Piezoelectric fluid pump
First Claim
1. A compact, high capacity pump, comprising:
- A) an inlet port and an outlet port, B) a fluid chamber, C) a first one-way valve located flow wise between said inlet port and said fluid chamber, D) a second one-way valve located flow wise between said fluid chamber and said outlet port, E) a piezoelectric stack, F) a diaphragm separating said piezoelectric stack and said fluid chamber, and G) a power source for providing periodically varying voltage signals to said piezoelectric stack to cause expansion and contraction of said piezoelectric stack to produce fluid flow from said inlet port to said outlet port.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A compact, high capacity pump for pumping fluid. A first one-way valve is between an inlet port and the pump'"'"'s fluid chamber. A second one-way valve is between the pump'"'"'s fluid chamber and an outlet port. A diaphragm separates a piezoelectric stack from the fluid chamber. A power source provides power to the piezoelectric stack causing it to expand and contract. The expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric stack causes fluid to be pumped from the inlet port to the fluid chamber through the first one-way valve and causes fluid to be pumped from the fluid chamber to the outlet port through the second one-way valve. In one preferred embodiment, both one-way valves are disc valves. In another preferred embodiment both one-way valves are MEMS valves.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A compact, high capacity pump, comprising:
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A) an inlet port and an outlet port, B) a fluid chamber, C) a first one-way valve located flow wise between said inlet port and said fluid chamber, D) a second one-way valve located flow wise between said fluid chamber and said outlet port, E) a piezoelectric stack, F) a diaphragm separating said piezoelectric stack and said fluid chamber, and G) a power source for providing periodically varying voltage signals to said piezoelectric stack to cause expansion and contraction of said piezoelectric stack to produce fluid flow from said inlet port to said outlet port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19)
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10. A compact, high capacity pump, comprising:
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A) an inlet port means and an outlet port means, B) a fluid chamber means, C) a first one-way valve means located flow wise between said inlet port means and said fluid chamber means, D) a second one-way valve means located flow wise between said fluid chamber means and said outlet port means, E) a piezoelectric stack means, F) a diaphragm means separating said piezoelectric stack means and said fluid chamber means, and G) a power source means for providing periodically varying voltage signals to said piezoelectric stack means to cause expansion and contraction of said piezoelectric stack means to produce fluid flow from said inlet port means to said outlet port means. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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20. A method for pumping fluid, comprising the steps of:
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A) connecting a compact high capacity pump to a power source, said pump comprising;
1) an inlet port and an outlet port 2) a fluid chamber, 3) a first one-way valve located flow wise between said inlet port and said fluid chamber, 4) a second one-way valve located flow wise between said fluid chamber and said outlet port, 5) a piezoelectric stack, 6) a diaphragm separating said piezoelectric stack and said fluid chamber, B) utilizing said power source to provide periodically varying voltage signals to said piezoelectric stack to cause expansion and contraction of said piezoelectric stack to produce fluid flow from said inlet port to said outlet port.
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Specification