ANDed together to produce a range-match function.
4. A circuit comprising:
a first portion of a content addressable memory (CAM) configured to perform a first inequality operation implemented between 1 to n CAM entries; and
a second portion of the CAM configured to perform a second inequality operation implemented between the 1 to n CAM entries,
wherein the first portion and the second portion are triangularly arranged side by side such that the first inequality operation and the second inequality operation are implemented between the 1 to n CAM entries using the same n wordlines, and
further comprising a first set of search lines configured to broadcast search data to the first portion and a second set of search lines configured to broadcast the search data to the second portion, wherein at least one cell of the CAM comprises both the first set of search lines and the second set of search lines running through the at least one cell.
5. The circuit of claim 4, further comprising:
a wire track running through each of the 1 to n CAM entries implemented in the first portion and the second portion;
a first matchline in each wire track and configured to indicate a match or mismatch for each of the 1 to n CAM entries implemented in the first portion; and
a second matchline in each wire track configured to indicate a match or mismatch for each of the 1 to n CAM entries implemented in the second portion.
6. A circuit comprising:
a first portion of a content addressable memory (CAM) configured to perform a first inequality operation implemented between 1 to n CAM entries, wherein the 1 to n CAM entries of the first portion are read from left to right; and
a second portion of the CAM configured to perform a second inequality operation implemented between the 1 to n CAM entries, wherein the 1 to n CAM entries of the second portion are read from right to left,
wherein the second portion is flipped 180\xb0 and triangularly arranged side by side the first portion.
7. The circuit of claim 6, wherein the CAM is n+1 bits wide or the CAM includes an additional row per pair of the first inequality operation and the second inequality operation.
8. The circuit of claim 6, wherein the first inequality operation and the second inequality operation are implemented between the 1 to n CAM entries using the same n wordlines.
9. The circuit of claim 6, further comprising:
a first matchline configured to indicate a match or mismatch for each of the 1 to n CAM entries implemented in the first portion; and
a second matchline configured to indicate a match or mismatch for each of the 1 to n CAM entries implemented in the second portion.
10. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the first matchline and the second matchline are located in a same wire track.
11. The circuit of claim 6, further comprising a first set of search lines configured to broadcast search data to the first portion and a second set of search lines configured to broadcast the search data to the second portion.
12. The circuit of claim 11, wherein at least one cell of the CAM comprises both the first set of search lines and the second set of search lines running through the at least one cell.
13. The circuit of claim 11, wherein at least one column of the CAM comprises both the first set of search lines and the second set of search lines running through the at least one column.
14. The circuit of claim 11, wherein:
at least one column of the CAM comprises both the first set of search lines and the second set of search lines running through the at least one column;
a left most column of the CAM comprises only the first set of search lines; and
a right most column of the CAM comprises only the second set of search lines.
15. A method comprising:
performing a first inequality operation implemented between 1 to n content addressable memory (CAM) entries using a first portion of a CAM; and
performing a second inequality operation implemented between the 1 to n CAM entries using a second portion of the CAM,
wherein the first inequality operation and the second inequality operation are performed between the 1 to n CAM entries using the same n wordlines, and
wherein the first inequality operation is a less-than or greater-than operation, and the second inequality operation is a less-than or greater-than operation.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the performing the first inequality operation comprises reading the 1 to n CAM entries from left to right; and
the performing the second inequality operation comprises reading the 1 to n CAM entries from right to left.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the performing the first inequality operation comprises obtaining a first output; and
the performing the second inequality operation comprises obtaining a second output; and
the first output and the second output are ANDed together to produce a range-match function.
18. A method comprising:
performing a first inequality operation implemented between 1 to n content addressable memory (CAM) entries using a first portion of a CAM; and
performing a second inequality operation implemented between the 1 to n CAM entries using a second portion of the CAM,
wherein the first inequality operation and the second inequality operation are performed between the 1 to n CAM entries using the same n wordlines, and
further comprising:
broadcasting search data to the first portion using a first set of search lines; and
broadcasting the search data to the second portion using a second set of search lines.