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US 2002/0171055 A1Published application
Miniature latching valve
AssigneeTiNi Alloy Company
InventorsA. David Johnson, Glendon Benson
Life of this patent
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AssigneeTiNi Alloy Company
InventorsA. David Johnson, Glendon Benson
Estimating the term…
An SMA actuated miniature latching valve for on and off control of fluid flow. A valve closure includes a poppet for opening and closing the fluid flow path. The poppet is operated responsive to an actuator mechanism which has SMA wires arranged to be actuated by electric resistant heating. Actuation causes different ones of the wires to contract and pull the poppet either toward or away from a valve seat. A latching mechanism comprising a conical spring operates between two bistable positions which hold the poppet either fully open or fully closed without further application of power to the actuators. A method of forming a secure mechanical and electrical connection between an SMA wire end and its support includes the steps of swaging a metal cone between a cone-shaped hole in the support and the wire end.
A latching valve of miniature size for on or off control of the flow of a fluid, the latching valve comprising a valve closure having a poppet and a seat, the poppet being moveable between open and closed positions with respect to the seat for respectively opening and closing flow of the fluid through the seat, an actuator mechanism having a structure that moves the poppet between the closed and open positions, and a latching mechanism comprising a spring having a conical wall which has properties that are sufficient to cause the wall to change shape between first and second axial bistable positions responsive to an axial force, the wall being characterized in:
A method for making a wire-to-support connection between an SMA wire end and a support, the method comprising the steps of providing the support with a conical through hole, positioning the end of the wire in the hole, placing a hollow cone between the end and the hole and swaging the cone against the end to establish a compressive load between the cone and hole which is sufficient to attach the end to the support.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.