1-166. (canceled)
167. An apparatus for dispensing biological particles in a liquid medium onto a deposition area of a substrate in a desired two-dimensional pattern comprising:
a substrate having a planar surface with a movable target zone, the movable target zone having a trajectory;
a dispenser for biological particles in a liquid medium, the dispenser having an aperture and configured to direct the biological particles through the aperture and to deposit the biological particles in the movable target zone; and
a controller to control at least one of the dispenser and the substrate to produce the desired two-dimensional pattern by moving the movable target zone along the trajectory while the dispenser is dispensing biological particles.
168. The apparatus of claim 167, wherein the dispenser is an aerosolizer or a nebulizer.
169. The apparatus of claim 168, wherein the dispenser is a spray brush.
170. The apparatus of claim 167, further comprising a substrate rotator, configured to rotate the substrate about the central axis while the dispenser is dispensing biological particles.
171. A method for dispensing biological particles in a liquid medium onto a substrate in a desired two-dimensional pattern, comprising the steps of:
introducing the biological particles in a liquid medium into a particle dispenser having an aperture;
dispensing the solution comprising biological particles through the aperture and toward a movable target zone on the substantially planar surface of the substrate, said movable target zone having a center;
guiding the center of the movable target zone along a path on the substantially planar surface while the dispenser is dispensing biological particles to produce the desired two-dimensional pattern.
172. The method of claim 171, wherein the dispensing step comprises spray-brushing.
173. The method of claim 171, wherein the path of the movable target zone defines a deposition area, and further comprising the step of achieving a biological particle packing density of greater than about 70% in at least a substantial portion of said deposition area.
174. The method of claim 171, wherein the particles are deposited in a monolayer over at least a substantial portion of the deposition area.
175. The method of claim 171, wherein the biological particles are cells.
176. The of claim 171, wherein the step of guiding the center of the movable target zone along a path comprises rotating the substrate about a central axis perpendicular to the planar surface of the substrate.
177. A method for inspecting biological particles disposed within a liquid solution, comprising the steps of:
introducing a liquid solution comprising biological particles into a biological particle dispenser having an aperture;
dispensing the liquid solution through the aperture and toward a movable target zone on the substantially planar surface of the substrate, said movable target zone having a center;
guiding the center of the movable target zone along a path on the substantially planar surface while the dispenser is dispensing biological particles, so as to produce a two-dimensional pattern of biological particles deposited on the planar surface of the substrate.
inspecting at least a portion of the biological particles deposited on the planar surface of the substrate
178. The method of claim 177, wherein the dispensing step comprises the use of a spray brush.
179. The method of claim 177, wherein the path of the movable target zone defines a deposition area, and further comprising the step of achieving a biological particle packing density of greater than about 70% over at least a substantial portion of said deposition area.
180. The method of claim 177, wherein the path of the movable target zone defines a deposition area, and further comprising the step of depositing the biological particles in a monolayer over at least a substantial portion of the deposition area.
181. The method of claim 180, wherein the biological particles are cells.
182. The method of claim 181, wherein the inspecting comprises imaging the cells.
183. The method of claim 182, wherein the inspecting comprises performing cellular astronomy.
184. The method as claimed in claim 183, wherein the performing cellular astronomy comprises using a magnification of less than about 4 times.
185. The method of claim 177, wherein the step of guiding the center of the movable target zone along a path comprises rotating the substrate about a central axis perpendicular to the plane of the planar surface of the substrate.
186. A method for inspecting an analyte disposed on a substrate, comprising the steps of:
introducing a liquid solution comprising particles into a particle dispenser having an aperture;
dispensing the liquid solution through the aperture and toward a movable target zone on the substantially planar surface of the substrate, said movable target zone having a center;
guiding the center of the movable target zone along a path on the substantially planar surface while the dispenser is dispensing particles, so as to produce a two-dimensional pattern of particles deposited on the planar surface of the substrate;
contacting the deposited particles with a solution comprising an analyte; and
inspecting at least a portion surface of the substrate for said analyte.
187. The method as claimed in claim 186, wherein the particles are biological capture beads and the analyte is a biological material.
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 spark plug for an internal combustion engine comprising:
a metal shell having a base end and a top end opposed to the base end in a lengthwise direction of the spark plug;
a hollow porcelain insulator having a length which includes a body and an insulator nose, the body being retained within said metal shell, the insulator nose projecting from the top end of said metal shell;
a center electrode retained within said porcelain insulator to have a top end protruding from the insulator nose;
a main ground electrode which defines a main spark gap between itself and said center electrode; and
an auxiliary ground electrode having a base end surface, a top end surface opposed to the base end surface, and an inner side surface extending between the base end surface and the top end surface, the base end surface engaging and directly being joined to said metal shell to orient the inner side surface to said center electrode,
wherein the inner side surface of said auxiliary ground electrode defines an auxiliary spark gap between itself and the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator so as to occupy a minimum distance between said porcelain insulator and said auxiliary ground electrode,
wherein the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator has a wall thickness T meeting a relation of 0.3 mm\u2266T\u22660.7 mm, and
wherein the inner side surface of said auxiliary ground electrode has an area which defines the auxiliary spark gap between itself and an outer peripheral side surface of the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator, the area having a length E in an axial direction of said porcelain insulator which meets a relation of E\u22670.5 mm.
2. A spark plug as set forth in claim 1, wherein the main spark gap has a length X, and the auxiliary spark gap has a length Y, the lengths X and Y meeting a relation of X>Y.
3. A spark plug as set forth in claim 2, wherein the lengths X and Y also meet relations of X\u22660.9 mm and 0.3 mm\u2266Y\u2266X\u22120.1 mm.
4. A spark plug as set forth in claim 1, wherein a minimum distance D between a top end surface of said center electrode and the top end surface of said auxiliary ground electrode meets a relation of D>T+Y.
5. A spark plug as set forth in claim 1, wherein the inner side surface of said auxiliary ground electrode has an area which defines the auxiliary spark gap between itself and the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator, and a distance A between the top end of said metal shell and a top end of said center electrode along an axial direction of the spark plug and a distance C between the top end of said metal shell and a center of the area of the inner side surface of said auxiliary ground electrode in the axial direction of the spark plug have a relation of A\u2212C\u22663 mm.
6. A spark plug as set forth in claim 1, wherein said center electrode and said main ground electrode have noble metal chips opposed to each other to define the main spark gap, the noble metal chip of said center electrode having a transverse sectional area of 0.07 mm2 to 0.64 mm2, as extends in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the spark plug, and a height of 0.3 mm to 1.5 mm, as extends in the axial direction of the spark plug, the noble metal chip of said main ground electrode having a transverse sectional area of 0.12 mm2 to 0.80 mm2, as extends in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the spark plug, and a height of 0.3 mm to 1.5 mm, as extends in the axial direction of the spark plug.
7. A spark plug as set forth in claim 1, wherein said metal shell has a threaded portion formed on an outer periphery thereof which has a thread diameter of M12 or less.
8. A spark plug as set forth in claim 1, wherein said auxiliary ground electrode includes a slant section and a parallel section, the parallel section being defined to extend in parallel to a plane of an outer side wall of the insulator nose and the slant section extending in a direction diagonally inwardly toward an axis of said center electrode.
9. A spark plug as set forth in claim 1, wherein said auxiliary ground electrode includes a slant section and a parallel section, the slant section extending from the base end surface diagonally inwardly toward said center electrode, the parallel section extending parallel to an outer side wall of the insulator nose.
10. A spark plug as set forth in claim 1, wherein said auxiliary ground electrode includes a parallel section and a slant section, the parallel section extending from a top end of said metal shell in parallel to an outer side wall of the insulator nose, the slant section continuing from the parallel section and being oriented diagonally inwardly toward said center electrode, wherein the auxiliary spark gap is defined between the slant section and a top corner of the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator.
11. A spark plug for an internal combustion engine comprising:
a metal shell having a base end and a top end opposed to the base end in a lengthwise direction of the spark plug;
a hollow porcelain insulator having a length which includes a body and an insulator nose, the body being retained within said metal shell, the insulator nose projecting from the top end of said metal shell;
a center electrode retained within said porcelain insulator to have a top end protruding from the insulator nose;
a main around electrode which defines a main spark gap between itself and said center electrode;
an auxiliary ground electrode having a base end surface, a top end surface opposed to the base end surface, and an inner side surface extending between the base end surface and the top end surface, the base end surface engaging and directly being joined to said metal shell to orient the inner side surface to said center electrode,
wherein the inner side surface of said auxiliary ground electrode defines an auxiliary spark gap between itself and the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator so as to occupy a minimum distance between said porcelain insulator and said auxiliary ground electrode,
wherein the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator has a wall thickness T meeting a relation of 0.3 mm\u2266T\u22660.7 mm, and
wherein the inner side surface of said auxiliary ground electrode defines the auxiliary spark gap between itself and an opposed top end corner of the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator.
12. A spark plug as set forth in claim 11, wherein the main spark gap has a length X, and the auxiliary spark gap has a length Y, the lengths X and Y meeting a relation of X>Y.
13. A spark plug as set forth in claim 12, wherein the lengths X and Y also meet relations of X\u22660.9 mm and 0.3 mm\u2266Y\u2266X\u22120.1 mm.
14. A spark plug as set forth in claim 11, wherein a minimum distance D between a top end surface of said center electrode and the top end surface of said auxiliary ground electrode meets a relation of D>T+Y.
15. A spark plug as set forth in claim 11, wherein the inner side surface of said auxiliary ground electrode has an area which defines the auxiliary spark gap between itself and the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator, and a distance A between the top end of said metal shell and a top end of said center electrode along an axial direction of the spark plug and a distance C between the top end of said metal shell and a center of the area of the inner side surface of said auxiliary ground electrode in the axial direction of the spark plug have a relation of A\u2212C\u22663 mm.
16. A spark plug as set forth in claim 11, wherein said center electrode and said main ground electrode have noble metal chips opposed to each other to define the main spark gap, the noble metal chip of said center electrode having a transverse sectional area of 0.07 mm2 to 0.64 mm2, as extends in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the spark plug, and a height of 0.3 mm to 1.5 mm, as extends in the axial direction of the spark plug, the noble metal chip of said main ground electrode having a transverse sectional area of 0.12 mm2 to 0.80 mm2, as extends in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the spark plug, and a height of 0.3 mm to 1.5 mm, as extends in the axial direction of the spark plug.
17. A spark plug as set forth in claim 11, wherein said metal shell has a threaded portion formed on an outer periphery thereof which has a thread diameter of M12 or less.
18. A spark plug as set forth in claim 11, wherein said auxiliary ground electrode includes a slant section and a parallel section, the parallel section being defined to extend in parallel to a plane of an outer side wall of the insulator nose and the slant section extending in a direction diagonally inwardly toward an axis of said center electrode.
19. A spark plug as set forth in claim 11, wherein said auxiliary ground electrode includes a parallel section and a slant section, the parallel section extending from a top end of said metal shell in parallel to an outer side wall of the insulator nose, the slant section continuing from the parallel section and being oriented diagonally inwardly toward said center electrode, wherein the auxiliary spark gap is defined between the slant section and a top corner of the insulator nose of said porcelain insulator.