This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 101103395, filed on Feb. 2, 2012. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
The disclosure generally relates to a fluidics pumping device.
Recently, fluidics pumping devices, for instance water pumps, liquid-circulating systems, cooling systems or the like, are extensively applied in our daily lives. Ordinary water pumps with different functional requirements are respectively applied in high buildings and bungalows. Even though designs capable of operating and withstanding higher fluid pressure are needed in a higher number of floors, a variation in a certain range of flow rate, fluid pressure and flow velocity is still acceptable; however, in the application of chemical analysis and inspection, a small and stable flow rate is required instead.
In the application of cell or tissue culture of biomedical field, the survival rate of cells can just be greatly increased in bionic growing environments. For example, rather than an ordinary two-dimensional culture environment of a culture dish, growing multilayer hepatocytes in a flowing culture solution provides a bionic growing environment, wherein the cultivated cells react as living hepatocytes. However, hepatocytes are fragile and hard to cultivate, therefore a stable bionic growing environment under low fluid pressure (less than 15 psi) and low flow rate (10 to 150 uL/min) is required. A great change of fluid pressure or flow rate in the circulation of culture solution may lead to a fluid shear stress which damages or even kills the cultivated cells.
A conventional compression-type fluidics pumping device is provided with an axle and plural rollers in a channel, wherein the rollers surrounds the axle. The liquid in the channel can be compressed and propelled by the rollers as rotating the axle. However, though a continuous flow can be obtained by the above compression-type fluidics pumping device, high fluid pressure and the variation of flow rate and fluid pressure are still unavoidable and may result in an undesirable flow impulse.
The disclosure provides a fluidics pumping device including a body and a driving assembly. The body has a chamber, a channel, an inlet and an outlet. The channel passes through the chamber and connects the inlet and the outlet. The driving assembly is disposed in the chamber and has a contact surface exposed in the channel. The contact surface is adapted to move along an extension direction of the channel to drive a fluid in the channel.
In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the disclosure more comprehensible, embodiments accompanying figures are described in detail below.
The accompanying drawings constituting a part of this specification are incorporated herein to provide a further understanding of the disclosure. Here, the drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
In the fluidics pumping device of the disclosure, the fluid in the channel can be stably and continuously driven via the contact surface of the driving assembly from the inlet to the outlet. Specifically, the fluidics pumping device of the disclosure can be used in chemical analysis and inspection, or in cell or tissue culture of biomedical field, to provide a continuous micro-fluidics driving effect without flow impulse.
In the embodiment of the disclosure, the width of the channel 120 is larger than or equal to 0.1 mm, and smaller than or equal to 3 mm, and thus the present embodiment is adapted to the micro-channel application. For a better fluid driving performance of the contact surface 210 of the driving assembly 200, the inner surface 112 of the chamber 110 can be hydrophobic or smooth to reduce the drag force to the fluid. On the contrary, the contact surface 210 of the driving assembly 200 can be hydrophilic or rough or being provided with a plurality of micro-structures, to increase the driving force to the fluid.
In the embodiment of the disclosure, the driving assembly 200 includes a rotor 220. An outer surface 222 of the rotor 220 serving as the contact surface 210 is spaced from the inner surface 112 of the chamber 110 in a distance to form the channel 120. The rotor 220 is a cylinder, for example, and a shaft 224 of the rotor 220 passes through the centers of two end surfaces of the cylinder. The shaft 224 substantially penetrates the chamber 110 of the body 100, and the top terminal of the shaft 224 props against the body 100. In order to prevent liquid leakage, the position of the body 100 where the shaft 224 passes for entering the chamber 110 is sealed by an O-ring or an oil-seal. The connection manner between the shaft and the body is not limited herein, and the O-ring or the oil-seal can further be replaced by any other elements having similar functions. A portion of the lateral surface (the peripheral surface) of the cylinder is exposed in the channel 120 to serve as the contact surface 210. Besides the rotor 220, the fluidics pumping device 10 further includes a driving motor 230 located outside the body 100, and the driving motor 230 is connected to the rotor 220 to drive the rotor 220. Herein, the chamber 110 is a circular chamber.
In the embodiment of the disclosure, the capillary action occurs in the channel 120 due to the surface tension of the fluid and thus the fluid automatically flows into the channel 120. When the fluid flows in the channel 120 and passes the rotor 220, a viscosity force is generated between the fluid and the contact surface. Therefore, when the driving motor 230 drives the rotor 220 to rotate, the fluid is driven by the driving assembly 200 to move to the outlet 140 via the viscosity force between the contact surface 210 and the fluid and the cohesive force among fluid molecules.
In addition, since the rotor 220 of the embodiment is a cylinder and the centers of two end surfaces (top and bottom surfaces) of the cylinder are located at the shaft 224 of the rotor 220, the rotation of the rotor 220 is substantially a circular motion, and the fluid can be smoothly and uninterruptedly driven, so as to flow with a stable flow rate without flow impulse.
In the embodiment of the disclosure, the first rotor 420 and the second rotor 440 are cylinders. A first shaft 424 of the first rotor 420 passes through the centers of two end surfaces of the first rotor 420. A second shaft 444 of the second rotor 440 passes through the centers of two end surfaces of the second rotor 440. The first shaft 424 and the second shaft 444 respectively penetrate the chamber 310 of the body 300, and the top terminals of the first shaft 424 and the second shaft 444 respectively prop against the body 300. In order to prevent leakage, the positions of the body 300 where the first shaft 424 and the second shaft 444 pass for entering the chamber 310 is sealed by an O-ring or an oil-seal, respectively. The connection manner between the shaft and the body is not limited herein, and the O-ring or the oil-seal can be replaced by any other elements having similar functions. The first shaft 424 and the second shaft 444 are substantially parallel to each other. A portion of the peripheral surface of the first rotor 420 and a portion of the peripheral surface of the second rotor 440 are respectively exposed at two opposite sides of the channel 320 in order to mutually serve as the contact surface 410. Herein, the chamber 310 comprises two circular chambers adjacent and linked to each other.
In addition, the driving assembly 400 further includes a driving motor 430 and a gear set 450. The driving motor 430 is located outside the body 300 and connected to the first rotor 420 in order to drive the first rotor 420 to rotate. The first rotor 420 and the second rotor 440 are connected via the gear set 450 for driving the second rotor 440 by the first rotor 420. The gear set 450 includes a first gear 451 and a second gear 453. The first gear 451 is fixed on the first shaft 424, and the second gear 453 is fixed on the second shaft 444. The first gear 451 and the second gear 453 are engaged with each other.
As shown in
In the embodiment of the disclosure, the first rotor 620 and the second rotor 640 are respectively cylinders. A first shaft 624 of the first rotor 620 passes through the centers of two end surfaces of the first rotor 620. A second shaft 644 of the second rotor 620 passes through the centers of two end surfaces of the second rotor 640. The first shaft 624 and the second shaft 644 are substantially parallel to each other. The first shaft 624 and the second shaft 644 respectively penetrate the chamber 510 of the body 500, and the top terminal of the first shaft 624 and the top terminal and the bottom terminal of the second shaft 644 respectively prop against the body 500. In order to prevent liquid leakage, the position of the body 500 where the first shaft 624 pass for entering the chamber 510 is sealed by an O-ring or an oil-seal. The connection manner between the shaft and the body is not limited herein, and the O-ring or the oil-seal can be replaced by any other elements having similar functions. Moreover, the driving assembly 600 further includes a driving motor 630 located outside the body 500. The driving motor 630 is connected to the first rotor 620 via the first shaft 624 to drive the first rotor 620, and the second rotor 640 is driven by the first rotor 620 via the conveyor belt 660.
When the first rotor 620 is driven by the driving motor 630 and rotates in a direction 626, the second rotor 640 also rotates in the same direction 626 due to the driving of the conveyor belt 660. The conveyor belt 660 moves along an extension direction of the channel 520 and drives the fluid to flow. As shown in
More specifically, the first rotor 820 and the second rotor 840 are located at a first side 722 of the channel 720 and rotate in a first direction 826. The third rotor 920 and the fourth rotor 940 are at a second side 724 of the channel 720 and rotate in a second direction 926. The first side 722 and the second side 724 are the two opposite sides of the channel 720, respectively and the first direction 826 is opposite to the second direction 926. In the embodiment, the surface of the inner surface 712 of the chamber 710 can be hydrophobic or smooth to reduce the drag force to the fluid. Furthermore, both the surface 862 of the first conveyor belt 860 and the surface 962 of the second conveyor belt 960 can be hydrophilic or rough or being provided with a plurality of micro-structures to increase the driving force to the fluid. Herein, the chamber 710 comprises two rectangular long cavities with two rounded ends, and the two cavities are adjacent and linked with each other.
In the embodiment, the first rotor 820, the second rotor 840, the third rotor 920 and the fourth rotor 940 are cylinders. A first shaft 824 of the first rotor 820 passes through centers of two end surfaces of the first rotor 820. A second shaft 844 of the second rotor 840 passes through centers of two end surfaces of the second rotor 840. A third shaft 924 of the third rotor 920 passes through centers of two end surfaces of the third rotor 920. A fourth shaft 944 of the fourth rotor 940 passes through centers of two end surfaces of the fourth rotor 940. The first shaft 824, the second shaft 844, the third shaft 924 and the fourth shaft 944 are substantially parallel to each other.
The first shaft 824, the second shaft 844, the third shaft 924 and the fourth shaft 944 respectively penetrate the chamber 710 of the body 700. At the first side 722 of the channel 720, the top terminal of the first shaft 824 and the top terminal and the bottom terminal of the second shaft 844 respectively prop against the body 700. And at the second side 724 of the channel 720, the top terminal of the third shaft 924 and the top terminal and the bottom terminal of the fourth shaft 944 prop against the body 700 respectively. In order to prevent liquid leakage, the positions of the body 700 where the first shaft 824 and the third shaft 924 pass for entering the chamber 710 are sealed by O-rings or oil-seals, respectively. The connection manner between the shafts 824, 844, 924, 944 and the body 700 is not limited herein, and the O-rings or the oil-seals can be replaced by any other elements having similar functions.
In addition, the driving assembly 800 further includes a driving motor 830 and a gear set 850. The driving motor 830 is located outside the body 700 and connected to the first rotor 820 to drive the first rotor 820 to rotate, and the second rotor 840 is driven by the first rotor 820 via the first conveyor belt 860. The gear set 850 connects the first rotor 820 and the third rotor 920 for driving the third rotor 920 by the first rotor 820, and the fourth rotor 940 is driven by the third rotor 920 via the second conveyor belt 960. The gear set 850 includes a first gear 851 and a second gear 853. The first gear 851 is fixed on the first shaft 824, and the second gear 853 is fixed on the second shaft 924. The first gear 851 and the second gear 853 are engaged with each other.
When the first rotor 820 is driven by the motor 830 to rotate in a first direction 826, and the second rotor 840 is driven by the first rotor 820 to rotate in the first direction 826 via the first conveyor belt 860. The first conveyor belt 860 moves along an extension direction of the channel 720. When the first rotor 820 is driven by the driving motor 830 and rotates in the first direction 826, the third rotor 920 may rotate in a second direction 926 via the gear set 850, the fourth rotor 940 may rotate in the second direction 926 via the second conveyor belt 960, and the second conveyor belt 960 moves along the extension direction of the channel 720. The gear set 850 is similar to the gear set of
Since the first direction 826 is opposite to the second direction 926 and the first conveyor belt 860 and the second conveyor belt 960 are disposed at two opposite sides of the channel 720, the fluid entering the inlet 730 and passing the channel 720 formed by the first conveyor belt 860 and the second conveyor belt 960 can be driven by the first conveyor belt 860 and the second conveyor belt 960 along the extension direction of the channel 720 and move toward the outlet 740.
Manners of driving the fluid by rotors or conveyor belts are proposed in the aforementioned embodiments. Another embodiment is further provided in the following to illustrate a manner of continuously driving the fluid in a vertical direction by a rotor.
In the embodiment, the first section 1122, the second section 1124 and the third section 1126 are cylinders, wherein a shaft 1128 of the rotor 1120 passes through each center of end surface of the first section 1122, the second section 1124 and the third section 1126. Additionally, the driving assembly 1100 further includes a driving motor 1130 located outside the body 1000, and the driving motor 1130 is connected to the rotor 1120 and used to drive the rotor 1120.
In the embodiment of the disclosure, the temporary liquid storing space 1123 is larger than the liquid output space 1125. The first outer surface 1122a of the temporary liquid storing space 1123 is hydrophobic or smooth to reduce the drag force to the fluid. The second outer surface 1124a of the liquid output space 1125 and the bottom surface 1127a and two side surfaces 1127b of the spiral trench 1127 can be hydrophilic or rough or being provided with a plurality of micro-structures to increase the driving force to the fluid.
When the rotor 1120 is driven by the driving motor 1130 to rotate along a shaft 1128, the fluid moves from the inlet 1030 to the temporary liquid space 1123 due to the capillary action and then flows into the spiral trench 1127 of the third section 1126. Then, the fluid in the spiral trench 1127 is driven to the liquid output space 1125 due to the rotation of the rotor 1120 and flows out from the outlet 1040.
In the embodiment of the disclosure, the spiral trench 1127 can be but not limited to a single spiral trench.
To the aforementioned embodiments, the surface of the channel is hydrophilic or rough and may further be provided with a plurality of micro-structures. The rough surface and the surface with micro-structures are illustrated in the following.
The aforementioned fluidics pumping devices are adapted to the cell culture applications for providing a stable fluid with a low fluid pressure and flow rate.
In light of the foregoing, a driving assembly composed of rotors or conveyor belts is used in the fluidics pumping device of the disclosure. The fluid in the channel is stably and continuously driven from the inlet to the outlet by the viscosity force between the contact surface and the fluid and the cohesive forces among fluid molecules. Since the fluid is driven without being compressed, the fluid can be transported under a stable fluid pressure and flow rate. Thus, the fluidics pumping device of the disclosure can be used in the application of chemical analysis and inspection, or in cell or tissue culture of biomedical field, in order to provide a continuous micro-fluidics driving effect without flow impulse.
Although the disclosure has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it will be apparent to one of the ordinary skill in the art that modifications to the described embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure will be defined by the attached claims not by the above detailed descriptions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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101103395 | Feb 2012 | TW | national |