1318 results about "Capillary action" patented technology

An electrically heated smoking system includes a shell and a replaceable mouthpiece. The shell includes an electric power supply and electric circuitry. The mouthpiece includes a liquid storage portion and a capillary wick having a first end and a second end. The first end of the wick extends into the liquid storage portion for contact with liquid therein. The mouthpiece also includes a heating element for heating the second end of the capillary wick, an air outlet, and an aerosol forming chamber between the second end of the capillary wick and the air outlet. When the shell and mouthpiece are engaged or connected, the heating element is in electrical connection with the power supply via the circuitry, and a flowpath for air is defined from at least one air inlet to the air outlet via the aerosol forming chamber. In use, liquid is transferred from the liquid storage portion towards the heating element by capillary action in the wick. Liquid at the second end of the capillary wick is vaporized by the heating element. The supersaturated vapor created, is mixed and carried in the air flow from the at least one air inlet to the aerosol forming chamber. In the aerosol forming chamber, the vapor condenses to form an aerosol, which is carried towards the air outlet.

Containers for providing vapor phase reactant from liquid sources include bubbler designs and designs in which carrier gas flows over the liquid surface. Among the bubbler arrangements, a bypass conductance is provided to release excess pressure from the gas volume inside the container, or an enlarged bubbler tube is provided with a volume sufficient to accommodate all possible liquid backflow without having the liquid exit the container. Among the overflow designs, flow dividers provide a tortuous path for the gas to increase the time exposure of carrier gas packets to the evaporating liquid surface. The flow dividers can be microporous to encourage capillary action, thereby increasing the evaporating surface. The tortuous gas flow path can be separated from the liquid phase by a breathable semi-porous membrane that permits vapor phase reactant to pass through but prohibits liquid from passing in the other direction.

An electrically heated smoking system includes a shell and a replaceable mouthpiece. The shell includes an electric power supply and electric circuitry. The mouthpiece includes a liquid storage portion and a capillary wick having a first end and a second end. The first end of the wick extends into the liquid storage portion for contact with liquid therein. The mouthpiece also includes a heating element for heating the second end of the capillary wick, an air outlet, and an aerosol forming chamber between the second end of the capillary wick and the air outlet. When the shell and mouthpiece are engaged or connected, the heating element is in electrical connection with the power supply via the circuitry, and a flowpath for air is defined from at least one air inlet to the air outlet via the aerosol forming chamber. In use, liquid is transferred from the liquid storage portion towards the heating element by capillary action in the wick. Liquid at the second end of the capillary wick is vaporized by the heating element. The supersaturated vapor created, is mixed and carried in the air flow from the at least one air inlet to the aerosol forming chamber. In the aerosol forming chamber, the vapor condenses to form an aerosol, which is carried towards the air outlet.

Containers for providing vapor phase reactant from liquid sources include bubbler designs and designs in which carrier gas flows over the liquid surface. Among the bubbler arrangements, a bypass conductance is provided to release excess pressure from the gas volume inside the container, or an enlarged bubbler tube is provided with a volume sufficient to accommodate all possible liquid backflow without having the liquid exit the container. Among the overflow designs, flow dividers provide a tortuous path for the gas to increase the time exposure of carrier gas packets to the evaporating liquid surface. The flow dividers can be microporous to encourage capillary action, thereby increasing the evaporating surface. The tortuous gas flow path can be separated from the liquid phase by a breathable semi-porous membrane that permits vapor phase reactant to pass through but prohibits liquid from passing in the other direction.

A distinctive absorbent article includes an absorbent core having multiple absorbent layers, wherein the absorbent layers interact in such a manner which preferentially locates absorbed liquid in an appointed, high saturation wicking layer. The localization of the liquid within this wicking layer increases the potential of this layer to move liquid through capillary action due to the higher saturation level and increased amount of liquid available. The intake capability of the absorbent system is maintained or improved over current systems by keeping a second layer of the absorbent system at low saturation levels through as many insults of the product as possible, while providing optimum intake performance through appropriate control of the composite properties. The low saturation in this layer provides void volume for the incoming insult as well, as a high permeability, thus increasing the intake rate of the absorbent system as a whole, but the structure of the low saturation layer is also balanced to provide an appropriately high level of capillary tension to provide enough control of the liquid to stop leakage from occurring. This low saturation layer is used in addition to a surge material and provides intake functionality in addition to that provided by the surge material. In particular aspects of the invention, the body side layer of the absorbent core does not extend over the entire surface of the overall absorbent core, therefore is not used as the high saturation, wicking layer, but as the intake layer. This arrangement also allows the intake layer to be in direct contact with the incoming liquid, therefore allowing for more immediate access and improved intake function.

A highly palatable and long lasting dog chew for pets has been developed by combining a formulation and processing sequence which results in a highly palatable meat based filling being incorporated into the center of a preformed rawhide stick or rawhide roll. Such outside rawhide fraction is extremely tough and chewy which results in a dog chew which takes a long period of time for the dog to consume. The inside meat filling is highly palatable which results in the animal maintaining interest in the treat until nearly the entire chew has been consumed. The interior meat filling is preserved by reduced water activity to below 0.85 as a result of incorporating of salt, sugars and natural humectants. Said filling is formulated and processed in such a manner that the water phase is bound within the filling and does not pass by capillary action to the outside rawhide fraction. This results in the outer rawhide shell maintaining a tough and chewable texture until such point as the dog is offered the finished chew.

A device for sampling body fluid, the device comprising, a main body, a lancet disposed within the main body, a carrier disposed within the main body fixedly attached to the lancet, a spring in communication with the lancet and the carrier, an annular space disposed within the main body adjacent the lancet, and a testing device for measuring a body fluid. The testing device may include micro-porous test strips, an electronic testing device, an optical / reflectance testing measuring device, or a visual inspection.

An integrated bodily fluid sampling device includes a lancet, a test strip attached to the lancet, and a flexible sheet extending from the test strip. The lancet and the flexible sheet form a gap sized to draw bodily fluid onto the test strip via capillary action. Further, a sampling end portion of the flexible sheet is shaped to enhance capillary action of the sheet. In one form, a removable film covers the lancet and forms a seal with the flexible sheet such that the seal surrounds a lancet tip. In another form, an insulating layer covers a portion of the lancet to prevent electrical interference between the lancet and an electrical testing system on the test strip and ensure an accurate analysis of the bodily fluid.

Disclosed is an electrochemical sensor for the determination of analytes in body fluids, e.g. glucose in blood. The sensor involves a non-conductive base which provides a flow path for the body fluid with the base having a working and counter electrode on its surface which are in electrical communication with a detector of current. The base and a cover therefore provide a capillary space containing the electrodes into which the body fluid is drawn by capillary action. The counter electrode has a sub-element which contains an electroactive material and is configured in the system (sensor and meter) to provide an error signal when insufficient body fluid is drawn into the capillary.

A heat spreader for transferring heat from a heat source to a heat sink using a phase change coolant, includes an array of cells, each cell having at least one microporous wick for supporting flows of the coolant in the liquid phase, via capillary action, within the spreader from proximate the heat sink to proximate the source and at least one macroporous wick for supporting flows of the coolant, in the liquid and vapor phase, within the spreader from proximate the source to proximate the heat sink.

Some embodiments of the invention provide a meter and a disposable cartridge for analyzing a fluid sample confined to the disposable cartridge. The fluid sample, particularly blood, is drawn into the cartridge by capillary action, negative pressure, positive pressure, or combination thereof. The cartridge has at least one flow path, which includes at least one optical chamber for spectroscopic measurement, and at least one biosensor for biosensor measurement. The meter has a sample slot for receiving the disposable cartridge. The cartridges have electrical output contacts, and the meter slot has electrical input contacts. When the output contacts mate with the input contacts, the optical chamber becomes positioned for spectroscopic measurement. Neither biosensors nor spectroscopy can be used alone to measure key analytes in blood for effective patient care. The present invention provides joint-diagnostic spectroscopic and biosensor measurements. Optionally, plasma can be extracted from whole blood, for measuring analytes that cannot be measured accurately in whole blood. The invention provides a wider panel of blood analytes using as little as a drop of blood, at the point of patient care.

A bodily fluid sampling device comprising a lancet which can be advanced against a skin-piercing site to produce a droplet of bodily fluid. A transport medium is positioned sufficiently close to the lancing medium to retain a droplet of bodily fluid therebetween by capillary action. One of the two mediums has hydrophobic material on its surface and the other hydrophilic. Various mechanisms are provided for relatively displacing the lancing and transport medium to move the droplet of bodily fluid away from the skin-piercing end. Furthermore, multiple lancet assemblies may be provided in a barrel or disk configuration and indexed to the displacing mechanisms for sampling a skin site.

A vaporization system for an inhalable substance includes a sealed cartridge. The sealed cartridge contains the chemical solution to be vaporized, a heating element which vaporizes the solution, and a wicking material for retaining the solution and bringing it into contact with the heating element through capillary action. The sealed cartridge may be disposable, having inexpensive elements so the cartridge can be replaced with little cost. Alternatively the sealed cartridge may be fully integrated with other components into a base unit, which may be disposable or may include a refill port which allows a user to refill the sealed cartridge with solution once the contained solution has been fully vaporized. A power source connects to the heating element and is activated by a switch that may be a breath detector. A disposable mouthpiece may be connected to the cartridge. The mouthpiece has an airway through which the vaporized solution is inhaled. The airway is restricted by a trap that prevents unvaporized droplets of the solution from passing through the airway into a user's mouth.

In order to provide a biosensor with high accuracy and excellent response where plasma obtained by filtration of blood rapidly arrives at an electrode system, in a biosensor comprising: an insulating base plate; an electrode system having a working electrode and a counter electrode which are provided on the base plate; a reaction layer including at least oxidoreductase and an electron mediator; a sample solution supply pathway which includes the electrode system and the reaction layer and has an inlet and an air aperture; a sample solution supply part for introducing a sample solution, which is in position apart from the sample solution supply pathway; and a first filter which is disposed between the sample solution supply pathway and the sample solution supply part for filtering the sample solution, where the filtrate filtered with the first filter is supplied into the sample solution supply pathway due to capillary action, the direction in which the sample solution passes through the first filter and the direction in which the filtrate passes through the sample solution supply pathway are made cross at right angles.

An integrated lancing test strip includes a pair of blade members that each have a lancing tip that are configured to lance skin. A pair of spacer members connect the blade members together such that the blade members define an internal capillary. A test strip is positioned along the internal capillary, and the test strip is configured to test analyte levels in the bodily fluid. During use, the lancing tips form one or more incisions in the skin. The fluid from the incisions is drawn via capillary action through the internal capillary and onto the test strip.

An airline (AL) optical fiber (“AL fiber”) that has an AL region with airlines, with the AL region arranged relative to the fiber core so as to make the fiber bend insensitive. The AL region is capable of supporting one or more higher-order optical modes. One method of reducing multipath interference (MPI) includes accessing a section of the AL fiber and closing at least one of the airlines in the section. This serves to attenuate one or more higher-order modes, which reduces MPI. In one example, the AL fiber has an end section wherein the airlines are filled with a blocking material. An example blocking material is a curable adhesive that is wicked into the airlines via capillary action and then cured when the adhesive reaches a certain depth from the fiber end. In another example, the blocking material is formed by heating the AL fiber section to cause the section to melt and block the airlines, so that the melted AL fiber serves as the blocking material. The AL fiber with reduced MPI is particularly useful as a “jump” fiber, whose length is too short to rely on attenuating higher-order modes via a cable cut-off wavelength.

An atomizing nebulizer for dispensing a substance or medicament is described. The nebulizer is formed with a reservoir base releasably secured to an effluent vent cap that together capture a diffuser and integral dispersing baffle that are further formed with an uptake lumen or channel terminating with a nozzle jet. The diffuser dispersing baffle is positioned relative to the jet nozzle to optimize atomization of any of a number of such substances so as to maximize disbursement of the substance. The reservoir base also incorporates a pressurized fluid-accelerating inlet tube terminated with a metering orifice that cooperates with the nozzle jet when the inlet tube is received within the diffuser uptake lumen or channel. When so received, the nozzle jet axially registers proximate and superior to the orifice to establish a vacuum space that is in fluid communication with a capillary interstice established between the walls of the exterior of the inlet tube and the confronting interior surface of the diffuser lumen or channel. When a pressurized fluid is communicated through the lumen, the orifice, and into the vacuum space towards the nozzle jet, a vacuum develops in the vacuum space that, in combination with the capillary action of the interstice, draws the fluid proximate to the orifice and disperses it into droplets that are then entrained into a fluid stream to be further atomized upon impact with the baffle and then dispensed.

A bodily fluid sampling device comprising a lancet which can be advanced against a skin-piercing site to produce a droplet of bodily fluid. A transport medium is positioned sufficiently close to the lancing medium to retain a droplet of bodily fluid therebetween by capillary action. One of the two mediums has hydrophobic material on its surface and the other hydrophilic. Various mechanisms are provided for relatively displacing the lancing and transport medium to move the droplet of bodily fluid away from the skin-piercing end.

In order to realize a sensor that is capable of promptly and accurately supplying a small amount of a liquid sample to a filtration part even if the sensor is not held substantially horizontally, this invention provides a sensor having means for supplying a liquid sample to the filtration part by capillary action.

An integrated lancing test strip includes a pair of blade members that each have a lancing tip that are configured to lance skin. A pair of spacer members connect the blade members together such that the blade members define an internal capillary. A test strip is positioned along the internal capillary, and the test strip is configured to test analyte levels in the bodily fluid. During use, the lancing tips form one or more incisions in the skin. The fluid from the incisions is drawn via capillary action through the internal capillary and onto the test strip.

The disclosed apparatus, systems and methods relate to the collection of bodily fluids through the use of gravity and microfluidic properties by way of a collector. The collector can make use of microfluidic networks connected to collection sites on the skin of a subject to gather and shuttle blood into a reservoir by a combination of capillary action and gravitational forces. The collected fluid is moved through the microfluidic networks and into the reservoir by a variety of approaches.

An assay device for determining an analyte in an aqueous sample comprises: (i) an elongate flow matrix (6) allowing lateral transport of fluid therethrough by capillary action, wherein the matrix comprises a liquid application zone (3) and downstream thereof, a detection zone (8) having an immobilized capture agent capable of directly or indirectly binding to said analyte, (ii) a wicking member (13) placed at the downstream end of the flow matrix and having an upstream end and a downstream end, and (iii) a time indicator (14) placed downstream of the detection zone (8) for indicating when liquid applied to the liquid application zone has reached the time indicator. The time indicator comprises an indicator substance or substance combination which is capable of exhibiting a visible color change when hydrated by the aqueous sample. The assay device is characterized in that the time indicator (14) is arranged in contact with the wicking member (13) at a variable position between the upstream and downstream ends thereof to thereby permit variation of the time elapsing from the application of the liquid until the indicator substance changes color. A method of performing an assay for determining an analyte in a sample, comprises the steps of flowing sample and assay liquid(s) through the flow matrix of the device such that they reach the detection zone in a predetermined sequence, and when the time indicator has changed color, reading the result of the assay in the detection zone.

A top sheet includes a sheet body having a flat liquid pervious base wall with first and second surfaces that are opposite to each other in a normal direction relative to the sheet body. The base wall has front and rear edges that are opposite to each other in a longitudinal direction. The sheet body further has a plurality of protrusions that protrude from the first surface of the base wall and that are distributed along the longitudinal direction as well as a widthwise direction which is transverse to the longitudinal direction. The protrusions are arranged in such a manner to form a plurality of open fluid channels thereamong. The fluid channels extend from the front edge to the rear edge of the base wall, and have dimensions in the normal and widthwise directions sufficient to provide capillary action.

The invention discloses a solar water evaporation purification and decomposition device which comprises a water supply line, a float and heat insulation layer, an evaporation layer and a photothermalconversion and solute barrier layer which are connected in sequence from bottom to top. The water supply line enables water to pass through the float and heat insulation layer, and the water is pumpedinto the evaporation layer by virtue of a capillary action; solar energy absorbed by the photothermal conversion and solute barrier layer is converted into heat, and water is heated to be vaporized into water vapor from the evaporation layer; due to pore channel volatilization of the photothermal conversion and solute barrier layer, partial water vapor is decomposed to produce hydrogen and oxygen; since the photothermal conversion and solute barrier layer contains a hydrophobic part and is not infiltrated by water, the solar energy can directly heat a heat-absorbing material only, but not heat water, so that high photothermal conversion efficiency is realized; and meanwhile, the solute in the water is prevented from being separated out on the membrane, and sea water desalination, sewage purification and water decomposition can be realized. Due to the design of a hydrophilic / hydrophobic double-layer evaporation structure, the solar water evaporation purification and decomposition device with high photothermal conversion efficiency and high stability is obtained.

A single use applicator for dispensing and applying a thin layer of viscous fluid, comprising an outer body of chemically inert deformable material open at one end, a crushable glass ampoule therein containing fluid to be dispensed and applied, and an application element of synthetic fiber strands in said tube, wherein fluids flows by capillary action, with an internal reservoir inside the tube adjacent the ampoule, a fluid control valve welded to the tube at its approximate mid point, to control fluid flow, and an external tip to apply the fluid to an application surface.

Heat from a heat generating device such as a CPU is dissipated by a heat spreader containing a cycled two-phase vaporizable coolant. The coolant cycles inside a closed metal chamber, which has an upper section and a lower section. The lower section contains a wick layer, a part or parts of which serves as an evaporator. The upper section is composed of a set of channels. The channel walls contain a plurality of cut-off openings over the evaporator region to allow for vapor distribution efficiently. The liquid coolant in the evaporator is vaporized by the heat from the heat generating device. The coolant vapor can prevail in the channels by either directly entering the adjacent channels or indirectly through lateral conduits formed with the wall openings. The vapor condenses on the channel, walls to liberate latent heat which is then dissipated out through the top chamber wall. The condensed coolant is directly collected by the lower-section wick and further flows back to the wick evaporator by capillary action, thereby cycling the coolant.

Microfluidic devices include a photoresist layer in which an inlet chamber, an optional reaction chamber and at least one detection chamber are in fluid contact, a support arranged under the photoresist layer and a cover arranged above the photoresist layer. The devices further include a set of absorbent channels downstream of the last detection chamber. Biogenic or immunoreactive substances are placed in the reaction chamber and detection chamber(s). When a liquid sample is dropped into the inlet chamber, the sample liquid is drawn through the devices by capillary action. Detection methods include electrochemical detection, colorimetric detection and fluorescence detection.

A three-dimensional film for use as an acquisition distribution layer in an absorbent article comprising a first surface with drains extending downward from the first surface, the drains being capable of transmitting fluid by gravity; and protrusions extending upward from the first surface to an upper surface with at least one capillary extending downward from the upper surface, the capillaries being capable of transmitting fluid in contact with the upper surface by capillary action. The drains rapidly transmit fluid through the film, particularly fluid that is dynamically-deposited. The capillaries transmit statically-retained fluid that is in contact with the upper surface of the protrusions.