Patent ID: 6955670

Claim:
A self-contained delivery device for delivery a selected volume of stored electrolyte solution at selected time intervals, comprising a housing having a delivery port, contained within said housing, a chamber containing an upstream supply reservoir for holding a quantity of electrolyte solution, a downstream delivery reservoir for receiving electrolyte solution from the supply reservoir and, disposed between the two reservoirs, a membrane having a plurality of flow-through channels extending between the two reservoirs, where said channels has a minimum cross-sectional dimension between 2 and 100 nm and a net surface charge at the pH of the electrolyte solution, a pair of electrodes placed in said chamber on either side of said membrane, a one-way valve connecting the delivery reservoir to the delivery port within said housing, allowing solution to flow out of the delivery port only, and a controller contained within said housing, including (i) a power source operatively connected to said electrodes for applying across the electrodes, a voltage potential effective to pump electrolyte solution from the supply to delivery reservoir, at a selecting pumping rate, and (ii) a timer for controlling the duration and timing of application of the voltage potential to the electrodes, to pump a selected volume of solution through said membrane, at selected time intervals.