MICRO PUMP DEVICE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0070422 filed on Jun. 19, 2013, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a micro pump device, and more particularly, to a micro pump device which can be easily connected to an external pipe or an external device.

2. Description of the Related Art

In order to develop new medicines and conduct experiments regarding the safety of new medicines, it is essential to observe reactions between new medicines (that is, drugs) and cells. In general, reaction experiments between drugs and cells are carried out using a culture dish, or the like.

However, the reaction between drugs and cells carried out in the culture dish is very different from a reaction between drugs and cells carried out in the interior of a body, such that it may be difficult to accurately observe or inspect a reaction between drugs and cells based only on the experimental results using the culture dish. Therefore, there is a need to develop a new device capable of observing the reaction between drugs and cells in an environment similar to that of the interior of a body.

To this end, the inventors have developed technologies for circulating culture mediums. However, in order to smoothly cultivate cells, there is a need to constantly supply a very small quantity of a culture medium. Therefore, a need exists for a micro pump capable of constantly supplying a very small quantity of fluid.

Meanwhile, the following Related Art Document is associated with the micro pump and relates to a technology for moving a very small quantity of fluid by the driving force of a piezoelectric element. In particular, the related art document includes valves 5 and 6, in respective valve substrates 3 and 4, to transfer a fixed quantity of fluid.

However, the valve substrates 3 and 4 of the Related Art Document may be difficult to manufacture. Further, the Related Art Document does not include a component and a member capable of sealably connecting the valve substrates 3 and 4 formed of a silicon material to an external pipe, and therefore, the micro pump may be substantially difficult to be utilized in a cell experiment device.

RELATED ART DOCUMENT

JP2000-249074 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention provides a micro pump device, able to be easily manufactured.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a micro pump device able to easily connect a micro pump to an external device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a micro pump device, including: a micro pump; and a housing receiving the micro pump and provided with a pipe connection port.

The micro pump may be a thin film displacement type pump.

The micro pump may include a piezoelectric element.

The micro pump and the housing may be formed of different materials.

The micro pump may include: a channel forming substrate in which an inlet, an outlet, and a pressure chamber are disposed; a valve substrate coupled to the channel forming substrate and provided with a valve membrane controlling opening and closing of at least one of the inlet and the outlet, and an actuator disposed on the channel forming substrate and generating a flow of fluid moving from the inlet to the outlet by changing a volume of the pressure chamber.

The bottom substrate and the channel forming substrate may be a single crystal silicon substrate or a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate.

The housing may be formed of a polymer material.

The micro pump device may further include: a sealing member disposed between the housing and the micro pump to prevent a fluid from being leaked.

The housing may be provided with a groove for drawing out a connection wiring connected to the micro pump.

An inside of the housing may be formed to have a space required to operate an actuator of the micro pump.

The housing may include: a first housing receiving a portion of the micro pump; and a second housing receiving a different portion of the micro pump.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a micro pump device, including: a micro pump; a housing receiving the micro pump and provided with a pipe connection port; and a valve member formed in the housing or the micro pump.

The micro pump may be a thin film displacement type pump.

The micro pump may include a piezoelectric element.

The micro pump and the housing may be formed of different materials.

The micro pump may include: a channel forming substrate in which an inlet, an outlet, and a pressure chamber are disposed; and an actuator disposed on the channel forming substrate and generating a flow of fluid moving from the inlet to the outlet, depending on a change in a volume of the pressure chamber.

The bottom substrate and the channel forming substrate may be a single crystal silicon substrate or a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate.

The housing may be formed of a polymer material.

The micro pump device may further include: a sealing member disposed between the housing and the micro pump to prevent a fluid from being leaked.

The housing may be provided with a groove for drawing out a connection wiring connected to the micro pump.

An inside of the housing may be formed to have a space required to operate an actuator of the micro pump.

The housing may include: a first housing receiving a portion of the micro pump; and a second housing receiving a different portion of the micro pump.

The pipe connection port may include: a first pipe connection port connected to an inlet of the micro pump and having a cross sectional area smaller than the inlet; and a second pipe connection port connected to an outlet of the micro pump and having a cross sectional area larger than the outlet.

The valve member may be a thin film, provided with a first cutting line formed along an outline of the inlet and a second cutting line formed along an outline of the second pipe connection port.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a micro pump device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a first housing illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of the micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 3 taken along line A-A;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another type of the micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 3 taken along line A-A;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another type of micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 3 taken along line A-A;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a micro pump device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a valve member illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of part A illustrated in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of part B illustrated in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions of elements may be exaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or like elements.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a micro pump device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a first housing illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of the micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 3 taken along line A-A; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another type of the micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 3 taken along line A-A; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another type of micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 3 taken along line A-A; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a micro pump device according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a plan view of a valve member illustrated in FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of part A illustrated in FIG. 7; and FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of part B illustrated in FIG. 7.

A micro pump device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The micro pump device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a micro pump 100 and a housing 300. Further, the micro pump device 10 may further include at least one valve (not illustrated) for controlling a direction of fluid movement, as necessary. In this configuration, the valve may be coupled to or separate from the micro pump device 10.

The micro pump 100 may transfer fluid in one direction.

In other words, the micro pump 100 may transfer all fluids including a viscous fluid and a non-viscous fluid in amounts of several μl to tens of μl. To this end, the micro pump 100 may include a channel forming substrate 110 and an actuator 150.

The channel forming substrate 110 may be a substrate in which a channel through which fluid (for example, a culture medium, drugs, or the like) is transferred is disposed. To this end, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the channel forming substrate 110 may be provided with an inlet 120, an outlet 130, and a pressure chamber 140. In this configuration, the inlet 120 may be a channel through which the fluid is introduced and the outlet 130 may be a channel through which the fluid is discharged. Further, the pressure chamber 140 may be a place at which a pressure required to transfer the fluid introduced into the inlet 120 to the outlet 130 is generated. For reference, the pressure chamber 140 may have a flux which may be transferred by a one-time operation of the micro pump 100 and may have the same volume as the flux.

The channel forming substrate 110 may be configured of a plurality of substrates. For example, the channel forming substrate 110 is configured to include a first substrate 112 and a second substrate 114 and may be formed as a structure by vertically bonding these substrates 112 and 114. However, the number of substrates configuring the channel forming substrate 110 is not limited to two sheets, and therefore may be configured of three sheets, as necessary.

The first substrate 112 may be a single crystal silicon substrate or a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate. In other words, the first substrate 112 may be a laminated substrate in which a silicon substrate and a plurality of insulating members are stacked.

The first substrate 112 may be provided with the inlet 120, the outlet 130, and the pressure chamber 140. In other words, a corner portion of the first substrate 112 may be provided with the inlet 120 and the outlet 130 which vertically penetrate through the first substrate 112. Further, a bottom surface of the first substrate 112 may be provided with the pressure chamber 140 which connects the inlet 120 to the outlet 130. In this configuration, the pressure chamber 140 may have substantially the same or a similar cross-sectional shape (circular, based on FIG. 1) as the actuator 150. However, the cross-sectional shape of the pressure chamber 140 is not limited to the cross-sectional shape of the actuator 150.

Meanwhile, the inlet 120, the outlet 130, and the pressure chamber 140 may be formed in the first substrate 112 using a dry or wet etching process. However, a method of forming the inlet 120, the outlet 130, and the pressure chamber 140 is not limited to the etching process.

The second substrate 114 may be the same as or similar to a single crystal silicon or silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate. In other words, the second substrate 114 may be a laminated substrate in which a silicon substrate and a plurality of insulating members are stacked. The so-configured second substrate 114 may form a base portion of the micro pump 100.

The actuator 150 may be formed in the channel forming substrate 110. In other words, the actuator 150 may be formed on one surface (top surface based on FIG. 4) of the first substrate 112. The actuator 150 may be configured to include a lower electrode, a piezoelectric element, and an upper electrode. In other words, the lower electrode, the piezoelectric element, and the upper electrode may be sequentially stacked from the top surface of the first substrate 112. The so-configured actuator 150 may receive a current signal through the upper and lower electrodes and thus exhibit a driving force by the piezoelectric element. Herein, the driving force by the piezoelectric element may be transferred to the pressure chamber 140 through the first substrate 112 to move fluid.

The so-configured micro pump 100 is configured of a plurality of silicon substrates and may be mass-produced by a method similar to a semiconductor manufacturing process and easily manufactured to have a small size.

The housing 300 may have the micro pump 100 received therein. To this end, the housing 300 may have receiving spaces 312 and 322 received therein, the receiving spaces 312 and 322 having the same size as or a similar size to the shape and volume of the micro pump 100.

The housing 300 may easily connect the micro pump 100 to an external device. To this end, the housing 300 may have pipe connection ports 330 and 340 disposed therein. The pipe connection ports 330 and 340 may have a shape protruding in one direction. The coupling of the pipe connection ports 330 and 340 having the shape described above and the external pipe may be facilitated. That is, the micro pump 100 is manufactured based on a wafer, and therefore, a surface of the micro pump 100 may be difficult to be machined to have a stereoscopic shape and the micro pump 100 may not be easily coupled or attached to the external pipe. For this reason, the micro pump device according to the related art may cause the leakage of fluid at a connection site between the micro pump 100 and the external pipe. However, as described above, since the housing 300 has the pipe connection ports 330 and 340 having the stereoscopic shape received therein, the micro pump device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be easily connected to the external pipe and connection reliability between the external pipe and the micro pump 100 may be improved.

The pipe connection ports (330 and 340) may include a first pipe connection port 330 and a second pipe connection port 340. The first pipe connection port 330 may be connected to the inlet 120 of the micro pump 100 and the second pipe connection port 340 may be connected to the outlet 130 of the micro pump 100.

The housing 300 may be formed of a polymer material. In this case, the shape of the housing 300 may be easily changed. Further, the polymer material has excellent shock absorption properties, and therefore, an effect of preventing the micro pump 100 from being broken may also be expected using the housing 300. However, the material of the housing 300 is not limited to polymer and therefore may be formed of other materials. For example, as long as the material of the housing 300 is different from that of the micro pump 100, the housing 300 may be formed of any material.

The housing 300 may include a first housing 310 and a second housing 320. The first housing 310 may have a first receiving space 312, and an actuator receiving space 314, and a groove 316 for drawing out a substrate and the second housing 320 may have a second receiving space 322. In this configuration, the first receiving space 312 may receive a portion of the micro pump 100 and the second receiving space 322 may receive the remaining portion of the micro pump 100. Further, the actuator receiving space 314 may receive the actuator 150 and the groove 316 for drawing out a substrate may form a path for drawing out a flexible substrate (not illustrated) connected to the actuator 150 to the outside. Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first receiving space 312 and the second receiving space 322 may be respectively provided with grooves 324 so as to allow the corner portions of the micro pump 100 to be easily inserted thereinto. The second receiving space 322 may receive the remaining portion of the micro pump 100. The first housing 310 and the second housing 320 maybe firmly coupled to each other by a method such as an ultrasonic bonding method. For reference, the bonding site between the first housing 310 and the second housing 320 may be provided with a plurality of protrusions to facilitate the ultrasonic bonding or heating bonding.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the so-configured micro pump device 10 may have a form in which the housing 300 encloses the micro pump 100. Therefore, the micro pump device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may block a shock applied to the micro pump 100 by the housing 300. Further, since the micro pump 100 is completely received in the housing 300, the micro pump device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may reduce the leakage phenomenon occurring during the manufacturing process of the micro pump 100.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 4, since the first pipe connection port 330 and the second pipe connection port 340 of the housing 300 are respectively connected to the inlet 120 and the outlet 130 of the micro pump 100, the micro pump device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may easily facilitate the connection working of the micro pump 100 and the external pipe. In particular, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the housing 300 is formed of a polymer material, easily bonded by heat, and therefore, may be easily connected or coupled to the external pipe formed of a material the same as or similar thereto.

Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, experimental working efficiency and experimental reliability may be improved using the micro pump 100.

Next, a modified form of the micro pump device illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

Another form of the micro pump device 10 may include a sealing member 400 as illustrated in FIG. 5. As described above, the micro pump 100 and the housing 300 may be formed of different materials from each other. Therefore, when the micro pump 100 and the housing 300 are not precisely machined or manufactured, a gap between the micro pump 100 and the housing 300 may be formed.

Another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention is to solve the problems as described above and may relieve the leakage phenomenon of fluid occurring due to machining errors by disposing the sealing member between the micro pump 100 and the housing 300. In other words, the sealing member 400 may be disposed between the inlet 120 of the micro pump 100 and the first pipe connection port 330 of the housing 300 and between the outlet 130 of the micro pump 100 and the second pipe connection port 340 of the housing 300, respectively.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 5, another aspect of the micro pump device 10 may form a connection channel 160 which connects all of the inlet 120, the outlet 130, and the pressure chamber 140 to the second substrate 114. The structure may simplify and facilitate the etching process of the channel forming substrate 110.

Another form of the micro pump device 10 may further include a sealing member 410 as illustrated in FIG. 6. Herein, the sealing member 410 is disposed at the bonding site provided between the first housing 310 and the second housing 320 to be able to block or relieve the leakage phenomenon through the bonding site between the first housing 310 and the second housing 320.

Meanwhile, the micro pump device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention does not include a valve member. However, the direction of fluid movement may be controlled by adjusting an aperture area ratio of the inlet 120 and the outlet 130. For example, the aperture area of the inlet 120 is smaller than that of the outlet 130, such that fluid may be induced to move from the inlet 120 to the outlet 130. Alternatively, the external pipe connected to the micro pump device 10 is provided with a separate valve, such that the fluid may be controlled to move from the inlet 120 to the outlet 130.

The micro pump device 10 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10.

The micro pump device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include the micro pump 100, a valve member 200, and a housing 300. That is, the micro pump device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include the valve member 200 for controlling the direction of fluid movement.

The valve member 200 may be disposed between the micro pump 100 and the housing 300. In other words, the valve member 200 is disposed on one surface of the micro pump 100 to be able to control the direction of fluid movement.

The valve member 200 may include an adhesive component. In this case, the valve member 200 may be firmly attached to one surface of the micro pump 100 or a bottom surface of the first housing 310. Further, the valve member 200 may include a material having elasticity. In this case, the valve member 200 may prevent fluid from being leaked to the gap between the micro pump 100 and the first housing 310.

The valve member 200 maybe formed of a polymer material. Further, the valve member 200 maybe formed of a material having a predetermined degree of adhesion by a plasma treatment. When a predetermined amount of heat is applied to the so-configured valve member 200 in the state in which the valve member 200 is disposed between the micro pump 100 and the first housing 310, the adhesive characteristics are generated and thus the micro pump 100 may be bonded to the first housing 310.

The valve member 200 may have a shape corresponding to one surface of the micro pump 100. For example, the valve member 200 may have a substantially quadrangular section as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The center of the valve member 200 may be provided with a through hole 202. Herein, the through hole 202 may have a shape corresponding to the actuator 150. The so-formed through hole 202 may allow vertical vibrations of the actuator 150.

The valve member 200 may be provided with a plurality of valves 230 and 240. In other words, in the valve member 200, a position corresponding to the inlet 120 may be provided with the first valve 230 and a position corresponding to the outlet 130 may be provided with the second valve 240. Herein, respective valves 230 and 240 may be formed by respective cutting lines 210 and 220 as illustrated in FIG. 8. In other words, the first valve 230 and the second valve 240 are respectively formed on the first cutting line 210 and the second cutting line 220 having a ring shape for partially cutting the valve member 200. Herein, the first cutting line 210 and the second cutting line 220 may be formed together during a process of molding or machining the valve member 200.

The sections of the first valve 230 and the second valve 240 may have a substantially circular shape having a predetermined diameter D1. The so-formed first valve 230 and second valve 240 may be folded vertically (in a direction based on FIGS. 9 and 10).

The so-configured micro pump device 10 may be restricted to only allow the fluid to be moved in one direction through the plurality of valves 230 and 240. In other words, the first valve 230 disposed between the first pipe connection port 330 and the inlet 120 may allow the moving of fluid only in the downward direction, and the second valve 240 disposed between the second pipe connection port 340 and the outlet 130 may allow the moving of fluid only in the upward direction. The detailed portion thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

The inlet (portion A in FIG. 7) of the micro pump device 10 may be configured as illustrated in FIG. 9. For example, the first pipe connection pipe 330 may have a second diameter D2 smaller than the first diameter D1 of the first valve 230, and the inlet 120 may have a third diameter D3 larger than the first diameter D1 of the first valve 230.

The above structure allows for a downward rotation (that is, rotation in the inlet 120 direction) of the first valve 230 but does not allow an upward rotation (that is, rotation in the first pipe connection port 330 direction) of the first valve 230.

Therefore, at the inlet of the micro pump device 10, only the movement of fluid introduced into the micro pump device 10 from the outside may be allowed. That is, when the fluid moves from the first pipe connection port 330 to the inlet 120, the first valve 230 may allow for the movement of fluid, while being folded downwardly. However, when the fluid moves from the inlet 120 to the first pipe connection port 330, the first valve 230 is not folded upwardly and thus may block the movement of fluid.

Unlike this, the outlet (portion B in FIG. 7) of the micro pump device 10 may be configured as illustrated in FIG. 10. For example, the outlet 130 may have a fourth diameter D4 smaller than the first diameter D1 of the second valve 240, and the second pipe connection port 340 may have a fifth diameter D5 larger than the first diameter D1 of the second valve 240.

The above structure may not allow a downward rotation (that is, rotation in the outlet 130 direction) of the second valve 240 but may allow an upward rotation (that is, rotation in the second pipe connection port 340 direction) of the second valve 240.

Therefore, at the outlet of the micro pump device 10, only the movement of fluid discharged from the micro pump device 10 to the outside may be allowed. That is, when the fluid moves from the second pipe connection port 340 to the outlet 130, the second valve 240 is not folded downwardly, and thus the movement of fluid is not allowed. However, when the fluid moves from the outlet 130 to the second pipe connection port 340, the second valve 240 may allow the movement of fluid, while being folded upwardly.

The micro pump device 10 configured as above controls the direction of fluid movement by the valve member 200, and therefore, may constantly move a very small quantity of fluid. Further, in the case of the micro pump device 10 as described above, the valve member 200 may be formed in the micro pump 100 or the housing 300, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process of the micro pump device 10 and reducing the manufacturing costs of the micro pump device 10.

As set forth above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the operation reliability of the micro pump device may be improved.

While the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

MICRO PUMP DEVICE

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Abstract

Description

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Priority Claims (1)