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:
Sep. 20, 2016
Filed:
May. 23, 2013
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL (US);
Joshua D. Tice, Urbana, IL (US);
Thomas A. Bassett, Bourbannais, IL (US);
Amit V. Desai, Urbana, IL (US);
Christopher A. Apblett, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Paul J. A. Kenis, Champaign, IL (US);
The Board of Trustees of the University Of Illinois, Urbana, IL (US);
Sandia Corporation, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Abstract
An electrostatic actuator is provide that can include a fluidic line, a first electrode, and a second electrode such that a gate chamber portion of the fluidic line is sandwiched between the first electrode and the second electrode. The electrostatic actuator can also include a pressure-balancing channel in fluid communication with the gate chamber portion where the first electrode is sandwiched between the pressure-balancing channel and the gate chamber portion. A pneumatic valve system is provided which includes an electrostatic gate and a fluidic channel fluidly separate from a fluidic control line. A pneumatic valve portion of the fluidic control line can be positioned relative to a portion of the fluidic channel such that expansion of the pneumatic valve portion restricts fluid flow through the fluidic channel. Methods of using an electrostatic actuator and a pneumatic valve system are also provided.