CN111943128A - Control circuit of microcomputer electrofluid device - Google Patents

Abstract

A control circuit of a micro electro mechanical fluid device comprises a driving electrode and a plurality of driving units. Each driving unit comprises a micro-electro-mechanical fluid device, a first transistor and a control unit. The micro-electro-mechanical fluid device is electrically connected with the driving electrode. The first transistor is electrically connected to the microelectromechanical fluid device. The control unit is electrically connected with the first transistor. The control unit inputs a control signal to the first transistor, so that the corresponding driving unit is electrically conducted to drive the micro-electromechanical fluid device, thereby completing the transmission of the fluid.

Description

Control circuit of microcomputer electrofluid device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to control circuits, and more particularly to a control circuit for a micro electro-mechanical fluid device.

Background

With the development of technology, conventional fluid transfer devices have been developed in the direction of miniaturization and maximization of flow rate. The applications of the device are diversified, and the device can be seen in industrial applications, biomedical applications, medical care, electronic heat dissipation and recently hot wearable devices.

However, in recent years, the micro-electromechanical related process achieves miniaturization of the fluid delivery device by an integrated molding method, and the miniaturized fluid delivery device needs a control element to select the micro-electromechanical fluid device to be actuated.

Referring to fig. 1A and 1B, a conventional mems chip 9 includes a chip body 9a, a plurality of mems devices 9B, and a plurality of control electrodes 9 c. The micro-electro-mechanical fluidic device 9b and the control electrode 9c are disposed on the chip body 9 a. Each of the mems fluid devices 9b is connected to two control electrodes 9c, so that the number of control electrodes 9c on the mems fluid device chip 9 is difficult to reduce, thereby increasing the production cost. In addition, in the control circuit 90 of the conventional mems device, a mems device 90b is required to be matched with at least one control electrode 90a and a transistor 90c to drive the mems device 90b to operate. Therefore, a certain number of control electrodes 90a and transistors 90c are also provided in the control circuit 90, and the production cost cannot be suppressed.

Disclosure of Invention

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a control circuit of a micro electro-mechanical fluid device, which combines a semiconductor device and the micro electro-mechanical fluid device, so that the control of the micro electro-mechanical fluid device can be integrated on a chip. Thus, it is possible to miniaturize the control, to reduce the total number of electrodes, to simplify the external control of the micro electro-mechanical fluid device, and to reduce the production cost.

To achieve the above objective, a control circuit of a micro electro-mechanical fluid device is provided in a broader aspect of the present disclosure, which includes a driving electrode and a plurality of driving units. Each driving unit comprises a micro-electro-mechanical fluid device, a first transistor and a control unit. The micro-electro-mechanical fluid device is electrically connected with the driving electrode. The first transistor is electrically connected to the microelectromechanical fluid device. The control unit is electrically connected with the first transistor. The control unit inputs a control signal to the first transistor, so that the corresponding driving unit is electrically conducted to drive the micro-electromechanical fluid device, thereby completing the transmission of the fluid.

Drawings

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a diagram of a conventional MEMS electrofluidic device chip.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a control circuit of a conventional MEMS device.

Fig. 2A is a schematic diagram of a control circuit of the mems device.

Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of a first implementation of a control unit of the control circuit.

FIG. 3A is a diagram of a driving configuration of a MEMS chip.

Fig. 3B is a schematic diagram of a control signal configuration of a first embodiment of the control unit of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3C is a diagram of another driving configuration of the MEMS device chip.

Fig. 3D is a schematic diagram of another control signal configuration of a first embodiment of the control unit according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a control unit of the control circuit of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a third implementation of the control unit of the control circuit.

Element numbering in the figures:

9 a: chip body

90: control circuit

90a, 9 c: control electrode

90 c: transistor with a metal gate electrode

9. 10I, 10 II: chip of microcomputer electrofluid device

Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, Zn: actuation area

PD 1: driving electrode

PD 2: grounding electrode

PD3, PD 5: grid electrode

PD4, PD 6: drain electrode

9b, 90b, 10 b: microcomputer electrofluid device

10c, 10c', 10c ": control unit

M1: a first transistor

M2: second transistor

M3: a third transistor

G: grid electrode

D: drain electrode

S: source electrode

R: logic element

S1-S14, Sn: control signal

G1-G10, Gn: drive unit

Detailed Description

Embodiments that embody the features and advantages of this disclosure will be described in detail in the description that follows. It will be understood that the present disclosure is capable of various modifications without departing from the scope of the disclosure, and that the description and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

Referring to fig. 2A, in the present embodiment, a control circuit of a mems fluid device includes a plurality of actuation zones Zn, each actuation zone Zn includes a plurality of driving units G1, G2.. Each of the driving units G1, G2... Gn includes a mems device 10b, a first transistor M1 and a control unit 10 c. The mems fluid device 10b is electrically connected to the driving electrode PD1, the first transistor M1 is electrically connected to the mems fluid device 10b, and the control unit 10c is electrically connected to the first transistor M1. Thus, the selected control unit 10c inputs a control signal to the first transistor M1, such that the corresponding driving unit G1, G2... Gn is electrically conducted to drive the micro-electromechanical fluid device 10b, thereby completing the fluid transfer.

Referring to fig. 2B, in the present embodiment, the first implementation of the control unit 10c includes a second transistor M2. The second transistor M2 has a source S, a drain D and a gate G. The source S of the second transistor M2 is electrically connected to the gate G of the first transistor M1 of the driving unit G1, G2... Gn, and the control signal is inputted from a gate electrode PD3 and a drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2.

Referring to fig. 2B, 3A and 3B, a mems chip 10I is divided into a plurality of actuation zones Z1, Z2, and each actuation zone Z1, Z2 has 10 driving units G1-G10. Therefore, the driving units G1 to G10 in different actuation zones Z1 and Z2 can be controlled to actuate by giving control signals S1 to S12. As shown in fig. 3B, when the control signal S1 is input from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S3 to S12 are input from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1 to G10 in the controllable actuation region Z1 may be actuated; when the control signal S2 is inputted from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S3-S12 are inputted from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1-G10 in the controllable actuation zone Z2 can be actuated. It is noted that the gate electrode PD3 and the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2 can exchange signals to activate the driving units G1-G10, i.e., the driving units G1-G10 in the activation region Z1 can also be controlled to be activated when the control signal S1 is inputted from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S3-S12 are inputted from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2; when the control signal S2 is inputted from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S3-S12 are inputted from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1-G10 in the active region Z2 can also be controlled to be activated.

Referring to fig. 3C and 3D, a mems chip 10II is divided into a plurality of actuation zones Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4, and each of the actuation zones Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4 is provided with 10 driving units G1 to G10. Therefore, the driving units G1G 10 in different actuation zones Z1, Z2, Z3 and Z4 can be controlled to actuate by giving control signals S1S 14. As shown in fig. 3D, when the control signal S1 is input from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S5 to S14 are input from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1 to G10 in the controllable actuation region Z1 may be actuated; when the control signal S2 is input from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S5 to S14 are input from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2, the driving cells G1 to G10 in the controllable actuation region Z2 may be actuated; when the control signal S3 is input from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S5-S14 are input from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1, G2... G10 in the controllable actuation zone Z3 can be actuated; when the control signal S4 is inputted from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S5-S14 are inputted from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1-G10 in the controllable actuation zone Z4 can be actuated. It is noted that, similarly, the gate electrode PD3 and the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2 can exchange signals to activate the driving units G1-G10, i.e., the driving units G1-G10 in the activation region Z1 can also be controlled to be activated when the control signal S1 is inputted from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S5-S14 are inputted from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2; when the control signal S2 is inputted from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S5-S14 are inputted from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1-G10 in the actuation region Z2 can also be controlled to be actuated; when the control signal S3 is inputted from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S5-S14 are inputted from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1-G10 in the actuation region Z3 can also be controlled to be actuated; when the control signal S4 is inputted from the drain electrode PD4 of the second transistor M2 and the control signals S5-S14 are inputted from the gate electrode PD3 of the second transistor M2, the driving units G1-G10 in the active region Z4 can also be controlled to be activated.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 10c is configured in the first implementation manner such that only 13 electrodes are needed to be collocated with 10 driving units G1-G10 in the same actuation region Zn. Taking the actuation region Z1 as an example, the actuation region Z1 includes a common driving electrode PD1, a common ground electrode PD2, a gate electrode PD3 for inputting the control signal S1 (i.e. 10 driving units G1 to G10 share a gate electrode PD3), and 10 electrodes for respectively inputting the control signals S3 to S12. compared with the conventional mems fluid device chip, 20 electrodes are required to be matched for each 10 mems fluid devices. In addition, the drain electrodes PD4 in different actuation regions Zn for inputting the same control signals S3-S12 may also share one electrode, for example, the drain electrode PD4 in the actuation region Z1 for inputting the control signal S3 and the drain electrode PD4 in the actuation region Z2 for inputting the control signal S3 may share one electrode, which may further reduce the total number of electrodes in the entire micro electro mechanical fluidic device chip 10I, 10 II.

It is noted that the actuation zones Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4 of the mems fluid device chip 10I and the mems fluid device chip 10II are staggered to control adjacent actuation zones not to be actuated simultaneously, so as to avoid the fluid flow from influencing each other.

It should be noted that the configuration of the active regions, the number of the driving units and the connection manner of the control signals in the mems chip are not limited to the above, and can be changed according to the design requirements.

Referring to fig. 2B and fig. 4, in the embodiment, a second implementation of the control unit 10c 'is similar to the first implementation of the control unit 10c, except that the second implementation of the control unit 10c' further includes a third transistor M3 electrically connected to the second transistor M2. Driving a selected mems fluidic device 10b by sequentially turning on the first transistor M1, the second transistor M2, and the third transistor M3, for example: when the control signal S1 from a gate electrode PD5 and the control signal S2 from a drain electrode PD6 are both HIGH, the third transistor M3 is turned on, and when the control signal S3 from the drain electrode PD4 is also HIGH, the second transistor M2 is also turned on, and then when the driving electrode PD1 provides a driving signal, the first transistor M1 is turned on, so that the corresponding micro electro mechanical fluid device 10b is activated.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first transistor M1, the second transistor M2, and the third transistor M3 are at least one of an N-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (NMOS), a P-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (PMOS), a complementary metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (CMOS), a diffused metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (DMOS), a laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (LDMOS), and a Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT), or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto, the types of the first transistor M1, the second transistor M2, and the third transistor M3 may be changed according to design requirements.

Referring to fig. 2B and 5, in the present embodiment, a third implementation of the control unit 10c ″ includes a logic element R electrically connected to the first transistor M1 of the driving units G1, G2.. When the logic device R provides a logic signal to the first transistor M1 of the driving unit G1, G2... Gn to turn on, if the driving electrode PD1 also provides a driving signal, the corresponding mems device 10b is activated.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the logic device R is an AND gate (AND gate), but not limited thereto, the type of the logic device R may be changed according to design requirements.

In summary, the present disclosure provides a control circuit of a micro electro mechanical fluid device, which drives different micro electro mechanical fluid devices by structural changes of the control circuit, and achieves miniaturization of control, reduction of the total number of electrodes, simplification of external control of the micro electro mechanical fluid device, and reduction of production cost.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (7)

1. A control circuit for a microelectromechanical fluidic device, comprising:

a driving electrode; and

a plurality of drive units, each of the drive units comprising:

a micro-electro-mechanical fluid device electrically connected to the driving electrode;

a first transistor electrically connected to the micro-electro-mechanical fluid device; and

a control unit electrically connected to the first transistor;

the control unit inputs a control signal to the first transistor to electrically conduct the corresponding driving unit to drive the micro-electromechanical fluid device so as to complete the fluid transmission.

2. The control circuit of claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a second transistor electrically connected to the corresponding first transistor.

3. The control circuit of claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a second transistor electrically connected to the corresponding first transistor and a third transistor electrically connected to the second transistor.

4. The control circuit of claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a logic element electrically connected to the corresponding first transistor.

5. The control circuit of claim 1, wherein the first transistor is at least one of an N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (NMOS), a P-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (PMOS), a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (CMOS), a diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (DMOS), a laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (LDMOS), and a bipolar transistor (BJT), or a combination thereof.

6. The control circuit of claim 2, wherein the first transistor and the second transistor are each at least one of an N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (NMOS), a P-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (PMOS), a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (CMOS), a diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (DMOS), a laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (LDMOS), and a bipolar transistor (BJT), or a combination thereof.

7. The control circuit of claim 3, wherein the first transistor, the second transistor, and the third transistor are each at least one of an N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (NMOS), a P-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (PMOS), a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (CMOS), a diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (DMOS), a laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (LDMOS), and a bipolar transistor (BJT), or a combination thereof.

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