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US 5,992,820 AGranted
Flow control in microfluidics devices by controlled bubble formation
AssigneeSarnoff Corporation
InventorsThomas Louis Fare, Zhonghui Hugh Fan, Paul James Heaney
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided is a fluid control device comprising: (a) a channel of capillary dimensions for conveying a liquid, (b) a bubble-forming device for forming a channel-blocking bubble in the channel, wherein such a bubble formed in the channel impedes the flow of the liquid through the channel.
Claims14
A fluid control device comprising:
- (a) a channel of capillary dimensions for conveying a liquid;
- (b) a bubble-forming device for forming a channel-blocking bubble in the channel comprising two or more electrodes which operate, when sufficient voltage is applied to the electrodes, to form the bubble, wherein such a bubble formed in the channel impedes the flow of the liquid through the channel.
A method of creating a diffusion barrier between segments of a liquid in a channel of capillary dimensions comprising:
- operating a bubble-forming device for forming multiple channel-traversing bubbles in the channel to separate multiple segments of liquid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.