Microfluidic pressure sensor
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsNing Ge, Alexander Govyadinov, Anita Rogacs, Viktor Shkolnikov
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A microfluidic pressure sensor may include a reference chamber, a sensed volume, a microfluidic channel connecting an interior of the reference chamber to an interior of the sensed volume, a volume of liquid contained and movable within the microfluidic channel while occluding the microfluidic channel and a sensor to output signals indicating positioning of the volume of liquid along the microfluidic channel. Positioning of the volume of liquid along microfluidic channel indicates a pressure of the sensed volume.
Claims14
A microfluidic pressure sensor comprising:
- a reference chamber;
- a sensed volume containing a sample liquid;
- a microfluidic channel connecting an interior of the reference chamber to an interior of the sensed volume;
- a volume of liquid contained and movable within the microfluidic channel while occluding the microfluidic channel, wherein the liquid is different from the sample liquid;
- an expansion chamber fluidly coupled between the sensed volume and the microfluidic channel, the expansion chamber having a cross-sectional area measured along a first plane that is different than a cross-sectional area of the microfluidic channel measured on a second plane, wherein the first plane and the second plane are parallel and a volume sized to receive the volume of liquid and to inhibit movement of the volume of liquid from the microfluidic channel into the sensed volume;
- and
- a sensor to output signals indicating positioning of the volume of liquid along the microfluidic channel, wherein positioning of the volume of liquid along the microfluidic channel indicates a pressure of the sensed volume.
A method for sensing microfluidic pressure within a sensed microfluidic volume, the method comprising:
- sensing a position of a volume of liquid within a microfluidic channel connecting the sensed volume to a reference chamber;
- and
- determining a pressure of the sensed volume containing a sample liquid based upon the sensed positioning of the volume of liquid along the microfluidic channel, wherein the liquid within the microfluidic channel is different from the sample liquid, wherein the microfluidic channel includes an expansion chamber fluidly coupled between the sensed volume and the microfluidic channel, the expansion chamber having a cross-sectional area measured along a first plane that is different than a cross-sectional area of the microfluidic channel measured on a second plane, wherein the first plane and the second plane are parallel and a volume sized to receive the volume of liquid and to inhibit movement of the volume of liquid from the microfluidic channel into the sensed volume.
A microfluidic chip comprising:
- a first microfluidic channel;
- a first sensor to sense a characteristic of a sample fluid within the first microfluidic channel;
- and
- a microfluidic pressure sensor comprising:
- a reference chamber;
- a second microfluidic channel connecting an interior of the reference chamber to an interior of the first microfluidic channel;
- a volume of liquid contained and movable within the second microfluidic channel while occluding the second microfluidic channel, wherein the volume of liquid is different from the sample fluid;
- an expansion chamber fluidly coupled between the sensed volume and the microfluidic channel, the expansion chamber having a cross-sectional area measured along a first plane that is different than a cross-sectional area of the microfluidic channel measured on a second plane, wherein the first plane and the second plane are parallel and a volume sized to receive the volume of liquid and to inhibit movement of the volume of liquid from the second microfluidic channel into the first microfluidic channel;
- and
- a second sensor to output signals indicating positioning of the volume of liquid along the microfluidic channel, wherein positioning of the volume of liquid along the second microfluidic channel indicates a pressure of the first microfluidic channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.