MANUALLY OPERABLE DRIVE MODULE

• US 20110057131A1
• Filed: 09/08/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Buerkert Werke GmbH
• Original Assignee: Buerkert Werke GmbH
• Inventors: Bachmann, Rene, Grosse, Kersten, Brinkmann, Ulrike
• Granted Patent: US 8,622,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 251/65
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 31/60 Handles form, features or function of taps or faucet handles for domestic plumbing installations E03C1/04
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 37/0033 using a permanent magnet, e.g. in combination with a reed relays
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 37/0041 for measuring valve parameters F16K37/0033 takes precedence

Abstract

A valve drive system has a valve drive device and a hand-operated apparatus to trigger control actions in the valve drive device. The hand-operated apparatus includes a magnet arrangement, and the valve drive device includes a magnetic field sensor arrangement adjusted to the magnet arrangement of the hand-operated apparatus.

Claims

1. A valve drive system comprising:

a valve drive device;

a hand-operated apparatus to trigger control actions in the valve drive device, wherein the hand-operated apparatus includes a magnet arrangement; and

wherein the valve drive device includes a magnetic field sensor arrangement adjusted to the magnet arrangement of the hand-operated apparatus.

2. The valve drive system according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field sensor arrangement is sensitive to a field strength and/or a field direction of a magnetic field generated by the magnet arrangement.

3. The valve drive system according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field sensor arrangement includes at least two sensors and/or the magnet arrangement includes at least two permanent magnets.

4. The valve drive system according to claim 1 wherein the magnetic field sensor arrangement generates characteristic signals as a function of an orientation and/or movement of the magnet arrangement relative to the magnetic field sensor arrangement.

5. The valve drive system according to claim 4, wherein the characteristic signals are assigned to different commands.

6. The valve drive system according to claim 1 wherein the magnet arrangement includes at least one solenoid.

7. The valve drive system according to claim 6, wherein a drive is provided for the solenoid to allow energization of the solenoid and/or a current flow direction to be variable.

8. The valve drive system according to claim 7, wherein the drive is time-variable.

9. The valve drive system according to claim 8, wherein the drive is used in part to transfer data into the valve drive device.