Patent ID: 8616237

Claim:
A mesofluidic scale digital valve system comprising: a mesofluidic first-stage valve comprising: a valve body including a bore, wherein the valve body is configured to cooperate with a solenoid disposed substantially adjacent to the valve body to translate a poppet carried within the bore; an orifice carried within the valve body and configured to cooperate with the position of the poppet; a bias element configured to encourage the poppet to engage the orifice; a second-stage valve disposed substantially perpendicular to the mesofluidic first-stage valve, the second-stage valve comprising: a valve body including a bore sized to accept a translatable poppet; an orifice carried within the valve body and configured to cooperate with the position of the poppet; a bias element configured to encourage the translatable poppet to engage the orifice; a fluid chamber defined by the cooperation of a rear portion of the translatable poppet and the valve body, the fluid chamber in fluid communication with the orifice of the mesofluidic first-stage valve; and a control element in communication with the solenoid, wherein the control element is configured to maintain the solenoid in an energized state for a fixed period of time to provide a desired flow rate through the orifice of the second-stage valve, wherein the orifice of the second-stage valve is a fixed orifice that has an area that is smaller than an area of the mesofluidic first-stage valve.