Passively addressable cantilever valves

摘要

A bistable valve useful for paper handling applications is disclosed. The valve can be batch fabricated in two dimensional valve arrays, with each valve in the array being controlled by passive matrix addressing. Typically, each valve includes a valve housing an electrically conductive movable element such as cantilever beam, diaphragm or film. Valve action is provided by use of housing embedded switching electrodes for moving the movable element between an aperture blocking position and an aperture open position. To reduce unswitched movement when the switching electrode bias is reduced or not present, electrostatic or mechanical catches can be used.