Osmotically-Driven Pump for Use in High Pressure Applications

Current designs of osmotic pumps that are used to deliver small amounts of fluids have limited control over the flow rate. The technology presented here is a high pressure osmotic dispense pump having a substantially continuous delivery rate and extended delivery times. The operation of the pump is using an osmotic process driven by a concentration gradient of solvent across a selectively permeable membrane. The membrane housing is designed such that consistent and accurate flow rates are achieved at the micro-liter level. The membrane is substantially also free of distortions and lateral stretching stresses.

Benefits
Applications requiring fluid dispensing at controlled flow rates may benefit from this technology.
Pump for a flowing reference junction in pH and ORP sensors.
Portable pump for internal or external drug delivery system.
Flow for cooling devices in MEMS and microelectronics.
Pump for localized lubrication system for machinery and fragrance delivery system.

Stage of Development
A provisional patent application has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This technology is part of an active and ongoing research program. It is available for developmental research support/licensing under either exclusive or non-exclusive terms.

Additional Info
*http://www.mech.utah.edu/PEOPLE/faculty/ligrani/ligrani.htm

Inventor(s): Phillip Ligrani, Bradley Hansen, Trent Deem

Type of Offer: Licensing



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