Patent ID: 11865540
Assignee: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
Field: Chemical engineering (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC B | IPC A  B  C  G

Claim 13:
14. A microfluidic device comprising:
a substrate;
at least four interconnected microfluidic channels supported by the substrate; and
a set of fluid actuators supported by the substrate and comprising a fluid actuator asymmetrically located within at least two of the at least four interconnected microfluidic channels;
one connecting channel extending between the first one of the at least four interconnected microfluidic channels to a second one of the at least four interconnected microfluidic channels wherein the one connecting channel is a passive channel lacking any fluid actuators; and
a controller in communication with the set of fluid actuators, the controller to selectively actuate different combinations of fluid actuators of the set of fluid actuators to activate each of the at least four interconnected microfluidic channels between a fluid inputting state, a fluid outputting state and a fluid blocking, wherein the set of fluid actuators are activated at a same frequency and result in different flow rates of fluid within the interconnected microfluidic channels.