The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 29, 2002
Filed:
Sep. 25, 2000
Yu-Chong Tai, Pasadena, CA (US);
Xuan-Qi Wang, Los Angeles, CA (US);
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (US);
Abstract
In an embodiment, a check valve assembly may include an in-channel check valve connected between the front and rear portions of a channel attached to a silicon substrate. The channel may have a width between about 10 &mgr;m and about 400 &mgr;m, and the check valve may have a width between about 50 &mgr;m and about 500 &mgr;m. The check valve may be generally circular in shape. The check valve may also be normally closed, that is, sealed in the absence of a pressure differential between the front and rear portions of the channel. The check valve may include a sealing cap that contacts a valve seat to seal the valve. The sealing cap and the valve seat may each be formed from Parylene C membranes that are about 1 &mgr;m to about 5 &mgr;m thick. The valve seat may include a metal layer to separate the contacting surfaces of the valve seat and the sealing cap in the closed position. The check valve may open for forward pressures that match or exceed a threshold pressure and remain closed for forward pressures below the threshold pressure and reverse pressures.