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:
Jan. 18, 2005
Filed:
Jul. 30, 2003
Phillip W. Barth, Portola Valley, CA (US);
George E. Yefchak, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Phillip W. Barth, Portola Valley, CA (US);
George E. Yefchak, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Agilent Techinologies, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention is directed to methods and apparatus for removing a gaseous bubble confined in a microvolume of liquid in a chamber. A source of liquid, a barrier region and an exit region are provided in fluid communication with the chamber. The source of liquid has an energy potential as regards movement of the gaseous bubble that is higher than the energy potential of the barrier region, the barrier region has a higher energy potential than the chamber, and the chamber has a higher energy potential than the exit region. The energy potential is reduced within the chamber, the source of liquid, the barrier region, and the exit region by an amount such that the energy within the gaseous bubble is sufficient to displace the gaseous bubble from the chamber through the barrier region and out the exit region and to fill the chamber with the liquid from the source.