Micromotors, linear motors and microactuators for controlling flow properties of fluids
First Claim
1. A micromotor comprising a container filled with an electro-sensitive movable fluid, a lid closing the container by being engaged with an open top of the container, a rotating shaft borne by a shaft hole provided at the center of the lid and a bearing section provided at the center of a bottom of the container, a rotator fixed to the rotating shaft and rotatable together with the rotating shaft, and electrodes arranged on an upper surface of the bottom of the container and/or a lower surface of the lid of the container in such a manner that the electrodes are in contact with the electro-sensitive movable fluid, wherein the electrodes produce a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid upon application of a voltage, and wherein the diameter of the rotator is larger than the maximum thickness of the rotator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The use of an electro-sensitive movable fluid, that is, a micromotor, a linear motor, a micropump and a method of using the micropump, a microactuator, and an apparatus which these devices are applied to, and a method and apparatus of controlling flow properties of a fluid.
45 Citations
14 Claims
- 1. A micromotor comprising a container filled with an electro-sensitive movable fluid, a lid closing the container by being engaged with an open top of the container, a rotating shaft borne by a shaft hole provided at the center of the lid and a bearing section provided at the center of a bottom of the container, a rotator fixed to the rotating shaft and rotatable together with the rotating shaft, and electrodes arranged on an upper surface of the bottom of the container and/or a lower surface of the lid of the container in such a manner that the electrodes are in contact with the electro-sensitive movable fluid, wherein the electrodes produce a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid upon application of a voltage, and wherein the diameter of the rotator is larger than the maximum thickness of the rotator.
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5. A micromotor comprising a container filled with an electro-sensitive movable fluid, a lid closing the container by being engaged with an open top of the container, a rotating shaft borne by a shaft hole provided at the center of the lid and a bearing section provided at the center of a bottom of the container, a rotator fixed to the rotating shaft and rotatable together with the rotating shaft, and electrodes which produce a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid upon application of a voltage, wherein the diameter of the rotator is larger than the maximum thickness of the rotator, wherein the electrodes are arranged on the upper surface of the rotator and/or the lower surface of the rotator, and wherein the ratio between the height of the container and the diameter of the rotator is from about 1:
- 1 to 1;
500.
- 1 to 1;
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6. A micromotor comprising a container filled with an electro-sensitive movable fluid, a lid closing the container by being engaged with an open top of the container, a rotating shaft borne by a shaft hole provided at the center of the lid and a bearing section provided at the center of a bottom of the container, a rotator fixed to the rotating shaft and rotatable together with the rotating shaft, and electrodes which produce a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid upon application of a voltage, wherein the diameter of the rotator is larger than the maximum thickness of the rotator, and wherein the ratio between the height of the container and the diameter of the rotator is from about 1:
- 1 to 1;
500.
- 1 to 1;
- 7. A micromotor comprising a housing including a container filled with an electro-sensitive movable fluid and closed by a lid, an open-bottom rotor formed from a cylindrical body whose bottom is made open so as to allow the electro-sensitive movable fluid to enter, the rotor rotating by detecting a motion of the electro-sensitive movable fluid that is moved upon application of a voltage, a rotating shaft to rotatably fit the rotor to the housing, and plural electrodes arranged on at least one surface selected from the group consisting of an outer surface of the open-bottom rotor, an inner surface thereof, an inner wall surface of the housing and a wall surface of the bottom of the housing, the plural electrodes providing a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid upon application of the voltage, wherein the rotor is rotatably fitted to the housing through the rotating shaft and at least one bearing means.
- 9. A linear motor comprising an electro-sensitive movable fluid, a container which is a closed container containing the electro-sensitive movable fluid, a driving shaft extended from the container, a moving member which is linearly moved in the container together with the driving shaft by virtue of a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid, and at least one pair of electrodes which produce the jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid upon application of a voltage, wherein the container includes an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder, the electrodes are arranged between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder and function to form an ununiform electric field in the electro-sensitive movable fluid, and the jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid produced between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder upon application of a voltage between the electrodes is introduced into the inner cylinder to thereby move the moving member in the inner cylinder.
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11. A linear motor comprising an electro-sensitive movable fluid, a container which is a closed container containing the electro-sensitive movable fluid, a driving shaft extended from the container, a moving member which is linearly moved in the container together with the driving shaft by virtue of a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid, and at least one pair of electrodes which produce the jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid upon application of a voltage, wherein the container includes an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder, said at least one pair of electrodes are arranged in the inner cylinder and function to form an ununiform electric field in the electro-sensitive movable fluid and the moving member which is moved with the jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid produced upon application of a voltage between the electrodes is arranged between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder, and the moving member is united to the driving shaft extended from the container.
- 12. A linear motor comprising an electro-sensitive movable fluid, a container which is a closed container containing the electro-sensitive movable fluid, a driving shaft extended from the container, a moving member which is linearly moved in the container together with the driving shaft by virtue of a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid, and at least one pair of electrodes which produce the jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid upon application of a voltage, wherein the moving member comprises at least one pair of porous members through which the electro-sensitive movable fluid is able to pass, the pair of porous members are electrically insulated from each other and are fixed to the driving shaft, and an ununiform electric field is formed in the electro-sensitive movable fluid by applying a voltage to the porous members to thereby produce a jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid, whereby the porous members are moved together with the driving shaft in the container by virtue of the reaction of the jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid.
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14. A microactuator comprising an expansion pump chamber, suction and discharge valves to suction and discharge a liquid from and to the outside by expansion and contraction of the expansion pump chamber, an expansion driving member made of a shape-memory alloy which is contacted by an electric power supply to expand or contract the expansion pump chamber, and a micropump comprising an electro-sensitive movable fluid and at least two electrodes which are arranged in such a manner that the electro-sensitive movable fluid is moved in the direction of one electrode to the other electrode upon application of a voltage to produce a jet flow, said microactuator serving to cool the shape-memory alloy with the jet flow of the electro-sensitive movable fluid produced by the micropump.
Specification