Micro pump using ferrofluid or magneto-rheological fluid

Abstract

A micro pump using a ferro-fluid / magneto-rheological fluid to drive a working fluid is proposed. The micro pump has a body with an accommodating space and an opening that communicates with the accommodating space. A ferro-fluid / magneto-rheological fluid and a magnetic field generating unit are disposed on the body. As the ferro-fluid / magneto-rheological fluid is attracted to the magnetic field after being magnetized, the ferro-fluid / magneto-rheological fluid is deformed or shifted to drive the working fluid, so as to control the working fluid to flow in and out of the accommodating space. Accordingly, the pump is improved for its efficiency and precision to control the flow while the back flow of the working fluid is prevented.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The invention relates to a micro pump using ferrofluid or magneto-rheological fluid, and more particularly, to a micro pump that improves flow and pump efficiency. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] The micro fluid control device fabricated by microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology is characterized by having a small size, precise flow control, and fast reaction time. As the micro fluid control device can be integrated with the conventional micro sensor on the same system for a feedback control, a large batch of the micro fluid control devices may be manufactured. Therefore, the micro fluid device has become one device that is worth of researches and widely implemented in the industry. [0005] For a micro pump component in the micro fluid control device, its related technology has been developed to a matured stage, so the micro pump component has been applied to different fields, such as chemical...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a micro pump using ferrofluid or megneto-rheological fluid, which micro pump improves flow and pump efficiency.

[0010] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a micro pump using ferrofluid or megneto-rheological fluid, which micro pump precisely controls flow.

[0011] One other objective of the present invention is to provide a micro pump using ferrofluid or megneto-rheological fluid, which micro pump prevents back flow of a working fluid.

Problems solved by technology

However, after a long-term use, the valves and moving parts are gradually worn out to lose their reliability, even causing fatigue at valve connector ends in some cases.

Such valve design may eventually lead to loss of the fluid pressure, which in turn reduces flow to be driven by the pump or causes contamination due to back flow of the working fluid.

Although the design is free from problems associated with the above mentioned valves and moving parts, deformation level of the piezoelectric piece 86 is limited by its material characteristics, so the output flow is consequently limited.

Thus, it is difficult to satisfy the commercial need with the valve-less micro pump 85.

Also, back flow may occur to reduce efficiency in driving the working fluid and cause contamination of the working fluid when the micro pump of the above design is operated.

However, despite of efficiency in terms of driving the working fluid, serious contamination problem caused by mixing the working fluid 91 and the ferro-magnetic fluid 92 is not taken into account in designing this micro pump.

While the micro pump of such design is operated as such, the working fluid 91 to be discharged clearly does not fulfill such requirement, and the contamination problem gets worse as the operation time gets longer, making such design unpractical in terms of fulfilling the industrial demand.

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