Capillary devices for determination of surface characteristics and contact angles and methods for using same
US7024921B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 6, 2003 |
| Grant date | Apr 11, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 6, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2013/0208
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Devices are presented which allow determination of unknown surface properties through the creation of a channel capillary, comprised in part of the subject surface or surfaces, and measurement of the capillary pressure created by a test fluid within the resultant channel. In various embodiments of the invention, a channel is created in a reference material which is bonded, through some mechanism, to the test surface in order to create a narrow capillary channel. In other embodiments of the invention, the capillary channel is created with test surfaces on either side of standoff strips which space the surfaces a precise distance from one another. Methods are presented for using these capillaries through immersion, along their length, in a bath of test fluid, such that the resultant fluid level provides a measure of capillary pressure. Being, in part, a consequence of the contact angle between the test fluid and the surface or surfaces under consideration, the capillary pressure is a convenient measure of surface properties inherently related to printability, affinity for adhesives, surface contamination by foreign substances, surface roughness, and the like. Devices are presented wh…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.