1. A system for detecting an analyte in a fluid, said system comprising:
a sensor array comprising first and second sensors wherein said first sensor comprises a region of aligned conductive material which provides a response in the presence of said analyte;
an electrical measuring device electrically connected to the sensor array;
and a computer comprising a resident algorithm; the electrical measuring device detecting the response and the computer assembling the response into a sensor array response profile.
2. The system for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first and said second sensors are first and second chemically sensitive resistors, each chemically sensitive resistor comprising a plurality of alternating regions comprising a nonconductive region and an aligned conductive region that is compositionally different than said nonconductive region wherein,
each resistor provides an electrical path through said nonconductive region and said aligned conductive region, a first electrical resistance when contacted with a first fluid comprising an analyte at a first concentration and a second different electrical resistance when contacted with a second fluid comprising said analyte at a second different concentration wherein,
the difference between said first electrical resistance and said second electrical resistance of said first chemically sensitive resistor being different from the difference between said first electrical resistance and said second electrical resistance of said second chemically sensitive resistor under the same conditions; and
the electrical measuring device detecting the first and said second electrical resistances in each of said chemically sensitive resistors and the computer assembling the resistances into a sensor array response profile.
3. The system for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 1, wherein said conductive region is aligned by exposure to a member selected from the group consisting of an electric field, a thermal field, a magnetic field, an electromagnetic field, a photoelectric field, a light field or combinations thereof.
4. The system for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 3, wherein said conductive region is electrically aligned.
5. The system for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 3, wherein said conductive region is magnetically aligned.
6. The system array for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 3, wherein said conductive region is photolytically aligned.
7. A method for detecting the presence of an analyte in a fluid, said method comprising:
providing a sensor array comprising first and second sensors, wherein said first sensor comprises a region of aligned conductive material; and
contacting said sensor array with said analyte to produce a response thereby detecting the presence of the analyte.
8. The method for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 7, wherein said first and said second sensors are first and second chemically sensitive resistors each comprising a plurality of alternating regions comprising a nonconductive region, and an aligned conductive region that is compositionally different than the nonconductive material, and wherein each resistor provides an electrical path through said nonconducting regions and aligned conductive regions, a first electrical resistance when contacted with a first fluid comprising an analyte at a first concentration and a second different electrical resistance when contacted with a second fluid comprising said analyte at a second different concentration.
9. The method for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 7, wherein said conductive region is electrically aligned.
10. The method for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 7, wherein said conductive region is magnetically aligned.
11. The method for detecting an analyte in a fluid in accordance with claim 7, wherein said conductive region is photolytically or mechanically aligned.
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 system for crushing a material, comprising:
a compaction chamber including an inlet chamber at a proximal portion configured to receive the material and an outlet chamber at a distal portion configured to allow crushed material to exit, said compaction chamber further comprising at least one wear member removably associated with the distal portion of the compaction chamber, said at least one wear member comprised of a first wear member and a second wear member that are configured to form a ring; and
a screw assembly comprising a shaft that generally extends between the proximal and distal portions of the compaction chamber, a portion of the screw assembly increasing in diameter along a length of the shaft from the proximal portion to the distal portion of the compaction chamber such that the system is configured to crush the material between the compaction chamber and the portion of the screw assembly that increases in diameter.
2. A system for crushing a material, comprising:
a compaction chamber including an inlet chamber at a proximal portion configured to receive the material and an outlet chamber at a distal portion configured to allow crushed material to exit, said compaction chamber further comprising at least one wear member removably associated with the distal portion of the compaction chamber; and
a screw assembly comprising a shaft that generally extends between the proximal and distal portions of the compaction chamber, a portion of the screw assembly increasing in diameter along a length of the shaft from the proximal portion to the distal portion of the compaction chamber such that the system is configured to crush the material between the compaction chamber and the portion of the screw assembly that increases in diameter;
wherein the at least one wear member is configured to define a gap between the compaction chamber and the screw assembly through which the crushed material passes to the outlet chamber.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the at least one wear member is configured to be removable in order to adjust the size of the gap between the compaction chamber and the screw assembly.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein the at least one wear member is comprised of a first wear member and a second wear member that are configured to form a ring.
5. The system of claim 2 wherein the compaction chamber is substantially cylindrical along its length.
6. The system of claim 2 wherein the compaction chamber includes a series of longitudinal members secured by at least one securing member along the length of the compaction chamber.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein the at least one securing member is configured to form at least one substantially circular ring such that an interior face of each ring is associated with an exterior face of each longitudinal member.
8. The system of claim 6 wherein the compaction chamber includes a substantially tubular member such that an interior surface of the substantially tubular member is associated with the at least one securing member.
9. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one flow bar situated within at least a portion of an interior face of the compaction chamber to facilitate flow of the material.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein the at least one wear member includes a portion of the at least one flow bar.
11. The system of claim 2 further comprising a drain aperture associated with the compaction chamber.
12. The system of claim 2 further comprising wire mesh associated with at least a portion of an interior face of the compaction chamber.
13. The system of claim 2 wherein the screw assembly includes a flattened portion associated with the portion of the screw assembly that increases in diameter such that the flattened portion facilitates the crushing of materials to a desired thickness.
14. The system of claim 2 further comprising a metering member associated with at least a portion of the screw assembly to regulate the volume of material in the compaction chamber.
15. The system of claim 2 wherein the portion of the screw assembly that increases in diameter is integral with the shaft of the screw assembly.
16. A system for crushing a material, comprising:
a compaction chamber including an inlet chamber at a proximal portion configured to receive the material and an outlet chamber at a distal portion configured to allow crushed material to exit, the compaction chamber further comprising at least one wear member removably associated with the distal portion of the compaction chamber; and
a screw assembly comprising a shaft that generally extends between the proximal and distal portions of the compaction chamber, the shaft comprising a portion that increases in diameter toward the distal portion of the compaction chamber, the shaft further comprising a flattened portion associated with the portion of the screw assembly that increases in diameter;
wherein the at least one wear member extends around the flattened portion of the screw assembly; and
wherein the system is configured to crush the material between the compaction chamber and the screw assembly.
17. A system for crushing a material, comprising:
a compaction chamber including an inlet chamber at a proximal portion configured to receive the material and an outlet chamber at a distal portion configured to allow crushed material to exit, the compaction chamber further comprising at least one wear member removably associated with the distal portion of the compaction chamber; and
a screw assembly comprising a shaft that generally extends between the proximal and distal portions of the compaction chamber, the shaft comprising:
a portion that increases in diameter toward the distal portion of the compaction chamber;
a flight that extends about the portion that increases in diameter such that the height of the flight decreases toward the distal portion of the compaction chamber; and
a flattened portion associated with the portion of the screw assembly that increases in diameter;
wherein the at least one wear member extends around the flattened portion of the screw assembly; and
wherein the system is configured to crush the material between the at least one wear member and the flattened portion of the screw assembly.
18. The system of claim 2 wherein the at least one wear member is comprised of a first wear member and a second wear member that are configured to form a ring.
19. The system of claim 16 wherein said at least one wear member is comprised of a first wear member and a second wear member that are configured to form a ring.
20. The system of claim 16 wherein the at least one wear member is configured to define a gap between the compaction chamber and the screw assembly through which the crushed material passes to the outlet chamber.
21. The system of claim 17 wherein said at least one wear member is comprised of a first wear member and a second wear member that are configured to form a ring.
22. The system of claim 17 wherein the at least one wear member is configured to define a gap between the compaction chamber and the screw assembly through which the crushed material passes to the outlet chamber.