Electroosmotic flow valve for an electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12267641-B2
Application number	US-202217981230-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 4, 2022
Priority date	Nov 29, 2021
Publication date	Apr 1, 2025
Grant date	Apr 1, 2025

Abstract

A portable electronic device comprising: an enclosure having an enclosure wall that defines a first chamber, a second chamber and an acoustic opening from the first chamber or the second chamber; and an electroosmotic flow valve operable to open and close the acoustic opening.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A portable electronic device comprising:
an enclosure having an enclosure wall that defines a first chamber, a second chamber, an acoustic opening from the first chamber, and an acoustic vent from the first chamber or the second chamber; and
an electroosmotic flow valve having a driven member and an electroosmotic pump, wherein the electroosmotic pump is operable to move the driven member in a direction parallel to a direction of fluid flow through the acoustic vent between a position adjacent a substrate layer of the electroosmotic pump and a position covering the acoustic vent to open and close the acoustic vent.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1 wherein the electroosmotic pump comprises a fluid that is actuated by an applied electrical field to drive the driven member to open and close the acoustic opening.

3. The portable electronic device of claim 2 wherein the driven member comprises a piston positioned between the acoustic opening and a fluid pathway of the electroosmotic pump through which the fluid flows once actuated to move the piston between a closed position in which the piston covers the acoustic opening and an open position in which the piston rests on the substrate layer.

4. The portable electronic device of claim 2 wherein the driven member comprises a compliant membrane aligned with the acoustic opening and sealed to a fluid pathway of the electroosmotic pump through which the fluid flows once actuated to move the compliant membrane between a closed position in which the compliant membrane covers the acoustic opening and an open position in which the compliant membrane opens the acoustic opening.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 4 wherein the driven member further comprises a piston aligned with the acoustic opening and coupled to the compliant membrane.

6. The portable electronic device of claim 2 wherein the electroosmotic pump comprises an electroosmotic membrane positioned between a first electrode coupled to a first printed circuit board and a second electrode coupled to a second printed circuit board, a fluid reservoir coupled to the second printed circuit board and a fluid pathway through the electroosmotic pump.

7. The portable electronic device of claim 6 wherein the electroosmotic membrane is a first electroosmotic membrane and the fluid reservoir is a first fluid reservoir, the electroosmotic pump further comprises a second electroosmotic membrane positioned between a third electrode coupled to a third printed circuit board and a fourth electrode coupled to a fourth printed circuit board, and a second fluid reservoir coupled to the fourth printed circuit board and the fluid pathway through the electroosmotic pump.

8. The portable electronic device of claim 6 wherein the electroosmotic membrane comprises a plurality of pores defining a portion of the fluid pathway.

9. The portable electronic device of claim 8 wherein at least one pore of the plurality of pores comprises a sidewall having an arrangement of recessed regions each having a depth and a height.

10. The portable electronic device of claim 1 wherein the portable electronic device comprises an in-ear earphone, the first chamber is a front volume chamber of the in-ear earphone and the acoustic opening is an acoustic vent from the front volume chamber to an ambient environment surrounding the enclosure.

11. The portable electronic device of claim 1 wherein the enclosure wall defines a Helmholtz Resonator having a neck portion comprising the first chamber and a body portion comprising the second chamber.

12. A portable electronic device comprising:
an enclosure comprising an enclosure wall defining an interior chamber and an acoustic opening from the interior chamber;
a transducer positioned within the interior chamber and dividing the interior chamber into a first chamber comprising a first side of the transducer and the acoustic opening and a second chamber comprising a second side of the transducer; and
an electroosmotic flow valve having a driven member and an electroosmotic pump, wherein the electroosmotic pump is operable to move the driven member in a direction parallel to a direction of fluid flow through a vent to the first chamber or the second chamber between a position adjacent a substrate layer of the electroosmotic pump and a position covering the vent to open and close the vent.

13. The portable electronic device of claim 12 wherein the driven member comprises a piston coupled to an electroosmotic pump having a fluid pathway, and wherein a fluid flows through the fluid pathway upon application of an electrical field to move the piston between a closed position in which the piston covers the vent and an open position in which the piston rests on the substrate layer.

14. The portable electronic device of claim 13 further comprising a compliant membrane coupled to the piston and the fluid pathway to seal the fluid flowing through the fluid pathway within the electroosmotic pump.

15. The portable electronic device of claim 13 wherein the electroosmotic flow valve comprises a compliant membrane sealed to an electroosmotic pump having a fluid pathway, and wherein a fluid flows through the fluid pathway upon application of an electrical field to move the piston between the closed position in which the piston closes the vent and the open position in which the piston opens the vent.

16. The portable electronic device of claim 12 wherein the vent is between the first chamber and the second chamber.

17. The portable electronic device of claim 12 wherein the substrate is a first printed circuit board, and the electroosmotic pump further comprises:
a first electrode coupled to the first printed circuit board;
an electroosmotic membrane coupled to the first electrode;
a second electrode coupled to the electroosmotic membrane;
a second printed circuit board coupled to the second electrode; and
a fluid reservoir for containing a fluid and coupled to the second printed circuit board and a fluid pathway through the electroosmotic pump.

18. The portable electronic device of claim 17 wherein the electroosmotic membrane comprises a plurality of pores of different sizes defining a portion of the fluid pathway.

19. An electroosmotic actuator assembly comprising:
a driven member operable to transition between a first position and a second position;
a driving member operable to drive the transition of the driven member using an electroosmotic flow of a fluid, the driving member having a first driving member stack up comprising:
an electroosmotic membrane;
a first electrode coupled to a first side of the electroosmotic membrane;
a second electrode coupled to a second side of the electroosmotic membrane;
a fluid reservoir for containing the fluid; and
a fluid pathway extending through the driving member from the fluid reservoir to the driven member; and
a second driving member stack up coupled to the first driving member stack up and having a fluid pathway coupling a fluid reservoir of the second driving member stack up to the fluid reservoir of the first driving member stack up, and wherein the fluid pathway of the first driving member stack up comprises a number of pores having a different size than a number of pores of the fluid pathway of the second driving member assembly.

20. The electroosmotic actuator assembly of claim 19 wherein the first driving member stack up further comprises:
a first printed circuit board coupled to the first electrode; and
a second printed c

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Wilk Christopher
• Grinker Scott C
• Andersen Esge B
• Ilkorur Onur I
• Hrudey Peter C
• Hatipoglu Gokhan

Classifications

• G10K11/18

  Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound (G10K11/02, G10K11/36 take precedence) · CPC title

• F16K99/0042

  Electric operating means therefor · CPC title

• F04B17/03

  driven by electric motors · CPC title

• F04B19/20

  Other positive-displacement pumps · CPC title

• F04B19/006

  Micropumps (F04B43/043 and F04B43/095 take precedence) · CPC title