Patent ID: 7101514

Claim:
A micro-machined chemical-mixing device comprising: a stack of a plurality of laminae, said laminae defining a plurality of micro-machined elements therein, including, an evaporator for evaporating a liquid chemical, said evaporator comprising an inlet in fluid communication with a supply of non-pressurized liquid chemical, a feed path that delivers said liquid chemical to the evaporator inlet, a membranous pad having a plurality of patterned holes and grooves defined thereon for increasing the surface adhesion and flow of the chemical within the evaporator, and an outlet that discharges the evaporated chemical from said evaporator; a chamber for mixing and combusting the evaporated chemical, said chamber located adjacent to said evaporator and comprising a first inlet, a second inlet and an outlet, wherein said first inlet is in fluid communication with said evaporator outlet and said second inlet is in fluid communication with a supply of non-pressurized oxidizer, and wherein the evaporated chemical entering the chamber via said first inlet mixes with the non-pressurized oxidizer entering the chamber via said second inlet to thereby form a volume of combustible fluid, said chamber further comprising an initiator for providing energy to combust said volume of combustible fluid according to a desired ignition sequence; and an exhaust nozzle for discharging the combusted fluid from said device, said nozzle fluidly communicating with said chamber outlet, and said nozzle being elongated and narrow relative to the length and width, respectively, of said chamber; wherein, during the operation of said device, the combustion of the volume of combustible fluid within said chamber generates a pressure wave that propagates toward the chamber outlet and through the exhaust nozzle, thereby causing a temporary state of low-pressure within said chamber that automatically draws in additional oxidizer through said second inlet to mix with additionally evaporated chemical from said evaporator, and thereby forming a new volume of combustible fluid to be subsequently combusted, in a controlled manner, based on said ignition sequence.