Layered Glass Fluidic Valve Sealing Without Compliant Parts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluidic devices rely on resilient and compliant components for sealing, which can age, deteriorate, and wear out, leading to inefficiencies and reliability issues in fluid flow control.
Innovation Solution
The development of multilayer fluidic devices using rigid, transparent materials like glass, where fluidic valves are formed by patterning and etching fluidic structures into multiple substrates and bonding them together, eliminating the need for non-rigid components and enhancing manufacturing simplicity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If resilient and compliant components are used for sealing in fluidic devices, then sealing function is achieved, but reliability deteriorates due to aging, deterioration, and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces resilient and compliant mechanical sealing components with rigid glass surfaces that form seals through precise mating surfaces and interference fits. The gate transmission element and valve body use rigid glass-to-glass contact instead of elastomeric seals, eliminating the mechanical wear and aging issues inherent in traditional sealing materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs glass composite structures where rigid glass materials are bonded together through laser-induced bonding to create hermetic seals. The combination of rigid glass substrates with laser-modified bonding zones creates a composite structure that achieves sealing without compliant materials.
2Ease of manufacture
If rigid materials like glass are used for fluidic structures, then manufacturing simplicity and reliability improve, but sealing capability must be maintained without compliant materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the fluidic device into multiple rigid glass substrates (valve body, gate transmission element, cap) that are separately manufactured using laser etching and then bonded together. This segmentation allows each component to be precisely fabricated with rigid materials while maintaining sealing interfaces through controlled bonding surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the glass materials by using laser irradiation to modify local regions, creating bonding zones with different thermal and mechanical properties. The laser-induced changes in the glass structure enable hermetic bonding while maintaining the overall rigidity of the components.
3Manufacturing precision
If selective laser-induced etching is used to pattern fluidic structures, then manufacturing precision and complexity reduction improve, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple manufacturing operations into a single laser processing step. The same laser system performs both etching of fluidic channels and modification of bonding surfaces, merging patterning and surface preparation into one integrated process that reduces overall manufacturing complexity despite the advanced technology used.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies manufacturing, improves reliability by avoiding the complications associated with compliant materials, and provides precise control over fluid flow through the use of rigid surfaces and selective laser-induced etching techniques.
Implementation Method 1
selective laser-induced etching techniques
Implementation Method 2
bonding them together
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes separately exposing selected portions of a first rigid substrate and a second rigid substrate to laser radiation, selectively etching the exposed portions of the first rigid substrate and the second rigid substrate using a chemical etchant and bonding the first rigid substrate to the second rigid substrate along a common interface to form a fluidic valve. The fluidic valve may be coupled to a fluidic haptics device, for example, which may be integrated into an artificial reality system.