Improvement of capillary pressure barrier

摘要

The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the shape and / or position of a movable fluid-to-fluid meniscus, the apparatus having a volume for containing and moving fluid, The direction of filling is a downstream direction, includes the meniscus, and the volume has at least a first structure defining a capillary pressure barrier in which the meniscus tends to align, the capillary pressure barrier and the meniscus at least Defining a boundary within the volume between two subvolumes, and (a) not providing a weakness of intentional fluid alignment along the capillary pressure barrier that reduces the stability of the capillary pressure barrier, The capillary pressure barrier is stabilized by defining at both ends an angle greater than 90 degrees with the volume wall downstream of the capillary pressure barrier and / or (b) The tube pressure barrier is stabilized by providing the stretch barrier at a distance shorter than the maximum stretch distance of the fluid meniscus when aligned along the capillary pressure barrier in the absence of the stretch barrier, ( c) The capillary pressure barrier is stabilized by defining at one end an angle greater than 90 degrees with the volume wall downstream of the capillary pressure barrier, and the capillary tube when the extension barrier is not present at the other end. Providing an extension barrier at a distance shorter than a maximum extension distance of the fluid-to-fluid meniscus in alignment along the pressure barrier, wherein the extension barrier has at least one directional element of the capillary pressure barrier. It is formed so as to be orthogonal to. [Selection] Figure 1