Solenoid valve with temperature safety unit

Abstract

A solenoid valve with a temperature safety unit includes a body having a fluid passage formed therein, a solenoid mounted in the body, a valve member operatively associated with the body for displacement to open or close the fluid passage in response to a magnetic field as the solenoid is energized and deenergized, and a return spring operatively associated with the body and which includes a magnetically soft, amorphous metal member disposed in a pass of flux from the solenoid within a region the temperature of which is to be determined wherein the return spring is connected to the valve member and normally urges the valve member to a first position when the solenoid is deenergized, the magnetically soft, amorphous metal member having a Curie point which constitutes an operating point of the return spring such that when the temperature of the return spring exceeds the Curie point, the valve member is forceably displaced to the first position irrespective of energization of the solenoid.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.