Patent ID: 8708787

Claim:
A valve, comprising: a housing defining an opening providing fluid communication between a vehicle compartment and an external environment; a movable vane pivotally connected to the housing and movable to one of an open position and a closed position; a first linear actuator mechanically coupled between the movable vane and the housing, the first linear actuator comprising a first wire device fabricated from a first shape memory alloy; a first power supply electrically coupled to the first linear actuator to effect a phase transformation in the shape memory alloy of the first linear actuator to move the vane to the open position when the first power supply is activated in response to a first activation command from a controller; and an actuable latching system having a mechanical latch device for engaging a protruding element on the movable vane, the actuable latching system further including: a second linear actuator comprising a second wire device fabricated from a second shape memory alloy, the second linear actuator being mechanically connected to the mechanical latch device; and a second power supply electrically coupled to the second linear actuator to effect a phase transformation in the second shape memory when the second power supply is activated in response to a second command from the controller to move the mechanical latch to engage the protruding element on the movable vane, the actuable latching system configured to retain the movable vane in the open position while the second power supply is activated.