Patent ID: 7261521

Claim:
An electrohydrodynamic conduction liquid pumping system, comprising: an elongate conduit configured to transport a liquid; at least a single pair of electrodes disposed in a spaced apart relation to each other inside the conduit and configured to be oriented in the liquid; a power supply coupled to the electrodes and operable to generate electric fields in between said pair of electrodes, the electric forces inducing a net axial movement of the liquid along the conduit; and a first electrode of said pair of electrodes comprising a first electrically conductive element oriented so that it is flush with an inside surface of said conduit and is electrically coupled to a first potential source of said power supply, a second electrode of said pair of electrodes comprising a second electrically conductive element electrically coupled to a second potential source on said power supply and being configured as a plurality of hollow tubes suspended in a plane oriented transverse to a longitudinal axis of the conduit and through which at least some of the liquid must pass during its net axial movement along the conduit.