Patent ID: 7467779

Claim:
A valve, comprising: a housing that defines a cavity; an inlet port in fluid communication with the cavity; an outlet port spaced from the inlet port and in fluid communication with the cavity; a diaphragm positioned in the cavity between the inlet port and the outlet port, wherein the diaphragm has an upstream edge positioned toward the inlet port and a downstream edge positioned toward the outlet port, wherein a fluid path extends from the inlet port, past the upstream edge of the diaphragm, past the downstream edge of the diaphragm, and to the outlet port, the fluid path having a cross-sectional area; and at least three electrodes for use in electrostatically actuating at least part of the diaphragm between at least three stable positions, wherein each stable position results in a different cross-sectional area of the fluid path, and wherein the different cross-sectional areas are sized such that fluid can flow along the fluid path between the inlet port and the outlet port in at least two of the stable positions wherein at least two of the at least three electrodes are independently controllable.