CARBON NANOTUBE-BASED GAS VALVE
First Claim
1. A valve for controlling flow of a gas, comprising:
- a valve housing;
a block of aligned carbon nanotubes, said block and said valve housing being configured to direct said gas through the carbon nanotubes in said block; and
a device for applying a force to compress said block of aligned carbon nanotubes, wherein said block of aligned carbon nanotubes is compressed perpendicular to the walls of the carbon nanotubes in said block;
whereby the application of said force to said walls restricts the flow of said gas through said valve.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Precise control over gas delivery is achieved at the micro and nanobar mass levels by incorporating blocks of aligned carbon nanotubes into valves and finely adjusting the flow through the block by controlling a compressing force applied to the block. A valve for controlling gas flow includes: a valve housing; a block of aligned carbon nanotubes, the block and the valve housing being configured to direct the gas through the carbon nanotubes in the block; and a device configured to apply a force to the block in order to compress the block, wherein the block is compressed perpendicular to the walls of the carbon nanotubes in the block; whereby the application of the force to the walls restricts the flow of the gas through the valve. The valve may further comprise an electrical device for monitoring the electrical properties of the carbon nanotube block. This monitoring provides information on the state of compression of the carbon nanotube block and/or the gas that is flowing through the valve.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A valve for controlling flow of a gas, comprising:
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a valve housing; a block of aligned carbon nanotubes, said block and said valve housing being configured to direct said gas through the carbon nanotubes in said block; and a device for applying a force to compress said block of aligned carbon nanotubes, wherein said block of aligned carbon nanotubes is compressed perpendicular to the walls of the carbon nanotubes in said block; whereby the application of said force to said walls restricts the flow of said gas through said valve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 22, 23)
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14. A method of controlling gas flow comprising the steps of:
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maintaining gas at constant pressure on the intake side of a gas valve; restricting gas to flow through a block of aligned carbon nanotubes in said gas valve, wherein the direction of flow is parallel to the long axes of the carbon nanotubes in said block; and controlling a compressive force applied to said block, said compressive force being applied approximately perpendicularly to the long axes of the carbon nanotubes in said block, whereby the application of said force to said block restricts the flow of said gas through said valve. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24)
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25. A valve for controlling flow of a gas, comprising:
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a valve housing; a block of aligned carbon nanotubes, said block and said valve housing being configured to direct said gas through the carbon nanotubes in said block; and first and second electrodes on opposing sides of said block, said electrodes being planar and roughly parallel to the walls of the carbon nanotubes in said block; wherein between said first and second electrodes and said block are corresponding first and second piezoelectric layers.
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Specification