Air valve and method of use

A method of using an air valve comprising the steps of:

• (a) determining a desired position of a throttle plate disposed on a throttle shaft and actuated by a driven gear;
• (b) sensing an actual position of the throttle plate using a non-contact type throttle position sensor on a circuit board, the non-contact type throttle position sensor detecting a rotation of the throttle shaft by sensing a change in an orientation of a magnetic field generated by a shaft position magnet positioned on the driven gear;
• and
• (c) commanding a brushless direct current motor assembly to rotate the throttle plate disposed from the actual position to the desired position via the driven gear.

An air valve comprising:

• an air valve housing;
• a throttle plate disposed on a throttle shaft;
• a helical driven gear attached on the throttle shaft;
• a shaft position magnet disposed on the driven gear;
• a brushless direct current motor assembly disposed within a motor housing and in connection via a pinion with the driven gear;
• and
• a circuit board disposed within the motor housing and directly connected to the brushless direct current motor comprising:
• an integrated electronic valve controller including a controller that performs digital signal processing;
• and
• a non-contact type throttle position sensor on the circuit board, wherein the non-contact type throttle position sensor detects a rotation of the throttle shaft due to a change in orientation of a magnetic field generated by the shaft position magnet.

An actuator comprising:

• a housing;
• a driven gear attached on an output shaft;
• shaft position magnet positioned on the driven gear;
• a brushless direct current motor assembly disposed within a motor housing and in connection via a pinion with the driven gear;
• and
• a circuit board directly disposed within the motor housing and connected to the brushless direct current motor comprising a non-contact type position sensor on the circuit board and an integrated electronic valve controller that performs digital signal processing;
• wherein the non-contact type throttle position sensor detects a rotation of the throttle shaft due to a change in orientation of a magnetic field generated by the shaft position magnet.