Patent ID: 8752578

Claim:
A regulator comprising: a first chamber; a second chamber separated from the first chamber by a wall including a slot between the chambers, the slot having a tapered, non-linear configuration within the wall, extending from a first, enlarged end in a portion of the wall toward the first chamber, to a narrow end in a portion of the wall toward the second chamber; a housing containing the first and second chambers; a diaphragm coupled to the housing and separating the first chamber from a pressure reference; and a sliding barrier coupled to the diaphragm and arranged to partially occlude the slot as the diaphragm moves, the slot and barrier defining an aperture between the chambers; wherein the diaphragm is arranged to move in response to a change in the differential pressure across the diaphragm and to adjust the size of the aperture; and wherein the shape of the slot is chosen such that the rate of change of the cross sectional area of the aperture is arranged to have a non-linear response to a change in the pressure differential and in the response to the distance traveled by the diaphragm.