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US 2004/0144421 A1Published application
Non-mechanical valves for fluidic systems
AssigneeCaliper Technologies Corp.
InventorsJ. Wallace Parce, Andrea W. Chow
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods devices and systems that employ non-mechanical valve modules for controllably directing fluid and other material movement through integrated microscale channel networks. These non-mechanical valve modules apply forces that counter the driving forces existing through a given channel segment, via fluidly connected channel segments, so as to selectively arrest flow of material within the given channel segment.
Claims1
A method of controlling material flow in a microscale channel, comprising:
- providing a first channel segment having first and second ends, a second channel segment communicating with the first channel segment at a first fluid junction, the first fluid junction being disposed between the first and second ends of the first channel segment, and a third channel segment communicating with the first channel segment at a second fluid junction, the second fluid junction being disposed between the first fluid junction and the second end of the first channel segment;
- applying a differential driving force between the first and second ends of the first channel segment;
- and
- selectively applying a second differential driving force through the second channel segment that is sufficient to substantially eliminate a differential driving force between the first end of the first channel segment and the first fluid junction, and selectively applying a third differential driving force through the third channel segment sufficient to substantially eliminate a differential driving force between the second fluid junction and the second end of the first channel segment.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.