Patent ID: 11946560
Assignee: THE ROYAL INSTITUTION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING/MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Field: Mechanical elements (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 0:
1. A valve for a pneumatic system, comprising:
a first enclosure defining a first chamber and a first connection port of the valve, the first connection port communicating with the first chamber;
a second enclosure defining a second chamber and a second connection port of the valve, the second connection port communicating with the second chamber;
a first shell subjected to a first pressure differential between a pressure of the first chamber and a pressure of the second chamber or a pressure of an environment outside both of the first chamber and the second chamber, the first shell movable from a default position to a reversed position via snap-through buckling of a membrane of the first shell upon the first pressure differential reaching a threshold; and
a second shell having a shape different than a shape of the first shell, the second shell resiliently movable from an initial position to a deformed position when subjected to a second pressure differential between the pressure of the first chamber and the other of the pressure of the second chamber and the pressure of the environment,
wherein a first flow rate of a fluid via the first connection port induces deformation of the second shell from the initial position to the deformed position followed by a snapping of the first shell from the default position to the reversed position thereby generating a second flow rate of the fluid via the second connection port, and followed by a movement of the second shell back toward the initial position, the second flow rate greater than the first flow rate during a movement of the first shell from the default position to the reversed position.