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US 12,741,279 B2Granted
Microfluidic liquid delivery device
AssigneeAstraveus
InventorsJérémie Laurent, Xue Hou
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A liquid delivery device that includes a channel having an inner section lower than 9 mm2 and inner volume lower than 50 mL, a gas mass flowmeter connected to the inlet of the channel, and a pressure control unit suitable to control pressure inside the channel by flowing gas through the gas flowmeter.
Claims17
A liquid delivery device comprising:
- i. a channel suitable to contain a liquid to be delivered, said channel having an inner section lower than 9 mm2 and an inner volume Vchannel lower than 5·10−5 m3, said channel having an inlet, an outlet and a valve;
- ii. a gas mass flowmeter connected to the inlet of said channel, the gas mass flowmeter being configured to measure accurately the mass of gas flowing through itself;
- and
- iii. a pressure control unit configured to control pressure inside said channel by flowing gas through said gas mass flowmeter
- wherein the pressure control unit is configured:
- a. to control pressure inside the channel by flowing gas through the gas mass flowmeter;
- b. to determine continuously volume of liquid delivered by estimating the volume of liquid delivered to be equal to the volume of gas flowing through the gas mass flowmeter, wherein the volume of gas flowing through the gas mass flowmeter is calculated from a measured mass flow of gas flowing through the gas mass flowmeter by using an equation of state of gas;
- and
- c. to deliver liquid with a closed-loop control according to a predetermined flowrate delivery profile over time.
6 more elements
A method of liquid delivery comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a channel having an inlet, an outlet, a valve, a section lower than 9 mm2 and an inner volume Vchannel lower than 5.105 m3, the inlet of said channel being connected to a gas mass flowmeter and said channel containing gas on an inlet side and a liquid to be delivered on an outlet side;
- b) setting a pressure in the channel with a pressure control unit so that liquid is delivered from the channel through the outlet;
- c) measuring the mass of gas introduced in the channel through the inlet with a gas mass flowmeter;
- and
- d) determining a volume of liquid delivered using an equation of state of gas.
2 more elements
A method of liquid aspiration comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a channel having an inlet, an outlet, a valve, a section lower than 9 mm2 and an inner volume Vchannel lower than 5·10−5 m3, the inlet of said channel being connected to a gas mass flowmeter and said channel containing gas on an inlet side and the liquid to be delivered on the outlet side;
- b. setting a pressure in the channel with a pressure control unit so that liquid is aspirated into the channel through the outlet;
- c. measuring the mass of gas withdrawn from the channel through the inlet with the gas mass flowmeter;
- and
- d. determining a volume of liquid aspired using an equation of state of gas.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.