Gas switch
US4439500A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 27, 1982 |
| Grant date | Mar 27, 1984 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 27, 2002 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01M12/06
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The disclosure depicts a novel gas switch comprising a membrane having at least one passageway separating a first gas containing region from a second gas containing region. The gas switch also comprises a liquid having a low vapor pressure contained at least within the passageway of the membrane. The liquid is contained in the passageway when a pressure difference between the first and second regions is less than a first predetermined value, thereby preventing a gas exchange between the first and second regions. When the pressure difference across the membrane exceeds a second predetermined value the liquid substantially flows out of the passageway, thereby opening the passageway for a gas exchange between the first and second regions; and when the pressure difference across the membrane is reestablished at a value less than the first predetermined value, the fluid flows back into the passageway thereby closing the passageway and ending the gas exchange between the first and second region. In some embodiments the first predetermined value of pressure may be substantially identical to the second predetermined value of pressure.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.