FLUIDIC VALVE HAVING A BI-PHASE VALVE ELEMENT

• Main Authors: STEVENS RANDALL, HUI LIU ROBIN, BONANNO JUSTIN J, GRODZINSKI PIOTR
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 15.01.2004
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: ACTUATING-FLOATS; BLASTING; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE; COCKS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING; ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; FLUID-CIRCUIT ELEMENTS PREDOMINANTLY USED FOR COMPUTING ORCONTROL PURPOSES; FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVEFUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; HEATING; HYDRAULICS OR PNEUMATICS IN GENERAL; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; LIGHTING; MEASURING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PHYSICS; TAPS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TESTING; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL; TRANSPORTING; VALVES; WEAPONS

A fluidic valve (125, 300, 500, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300) switches a state of flow of a fluid in a fluid communication channel of a fluid guiding structure (505). Heating a bi-phase valve element (515, 1065, 1215) causes a change a state of the bi-phase valve element from a high viscosity state to a low viscosity state. A bi-phase valve element that clogs the fluid communication channel can be pushed into an expanded portion (135, 320, 520, 915, 1220) of the fluid communication channel by an application of pressure to the fluid while the bi-phase valve element is in the low viscosity state, unclogging the fluid communication channel. A bi-phase valve element can be pushed from a valve element source chamber (550, 1250) into the fluid communication channel by using a pumped fluid entering the source chamber at a pump inlet (551) while the bi-phase valve element is in the low viscosity state, clogging the fluid communication channel.