Method for producing a heatable and refrigerable element for a system handling small quantities of liquid, and an element manufactured by the method
First Claim
1. A method for making an element that controls the flow of small amounts of liquid, said element having an inside liquid space and flow channels extending from said space, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a mould having an external shape that corresponds to the inside shape of said element;
depositing metallic materials having predetermined thermal conductivities over all exterior surfaces of the mould to form a shell having a plurality of locations wherein said shell has a predetermined high thermal conductivity and the areas of said shell that are adjacent to said locations are of a predetermined lower thermal conductivity;
extracting said mould from said shell so that said shell defines a liquid space and a plurality of flow channels extending from said liquid space; and
connecting said locations of said shell to a refrigerator and a heater to enable controlled cooling and heating of a liquid within said element at said locations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for producing a heatable and refrigerable element (12) for a system handling small amounts of liquid and to an element manufactured by the method. The element comprises flow channels (11) and one or more liquid spaces (8) communicating with them, the channels being provided with valves (10) connected to a refrigerator (25) and a heater (18), for blocking the channels by freezing the liquid in them. The element (12) is produced by using a removable mould which serves as a substrate for deposition and by depositing one or more metallic materials by electroformation or an equivalent procedure in such a way that the deposited metal forms a shell (5, 7) by removing the mould from inside the shell by dissolving or smelting, and by connecting the shell at the spot of the valves to a refrigerator (25) and a heater (18). The deposition is carried out so that there is a higher thermal conductivity at the spot of the valves (10) than in the adjacent shell areas.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for making an element that controls the flow of small amounts of liquid, said element having an inside liquid space and flow channels extending from said space, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a mould having an external shape that corresponds to the inside shape of said element; depositing metallic materials having predetermined thermal conductivities over all exterior surfaces of the mould to form a shell having a plurality of locations wherein said shell has a predetermined high thermal conductivity and the areas of said shell that are adjacent to said locations are of a predetermined lower thermal conductivity; extracting said mould from said shell so that said shell defines a liquid space and a plurality of flow channels extending from said liquid space; and connecting said locations of said shell to a refrigerator and a heater to enable controlled cooling and heating of a liquid within said element at said locations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for making a device for controlling the flow of small amounts of liquid, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a hollow mould having an elongate central body portion, a first flattened portion adjacent one end of said body portion and a second flattened portion adjacent the opposite end of said body portion, said mould further including a plurality of branches extending from said central body portion between said first and second flattened portions; depositing a first metal having a first thermal conductivity over all exterior surfaces of said mould to form a shell; extracting said mould from said shell so that said shell defines a liquid chamber formed about said central body portion, a pair of constricted inlets formed about said first and second flattened portions, and a plurality of liquid flow channels formed about said branches and positioned between said constricted inlets; and attaching a refrigerating and heating element to said shell adjacent each of said constricted inlets whereby liquid in or flowing through said pair of constricted inlets may be frozen by activating said refrigerating element. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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- 24. An element for use in a system that controls the flow of small quantities of liquid, said element comprising an integral metal shell that defines at least one liquid space having a first end and a second end and a plurality of flow channels that extend from said liquid space between said first and second ends, said shell being connected to a refrigerator and a heater at a plurality of locations wherein said shell has a thermal conductivity that is substantially greater than the thermal conductivity of areas of said shell adjacent to said locations.
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37. A device for controlling the flow of small quantities of liquids comprising:
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a metal shell defining an elongate liquid chamber having first and second ends, a constricted first inlet adjacent said first end of said liquid chamber and a constricted second inlet adjacent said second end of said liquid chamber, said shell including a plurality of tubular flow channels extending from said shell between said first and second ends; and a refrigerating element connected to said shell adjacent said first and second constricted inlets whereby liquid in or flowing through said constricted inlets may be frozen by activating said refrigerating element. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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Specification