Magnetically controllable valve and portable microfluidic device having a magnetically controllable valve, in particular cartridge for sample preparation and molecule analysis

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11717825-B2
Application number	US-201816231251-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2018
Priority date	Dec 28, 2017
Publication date	Aug 8, 2023
Grant date	Aug 8, 2023

Abstract

The valve is formed in a valve body housing a first path portion, a second path portion, and an coupling zone between the first and second path portions. A shutter is arranged in the coupling zone and has a shutting portion of ferromagnetic material that is deformable under the action of an external magnetic field between an undeformed position, wherein the shutter closes the coupling zone, and a deformed position, wherein the shutter at least partially frees the coupling zone. The shutting portion of the shutter is formed by a rubber membrane incorporating particles, for example of ferrite particles.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A valve, comprising:
a valve body including a surface;
a first path portion in the valve body delimited by the surface of the valve body;
a second path portion in the valve body, the second path portion extends in a first direction;
an opening surrounded by an edge of the valve body and along the second path portion;
a coupling zone between the first and second path portions; and
a shutter arranged in the coupling zone, the shutter comprises:
a central portion;
a peripheral tapered shutting portion of ferromagnetic material deformable by an external magnetic field, the peripheral tapered shutting portion surrounds the central portion and extends outward from the edge surrounding the opening in a second direction transverse to the first direction;
a minor base surface of the central portion, the minor base surface faces away from the opening and towards the surface of the valve body;
a major base surface of the peripheral tapered shutting portion and the central portion, the major base surface is opposite to the minor base surface, the major base surface faces towards the opening and faces away from the surface of the valve body;

wherein the shutter configured to transition from:
a deformed position in which the peripheral tapered shutting portion is deformed and the major base surface is convex; and
an undeformed position in which the peripheral tapered shutting portion is undeformed and the major base surface is flat.

2. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the peripheral tapered shutting portion is deformable between the undeformed position and the deformed position, wherein the major base surface of the shutter is flat and closes the coupling zone when the shutter is in the undeformed position, and wherein the major base surface of the shutter is convex and at least partially opens the coupling zone when in the shutter is in the deformed position.

3. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the peripheral tapered shutting portion of the shutter comprises a rubber membrane incorporating particles of material that is attracted to the external magnetic field.

4. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the major base surface has a first surface area and the minor base surface has a second surface area that is smaller than the first surface area of the major base surface.

5. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the shutter is generally frustoconical-, frustopyramidal-, or a frustoprismatic-shaped.

6. The valve according to claim 4 , wherein the coupling zone is T-shaped, the opening faces the surface of the valve body that delimits the first path portion, and the shutter is arranged along the first path portion and closes the opening when peripheral tapered shutting portion of the shutter is undeformed as the shutter is in the undeformed position.

7. The valve according to claim 4 , wherein the minor base surface of the shutter is bonded to the surface of the valve body.

8. The valve according to claim 4 , wherein further comprising a stem portion extending from the surface of the valve body to the minor surfaced of the shutter, the stem portion being bonded to the surface of the valve body and being bonded to the shutter at the minor base surface of the shutter.

9. The valve according to claim 1 , further comprising a stem portion bonded to the surface of the valve body and bonded to the shutter at the minor base surface of the shutter.

10. The valve according to claim 9 , wherein the stem portion is made of a material different from the shutter.

11. The valve according to claim 1 , further comprising a peripheral ribbing adjacent to the edge of the opening, the peripheral ribbing surrounds the opening, and the peripheral ribbing projects into the first path portion, wherein the shutter is compressed between the wall of the first path portion and the peripheral ribbing when the peripheral tapered portion is undeformed as the shutter is in the undeformed position.

12. The valve according to claim 6 , wherein the valve body comprises a first part and a second part, the first part housing the second path portion and the opening, the second part coupled to the first part, and the first path portion is between the first part and the second part.

13. A valve group comprising:
a valve that includes:
a valve body having a surface;
a first path portion in the valve body being delimited by the surface of the valve body;
a second path portion in the valve body;
an opening in the valve body and along the second path portion, the opening surrounded by an edge of the valve body;
a coupling zone between the first and second path portions; and
a shutter arranged in the coupling zone, the shutter comprises:
a minor base surface having a first surface area, the minor base surface faces away from the opening and faces towards the surface of the valve body;
an edge of shutter directly adjacent to and surrounding the minor base surface;
a major base surface opposite to the minor base surface, the major base surface having a second surface area greater than the first surface area, the major base surface faces towards the opening and faces away from the surface of the valve body, the major base surface being closer to the opening than the minor base surface, and the major base surface completely overlapping the opening;
a transverse surface extends from the edge of the shutter towards the second surface, the transverse surface terminates at the edge of the shutter and meets the minor base surface at the edge of shutter, and the transverse surface being transverse to the minor base surface and the major base surface; and
a tapered shutting portion of ferromagnetic material deformable by an external magnetic field, the tapered shutting portion extending from the transverse surface to the major base surface, and the tapered shutting portion extending past and outward from the edge of the valve body, the tapered shutting portion being configured to move between:
a deformed position in which the major base surface is convex and the transverse surface is concave; and
an undeformed position in which the major base surface is flat and the transverse surface is flat;

a magnetic actuator arranged outside of the valve and configured to produce the external magnetic field to deform the tapered shutting portion between the deformed position and the undeformed position.

14. The valve group according to claim 13 , wherein the magnetic actuator selectively comprises an electromagnet or a permanent magnet mobile towards and away from the valve.

15. The valve group according to claim 13 , wherein the coupling zone is T-shaped, the opening faces a wall of the first path portion, and the shutter is arranged along the first path portion and closes the opening when the tapered shutting portion is undeformed.

16. The valve group according to claim 15 , wherein the major base surface of the shutter closes the opening when the tapered shutting portion is in the undeformed position.

Assignees

• St Microelectronics Srl

Inventors

• Cucchi Davide
• Bruno Lorenzo
• Ferrara Francesco

Classifications

• B01L3/502738 Primary

  characterised by integrated valves (throttle valves in microfluidic sample containers B01L3/502746) · CPC title

• B01L7/5255

  by moving sample containers · CPC title

• B01L9/527

  for microfluidic devices, e.g. used for lab-on-a-chip · CPC title

• F16K99/003

  Valves for single use only · CPC title

• F16K99/0015

  Diaphragm or membrane valves · CPC title