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US 6,361,284 B1Granted
Vibrating membrane fluid circulator
OwnerJean-Baptiste Drevetinventor
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OwnerJean-Baptiste Drevetinventor
Estimating the term…
A vibrating membrane fluid circulator comprising an internal hydraulic circuit made up in succession of an admission orifice (1), a pump body (2), and a delivery orifice (3), the pump body (2) defining, in operation, a space (4, 18, 30) having rigid walls (5, 6) between which a deformable membrane (9) is placed having means for coupling its end (11) adjacent to the admission orifice to a motor member (39) generating a periodic excitation force substantially normally to the surface thereof, said membrane (9) being associated with means for creating tension parallel to the fluid circulation direction, said membrane constituting the medium for waves travelling from the end subjected to the excitation force towards its opposite end situated adjacent to the delivery orifice, said displacement being accompanied by forced damping due to the shape of the rigid walls so as to transfer energy from the membrane to the fluid giving rise to a pressure gradient and to fluid flow related to the dimensions of the pump body and of the membrane, the shape and the spacing of the rigid walls, the mechanical characteristics of the membrane, and the characteristics of its excitation and its tension state.
A membrane fluid circulator comprising an internal hydraulic circuit made up in succession of an admission orifice, a pump body and a delivery orifice wherein the pump body has rigid walls defining therebetween a circulation space for the fluid with a deformable membrane maintained in tension parallel to the fluid circulation direction and located in said circulation space, said rigid walls being disk-shaped with said delivery orifice arranged at the center of at least one of said walls and said deformable membrane being disk-shaped, said membrane having an edge near to said admission orifice and provided with means for coupling to a motor member generating a periodic excitation force substantially normally to the surface of said membrane, said membrane constituting a medium for waves traveling from said admission orifice to said delivery orifice, and wherein the thickness of said circulation space is decreasing from said admission orifice to said delivery orifice for acting as forced damping means of the waves along said membrane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.