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:
Nov. 10, 2015
Filed:
Aug. 28, 2014
Nathan B. Crane, Lutz, FL (US);
Qi NI, St. Petersburg, FL (US);
Nathan B. Crane, Lutz, FL (US);
Qi Ni, St. Petersburg, FL (US);
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, Tampa, FL (US);
Abstract
An electrowetting system and method for the movement of a droplet across the surface of a substrate, utilizing an applied voltage. The actuation of the droplet is achieved by introducing a diode into the idealized electrical circuit of the electrowetting system. The diode is in parallel with a capacitor (dielectric) and effectively shorts the droplet on the side of a lower potential electrode so that the entire voltage drop is across the dielectric over the higher potential electrode. This difference in potential creates an energy imbalance that is effective in moving the droplet towards the higher potential electrode. If the voltage polarity is reversed, the direction of actuation will also be reversed.