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Sony patents microchip design that simplifies sample sorting

Sony has filed a patent for a flat microchip used to sort tiny particles from liquid samples. The design places the liquid inlet and the collection outlet on the same side of the chip to make it easier to handle and mount in a device.

Why it mattersThis design improvement could make laboratory sorting tools more compact and easier to use, though it is a specific engineering detail rather than a consumer product.

In the filing’s own words

To provide a microchip that is easily handled. Provided is a microchip having a plate shape and including: a sample liquid inlet into which a sample liquid is introduced; a main flow path through which the sample liquid introduced from the sample liquid inlet flows; and a sorting flow path into which a target sample is sorted from the sample liquid, in which the sample liquid inlet and a terminal end of the sorting flow path are formed on a same side surface. Furthermore, a sample sorting kit including the microchip is also provided. Moreover, a microparticle sorting device on which the microchip is mounted is also provided.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A microchip having a plate shape and comprising: a sample liquid inlet into which a sample liquid is introduced; a main flow path through which the sample liquid introduced from the sample liquid inlet flows; and a sorting flow path into which a target sample is sorted from the sample liquid, wherein the sample liquid inlet and a terminal end of the sorting flow path are formed on a same side surface.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Group Corporation)
Official title
MICROCHIP, SAMPLE SORTING KIT, AND MICROPARTICLE SORTING DEVICE
Publication number
US20260287492A9
Application number
19334755
Filed
Sep 19, 2025
Published
Sep 24, 2026
Inventors
9
Claims
20

Classified under

G01N 15/1404 Physics & computingG01N 15/1484 Physics & computingG01N 2015/1415 Physics & computingG01N 15/149 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.