Patent ID: 7914262

Claim:
An electrohydrodynamic pump comprising: a first electrode having an axis and having a channel formed therethrough along the axis, through which a fluid flows, wherein the channel has an inlet section and an outlet section continuous along the axis from the inlet section, the inlet section being defined by a conical inner surface whose diameter progressively reduces towards the outlet section, and the outlet section being defined by a tubular inner surface; a tubular dielectric layer applied on the inner surface of the outlet section of the first electrode; and a rod-shaped second electrode coaxially placed in the channel of the first electrode, wherein the second electrode has an insulated first section and a non-insulated second section, the insulated first section being positioned in the inlet section of the first electrode, while the non-insulated second section is positioned such that a part thereof is located in the outlet section of the first electrode and surrounded by the tubular dielectric layer and another part thereof is located in the inlet section of the first electrode and exposed for a predetermined length to the conical inner surface, wherein a DC voltage is applied across the first and second electrodes to generate, between the first and second electrodes, an electric field which acts on dissociated ions in the fluid to pump the fluid from the inlet section to the outlet section.